Flashcard testing - limiting max number of cards

Hi - I purchased the bundle on the android app but noticed that the enhanced functionality for the testing took away one of the options to restrict the number of cards on each test which was available on the basic version (max number of cards under Basic Settings)

Maybe because the number of options have increased so I can't find it but I only saw the option to limit the max unlearned, which doesn't restrict the total number of cards on each test session. Is there a way to configure to only have a maximum number cards for each test session (ie only have a max of 30 cards show up)? That option seems to have disappeared after the new functionality upgraded.
 

mikelove

皇帝
Staff member
That option goes away when you choose SRS testing because instead you how have a set number of cards due on a particular day. If you switch to another card selection system it'll come back.

(this is a somewhat controversial design decision, but we feel like we'd be doing our users a disservice by giving them SRS and then letting them fall farther and farther behind schedule by not reviewing every card that's due)
 

pdwalker

状元
Besides, you can stop and restart your test at any time, as many times as you need until you chew through the overdue entries.
 
I see, understood. I know I can stop at any time but sometimes I can't review on a daily basis and the entries pile up. Personally I like to set the target number of entries and make myself feel finished for a session otherwise I feel like I can't catch up and I end up just rushing through all the entries without actually trying to think about it.

I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss something obvious in the settings. Appreciate the quick replies and explaining the decision.
 
I was wondering if it's possible to set a number of new cards that I want to learn per day on top of the cards that are due. For example, I have 1000 new words, but I don't want to see them all at once. I want to learn 10 each day. Is that possible? I can't seem to find an option, even after reading the instruction manual (which, by the way, could benefit from having more pictures in order to make it easier to understand).
 

pdwalker

状元
I was wondering if it's possible to set a number of new cards that I want to learn per day on top of the cards that are due. For example, I have 1000 new words, but I don't want to see them all at once. I want to learn 10 each day. Is that possible? I can't seem to find an option, even after reading the instruction manual (which, by the way, could benefit from having more pictures in order to make it easier to understand).

Limit new cards is a very useful option that lets you limit the pool of non-“learned” cards to a finite number; this keeps you from being overwhelmed by more new words than you can manage at a time, so if you add 8000 new flashcards to your database you won’t suddenly be expected to start memorizing all 8000 at the same time.

http://iphone.pleco.com/manual/30200/flash.html#limitunlearned
 

pdwalker

状元
I see, understood. I know I can stop at any time but sometimes I can't review on a daily basis and the entries pile up. Personally I like to set the target number of entries and make myself feel finished for a session otherwise I feel like I can't catch up and I end up just rushing through all the entries without actually trying to think about it.

I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss something obvious in the settings. Appreciate the quick replies and explaining the decision.

I know what you mean having faced that myself a few times.

I've observed the following:
- when I have a backlog, I just chew through them in groups of 20 to 40. That way my sessions aren't too long and I can do it several times per day. Even 5 spare minutes can help you get through your list fairly quickly.
- As you get better at remembering the characters, you get fewer and fewer backlogs, unless you are also adding in a lot of new characters.

Just stick with it and don't worry too much about it.

(How do you eat an elephant? one spoonful at a time)
 
Limit new cards is a very useful option that lets you limit the pool of non-“learned” cards to a finite number; this keeps you from being overwhelmed by more new words than you can manage at a time, so if you add 8000 new flashcards to your database you won’t suddenly be expected to start memorizing all 8000 at the same time.

http://iphone.pleco.com/manual/30200/flash.html#limitunlearned

Thanks for your reply. I have already used the Limit new cards option, but it doesn't appear to work with Spaced repetition. Ever since I started using these flashcards, I have set the limit to 10 new cards per day. However, every time I begin a new session using Spaced repetition, the only cards that appear are the ones that have been previously tested, no new cards appear. What I do, then, is I begin a new session using the Simple profile to "learn" 10 new cards, and then I switch back to Spaced Repetition, but obviously this isn't the correct way. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
 

mikelove

皇帝
Staff member
Hmm... you're sure it's per day and not total new cards? And are there some cards left to review (in your selected categories etc) that you haven't reviewed yet? If you turn off that limit new option do you start seeing new cards?
 
When I turned off the limit, I could see new cards, but if I had it on, I couldn't; that's what I found weird. I decided to just reinstall the app and the problem was solved. I guess it was just a small glitch.
 
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