What to Check Before Moving Anki Content Into Gizmo

List the note types you use and the learning task each serves. A basic question-and-answer pair is different from a note that creates several cards through cloze deletions. A prompt with a hidden diagram label is different again. Identify cards containing audio, mathematical notation, custom styling, or links to related notes. The purpose is not to recreate Anki's internals in a spreadsheet, but to know which behaviors matter to your studying.

Choose a sample from each important group. Include one uncomplicated pair as a baseline and one difficult example that would reveal a lost relationship. If a collection uses several custom fields, write down which field supplies the prompt, the answer, and the explanatory context. Without that inventory, a destination may appear successful simply because it shows readable text while silently losing what made the original prompt useful.

Keep your working Anki collection unchanged and retain an appropriate backup using Anki's current documented options. Use a separate small test collection or a deliberately chosen sample that you have permission to transfer. Record its name and the concepts it tests. Do not begin by deleting old decks, resetting progress, or reorganizing the entire collection to satisfy an unfamiliar importer.

Open Gizmo's current Magic Import interface and inspect the Anki option for the specific input it requests. Follow those current instructions rather than assuming a filename extension from another product's workflow. If the expected input is unclear, consult official help before converting files through third-party utilities. A controlled test should tell you what the product accepts, while leaving your reliable review setup available if the test disappoints.

Read the original prompt, answer, and necessary context together, then inspect the destination version. For a cloze sentence containing several hidden facts, check that the imported task does not reveal the intended answer or ask for an unrelated connecting word. For a multi-field note, verify that an explanatory field has not become the answer to the wrong question. Do not rely on matching titles alone.

Use a pass, repair, or exclude decision for each representative type. Pass means you can answer the prompt and support its answer without reconstructing missing context. Repair means a supported correction will make the task clear. Exclude means the behavior is essential and not adequately reproduced by the tested route. A few excluded examples may matter more than a large number of simple pairs that passed.

Assume nothing beyond verified support. Card content and review state are separate. An imported explanation may be accurate while due dates, past responses, and the scheduling logic remain specific to the source product. This guide does not claim that Gizmo reproduces Anki intervals or settings. If preserving those details is essential, make that a decision criterion before you transfer material.

A new review system can also make familiar cards feel different. Record whether a failure comes from forgotten knowledge, a changed prompt, or missing context. Avoid interpreting every early mistake as evidence that the material was lost or that the scheduler is wrong. First inspect the question you were actually asked. Keep your Anki collection available while evaluating how the new routine affects your real study workload.

Stay with the working collection when its specialized formats, established schedule, or editing process are central to your course. Trying a new app for one lecture does not require replacing a mature deck. If the import creates many manual repairs without solving the problem that motivated the move, the sensible result of the trial may be to keep the old review system and improve source preparation instead.

For example, a learner struggling with vague cards might benefit more from rewriting prompts than changing platforms. Another learner whose new material arrives as readable lecture PDFs may prefer a source-first workflow for those new topics while keeping existing Anki reviews. Write down the specific gain you need, such as easier source checking, before deciding whether a successful import is worth expanding.

Elly's workflow at /import-from/anki uses supported text content rather than a promise of native package migration. Prepared CSV, TSV, or TXT pairs can be inspected in the import preview. Direct APKG transfer, scheduling, hierarchy, tags, and media preservation are not claimed. That narrower route can be useful when you deliberately want simple editable pairs and are willing to check them.

Sign in, start with a small permitted sample, and verify field mapping before saving. Use the same pass, repair, or exclude inventory you created for the Gizmo trial. If you are still deciding between workflows, /alternatives/gizmo provides a task-based comparison. Do not treat another importer as a reason to delete the original Anki collection; a good trial remains reversible until you know how the replacement performs in an actual study session.

Take one permitted Anki note that creates more than one card, and write down what each resulting prompt asks. Include a plain front-and-back example and, if your collection uses them, a format whose behavior depends on a template. Compare the Gizmo result with those tasks after using its documented source route. A readable representation of the note does not by itself prove that every generated prompt, image relation, or answer cue was recreated.

Record four outcomes separately: the factual content present, the question wording, the practice behavior, and the learning history. This prevents an attractive new deck from being mistaken for an exact restoration of an established review collection. If a necessary behavior is absent, keep the original for that task or redesign a small sample deliberately. For an Elly trial, prepare a supported text file or permitted PDF source rather than assuming native Anki package support. Check the preview and saved material, and treat any regenerated questions as new content requiring source verification.