Question about flashcards!

[daxia]

Hi!
I have previously been using skritter for my "flashcard needs", but since they don't support android anymore, I have bought pleco flashcards. I have been trying to learn and configure this new tool, and so far I am pretty happy.

BUT....

I have 2 questions, that I can't figure out the answers to.

1. I use the "fill in the blanks" option the most, i.e. showing pinyin and translation and being asked to write the character in the empty boxes. I use the normal pleco writing tool. So I press the empty box, putting the marker there and start writing my character. As I write the character, it automatically appears in the empty box above, but it only "registers" as an answer after I chose a character from the character bar down below, although the finished character has already been written correctly in the box. This is not the whole world, but it is annoying and it is an extra seemingly unnecessary "click". Is there any way to just remove that annoying "character bar" down below? There is another reason for me wanting it to be removed, and that is because it's possible to cheat from it. Sometimes when you have not written the character properly, it still appears in the bar below since it was close enough to be resembling to the correct answer. Please tell me its possible to remove this "cheat bar".

2. Is it possible to keep repeating the same card until you get it right, and not being able to progress to the next one until you have wrote it correctly at least once (but still not having it counted as a correct answer)? This would be a lot more effective in terms of learning the characters you have a hard time with. What I mean is this, lets say I cant write the character, so I click "done" to see the answer, since I did not get it correct, it counts as a wrong. Now, the answer disappears and I am prompted to write the character again to be able to progress. I still don't get it right, click done to see the answer, and the 3:rd time I finally get it and can progress to the next card. However, although I finally managed to write the card, it does not count as a "correct answer" since I did not get it right from the beginning.

Thanks a bunch in advance!!!!

/Daniel

 

[scykei]

1) Well, that's probably an impossible request. You need some way of confirming what you have written, right? The input doesn't know when you have finished. The handwriting input will give you a few characters which it thinks you wrote, with the most probable one being the first. Unless you know how the character is written, I don't think it is likely to appear in your 'cheat bar'. If you want a quick way to input the first choice, use two fingers to tap the writing box.

2) There is a better system already implemented. Instead of looping the incorrect cards immediately, you can choose to have it redisplay those cards that you got wrong again after the whole session so you don't get it right merely because of your short term memory. To enable this, turn on the toggle at Flashcards > Flashcard Testing > Commands > Repeat Incorrect. Also toggle the Loop switch to keep repeating until you get it right, and Shuffle so that it doesn't always come in the same order.

 

[Wan]

1. I use the "fill in the blanks" option the most, i.e. showing pinyin and translation and being asked to write the character in the empty boxes. I use the normal pleco writing tool. So I press the empty box, putting the marker there and start writing my character. As I write the character, it automatically appears in the empty box above, but it only "registers" as an answer after I chose a character from the character bar down below, although the finished character has already been written correctly in the box. This is not the whole world, but it is annoying and it is an extra seemingly unnecessary "click". Is there any way to just remove that annoying "character bar" down below? There is another reason for me wanting it to be removed, and that is because it's possible to cheat from it. Sometimes when you have not written the character properly, it still appears in the bar below since it was close enough to be resembling to the correct answer. Please tell me its possible to remove this "cheat bar".

I’m sure there was a HWR delay option in the WM version of Pleco, that would make the recognition engine wait a specific amount of time (say, 1/4sec or 1/2sec) before analyzing your input. But that was to avoid having to tap the zi button, iIrc.
Now, HWR works instantly by default, but maybe the option still exists?

 

[mikelove]

1. I use the "fill in the blanks" option the most, i.e. showing pinyin and translation and being asked to write the character in the empty boxes. I use the normal pleco writing tool. So I press the empty box, putting the marker there and start writing my character. As I write the character, it automatically appears in the empty box above, but it only "registers" as an answer after I chose a character from the character bar down below, although the finished character has already been written correctly in the box. This is not the whole world, but it is annoying and it is an extra seemingly unnecessary "click". Is there any way to just remove that annoying "character bar" down below? There is another reason for me wanting it to be removed, and that is because it's possible to cheat from it. Sometimes when you have not written the character properly, it still appears in the bar below since it was close enough to be resembling to the correct answer. Please tell me its possible to remove this "cheat bar".

Not possible at the moment - honestly the idea here is not to prompt you to draw the character exactly from memory like Skritter, but rather for you to recall the character well enough to write and then recognize it, which is about how well you'd need to recall it if you were going to enter it on a computer or smartphone keyboard. (better, actually, on that you'd only need the Pinyin) You don't need that extra tap in the bottom bar, though, just tap in the drawing area with two fingers and that'll enter the first character choice and advance you to the next one.

2. Is it possible to keep repeating the same card until you get it right, and not being able to progress to the next one until you have wrote it correctly at least once (but still not having it counted as a correct answer)? This would be a lot more effective in terms of learning the characters you have a hard time with. What I mean is this, lets say I cant write the character, so I click "done" to see the answer, since I did not get it correct, it counts as a wrong. Now, the answer disappears and I am prompted to write the character again to be able to progress. I still don't get it right, click done to see the answer, and the 3:rd time I finally get it and can progress to the next card. However, although I finally managed to write the card, it does not count as a "correct answer" since I did not get it right from the beginning.

Not currently an option, again it wouldn't really fit with this type of test since once you've seen the character you're probably not going to forget it to such an extent that you can't get it to appear again.

Honestly, if you want something more like Skritter (as it seems like you do) I'd recommend keeping Skritter on your computer to practice character writing (which you might be happier doing with a graphic tablet anyway) and then using Pleco for everything else - vocabulary building and so forth. We've had a few requests for a Skritter-like writing test in Pleco, but fewer than for a number of similarly complicated flashcard enhancements (online sync, timed auto-advance), and it would be particularly difficult to justify in light of their offering a very successful iOS app. (sadly, the same economic incentives that have thus far dissuaded them from developing an Android version at all would probably also dissuade us from developing a complicated new feature like this primarily for Android users, particularly not when we have a good relationship with them on iOS - to the point of their integrating a link to our app in theirs - which might be jeopardized by our competing with them more directly)

I’m sure there was a HWR delay option in the WM version of Pleco, that would make the recognition engine wait a specific amount of time (say, 1/4sec or 1/2sec) before analyzing your input. But that was to avoid having to tap the zi button, iIrc.
Now, HWR works instantly by default, but maybe the option still exists?

Not on Android - we had it on iOS but nobody used it so we didn't bother bringing it to Android. Though we have had a few requests for an option to hide the character candidates (and then just confirm the first one when you do the two-finger tap), so we might implement that at least - that one we do have on iOS now.