Black Ink Updates: Support for Lex’s Puzzles and Other Improvements

April 30th, 2024

Black Ink 2.3.2 for Mac is now available on the Black Ink site and on the Mac App Store. Black Ink 2.1.2 for iOS is now available on the iOS App Store.

These updates include a number of usability fixes and add two new puzzle sources: Lex’s Puzzles, and Lex’s Minis. These are the puzzles of Lex Friedman, who publishes crossword puzzles as well as a number of other games at Lex.games. Lex’s Minis are free for anybody to download and solve, while Lex’s Puzzles (full-sized 15×15) require a Lex.games subscription.

Here are the changes that apply to both iOS and Mac updates:

  • New puzzle sources: Lex’s Minis and Lex’s Crosswords
  • Improved the accuracy of overlay image drawing over puzzle grid
  • Attempting to check or reveal answers on puzzles with no answers now displays an explanatory alert
  • Now supports entering a hyphen or a period as a special entry answer

These changes are specific to the Mac update:

  • Fixed the drawing of overlay image drawing in printed puzzles
  • Improve performance when opening the puzzle chooser when it has to search many years for an unsolved puzzle
  • Now adapts the window size more precisely when screen resolution changes
  • Fix a glitch that caused the Puzzle Notes text to no longer fit in the popover when detached from window
  • Puzzle chooser now ensures the selected source name is visible
  • Fix an issue that caused excessive memory when opening and closing many puzzles

And these are specific to the iOS and Vision Pro update:

  • Fix a crash that could occur when using a mouse on iPad and selecting the “Enter Special Answer” button
  • Fix a bug that caused Restore Purchases to erroneously show “Lifetime Unlock” as purchased
  • When a very long clue is displayed, make sure the corresponding space in the puzzle is scrolled into view
  • Added a close button to NYT authentication panel

If you enjoy Black Ink, please consider writing a review or rating the app on the Mac App Store, and spreading the word on Facebook or other social networks.