diff --git a/docs/tutorial.md b/docs/tutorial.md index e85fac9..93b0ad1 100644 --- a/docs/tutorial.md +++ b/docs/tutorial.md @@ -120,68 +120,92 @@ Since the tool is experimental, it is better to use your intuition to come up wi # FAQ -Q1: Does FSRS change the way the card's ease changes? +Q1: Which platforms support FSRS? -A1: Anki's built-in ease factor doesn't affect anything once FSRS is enabled. This is also why a lot of settings, such as Starting Ease, are hidden once FSRS is enabled. +A1: As of December 2023, FSRS is supported in the desktop version (Windows, Mac, and Linux), in AnkiWeb (browser version), and in AnkiMobile (iOS). AnkiDroid (Android) doesn't support FSRS yet, but you can use FSRS if you switch to the alpha version. + +If you are using AnkiDroid and don't want to use the alpha version, you can enable the "auto-reschedule after sync" option in the FSRS helper add-on on your Desktop. This way, when you sync your reviews from AnkiDroid to Desktop, they would be automatically rescheduled according to the FSRS algorithm. For best results, it is recommended to sync the reviews daily. Keep in mind that if you use this option, you will need to make a full sync from AnkiWeb once you update to the new version of AnkiDroid with built-in FSRS. *** -Q2: Once I started using FSRS on my existing deck, if I ever wanted to go back to using Anki's built-in algorithm for the same deck, would that still be possible? +Q2: Does FSRS change the way the card's ease changes? -A2: Yes, just turn FSRS off. +A2: Anki's built-in ease factor doesn't affect anything once FSRS is enabled. This is also why a lot of settings, such as Starting Ease, are hidden once FSRS is enabled. *** -Q3: I'm sure I have >1000 reviews, yet when I try to optimize parameters for my preset, I get an error telling me that I don't have enough reviews. Is that a bug? +Q3: Once I started using FSRS on my existing deck, if I ever wanted to go back to using Anki's built-in algorithm for the same deck, would that still be possible? -A3: FSRS only takes into account one review per day. If you review a card multiple times per day, only the chronologically first review will be used by the optimizer. +A3: Yes, just turn FSRS off. However, the intervals will not change after turning off FSRS. *** -Q4: My first interval for "Easy" is too long! Is this normal? +Q4: I'm sure I have >1000 reviews, yet when I try to optimize parameters for my preset, I get an error telling me that I don't have enough reviews. Is that a bug? + +A4: FSRS only takes into account one review per day. If you review a card multiple times per day, only the chronologically first review will be used by the optimizer. Also, if your deck has subdecks, ensure that the preset is also applied to the subdecks, not just to the parent deck. + +*** + +Q5: My first interval is too long! Is this normal? + +A5: In short, giving long first intervals is one of the strengths of FSRS. Don't be surprised if your first interval for "Good" is close to a week and your first interval for "Easy" is several weeks long. Read further for a deeper explanation: + +For many users, the default algorithm (SM-2) tends to show new cards at unnecessarily short intervals. So, when users switch to FSRS, they tend to feel that the intervals given to new cards are too large. But these larger intervals match the desired retention better. By using these larger intervals, FSRS can prevent many of the unnecessary reviews that happen when using SM-2. So, it is advisable to try using these larger first intervals for a few days and see how it goes. It's worth mentioning that for mature cards, the opposite is true: FSRS is more conservative than SM-2. -A4: Yes. Anki tends to give very short first intervals. Don't be surprised if your first interval for "Good" is 5-7 days and your first interval for "Easy" is several weeks long. +If you still want to decrease the intervals, you can increase your desired retention. But note that this will decrease all the intervals, not just the first intervals. *** -Q5: Suppose I have a parent deck with its own preset, and each subdeck has a different preset. When I click on the parent deck to review a card that came from a subdeck, will the parameters of the preset of the parent deck be applied to the card, or the parameters of the preset of the subdeck that this card came from? +Q6: Suppose I have a parent deck with its own preset, and each subdeck has a different preset. When I click on the parent deck to review a card that came from a subdeck, will the parameters of the preset of the parent deck be applied to the card, or the parameters of the preset of the subdeck that this card came from? -A5: The latter. Simply put, if you have something like ParentDeck::SubDeck, and the card came from the subdeck, the parameters of the preset corresponding to the subdeck will be applied. +A6: The latter. Simply put, if you have something like ParentDeck::SubDeck, and the card came from the subdeck, the parameters of the preset corresponding to the subdeck will be applied. *** -Q6: I only use "Again" and "Good", will FSRS work fine? +Q7: I only use "Again" and "Good", will FSRS work fine? -A6: Yes. In fact, FSRS is actually more accurate for people who rarely use "Hard" and "Easy" than for people who use all 4 buttons a lot. However, this doesn't mean that you should change your habits. Keep using the buttons the same way as before. +A7: Yes. In fact, FSRS is actually more accurate for people who rarely use "Hard" and "Easy" than for people who use all 4 buttons a lot. + +Also, unlike SM-2, FSRS doesn't suffer from the problem of "Ease Hell". This problem is solved by mean reversion of difficulty. If you press good continuously, the difficulty will converge to $D_0(3)$. For more details, read [The Algorithm](https://github.com/open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki/wiki/The-Algorithm). + +However, note that you should not change your rating habits. This is because FSRS uses your past rating history to determine optimal intervals for your future reviews. *** -Q7: How can I confirm that FSRS is working? +Q8: How can I grade the card to make FSRS more effective? + +A8: The grade should be chosen based only on how easy it was to answer the card, not how long you want to wait until you see it again. For example, if you habitually avoid the easy button because it shows long intervals, you can end up in a negative cycle: you'd be making the "easy" situations even rarer, and "Easy" intervals will become longer and longer. This means you should ignore the intervals shown above the answer buttons and instead focus on how well you recall the information. + +It's also very important to not press "Hard" when you forget a card. Press "Again" if you forgot it, and press "Hard" only if you recalled it after a lot of hesitation. -A7: Review a new card, remember what intervals you saw above the answer buttons. Undo review. Now set the desired retention either to 0.97 (maximum) or to 0.7 (minimum), and review the card again. You should see different intervals. +If you still want to see a deck sooner rather than later, for example because you have an exam coming up, you can use the Advance function of the Helper add-on. Advance is the preferable method because it doesn't skew the grading history of the cards. *** -Q8: Is it better to use the same parameters for all my cards or use different presets with different parameters? +Q9: How can I confirm that FSRS is working? -A8: The answer to this question depends entirely on how similar your material is. For example, if you are learning Japanese and geography, it is recommended to use two different presets with different parameters. If you have two decks with Japanese vocabulary, you should use the same preset for both of them. +A9: Review a new card, remember what intervals you saw above the answer buttons. Undo review. Now set the desired retention either to 0.99 (maximum) or to 0.7 (minimum), and review the card again. You should see different intervals. Alternatively, download the [Helper add-on](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/759844606) and enable "Display memory state after answer". *** -Q9: How often should I re-optimize parameters? +Q10: Is it better to use the same parameters for all my cards or use different presets with different parameters? -A9: Once per month should be more than enough. +A10: The answer to this question depends entirely on how similar your material is. For example, if you are learning Japanese and geography, it is recommended to use two different presets with different parameters. If you have two decks with Japanese vocabulary, you should use the same preset for both of them. *** -Q10: What will happen if I review my cards on a device where FSRS is not supported (or disabled) and then on another device where FSRS is enabled? +Q11: How often should I re-optimize parameters? -A10: Your intervals will become inaccurate, but it won't corrupt your cards and make them unusable. It will just make FSRS bad at what it's supposed to do: maintain your retention at a specified level. +A11: Once per month should be more than enough. *** -You haven't seen the answer for your question? Here are many questions asked by others: https://github.com/open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki/issues?q=is%3Aissue+label%3Aquestion+ +Q12: What will happen if I review my cards on a device where FSRS is not supported (or disabled) and then on another device where FSRS is enabled? + +A12: Your intervals will become inaccurate, but it won't corrupt your cards and make them unusable. It will just make FSRS bad at what it's supposed to do: maintain your retention at a specified level. + +*** -If you still have trouble, please open a new issue to provide the details about that. +Didn't find the answer to your question? You can browse through several other questions asked by users: https://github.com/open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki/issues?q=is%3Aissue+label%3Aquestion+ -https://github.com/open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki/issues/new/choose \ No newline at end of file +Is your problem still unsolved? Please open a new issue to provide the details: https://github.com/open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki/issues/new/choose