Technical Specification: Word Search Puzzle Maker

1. Overview

A high-quality, responsive browser-based tool that allows users to input a word list and generate a randomized word search grid. The output is formatted for easy printing.

2. Technical Constraints

• Architecture: Single-file HTML (HTML5, CSS3, Vanilla JavaScript).
• Storage: No localStorage or IndexedDB. All state is volatile memory.
• UI: No dark mode. Use a light, modern SaaS aesthetic (clean whites, soft shadows, vibrant blue primary actions).
• External Libraries: Tailwind CSS (via CDN) for styling; jsPDF or html2canvas for export if needed (optional, browser native print is preferred).

3. Feature Set

• Dynamic Grid Generation: A backtracking algorithm to place words horizontally, vertically, and diagonally.
• Difficulty Settings: Toggle for "Easy" (horizontal/vertical) vs "Hard" (includes diagonal/backward).
• Custom Grid Size: User-adjustable grid dimensions (from 10x10 to 20x20).
• Word Management: Simple textarea for bulk word entry with validation (min/max word length, special character stripping).
• Live Preview: Real-time rendering of the puzzle grid.
• Print Optimization: CSS print media queries to ensure the grid, title, and word list fit perfectly on A4 paper.

4. UI/UX Specification

• Layout:
  • Header: Simple, clean title and instruction text.
  • Control Sidebar (Left/Top): Configuration inputs, textarea for word list, generate button.
  • Main Canvas (Right/Bottom): The generated grid display.
• Palette:
  • Background: #f8fafc (slate-50)
  • Cards: #ffffff
  • Primary Accent: #2563eb (blue-600)
  • Text: #1e293b (slate-800)
  • Borders: #e2e8f0 (slate-200)
• Animations: Subtle fade-in on grid generation, hover scaling effects on buttons, smooth transition when updating settings.

5. Development Directives

• State Management: Use a simple JavaScript object to track: words, gridSize, difficulty, and generatedGrid.
• Grid Logic: Use a 2D array representation for the grid. When placing words, check for collisions. Fill empty spaces with random uppercase letters (A-Z).
• Accessibility: Ensure all inputs have clear labels. Use high-contrast font weights for the grid for readability.
• Sandboxed Environment: Ensure all event listeners are contained within the script block. Use document.createElement for dynamic UI construction.