Text Reverser

What is Text Reversal?

Text reversal is the process of flipping text in different ways: reversing characters, word order, or line order. This simple transformation is commonly used in puzzles, games, and encoding schemes where messages are hidden by being written backwards.

This tool supports three reversal modes, each useful for different types of puzzles and text manipulation tasks.

Reversal Modes Explained

Character Reversal

Reverses every character in the text from end to beginning:

"Hello World" becomes "dlroW olleH"
"12345" becomes "54321"
Spaces and punctuation are also reversed

This is the classic "mirror text" or "backwards text" transformation.

Word Reversal

Keeps words intact but reverses their order:

"Hello World" becomes "World Hello"
"One Two Three" becomes "Three Two One"
Preserves spaces between words

Useful when words contain meaningful data but their order encodes the message.

Line Reversal

Reverses the order of lines in multi-line text:

First line becomes last, last becomes first
Each line's content stays intact
Useful for lists and multi-line clues

Text Reversal in Geocaching

Geocachers frequently encounter reversed text in puzzles:

Common Puzzle Types

Mirror caches: Coordinates written backwards
Multi-stage clues: Field puzzle hints in reverse
Hidden messages: Text concealed by reversal
Combined ciphers: Reversal plus other encoding

Recognizing Reversed Text

Signs that text might be reversed:

Words look like gibberish but have letter patterns
Punctuation appears at the start instead of end
Numbers read right-to-left make sense
Cache page mentions "mirror," "backwards," or "reflection"

Palindromes

A palindrome reads the same forwards and backwards. This tool can help identify palindromes by comparing original and reversed text:

Character palindromes: "radar," "level," "noon"
Word palindromes: "Was it a car or a cat I saw"
Numeric: "12321," often significant in puzzles

Combined with Other Techniques

Reversal is often used with other encodings:

Reverse then decode: ROT13 applied to reversed text
Decode then reverse: Binary or hex decodes to reversed message
Multiple reversals: Characters reversed, then words reversed
Partial reversal: Only certain words or sections reversed

Mirror Writing

Mirror writing (like Leonardo da Vinci's notes) is character-reversed text that can be read normally in a mirror. This tool creates the same effect digitally, though true mirror writing also flips letters horizontally.

Tips for Reversed Text Puzzles

Try all modes: If character reversal gives gibberish, try word or line reversal
Look for patterns: Coordinate-like numbers are a good sign
Check partial reversal: Only part of the text may be reversed
Combine tools: Try decoding before or after reversal
Consider case: Letter case may contain additional information

Technical Notes

This tool handles text reversal properly for standard text. Note that:

Unicode characters are handled correctly
Line breaks are preserved appropriately for each mode
Whitespace is preserved in word reversal mode

Related Text Tools

Case Converter: Change text between uppercase, lowercase, and other cases.
Character Counter: Analyze text composition and statistics.
ROT13 Cipher: Another simple text transformation for puzzles.
Letter Frequency: Analyze letter distribution in text.