WordNex helps you look up English words and explore connected meanings. On Mac, read words from a screen capture or an image. On iPhone and iPad, scan printed text with the camera or import a photo.
Get in touch
Contact: zhaoxiaojian@hotmail.com. Include the WordNex version, macOS or iOS/iPadOS version, device model, and steps that reproduce the problem. For Mac capture issues, include the display name, whether it is built-in or external, and the selected display scaling. Describe the permission status or error message. Avoid including private text, screen contents, photos, or recordings.
WordNex for Mac
- Screen capture: choose Screen Reader, select a display, and click Capture Screen Region. Drag around clear English text in another app, release, and select a highlighted word or a word in the recognized-text list. WordNex excludes its own windows from the capture. This is a still screenshot, not continuous recording, and does not record system audio.
- Screen Recording permission: if access is denied, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording (Screen Recording on some macOS versions) and enable WordNex. Quit and reopen WordNex if macOS requests it. Typed lookup and opening an image remain available without screen-capture access.
- Capture takes too long: use Cancel, then retry. Check that the chosen display is still connected and that Screen Recording access is enabled. Escape cancels region selection. Captures and imported images remain in app memory until cleared, replaced, or the app quits; the app does not save these images to disk.
- Images and text size: Open Image reads the file you select. Paste Image reads a clipboard image only when you choose it. Use the capture zoom controls or recognized-text list if a word is difficult to select. Settings lets you adjust definition text size.
- Keyboard shortcuts: Command-F focuses Dictionary search; arrow keys choose a result and Return opens it. Escape cancels input and goes back. Command-Shift-2 captures a screen region, Command-O opens an image, and Command-Shift-V reads a clipboard image. The menu-bar WordNex icon also starts capture while another app is open.
- Word Map: open Explore word map beside a meaning. Click a connection, filter relationships, and use Back, Forward, or Start. The diagram shows a page of connections; the list includes all matching connections. Save Trail keeps a named route that you can reopen from Word Map Trails.
- Saved words and history: save an individual meaning with its bookmark button. Saved Words can include the reading context you chose to save. Filter your collections, right-click an item to remove it, or use Library actions to export saved meanings as CSV or clear history. Collections remain local to this Mac and do not automatically sync with iPhone or iPad.
- Library recovery: if a collection cannot be read, its pane offers Retry and Back Up and Reset. The other collections remain available. Reset requires confirmation, copies the original file first, and starts only that collection empty. If the backup cannot be saved, the original is not reset. Show Backup in Finder reveals the retained copy, which may include saved reading context. Keep it while seeking help and delete it when no longer needed.
WordNex for iPhone and iPad
- Camera recognition: use clear printed English, good lighting, and steady focus. Freeze or import a photo, then correct recognized text if needed. Search works without camera permission.
- Word Map: open a meaning's network icon, tap related meanings, or use List. Use the book icon for the full entry. Saved trails can be reopened and shared as PDFs.
- Saved data: meanings, history, and trails are local and may be included in device backups. Export before uninstalling if you need a separate copy.
Dictionary, languages, and voice input
- Missing word or translation: WordNet focuses on nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Language and sense coverage varies. Try a base form, check spelling, or read the English definition. On Mac, Settings controls the explanation language and English fallback.
- Offline dictation: voice input requires microphone and speech-recognition permissions and a supported on-device English recognition model. When that model or microphone is unavailable, the app reports the issue; it does not fall back to server recognition. Typed lookup remains available. You can change permissions in device Settings or System Settings → Privacy & Security on Mac.
This guide covers WordNex version 2.0. WordNex for Mac requires macOS 14 or later.