Will 1.0 flashcards be compatible with released 2.0?

[Alexis]

Hi Mike,

Will flashcards created on Pleco 1 be compatible with the released version of 2?

I've been holding off on seriously using them for quite a while on the 2 beta (don't want to recreate a large set when 2 final is released), so I am thinking of moving back to v1 for a while.

Regards,
Alexis

 

[mikelove]

There'll be a converter (likely just an update of 1.0 with a new "Export to 2.0" command) but it won't quite be a perfect conversion since the ranks in 1.0 can't map over perfectly to the new score-based system in 2.0. The card texts should move over pretty cleanly, though. But the flashcard data format and entry IDs should finally be stabilized in the next 2.0 beta, so if you can wait a couple more weeks hopefully soon you'll be able to start doing things with flashcards in 2.0.

 

[radioman]

Mike,

Sorry if this question is a bit niave...

I have version one with a lot of flashcards... If I start using the beta:

1) can I import the v1 flashcards into the beta now through text import/export or some other method? (not worried about ranking as much as just getting the characters/words brought in).

2) if so, and if I am not worried about importing ranking data... I then work in version 2 beta, add some more cards, etc., can I again export/convert the flashcards (again no ranking data) when 2.0 comes out of beta? ...

Insights appreciated.

 

[sfrrr]

I think you answers are: don't do that; and don't do THAT; and don't do that thing either. I believe that the 1.0 to 2.0 flashcard converter hasn't been distributed yet. And that the current format of 2.0 flashcards will be changed by the release candidate. I would imagine you could jury-rig an import from 1 to 2, but I would also imagine it wouldn't be all that clean.

So, I wouldn't go near importing yet. I study my 1.0 flashcards in 1.0 and my 2.0 flashcards i 2.0.And that's my advice to you.

Sandra

 

[radioman]

That sounds like good advice.... will the 2.0 beta cards be in any way transferable to 2.0 final... with or without ranks? It is not clear to me.

 

[sfrrr]

Nor to me. But I think so. (Don't take that to the bank.)

 

[ipsi]

Provided you don't mind your statistics not carrying over, it should be easy enough to import cards into 2.0 - just export them from 1.0 and import them to 2.0. I'm not sure exactly how well it would work, as I don't imagine it will export the dictionary IDs or anything, so you might not necessarily get the definitions. Definitely worth a shot if you want something *now* and can't be bothered waiting. I'd also back up your 1.0.3 flashcards first, just in case something goes wrong.

You could technically export you flashcards in the same manner from the 2.0 Beta, but as it's a Beta, I wouldn't really advise that, as there could be all sorts of issues with the exporter that may not become apparent until it breaks something.

There's also no guarantees that your flashcards will actually survive until the 2.0 release, as the beta may happily corrupt the database or what have you. But it's technically possible.

Smart option would really just be to wait for the finished version and not have to worry about things being corrupted.

 

[radioman]

I think Im gonna wait... the previous system is providing me plenty of benefit... Thanks to all for comments.

 

[mikelove]

Just to provide a slightly more definitive answer on this:

* You can move flashcard words (without ranks/dates/etc) from 1.0 to the current 2.0 beta with a text-based export/import;
* You'll be able to move flashcard words with ranks (remapped to scores) and that other information from 1.0 to the finished version 2.0, using a special modified version of 1.0 which we'll be releasing that can export your flashcards to a 2.0-compatible XML file;
* The flashcard database format is changing at least once more between now and the finished release, so you will not be able to move cards from 2.0 Beta 4 to the finished version, though if you export to a text file from the current beta you should then be able to reimport that file into the next one (assuming there isn't any bug in the export/import that prevents that).

And yes, as ipsi says even if the 2.0 beta format was stable there'd still be the potential for corruption, though the new SQLite database engine is so much more robust than the one we used in 1.0 that I think even 2.0 beta is less corruptible than 1.0 (particularly on Windows Mobile). But even a pristine, uncorrupted flashcard database from Beta 4 wouldn't carry over to the next beta correctly.

 

[ldolse]

I think the problem that many of us have experienced with the beta isn't so much the flashcards becoming corrupt, it's that the prefs are corrupt/buggy if you touch them, rendering the whole DB unusable until you copy the cards into a new profile. Just be aware you're using a beta when if you decide to import - if you like some specific settings in 1.0 you may not be able to duplicate them yet with the current beta.

 

[mikelove]

Profiles and cards aren't connected, actually, the cards stay the same even if you create/delete a profile, so generally when that happens if you just create a new profile and delete the old one you'll get things back to working again. (but yes, definitely an area we're working to fix)

 

[radioman]

With regard to 2.0 beta flash, I simply exported about 600 cards in version 1 to UTC-8 palm doc, and then reimported. It appears to have come over overall very well. However, for the custom made ones with phrases, it not successful for me as there are additional characters now entered into the pinyin section. I do not have many custom cards so it is not a big deal. Also, I have not looked at it but for a minute, so there could be some sort of setting I do not know about or other simple way of fixing that - in general, the export/inport addresses my overall need.

I will come back with other comments, but I can already tell that for a palm there are a number of very nice improvements, including the ability to just turn off the palm in a flashcard session and it wakes backup (not so in version 1 at least for me).

On another matter, I have used Anki, supermemo, etc. in the past and do want to utilize these flash card approaches. My understanding is 2.0 will have that functionality or some derivative. I thought it was in the flashcard section, but I do not see it as of now. Are the algorithms applied in the beta yet? is it by default, or am I just missing something?

Ed.

 

[mikelove]

Glad to hear the import mostly worked - we've gotten several reports of problems with very long card texts causing problems so we should hopefully have that cleared up soon. And yes, power on/off should finally work correctly during a session for everyone on Palm.

And that sort of optimization functionality is already in there, actually; go to the Scoring tab in Advanced settings, set it to Automatic mode, then go back to the General tab and set Card Selection to Repetition-spaced and Points per day to 100. That should give you something very close to SuperMemo-like behavior.

There's no "commit" function in Pleco like there is in SM/Anki, all cards are eligible for study as soon as they're created, so you narrow down the cards you want to work on using categories instead; we think this is a better fit for how Chinese classes typically work, since you might have a weekly quiz where you're only interested in the most recent vocabulary but then a monthly test which reviews everything you've learned so far. However, if you really do want a Commit function you can get it by creating a "Committed" category, adding cards to that category and then setting up a "Require" category filter for it in the Card Filter section of the New Session box. (I'm not 100% sure if this feature is working correctly in Beta 4 but it'll be there in the finished version anyway)

 

[radioman]

but is there a way to change the mapping on the flashcards from one dictionary to another (e.g., definition in the flashcard is mapped to OX and I want to have the definition utilized from ABC..).

I am speaking strictly of version 1 right now... Thanks... Ed.

 

[mikelove]

Not in version 1, but most definitely yes in version 2 - you can change them permanently or just have them temporarily remapped during a flashcard session.

 

[radioman]

I just wanted to get some clarification with regard to the flashcards on version 2. Right now, running my Palm E2, I am in the unfortunate position of not being able to get the module cycling my cards anymore. The following describes the situation I am in and trying to solve:

1) I have not backed up my old version 1 (not very bright to be sure). I backed up maybe a month ago, so have that now in version 1. But did a lot of work with regard to setting ranks, categories, etc. since then.

2) I believe I have successfully and recently imported the flashcards into version 2.0 so I can go into the flashcard module and see them in the management list.

3) I cannot run run the flashcard module. It crashes without fail before I get out of the gate.

4) Looking to the future, I want to know **** is the flashcard database for Pleco version 2 beta 5 for Palm compatible with Pleco for Windows Mobile 5? In other words, can I just copy the flashcard module database from Palm and expect that it is likely it will work in the Windows Mobile device.


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[mikelove]

On #3, try switching from frequency-adjusted to random card selection in the General tab of the Advanced screen - does that help any? Also try starting the session with no categories selected (which is the same as selecting all of them, but for various reasons puts a bit less stress on the system)

On #4, yes, the formats are identical - there's a little extra data at the top of a flashcard file stored in a Palm's internal memory that needs to be removed before it can be used on Pocket PC, but we're releasing a little utility with Beta 6 that does this for you, and it can also be done very easily with a free hex editor program. (just open up the file and remove everything before the text "SQLite Format 3" - don't delete that text, just delete the few hundred or few thousand bytes of data before it)

 

[radioman]

Mike,

thank you for the prompt (as always...) helpful feedback.

With regard to random, I already have selected the "random".

With regard to selecting "none", that actually helped and I could get a session up and going. The problem is the pool of cards is +6000, and I just want to work my committed list (something less than 1000). "Committed" is just a category label, but I still need to be able to run categories. Any further ideas welcome.

 

[mikelove]

Glad to hear that helped. It actually does sound a lot like an out-of-memory error, though this is still unusual on an E2 since they really have quite a lot of program memory - might be fixed by moving your flashcard database to an SD card, which will be made very easy with that little utility I mentioned.

 

[radioman]

I use Launcher X to move files around but did try clearning out more memory (I have like 14Meg clear) and it did not help. I will say that the the failure is very repeatable. I can get into the configuration screens and all in the flashcards, but if I click any category, it comes back every time without fail with" Emul68KMain.c, Line: 108, divide by zero at address 007434AC".