Unleash Anki's Power: Card Styling Tutorials & Examples You Can't Miss!

Ari Horesh -

Are you tired of the same old, boring flashcards? Do you want to level up your Anki game? Look no further! In this article, we'll dive into some amazing Anki card styling tutorials and examples that will make your study sessions more engaging and memorable. Get ready to master Anki like a pro!

The Basics: Anki Styling 101

Before we get started, let's understand the basics of Anki card styling. Anki uses HTML, CSS, and a bit of JavaScript to style its cards. Don't worry if you're not familiar with these terms - we'll explain everything you need to know!

HTML: The Skeleton

Think of HTML as the skeleton of your Anki cards. It provides the basic structure, defining elements such as headings, paragraphs, lists, and more. Here's a quick overview of some common HTML elements you'll encounter in Anki card styling:

  • Headings: <h1>, <h2>, <h3> (and so on) represent different levels of headings, with <h1> being the largest and most important.
  • Paragraphs: <p> is used to define a paragraph.
  • Lists: <ul> (unordered list) and <ol> (ordered list) are used to create lists, with <li> (list item) representing individual items within the list.
  • Links: <a href="https://example.com">link text</a> is used to create a clickable link.
  • Images: <img src="https://example.com/image.jpg" alt="a description of the image"> is used to embed an image.

CSS: The Stylish Wardrobe

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is like the wardrobe for your Anki card's skeleton. It allows you to add colors, fonts, and other visual elements to your cards. CSS is composed of selectors and properties. Selectors determine which HTML elements will be affected, while properties define the specific styles applied to those elements. Here's a simple example:

h1 {
  color: blue;
  font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
  font-size: 24px;
}

In this example, the selector h1 targets all first-level headings in the card. The properties within the curly braces {} define the styling for these headings: blue text color, Arial font, and a font size of 24 pixels.

JavaScript: The Cherry on Top

JavaScript is the cherry on top for your Anki card styling. It's a programming language that can add interactivity and dynamic content to your cards. While not always necessary, JavaScript can be helpful in creating advanced Anki card designs.

Now that we've covered the basics, let's dive into some fun and engaging Anki card styling tutorials and examples!

Tutorial 1: Customizing Fonts and Colors

Let's start by giving your cards a fresh new look with custom fonts and colors. Follow these steps:

  1. Open Anki and click on Tools > Manage Note Types.
  2. Select the note type you want to customize and click on Cards....
  3. In the Styling section, add the following CSS code to change the font and colors:
/* Change the font for the entire card */
.card {font-family: "Comic Sans MS", sans-serif;
  background-color: #F0E68C;
  color: #4B0082;
}

/* Customize the font size and color for the front and back of the card */
.front, .back {
  font-size: 20px;
  color: #8B0000;
}

  • Click Preview to see the changes, and then click Close to save your new styles.

Voilà! Your cards now have a unique look with custom fonts and colors. Feel free to experiment with different fonts and color combinations to find a style that suits your taste.

Tutorial 2: Adding Images and Icons

Visual aids can make your Anki cards more engaging and easier to remember. Let's add images and icons to your cards with these steps:

  1. Open Anki and click on Tools > Manage Note Types.
  2. Select the note type you want to customize and click on Cards....
  3. In the Front Template or Back Template section, add an image or an icon using the <img> tag:
<!-- Add an image -->
<img src="https://example.com/image.jpg" alt="a description of the image">

<!-- Add an icon using Font Awesome (first, include the Font Awesome library in the Styling section) -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/6.0.0-beta2/css/all.min.css">
<i class="fas fa-check-circle"></i>
  1. In the Styling section, customize the size and position of the images and icons with CSS:
/* Style the image */
img {
  width: 100px;
  height: auto;
  margin: 10px;
}

/* Style the icon */
.fas {
  font-size: 24px;
  color: #32CD32;
}
  • Click Preview to see the changes, and then click Close to save your new styles.

Now your cards have eye-catching images and icons to help you remember information more effectively!

Tutorial 3: Interactive Cards with JavaScript

Add some interactivity to your Anki cards with JavaScript. In this tutorial, we'll create a simple "Show/Hide" button to reveal additional information on the card.

  1. Open Anki and click on Tools > Manage Note Types.
  2. Select the note type you want to customize and click on Cards....
  3. In the Back Template section, add a "Show/Hide" button and a hidden element with additional information using the following HTML code:
  • In the same Back Template section, add the following JavaScript code to make the button functional:
<script>
document.getElementById("toggleButton").addEventListener("click", function() {
  var extraInfo = document.getElementById("extraInfo");
  if (extraInfo.style.display === "none") {
    extraInfo.style.display = "block";
  } else {
    extraInfo.style.display = "none";
  }
});
</script>
  • Click Preview to see the changes, and then click Close to save your new interactive card template.

Congratulations! You've just created an interactive Anki card with a "Show/Hide" button to reveal additional information. This is just a simple example, but you can use JavaScript to create more advanced interactive elements in your cards.