Deck Types

Deck type affects fields, editing screens, review screens, import mapping, sharing, and long-term maintenance. Choose the type before importing a large library.

Available Deck Types

Type	Best for	Typical card styles	Notes
Universal	Mixed facts, diagrams, procedures, flexible prompts	Basic, question, choice, judgement, note-style cards	Safest when material is varied
Simple	Lightweight front/back material	Simple front/back cards	Fastest for direct prompts
Vocabulary	Language terms, pronunciation, meanings, examples	Word cards with language fields	Best when every row has consistent vocabulary fields
Notebook	Notes, excerpts, source-based study	Note cards and longer context cards	Useful when source context matters
Quiz Set	Assessment-style practice	Choice, judgement, typing, reading questions	Best when answer format and scoring matter

How to Choose

Use the most specific type when your material is consistent. Use Universal when different cards need different shapes. Use Quiz Set when answer format matters more than a plain back side. Use Notebook when context matters, but still split long notes into reviewable prompts.

Good choices:

• Vocabulary for word, translation, pronunciation, and example sentence sets.
• Quiz Set for exam questions with answer choices or typed responses.
• Simple for quick front/back capture.
• Universal for diagrams, mixed facts, formulas, and custom prompts.
• Notebook for excerpt-driven study where notes remain useful beside cards.

What Deck Type Controls

A deck type can influence:

• available card styles;
• required and optional fields;
• editing forms;
• review presentation;
• import mapping;
• copy compatibility between decks;
• published deck expectations.

If a card style is not supported by the target deck type, copying or importing that card may fail or need manual conversion.

Categories, Tags, Notes, and Resources

Deck type is not the only organization tool.

• Use categories for stable structure such as chapters, units, or topics.
• Use tags for flexible flags such as favorites, mistakes, exam scope, or temporary filters.
• Use notes for learner-specific annotations that should stay attached to a card.
• Use resources for images, audio, and files referenced by cards.

Avoid creating many duplicate decks when categories or tags would be easier to maintain.

Before Large Imports

Import a small sample first. If the deck type feels wrong after ten cards, fix the type or source format before hundreds of rows depend on the structure.

Check these items before scaling:

• fields map to the right card content;
• media and formulas render correctly;
• review screens are easy to grade;
• categories and tags are useful;
• the deck can sync and load normally on another device.

Maintenance Tips

• Keep one deck type per stable learning objective.
• Avoid mixing unrelated subjects when review priority differs.
• Rename categories and tags before publishing, not after users depend on them.
• Review a sample after any bulk edit.
• Share decks only after the type, fields, and media are stable.