WordMan is a simple tool for helping to solve word puzzle and games. It allows quick searches of dictionaries to find words matching various criteria.
The WordMan interface has three main sections. The top-left section of the interface allows setting the parameters of the search to perform. The top-right section of the interface selects which word list(s) to perform the search upon. The bottom section of the interface displays the results of the search.
The following describes each of the sections in detail.
WordMan allows eight different kinds of searches to be performed: Anagram, Pattern, Build, Subword, Superword, Cryptogram, Insert, Regex. Select the type of search in the list box in the top left corner. A detailed description of each search type can be found here.
The "Find" box is where the actual letter pattern used in the search is entered. The text box below the "Find" box displays a quick summary of the allowable special characters for that search type. The patten can be entered in any mixture of upper or lower case.
The "Min Length" and "Max Length" boxes allow restricting the considered words by length. Only words between the given lengths will be considered in the search.
The "Reverse Pattern" check box matches the reverse of the pattern. In some puzzles, it is not clear which way a resulting word should read. If the forward direction is not producing results, perhaps the reverse direction may produce something.
The "Mistakes" box allows for near miss searches. The results will display all words that match the pattern or have the indicated number of different letters (or fewer). For example, if "FLUNG" matches the search, and 1 mistake is allow, the results will show "FLUNG", "CLUNG", "FLING", "FLUNK", and "SLUNG". If you think you might have made a mistake in one or two of the letters that make up the pattern, this box may be useful.
The list of Word Lists on the right hand side of the window is used to set which lists of words to search. One more more word lists can be selected. The default of "ENABLE" and "Common words" is a good starting point. A detailed description of all the word lists, and a description of how to add additional word lists, can be found here.
Click the "Search Word List" button to search the selected word lists. The "Enter" key performs the same function.
To search the words in the result list with an additional search, click the "Search Results" button.
The large box at the bottom of the WordMan window displays the results of the search. The results can be displayed in either alphabetical order, or in descending order of word length, by using the Sort option.
The results can be saved to a file by clicking the Save button.