The Price
For the last four and a half years, I have invested thousands of hours on making a robust, powerful cross platform desktop application freely available. What started as a hobby has grown into a full time job. Some kind people have donated to the project, but sadly donations are not enough to live on. So I created this app to raise money for the Anki project, while also making something people wanted.
Taken alone, AnkiMobile is expensive for an app. However, AnkiMobile is not a standalone app, but part of an ecosystem, and the $17.50 Apple gives me on each sale goes towards the development of that whole ecosystem. For the price, you get not only the app, but a powerful desktop application, a free online synchronization service, and mobile clients for various platforms. The desktop application is open source, which is essential for ensuring you won’t get locked out in the future. If I’m ever run over by a bus, somebody else could take over development, and the content of your cards and your learning history is in an open format which makes it easy to move into a different learning system if you choose.
That said, if you don’t have much experience with Anki, or study infrequently, you may find the learning curve to be steep initially. For serious studiers the initial setup is definitely worth it - when you’re looking at studying material for months or years, Anki’s proven algorithms, cross platform support, and open file format are essential for ensuring the integrity of your studies regardless of which device or program you choose to use in the future. But if you’re just looking to review a few questions before a test, and don’t care much about the long term, you may be better off with a cheaper alternative.
Getting Started
The free Desktop Application will let you get the most out of this app. In it you can download shared decks, then upload them to your private space on AnkiWeb, so that they can be downloaded by AnkiMobile.
To learn about the basics of Anki, and downloading shared decks, please see:
See the section below for how to move decks to and from your device via iTunes. But if you regularly want to copy decks back and forth, or your device has iOS3.1 or earlier, then you’ll need to set up syncing via AnkiWeb. Please see this video:
Putting decks on your device
AnkiMobile allows you to transfer decks to and from your device via iTunes. This is supported on all devices running iOS3.2 or above, so if you are still on iOS3.1 you won’t be able to use this feature.
Copying via iTunes is the easiest way to get started. If you plan to use Anki on multiple devices, you will probably want to set up AnkiWeb too, as copying files back and forth via iTunes can become cumbersome if you need to do it regularly, and AnkiWeb also functions as a backup.
Copying decks to the phone
First, close the desktop client if you have it open, and locate your decks. They are usually stored in an Anki folder, inside your documents folder.
After opening iTunes and your device, navigate to the "Apps" tab of your device. If you scroll down you should see a file-sharing area, and AnkiMobile listed there. To copy decks to your device, simply drag them from your computer into the iTunes file-sharing area. Please make sure the desktop Anki is closed first though, or your decks may become corrupted. After you’ve copied the decks to iTunes, click the Add/Export button in AnkiMobile, and choose to import from iTunes.
Zip importing doesn’t support foreign characters, so if your decks or media files have foreign characters in them, you’ll either need to use AnkiWeb to get them on your device, or rename them to use the standard alphabet. A fix for this is planned.
If you decks contain media, there will be a .media folder in the same place your deck is saved (by default, in your Documents folder). To get this onto your device, you need to save it in a .zip file. For instructions on making a zip file:
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If you’re on Windows, see http://www.ehow.com/how_4744996_create-zip-file-windows-xp.html
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If you’re on OSX, see http://www.apple.com/uk/pro/tips/zip.html
Note that in both cases you should select your media folder, not the files inside it.
You can also add the .anki deck to the zip file if you wish, and you can add multiple decks & media folders to a single zip file. So if you have 10 decks with media, you can zip them up into a single file, and drag that onto iTunes.
Copying to your computer
To get decks back to your computer:
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Open AnkiMobile and return to the decks list if you’re not there already
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Click "Add/Export"
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Click "Export to iTunes"
In the export decks screen, you can choose if you want to export media too, and you have a choice of exporting all decks, or an individual deck. Once you have exported the deck(s), they will become visible in the iTunes file-sharing area.
Please note that the decks will stay in the iTunes file sharing area until you manually delete them. If you accidentally import them again, you could overwrite a newer version of your deck, so it’s recommended you delete them immediately after copying them to your computer.
Upcoming Releases
Once you buy the app, all upgrades are available for free.
Update Feb 2012: Most of 2011 was spent working towards a 2.0 release of Anki, with improved usability, two-way syncing including media, and various other features. As that is nearing beta now, work has begun on porting the changes to AnkiMobile. The plan is to release a new AnkiMobile at the same time as the final version of 2.0, which at this stage looks to be in Q2 2012. While a beta of the new AnkiMobile is not ready yet, if you’d like to preview all the coming changes, please check out the desktop version on the users forum.
1.8 was approved by Apple on 2011-02-11. It is primarily a bugfix release. Changes:
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Fix errors some people experienced when loading the deck or answering cards, and prevent similar errors from being possible in the future.
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Check for the start of a new day when answering cards.
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Fix for cramming when max failed is set to 0.
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Updated tap handling, which should ensure that taping links won’t show the answer, and which stops the screen turning grey when tapping at the far edges.
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In Japanese decks, audio is no longer rendered as furigana if it’s sitting next to other text without a space.
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Updated sibling card handling to match the desktop 1.2.6.
1.7 was approved by Apple on 2011-01-29. It is primarily a bugfix release. Changes:
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Fixed various problems with cram mode.
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Fixed problems when using "show only" and "hide" together in selective study screen.
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The selective study screen also has a new button that allows you to control whether you’re operating on new cards, reviews, or both categories at once.
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Selective study now applies to review early as well.
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Fixed cards appearing twice after a leech was suspended.
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Fixed erroneous reporting of hidden/delayed cards.
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Fixed one too many new cards being shown under certain circumstances.
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Fixed opening of help windows when memory is low.
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Make sure the navigation bar is shown when editing lookup links.
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When the deck is finished, returning from the study options screen will now show the right buttons.
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Make sure there’s a cancel button on the timeboxing complete message on iPads.
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Adding/editing now updates the field cache, so that the added/edited cards can be searched for in the desktop Anki card browser without a DB check.
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Fixed the sync log resizing text on rotate.
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If DropBox is having issues, report as such instead of saying that a media file is missing.
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If force portrait is enabled and device is not an iPad, don’t allow upside-down rotation.
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Fixed spaces between words disappearing in certain circumstances.
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Fixed problems related to the mature bonus feature.
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When downloading decks from AnkiWeb, ensure they have syncing enabled.
1.6 was approved by Apple on 2011-01-12. It brings full compatibility with the new version of Anki for computers. A lot has changed behind the scenes including scheduling cards per-day by default, and easier media handling, so please read the changelog of the desktop program before upgrading AnkiMobile so there are no surprises.
1.6 will upgrade your decks, but it can take a long time on older devices and won’t be able to deal with the changes to media syncing or LaTeX, so you may find it easier to upgrade your decks with the desktop client and then copy them over to AnkiMobile. If you are using LaTeX on your cards, please don’t upgrade while away from your computer, as the LaTeX cache needs to be rebuilt using the desktop program.
Changes:
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Full compatibility with the 1.2 desktop client
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Much faster & flexible changing of active/inactive tags
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Study options screen like on the desktop, including timeboxing
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Stability improvements
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Support for dictionary lookups in other apps
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Add photos to your cards via the camera or photo gallery
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Add sound to your cards via the microphone
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Support for embedding mp4 video in cards
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Preview mode to see what edited cards look like, and listen to audio/see pictures
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Syncing configurable on per-deck basis
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Sync button now turns red when local changes need to be synced
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Force landscape option
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Cram mode now supports configurable ordering
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Mark & suspend options now toggle
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Tags are stripped of leading/trailing whitespace
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modelTags and cardModel replacements in your template now supported
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Sped up syncing
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Option to disable type in answer support
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Like desktop 1.2, cards are scheduled per-day by default
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Importing via iTunes now happens via a button in the bottom left, instead of happening automatically which could lead to accidentally overwritten decks.
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Cramming is significantly faster now
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Fixed an issue with type in the answer showing HTML code
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Fixed sounds not playing when type in the answer mode enabled
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Fixed an issue with missing due dates in the desktop client for cards added via AnkiMobile
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Various other fixes
1.5 was approved by Apple on 2010-09-25. Changes:
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Native, full-screen iPad support
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Ability to import/export decks and media through iTunes for people on iOS3.2 or later, so AnkiWeb is now optional
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Searching for cards
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"Inactive tags" action to toggle active card categories
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Cram mode to review/browse all cards with a given tag outside of the normal scheduler
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All the desktop client’s deck statistics viewable from the tools screen
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"Type in the answer" support (enable with the desktop client)
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Fixed a bug where Anki or the whole device would crash when downloading large amounts of data
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Easier to grab font scale slider
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Ability to delete cards & facts
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You can now perform various actions while editing a card
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Debouncing to prevent accidental double taps
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Fix issues with the deck list order being messed up after a deck delete
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Fix big buttons covering the bottom of a card
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iPads have a separate font scale configuration, so you can use the app easily on an iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch at the same time
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Fix for new cards being shown when they shouldn’t be
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Much faster tag updates (mark, leech)
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Ignore blank fields when checking if a fact is unique
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Don’t add duplicate marked tags
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Other bug fixes
1.4 was approved by Apple on 2010-08-09. Changes:
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Support for adding new cards within the app (searching is coming in the next release)
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A number of crashes fixed
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Full sync upload support
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Sync conflict detection
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More UI polish
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New option to check deck counts after sync/download
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Disable tap to hide top bar by default, as it’s confusing to new users
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Fix failed card counts being off
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Fix one too many new cards being shown when "show new cards last" on
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Fix card counts fluctuating in subsequent refreshes
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Check if clock is incorrect before syncing
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All actions are now accessible from the tools screen
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New default tool buttons
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Ensure required/unique fields are ok before adding/editing
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New high-res icons for iPhone4
1.3 was approved by Apple on 2010-07-13. Changes:
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OS4 multitasking support
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OS4-related bugfixes
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"Edit current card" feature. Enable by assigning "edit" to a quick button, tool button or swipe. Support for adding new cards will come in the next release.
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Leech detection and suspension
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Option to pinch to zoom text
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Option to load last deck
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Show due counts in deck browser
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Show warning when local changes should be synced
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Suspend fact
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Tags now sorted alphabetically when marking/editing
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Don’t mark deck modified in finish screen
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Hide status bar in landscape mode, too
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Option for bigger buttons
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Options reworded to be easier to read
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Precaching fixed for case when question shown when displaying answer
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Honour card spacing so that related cards are not shown together
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Bigger, more legible fonts in the bottom bar & answer buttons
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Fixes for congrats screen being shown when new cards or failed cards shown last
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Mark and Suspend
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Prettier card info
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Prevent gestures while copying text
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Unload deck on delete
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Various minor bugfixes
1.2 was approved by Apple on 2010-06-19. Changes:
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the next card is now preloaded, so both text and images are displayed instantly
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you can now tap the right side of the screen to use the default answer, and the left side of the screen to answer "again"
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configurable taps
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configurable swipe gestures
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configurable tool buttons
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visual feedback for the answer level you chose
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answer buttons replaced with smaller answer strip
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top area which displayed remaining card count moved down to the bottom
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daily correct/failed counts now displayed
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support embedded fonts - see "advanced" on the support page for more info
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prettier progress windows
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smaller furigana
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fix marking lowercasing tags
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fix suspended cards being unsuspended
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new "replay all audio" button
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option to hide audio buttons on card
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support furiganaType 3, so you can choose tooltips if you wish for Japanese text
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use icons for navigation links
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option to show again/hard/good etc instead of next times
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option to hide the labels completely
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option to hide remaining card counts
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option to hide daily pass/fail counts
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option to center the text in the middle of the screen (defaults to on)
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option to disable media downloads
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option to force portrait
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support for hiding the question when showing answer
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fix downloads with large number of media
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play sound on sync/download finish (can turn off)
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option to disable sync on cell phone warning
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configurable shake action
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allow music to keep playing in the background
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option to disable audio autoplay
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various visual tweaks to make the app look nicer
Media
The easiest way to copy media (sounds/images) to your device is via iTunes. To do that, please see the getting started instructions above.
AnkiWeb
If you don’t use iTunes to copy your decks, downloading and syncing decks is done through AnkiWeb, which continues to remain free. In the future I will look into offering paid accounts for AnkiWeb for larger decks, but I will make sure a personal sync server is available before I do that, so you won’t be locked into AnkiWeb.
Known Issues
iOS5 issues
There are two known issues with iOS 5:
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The quickbar expands a pixel to the right each time the device is tilted from portrait to landscape or vice versa
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With answers that take up more than a screen, the tap zones may not work properly
For now, it is possible to work around the first issue by restarting the app. Please return to the home screen then see this page for information on how to restart AnkiMobile.
Unfortunately I’m not able to release a new version at the moment, due to major issues with the toolkit AnkiMobile was built on. The version of the toolkit that the current AnkiMobile uses no longer works, due to changes in Apple’s policies. There are newer versions of the toolkit available, but in beta testing it was found that they introduced major problems - AnkiMobile would crash frequently and windows would fail to appear. I had an expensive support contract with the toolkit company, but they were completely useless, and I eventually decided it’s better to leave these bugs for now than introduce bigger ones. It’s extremely frustrating not being able to push out an update, as I had also fixed some other issues and that work has now gone to waste.
In order to avoid this situation in the future, the next version of AnkiMobile is dropping the toolkit and being rewritten from scratch. As Anki 2 is not far off either, the rewrite is being based off the Anki 2 code. For more information on a release date, please see the "upcoming releases" section.
"Server failed" messages
If you’re getting errors when syncing, you are probably running an older version. Please upgrade by visiting the app store and downloading the free update.
One other cause can be an incorrect username or password, which is not being reportedly correctly at the moment. Please try typing in your username and password again.
Exporting Media
When you use the camera, recorder or photo picker functions, media is added locally. The only way to copy that media to other devices at the moment is via an iTunes export, so if you don’t have iOS3.2+, the media can’t be shared to other devices at the moment. This will be addressed in a future release.
Fonts
The fonts that appear on your device will depend on the language order in your system preferences. For example, if you are studying Chinese on a new iPod touch, the characters may come up in a Japanese font instead. To fix this, switch your device to the Chinese language, and then back to English. Chinese will be set at a higher priority, and the characters should come out as hanzi instead of kanji after that.
Have a suggestion?
Please add and vote for your favourite features on http://ankimobile.uservoice.com/
Bug to report?
Please post on the Anki forum: http://groups.google.com/group/ankisrs?hl=en_US
Advanced
For information on dictionary lookups and hint fields, please see the desktop FAQ, as the same information applies to the desktop version.
Custom CSS
You can add custom CSS to your decks. Download a program called sqlitebrowser, and run it on your deck. Locate the deckVars table, and add a new row with a key of mobileCSS and a value of the CSS you want to use. For example, to hide the divider, you could use "hr { visibility: hidden; }"
If you’re on Linux, you can use the command line program like so:
$ sqlite3 mydeck.anki
sqlite> insert into deckVars values ('mobileCSS', 'hr { visibility: hidden; }');
Other useful things you can do are change the padding or add a border to the "html" tag, add a background image, and so on.
Tweak furigana
Like the desktop, you can change how furigana is displayed. Note that unlike the desktop, furigana is looked for in all fields, not just the expression.
There is another deck variable called furiganaType, which can be set from 1-3. It controls how the question is displayed. See the custom CSS section above for information on setting deck variables.
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1 is the default, and hides any kanji, showing only the kana.
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2 shows both
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3 shows only the kanji, and will show the furigana in a pop up when you tap on it. Make sure to move your finger as you tap (scrolling the document), or your tap will register as a card answer.
Custom fonts
It is possible to use custom fonts provided they are small enough. See EmbeddingFonts.
Scratchpad/writing pad
In the Anki desktop program, File>Download>Shared Plugin, then search for "embed scratchpad".
Dictionary lookups
It’s possible to lookup words in online dictionaries and other apps provided they support it. For more information, with a deck open, click the gears, then all actions, lookup, edit links, and edit any of the entries. You can then click the (i) for documentation.