Use keyboard shortcuts in a web session
You'll answer cards in a web session from the keyboard, and move any key you don't like to one you do.
What you need
- Vocards open in a web browser, on a computer with a keyboard.
- A deck with cards in it. Your first learning session walks through what each exercise asks of you.
The keys in a session
A flashcard and a quiz use different keys, so the same key can do one thing on a flashcard and another on a quiz.
On a flashcard:
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| ← | Not yet |
| → | Got it! |
| Space | Turns the card over |
| 1 | Plays the audio for the side that's showing |
| 2, 3, 4 | Play the card's first, second and third example sentence, when it has them |
| H | Don't show again |
| Backspace | Undo last answer |
On multiple choice and gap-fill:
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| 1, 2, 3, 4 | Picks the first, second, third or fourth option. The next card comes up on its own. |
| Space | Shows the hint: Show example on multiple choice (when the card has an example), Show translation on gap-fill |
| Backspace | Undo last answer |
On a typed answer, the cursor is already in the answer field when the card appears.
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enter | Checks your answer. When it counts as right, Continue is already selected, so Enter again moves you on. |
| Backspace | Deletes a letter while the cursor is in the answer field. Anywhere else, Undo last answer |
If only an accent is missing and it changes the word, you see So close. and the cursor goes back into the field. Add the accent and press Enter to check again. The row of special letters under the field types into it and leaves the cursor in the field.
If your typed answer is marked wrong, Enter doesn't move you on. Click Continue, or I was right if your answer should count.
Note: Once a typed answer is checked, the answer field is locked, so Backspace no longer deletes letters. It undoes your answer to the card before instead.
Backspace only undoes something when there's an answer to take back, and it goes back one answer.
Note: H only works while “Don't show again” button is switched on in your learning settings. Switch it off and the button, the key and its keycap all go away.
See the keys while you study
Under the card, a row of keycaps shows the keys for the exercise in front of you, with your own keys if you've changed them. The row is there when your computer uses a mouse or trackpad.
Note: On a tablet or phone with a keyboard paired to it, the keys still work in a web session. The keycap row and the settings for them stay hidden, because the browser reports a touch screen.
Change a key
You can change a key from a session or from Settings.
- In a session, click the gear at the end of the keycap row. Its label is Customize shortcuts. Or open Settings, scroll to Keyboard shortcuts and click Customize shortcuts.
- The list has two groups, Flashcards and Quiz & gap-fill. Click the key next to the action you want to change. It reads Press a key….
- Press the new key. It's saved straight away. To keep the old key, press Esc instead.
- Click Done.
Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Cmd, Caps Lock, Tab and Esc can't be used as a key. Letters work in upper or lower case.
Reset to defaults puts every key back to the ones in the tables above.
Your keys are saved to your account, so they follow you to Vocards on another computer the next time it loads your account. The iOS and Android apps don't use keyboard shortcuts.
Keys elsewhere in the app
- In Messages and in Ask about this card, Enter sends and Shift+Enter starts a new line.
- While you try out color themes, the keys are listed above the Explore bar. Change how Vocards looks covers it.
If something goes wrong
| You see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Two actions share a key in the same view – only one will work." | You gave the same key to more than one action in a group. Their keycaps are highlighted, and the key does whichever action is higher in the list. | Give one of them a different key, or click Reset to defaults. |
| No keycap row under the card, and no Keyboard shortcuts section in Settings | Your device reports a touch screen. | The keys still work. To change them, use a computer with a mouse or trackpad. |
| Keys do nothing while a window is open over the card | Session keys pause while Edit Card or Ask about this card is open, and while you type in a field. | Close the window, or click outside the field. |
| H does nothing | “Don't show again” button is switched off. | Switch it on in your learning settings. |
| Backspace does nothing | There's no answer to undo yet, or you already undid the last one. | Nothing to fix. |