Anki 1.70 User Manual

Copyright (c) 2007 Copera, Inc.
All rights reserved.


Contents


Introduction

This document describes how to use the Anki 1.70 software for Palm OS® handhelds.

Throughout the document, the names of interface elements, such as buttons and labels, are indicated with bold text. Filenames are indicated with fixed-width text.


System Requirements

This software requires a handheld device with the Palm OS operating system version 3.0 or higher.

You can check your Palm OS version number by tapping the Info.. item in the App menu in App Launcher, then tapping the Version pushbutton. The OS version should then be displayed at the top of the screen.


Installation

To use Anki, you must install the Anki_1.70_Installer.PRC (or variant) file, and any number of additional Anki fonts and databases onto your handheld device. To install a .PRC or .PDB file onto your device, use the Palm Install Tool application.

  1. Launch Install Tool from your desktop PC by clicking on Start, Programs, Palm Desktop, Install Tool.
  2. Select your HotSync® username from the dropdown list next to the User: label.
  3. Click the Add... button and select the Anki_1.70_Installer.PRC file and any fonts and databases you wish to use.
  4. Click the Done button, then click the OK button when it appears.
  5. Make sure your HotSync cradle is plugged into your desktop computer, then put your handheld device into the cradle and push the HotSync button on the cradle.
  6. A dialog box should appear showing you the status of the installation procedure. When this dialog disapears, the installation is complete.


Basic Usage


Session Options

This screen will appear when you first launch Anki, and each time you start a new study session. From here you can select what type of session to begin and adjust various session parameters.

Session Options Screen

You can select either Flashcards or Multiple Choice from the Session Type popup list. For a multiple choice session, you can adjust the number of possible answers presented using the No. of Choices popup list. Raising this number will make the session more challenging.

For both types of sessions, you can also adjust the order that database terms are presented. Select Sequencial from the Card Order popup list to study terms in the same order they are stored in the database. Select Random to randomize the study order differently for each session.

Tapping the small circled 'i' icon in the top-right corner of the screen will display the help text for this screen.

When you are ready, tap the Begin Database Selection button to move to the next screen.


Database Selection

This screen allows you to choose the database you will to study during your new session.

Database Selection Screen

All the Anki databases installed on your device are listed. If you select one and tap the Info button, a paragraph of information about the selected database is displayed. This information usually includes a description of the contents of the database, and who created it.

After you've selected the database you want, tap the Next button. You can also tap the Prev button to go back to the Session Options Screen.


Category Selection

During the category selection process you can narrow down the categories of terms you will study during your new session.

Category Selection Screen

There may be multiple screens worth of categories for a particular database. Each database contains its own unique list of categories. You can select one or more categories from each screen.

When you are ready, tap the Next button to move forward. You can also tap the button to go back to the Database Selection Screen.


Attribute Selection

This screen varies slightly depending on your session type. For flashcard sessions, you will first choose which attributes will appear on the front of each flashcard, then which attributes will appear on the back. You may select as many attributes as you wish, but you must select at least one for each side of the flashcard.

Attribute Selection Screen    Attribute Selection Screen

For multiple choice sessions, you will first choose which attribute will be asked as a question, and then which attribute will be shown as possible answers. You can only select one attribute for the question and one attribute for the answers.

When you have made your selections, tap Next and then Done to begin your session. You can also tap the Prev button to go back to the Category Selection Screen.


Flashcard Sessions

During a flashcard session, first the front of each flashcard is shown, then the back.

Flashcard Session Flashcard Session

While the front of the flashcard is showing, you can show the back of the flashcard, go back to the previous flashcard, start a new session, or show the Hint Dialog. To show the back of the flashcard, either tap the center of the screen, or push the page down button on your device. To go back to the previous card, push the page up button.

When the sketchpad is enabled (see Preferences), you can draw on the lower half of the screen. Tap on the Clear button in the lower left corner to erase the contents of the sketchpad region.

To start a new session, tap on the New Session button (looks like a star pattern) in the lower left corner of the screen. A dialog will pop up confirming that you wish to abandon the current session. Tapping OK will then bring you back to the Session Options Screen.

To open the Hint Dialog, tap the Hint button (looks like a question mark) to the right of the New Session button. The Hint Dialog shows you all the attributes associated with the current term. This is useful if you wish to see additional information about the current term which is not displayed on the flashcard.

Hint Dialog

You can also see a status indicator to the right of the Hint button. The first number tells you which card you are currently viewing, and the second number tells you how many cards are in the current deck. For example, the text 45/90 means that you are viewing card number 45 in a deck of 90 flashcards.

You can mark the current card for later study by tapping the checkbox in the lower-right corner of the screen or by pressing the notepad button. Uncheck the checkbox to unmark the current card. After you have marked one or more cards, if you start a new session, a "Marked Terms" category will appear in the Category Selection Screen for the current database. Selecting this category will display cards that have been marked.

If 'Enable 'Wrong' button' is checked off in the Preferences Dialog, then the Wrong button will appear at the bottom on the back of each flashcard. Tap the Wrong button or press the todo button to indicate that you did not know the information on the current flashcard. This will affect the Accuracy metric displayed in the Statistics Screen. Advancing to the next flashcard without tapping the Wrong button indicates that you did know the information.

If there is too much information to be displayed on the screen at one time, up and down arrows will appear at the lower right of the screen. Tap on them to scroll the visible text downwards or upwards.

When you have viewed all the cards in your current deck, the Statistics Screen will be automatically displayed, so you can review the results of your session. From that screen you will be able to either replay the session you just completed, or start setting up a new session.


Multiple Choice Sessions

During a multiple choice session, the current question is displayed at the top of the screen, followed by a horizontal bar, then a list of possible answers to the question.

Multiple Choice Session

You must select the correct answer from the answer list in order to advance to the next question. If you tap on the wrong answer, an 'X' will briefly flash over the incorrect answer button. If you tap on the correct answer, the next question in the list will be shown.

You can also start a new session or display the Hint Dialog. To start a new sesion, tap the New Session button (looks like a star pattern) in the lower left corner of the screen. A dialog will pop up confirming that you wish to abandon the current session, and tapping OK will bring you back to the Session Options Screen.

To pop up the Hint Dialog, tap the Hint button (looks like a question mark) to the right of the New Session button. The Hint Dialog shows all the attributes associated with the current term. This is useful if you wish to see information about the current term not displayed in the multiple choice question.

If there are too many answers to be displayed on the screen at once, up and down arrows will appear in the lower right corner of the screen. Tap these to scroll the answer choices up and down.

When you have answered the final question in the session, the Statistics Screen will automatically come up, so you can review the results of your completed session. From there you can either replay the last session, or start setting up a new session.


The Options Menu

You can bring up the Options Menu at any time while running Anki. To do so, either tap on the title bar (in OS 4.0 or higher, if the screen has a title bar), or tap the Menu button (usually the lower left of the silk screen). The Options Menu will then appear, and you can select one of the options described below.

In addition, during flashcard sessions, the Unmark All Session Terms item will also be visible in the menu. Selecting this item will unmark every term in the current session. If you wish to unmark every term in an entire database, start a new session and select all categories before selecting this item.


Beaming

Selecting the Beam... item from the Options Menu will bring up the Beam Screen.

Beam Screen

From this screen you can beam any of the fonts or databases you have installed on your device to another device. When the Database pushbutton is highlighted, the list displays the databases you have installed. Select a database and then tap the Beam button to initiate a beam transfer to a nearby device.


Deleting

Selecting the Delete... item from the Options Menu will bring up the Delete Screen.

Delete Screen

This screen is similar to the Beam Screen, except that the Beam button is replaced by a Delete button. Use the Database and Font pushbuttons to toggle between the database and font lists, then select the database or font you wish to delete and tap the Delete button. A dialog will pop up to confirm the operation, and when you tap OK the selected database or font will be deleted from your device. Tap the Done button to return to the previous screen.


Preferences

Select the Preferences item from the Options Menu to pop up the Preferences Dialog.

Preferences Dialog

This dialog lets you adjust the display options for your session. Check the Enable 'Wrong' button item to show the Wrong button on the back of each flashcard during flashcard sessions (see Flashcard Sessions). Check the Enable sketchpad item to show the sketchpad region during flashcard sessions. Check the Word wrap if possible item if you want Anki to attempt to word wrap text. This should usually be turned on. Use the Font size popup list to adjust the text size during sessions. Small and large text sizes are available. Tap the OK button when you are done to return to the previous screen.


Statistics

Selecting the Statistics item from the Options Menu will bring up the Statistics Screen.

Statistics Screen

This screen shows information about your current or last session, and about all the sessions you have completed. When the Current Session or Last Session pushbuttons are highlighted, information about the current or last session is displayed. If the Wrong button was enabled during the session, then the Accuracy label will be visible. The first number after the Accuracy label is the number of flashcards you knew/questions you got right, the second number is the total number of flashcards you've seen/questions you've answered, and the final number is the percentage of flashcards you knew/questions you got right. For example, the text '5 of 10 (50%)' means that you've answered 5 out of the last 10 questions correctly, for a total of 50% accuracy. Use these numbers to gauge how well you know the study material. The number after the Time Spent label indicates how many minutes you have been working on the current or last session.

When the Overall pushbutton is highlighted, the information displayed pertains to all the sessions you have completed. Total Sessions tells you how many sessions you have completed, and Accuracy and Time Spent give you your overall accuracy and total time spent during Anki sessions, in a similar manner to the current/last session info.

Tap the OK button when you are done to return to the previous screen.


Getting Additional Information

If you need additional information about the Anki software product, first check the support documentation at http://www.anki.com/support.html. If you cannot find an answer to your question, then e-mail customer support at support@anki.com.


Copyright (c) 2007 Copera, Inc.
All rights reserved.
The latest version of this document can be found at http://www.anki.com/support.html.