Pleco New Words Reminders

[pprendeville]

Was just thinking it would be pretty cool if Pleco had the option to prompt me to go over new characters that I have entered in the search box. Something like the reminders app on iOS. So for example, a timer could be set to go off every so often with Pleco opening up automatically and testing you on the last 'x' number of new characters entered in the search box or something to that effect. I like learning to be pushed on me as opposed to me making the effort to go back over new characters, I just get lazy so often. Maybe something similar in the next Flashcard overhaul?

 

[Shun]

Sounds interesting. Wonder what Michael thinks, perhaps he could take care of the technical side and let someone else do the interface, then sell it as an Add-on. I've seen a few people who absolutely could use the Pleco functionality, but who are a little scared by Pleco's apparent complexity. The Pleco backend together with a very easy front-end (both in terms of ease of use & of guiding the learner) could be a very nice combination for a part of the market, including younger children who want to learn Chinese.

Just a few ideas, more concretely: The frontend could have a customizable border around the screen, include images as buttons, automatically make Flashcard folders, add cards to them or remove them based on questions to the users, move cards between Flashcard folders and set the settings for learning flashcards. It could ask the user all kinds of questions to find out how they like to learn. (perhaps also find out itself where the user is most successful) The dictionary definition part of the frontend could include all dictionaries, but let the user edit their order right on the same screen.

Though I admit, it would always divert resources away from the development of the main version and new dictionaries, etc. So only if people really request it, such an addition might make sense.

 

[mikelove]

Sounds like you're taking about two different things here, actually - @pprendeville wants an automated review of recently looked up words, which I'm a little wary of since it seems likely to leave you with a lot of errors / rarely-used vocabulary, while @afritzse wants a more hand-holding front-end in general.

Honestly, we've already got a pretty long list of things for the flashcard overhaul - new SRS algorithm, overhauled interface, overhauled database, embedded media, clozes, intelligent sync conflict resolution, intelligent / customizable duplicate checking, timed auto-advance, custom fields, more flexible formatting / integration of multiple data sources in a card, Cantonese, easier rich text support, full-text custom definition search, better mixing of test types, easier search / re-sorting in Organize, advanced statistics / graphs, easier list sharing, and a couple dozen other smaller items too.

But the basic plan is to do the low-level stuff first - database / algorithms - and then build up new stuff from there over the course of several additional updates; there won't be a 'big flashcard update,' it'll be an ongoing process over the next year or two.

 

[Shun]

Looking forward to it. I also think that the features you named are most important now.