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Flashcards

Syntax

Flashcards are special notes of type Flashcard using an additional syntax. The front and the back cards must be separated by ---.

Ex:

## Flashcard: GTD's creator


**Who** created GTD?


---


David Allen

Cloze Deletion

Cloze deletions are a powerful tool for creating fill-in-the-blank flashcards. To create a cloze deletion, wrap the text you want to hide in a mix of brackets and curly braces with a unique number:

## Flashcard: Cloze Deletion Syntax


A cloze deletion is rendering with an [{c1::hidden text}].

When studying this flashcard, hidden text will be hidden and revealed after answering the flashcard.

The NoteWriter uses the Anki syntax for cloze deletions except curly braces are inside brackets.

This mixed syntax avoids conflicts with wikilinks ([[...]]) and popular templating systems ({{...}}).

You can have multiple cloze deletions in a single note:

[{c1::Water}] boils at [{c2::100°C}] at sea level.

Two flashcards will be generated from this note ([{c1::Water}] boils at 100°C at sea level. and Water boils at [{c2::100°C}] at sea level).

You can also provide a hint:

Canberra was founded in [{c1::1913::year}].

The hint will be rendered to provide more context so that the expected answer is clear.

Algorithm

The algorithm is heavily inspired by Anki SM-2 variant. Under the hood, the feedback is stored as a number representing the confidence level, providing more flexibility to quickly bury a newly created flashcard you are already familiar with.

Special attributes can be defined on notes to tune the logic:

  • ease_factor (default: 2.5) defines the initial ease factor. The ease factor describes if a card is easy/hard and is used when evaluating the next interval. Use a smaller value for complex topics.
  • interest_factor (default: 1.0) defines your interest for the topic. We remember more easily when learning about topics we love. Use a smaller value for subjects that you find difficult to grasp.

Safe Updates

Flashcards are extracted like other notes when parsing a Markdown file. Unlike notes where the OID is randomly generated, the OID for flashcards is generated from the slug.

memory.md
## Flashcard: Method of Loci


What is the **origin** of the *Method of Loci*?


---


Originated in **ancient Greece** when poet **Simonides of Ceos** reportedly
identified banquet guests after a building collapse by recalling
where they had been seated.

By default, The NoteWriter generates a slug for every note (ex: memory-flashcard-method-of-loci). When a Markdown file is edited, The NoteWriter will parse the new file and tries to find an existing, matching note in the database by searching for a note with the same slug.

When the content of a note is heavily edited, the implicit slug will change. A new note will be created and the old one will be garbage-collected.

For flashcards, it’s interesting to be more explicit and declare the attribute slug explicitely:

memory.md
## Flashcard: Method of Loci


`@slug: flashcard_method-of-loci-history`


What is the **origin** of the *Method of Loci*?


---


Originated in **ancient Greece** when poet **Simonides of Ceos** reportedly
identified banquet guests after a building collapse by recalling
where they had been seated.

As long as the slug is not updated, a flashcard will be retrieved successfully when editing its content and the history of study sessions will be preserved.