Help with Creating Custom Jigsaw Puzzles
Jigsaw Explorer makes it easy to create online custom jigsaw puzzles you can share with friends and family or your website visitors!
No Registration, No Uploading
No registration, login, or passwords are required to create your own custom jigsaw puzzles at Jigsaw Explorer. Just enter the web address of your image file, click the Create button, and your puzzle is ready.
You do not need to worry about uploading your photo to our website because we do not store or copy your photo. Nor do we use, publish, or distribute the image link or resulting puzzle. It's your jigsaw puzzle and only you will decide who it will be shared with.
Sharing Your Custom Puzzle
When your custom jigsaw puzzle is created you will be provided with a web address for the puzzle. The puzzle's web address can be easily shared with family and friends via e-mail, tweets, Facebook, etc. The puzzles can be played on PCs, Macs, tablets, and phones.
Image Address
The custom jigsaw puzzle page requires the URL (web address) of the photo you want to use as a jigsaw puzzle. The photo must be a JPG, PNG, or GIF image file located somewhere on the web. A couple of examples of places where you can store photos free of charge are Facebook.com (instructions for obtaining Facebook photo URLs) and Imgur.com (instructions for obtaining Imgur photo URLs). Note that many file and photo storage sites, such as DropBox, no longer allow photos to be directly accessed by URL, so they cannot be used for creating custom jigsaw puzzles. A valid direct image file address will show .jpg, .jpeg, .png, or .gif somewhere in the address (usually at the end).
Image Size: Although you can use any size image for the puzzle subject, we recommend using an image that is about 1500 to 2000 pixels in length along its longest side. That size is large enough to look nice for users with large screens, and the puzzle program will automtically scale the image down for users with smaller screens. Image sizes larger than 2000 pixels will take longer to load with no added benefit.
Credit Line
The optional credit line can be any text you wish. It is automatically displayed when the jigsaw puzzle is completed. The credit line can also be displayed by going to Help > Credit in the jigsaw puzzle player. The credit line can be a maximum of 120 characters in length. However, if you enter more characters than will visibly fit in the credit line input field then the credit line may be truncated when displayed in the jigsaw puzzle player.
Credit URL
The optional credit URL can be the address of any web page you wish. For example, you might use the address of a Facebook post about the photo. Providing a credit URL makes the credit line clickable when it is displayed in the jigsaw puzzle player. Clicking the credit line will cause the web browser to open the web page pointed to by the credit URL.
Initial Number of Puzzle Pieces
You may specify the initial number of puzzle pieces the puzzle is to be divided into when the puzzle loads. Note that the user can change the number of pieces to whatever they wish before they begin the puzzle.
Note: If you plan to embed your custom puzzle into your own web page, and the puzzle will only occupy a portion of that page, then it is recommended that you set the number of pieces to about 60 to avoid pieces that initially appear too small. You don't want your visitors' first impression of your puzzle to be that it's too difficult!
Note: The puzzle program will not necessarily divide the puzzle into the exact number of pieces you specify, but it will be reasonably close. The puzzle program will calculate a smaller number of puzzle pieces for tablets and phones due to the smaller size screens on those devices, but the calculated value will be influenced by the value you specify.
Mystery Puzzle
The "mystery puzzle" option causes the puzzle's preview image to be disabled during puzzle play, so the player does not know what the completed puzzle will look like until completing the puzzle. This is done to add additional challenge and interest to the puzzle.
Note that using this option also means the puzzle's number of pieces cannot be changed by the player. This is done to prevent the player from revealing the puzzle subject by simply reducing the number of pieces to six.
Also note that the mystery puzzle format works create for digital escape rooms.
Initial Background Color
You may choose the initial background color for your custom jigsaw puzzle. Note that the user can change the background color to whatever they wish after the puzzle loads.
Removing a Puzzle
A custom jigsaw puzzle link can not be deleted. However, you can delete, rename, or relocate the image file referenced by the puzzle, which will make the jigsaw puzzle unusable.
