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Update tutorial.md #556

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Expand Up @@ -120,68 +120,86 @@ 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.
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***

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, this will not revert the intervals back.
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***

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: 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.
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 many subdecks, be sure to check that the preset is applied to the subdecks as well, not just to the parent deck.
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***

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?
Q5: My first interval is too long! Is this normal?

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.
A5: Yes. Anki tends to give very short first intervals. Don't be surprised if your first interval for "Good" is 4-5 days and your first interval for "Easy" is several weeks long.

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 long intervals, the opposite is true: FSRS is more conservative than SM-2.
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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.

***

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?

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?

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. However, this doesn't mean that you should change your habits. Keep using the buttons the same way as before.
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***

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.

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.
It's also very important to not press "Hard" when you forget a card. Press "Again" if you forgot it, and press "Hard" if you recalled it after a lot of hesitation.
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***

Q7: How can I confirm that FSRS is working?
Q9: How can I confirm that FSRS is working?

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.
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".

***

Q8: Is it better to use the same parameters for all my cards or use different presets with different parameters?
Q10: Is it better to use the same parameters for all my cards or use different presets with different parameters?

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.
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.

***

Q9: How often should I re-optimize parameters?
Q11: How often should I re-optimize parameters?

A9: Once per month should be more than enough.
A11: Once per month should be more than enough.

***

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?
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?

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.
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.

***

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+
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If you still have trouble, please open a new issue to provide the details about that.

https://github.com/open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki/issues/new/choose
https://github.com/open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki/issues/new/choose