Though the Workman's Study Bible interface is refreshingly simple, it accesses a surprisingly powerful and complex search engine, capable of producing precision search results with simple, straightforward, intuitive commands, including a number of innovative features hard to find elsewhere.

Workman's search engine features:

• Multiple Version searches
  One advantage of Bible Software is the opportunity to easily compare different versions. Not only can Workman display a list of verses in alternate versions, it can focus searches precisely on the differences between versions. Newer versions and sectarian translations often change traditional Bibles in unexpected ways, for example, eliminating certain sensitive or "politically incorrect" words, such as "hell" or "dung," or preferring the "shorter reading" to the traditional text. These differences are readily discovered with Workman's inline multiple version searches. Search [av Jesus NOT [asv Jesus to find 78 times the name was omitted in the ASV, and then [asv Jesus NOT [av Jesus to find 17 times it was added. Or search [douay hell NOT [rsv hell to find 77 times the word "hell" was eliminated from a modern version compared to an older one.


• Strongs and Attached Strongs searches
  Some digital Bibles have Strongs numbers, representing the original Hebrew or Greek word, included in the text, allowing more advanced Bible study to those who know how to use them. Workman not only allows Strongs numbers to be searched, it also provides for specifically searching Strongs numbers along with its "attached" word, or the word used to translate the original. Search God ATT #3068 to find the handful of places where the Authorized Version translated the original Hebrew YHWH (Jehovah or Yahweh) as "God" rather than the traditional "Lord." Or #430 NAT God* to find eleven surprising instances in the AV the Hebrew "Elohim" was not translated "God" or "gods."


• Sensitivity Searches
  While most Bible search engines allow for Case Sensitive searching Workman also offers Accent Insensitve searching. This is a primary tool for searching in languages that use accents in common text (such as Spanish), but even in English it could be occasionally useful, as when a scanned Bible text retains pronunciation marks in proper names. Though most English digital Bibles eliminate these diacritical marks from the text, Workman's Accent Sensitivity is also an unlimited character substitution feature, capable of defining so as to process searches successfully despite spelling differences, such as regional differences (American "savior" and British "saviour").


• Versatile and Definable Proximity Searches
  Searching for multiple words in the same verse is one obvious advantage of Bible Software over printed concordances, making the search for a certain verse almost immediate. However Bible Software has another immense advantage over paper concordances in that searching for multiple words in the same context allows greatly focused Bible study, conveniently gathering together a comprehensive list of passages dealing with the same subjects. This feature is strictly limited, however, if context is reduced to a single verse. Searching for "Jesus" and "Judas" mentioned together, but only in the same verse, will skip many significant passages where they both are mentioned in the same context. Therefore, Bible search engines usually offer an adjustable "proximity." Proximity allows the user to search for multiple words and phrases within a definable segment size, for example, searching for names within, say, ten verses of each other (James @10 John). While most Bible Software allows such multiple verse proximity searches, Workman also provides chapter proximity as well. Still, while multi-chapter and verse proximities are useful, these are "artificial" divisions, and do not necessarily divide context accurately. Therefore Workman offers "natural" proximity options also, allowing the user to specify proximity in words, phrases and sentences. Obviously, finding "Jesus" and "Judas" mentioned within a certain number of verses of each other is not as significant as finding both of them mentioned in the same sentence. This is readily done in Workman by simply typing in the command line Jesus Judas @s.


• Unlimited Wildcard Searches
  Searching for all instances of a particular word is complicated by the fact that in all languages words have different forms. The simple word "obey" in English is found also as "obeys," "obeyed" and "obeying," as well as such archaic forms as "obeyeth," "obeyest," "obeyedst," and even such complex forms as "obedient," and "disobeyed." It is not practical to search for all forms of a word separately, so most search engines provide wildcard options, using symbols such as the question mark (?) to substitute any letter, and the asterisk (*) to substitute any number of letters, or none at all. Workman also provides these wildcard options, and also allows any combination of them. Search for z?char* to find both "Zechariah" (in the Old Testament) and "Zacharias" (in the New). Search for *belie?* to find all forms of the word "believe," such as "belief" and "unbelievers." Notice the combination ?* forces a minimum of one letter, which eliminates the word "belie."


• Progressive "Within Results" Searches
  Searching one simple word in the Bible often produces too many results to be practically helpful. Curiosity about the Bible's geological information, for example, might lead you to search for the word earth, which will return almost a thousand passages. It is easier to type in a more complex search rather than scroll down through so many options. However there is no need to re-type what has already been entered. You may easily search within this list of verses by typing an equals sign with another word, as in = create*, which will reduce the search to a more significant handful of passages that include both "earth" and all forms of "create."


• Unlimited Punctuation Searches
  Want to find every location question in the Bible? In Workman it is easy. Search Where ... \?. Want to find every exclamation? Search !. Want to highlight every parenthesis? Try \( .. \). The possibilities are endless.