Getting started

Install WinDict, or run it without installing, and look up your first word.

WinDict runs on Windows 10 and 11. Older versions might work, but they aren't tested.

Install with the setup (recommended)

1. Download WinDict-<version>-setup.exe from the latest release on GitHub.
2. Run it, then choose Install. It installs WinDict for everyone on the PC, in C:\Program Files\WinDict, and adds it to Start and to Settings → Apps, where it can be uninstalled.
3. Choose Open WinDict. A short introduction goes through the shortcuts, each with an example card.

Only the installed copy can show the card above the Start menu and look up words from the command line, and it updates without asking for permission.

Install with WinGet

WinGet installs the same setup, from a terminal:

To update it the same way, use winget upgrade BosioPietro.WinDict, or Update app in WinDict's tray menu.

Run it without installing

Download WinDict-<version>.exe instead and run it from anywhere: it's the whole app in a single executable. Its settings are kept in the same place as the installed copy's.

Your first lookup

Select a word in any app and press Alt+D. Its definition opens in a card next to the selection. Esc or a click elsewhere closes it.

To translate instead, select a word, a phrase or a passage and press Alt+T.

In the notification area

While it runs, WinDict waits in the notification area, by the clock. Click its icon for its menu:

• Start with Windows, to run it when you sign in;
• Settings…, which opens the settings;
• Reload settings, after editing config.json by hand;
• Update app, when there's a new version: the icon shows a dot then;
• Quit.

Uninstalling

Uninstall the installed copy from Settings → Apps, like any other app. The copy that isn't installed is just its executable: quit it from the tray and delete it. Settings stay in %APPDATA%\WinDict, and downloaded dictionaries in %LOCALAPPDATA%\WinDict, should you want to remove them too.