how to turn off cards in anki

3 min read 23-01-2025

Anki, the popular flashcard application, offers powerful features for learning and memorization. Sometimes, however, you might want to temporarily disable certain cards or entire decks. This article will guide you through various methods to turn off cards in Anki, ensuring a smoother and more focused learning experience. Whether you need a break from a particularly challenging deck or want to focus on specific material, we'll show you how to manage your card visibility effectively.

Understanding Card States in Anki

Before diving into methods for turning off cards, it's helpful to understand Anki's card states:

New: Cards you haven't yet reviewed.
Learning: Cards undergoing initial learning steps.
Review: Cards due for review based on your learning schedule.
Suspended: Cards temporarily hidden from your review queue. This is essentially how we "turn off" cards.
Learning Again: Cards that need to be relearned from the beginning.

We'll primarily focus on suspending cards as the most effective way to temporarily disable them.

Methods to Turn Off Cards in Anki

Here are several ways to manage the visibility of your Anki cards:

1. Suspending Individual Cards

This is the most precise method for temporarily disabling specific cards:

Browse your cards: Navigate to the deck containing the card you want to disable.
Select the card: Find the card and click on it to open it.
Suspend the card: In the card's editor, you'll find an option to suspend it. The exact location might vary slightly depending on your Anki version but generally involves buttons or a menu related to the card's status. Click to suspend. The card will now disappear from your reviews until you unsuspend it.

2. Suspending Cards Based on Tags

If you've tagged cards (e.g., "Difficult," "Review Later"), you can suspend them based on these tags:

Open the deck: Access the deck with the tagged cards.
Use the "Browse" function: Anki's Browse feature lets you filter cards based on various criteria, including tags.
Filter by tag: Select the relevant tag.
Suspend selected cards: Once you've filtered the cards, select them all and use the "Suspend" function.

3. Temporarily Hiding Entire Decks

To completely remove a deck from your review schedule, you can:

Navigate to the deck: Locate the deck you want to temporarily disable.
Modify deck options: Look for options related to deck visibility or scheduling. Many users find that adjusting the scheduling options (such as setting the review interval very far into the future) effectively removes the deck from immediate review without needing a suspend function.
Temporarily disable the deck: Choose an option that essentially hides the deck from your review queue. Again, precise options might vary with Anki versions.

4. Using Anki Add-ons for More Control

Several Anki add-ons provide even finer control over card visibility and scheduling:

Search and filter: Numerous add-ons enhance Anki's built-in search and filtering capabilities, allowing more complex suspension strategies.
Customizable card filtering: Advanced add-ons offer more granular control, enabling you to suspend cards based on complex criteria.
Deck management tools: Some add-ons provide more efficient ways to manage entire decks, simplifying the process of temporarily disabling large groups of cards.

Unsuspending Cards

Once you're ready to re-incorporate suspended cards into your reviews, simply follow these steps:

Access the suspended cards: Anki usually provides a section to view your suspended cards. This might be within the deck's options or a separate area in the Anki interface.
Unsuspend: Select the cards you wish to unsuspend and choose the “Unsuspend” option. Your cards will then return to your regular review schedule.

Conclusion

Managing card visibility in Anki is crucial for an effective learning process. By using these methods, you can maintain a focused study routine and efficiently handle challenging material. Remember to explore Anki's add-ons to further customize your card management and tailor your learning experience to your needs. Learning how to effectively turn off cards allows you to optimize your Anki workflow and achieve your learning goals more efficiently.