Change your learning settings
Each setting below says what it changes, what it starts at on a new account, and whether it follows your account to your other devices.
What you need
- A Vocards account. The learning settings only show while you're signed in.
Open your settings
On web, click your initials in the toolbar, then click Settings. In a narrow window the initials are replaced by a menu icon. The learning settings are under Learning Settings.
On iOS and Android, open the Settings tab and scroll to Learning.
During a session, the gear at the top opens a shorter panel with the same choices for this session's cards:
- You see first is Show side first under another name. It offers the deck's two languages by name, each with its flag. A deck in one language offers its two sides instead.
- Auto-play has one switch for each side.
- Playback speed is the same slider as in Settings.
All settings at the bottom takes you to the full list. On iOS and Android that button reads All Settings.
All settings at a glance
| Setting | Where | New account | Follows your account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cards per session | Learning | 10 | Yes |
| Show side first | Learning, session panel | Expression | Yes |
| Auto-play expression | Learning, session panel | On | Yes |
| Auto-play definition / translation | Learning, session panel | Off | Yes |
| Playback speed | Learning, session panel | 1x | Yes |
| Exercise mix | Learning | Sometimes for each quiz type | Yes |
| “Don't show again” button | Learning | On | Yes |
| Streak celebration | Streak | On | Yes |
| Streak sound | Streak | On | Yes |
| Keyboard shortcuts (web only) | Keyboard shortcuts | Defaults | Yes |
| Celebration sound | App | On | No, this device only |
| Haptic feedback (iOS, Android) | App | On | No, this device only |
| Lower other audio (iOS, Android) | App | On | No, this device only |
| Session mute | Top of a session | Sound on | No, this device only |
| Words per round | Practice | 10 | No, this device only |
A setting that follows your account reaches your other devices the next time they load your account.
Note: On iOS and Android, a change you make while offline is kept on the phone and sent to your account once you're back online.
Cards per session
How many cards a session holds, from 5 to 100. On web it's a slider under Session Limits. On iOS and Android it's a stepper.
A session fills with due cards first, then new cards. A bigger session takes in more new cards on days when few are due, and each new card comes back for reviews on later days. Why a card doesn't show up covers what fills a session.
Practice rounds have their own size, Words per round, on the Practice page.
Show side first
Which side of a flashcard you see before you turn it over.
- Expression shows the word you're learning. You recall its meaning.
- Definition / Translation shows the translation or definition. You recall the word.
On iOS and Android the second choice reads Translation.
Auto-play
Under Audio there's one switch for each side of the card. Each one plays its side as soon as that side is in view: when the card appears if that side shows first, or when you turn the card over.
- Auto-play expression plays the word you're learning.
- Auto-play definition / translation plays the translation or definition. On iOS and Android it reads Auto-play translation.
On a quiz, nothing plays before you answer. The speaker button on a flashcard plays the audio whenever you tap it, however these are set. Persian and Uzbek have no audio, so a side in either language stays silent.
Playback speed
How fast the pronunciation audio plays.
Drag the slider from 0.5x to 1.5x, in steps of 0.05. Normal speed, 1x, sits in the middle. Web, iOS and Android offer the same speeds.
On iOS and Android, letting go of the slider plays something at the new speed: a short sample sentence in Settings, or the card's own word during a session.
Exercise mix
How often Multiple Choice, Gap-fill and Typing show up, each set to Off, Rarely, Sometimes or Often. Open Exercise mix in the learning settings to change it. Flashcards are always on.
The mix doesn't touch new cards, which are always flashcards. Typed answers aren't offered when you're learning Japanese, Chinese, Cantonese, Arabic, Hebrew or Persian. What the mix changes in a session is in Your first learning session.
The "Don't show again" button
“Don't show again” button controls whether a flashcard shows Don't show again, the button that takes a card out of your sessions. Switch it off if you keep pressing it by accident. On web, switching it off also turns off its keyboard shortcut.
Keyboard shortcuts (web)
On a computer with a keyboard, the Settings page has a Keyboard shortcuts section that lists every key a session uses. It doesn't appear on a touch device with no keyboard.
To change a key:
- Click Customize shortcuts.
- Click the key next to the action. It reads Press a key….
- Press the key you want.
- Click Done.
Reset to defaults puts every key back.
Sounds and vibration
These sit outside the learning section. On web they're under App and Streak. On iOS and Android they're under App and Streak.
- Celebration sound plays a chime when you finish a session.
- Streak celebration shows a celebration screen on your first session of the day.
- Streak sound plays a sound with that celebration. It only works while Streak celebration is on.
- Haptic feedback (iOS, Android) vibrates on taps, swipes and answers.
- Lower other audio (iOS, Android) asks your phone to turn music and podcasts down while a word is spoken.
The speaker button at the top of a session mutes auto-play and the app's sound effects until you press it again, in later sessions too. On web it reads Mute sounds or Unmute sounds when you point at it. On iOS and Android a tap flashes Sound on or Muted. It has no row in Settings.
If something goes wrong
| You see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-play is on, but nothing plays | The session is muted. | Press the speaker button at the top of a session. |
| A Persian or Uzbek side never plays | Persian and Uzbek have no audio. | Nothing to fix. The other side still plays if its language has audio. |
| Don't show again is missing from your flashcards | “Don't show again” button is switched off. | Switch it back on in the learning settings. |
| No Keyboard shortcuts section on web | The device has no keyboard attached. | Connect a keyboard, or open Settings on a computer. |
| "Two actions share a key in the same view – only one will work." | You gave two actions the same key. | Change one of them, or click Reset to defaults. |