Messages

In fact, RepeatAdvisor is the only mode I use. I dare to say that it is the method that more closely resembles how memory works. And you can fine-tune to your needs by going to File Options > Color modes > Advanced.

When I first started using Stackz!, I kept comparing it to more automatic systems based on a geometrically increasing space between repetitions, and I thought that 5 levels was not enough. At that time, I focused more on memorization than learning. And I made no progress for years, because I was so focused on reviewing my lists that I didn't have time to actually learn the language. And when my expired cards accumulated, I felt discouraged and often abandoned my Japanese studies for several months.

Now I have come to understand that you should concentrate on learning and practicing, rather than memorizing. So now I have come to appreciate the semi-automatic nature of Stackz!, and have calibrated it with less stringent options.

Hi. I use Stackz! for learning Japanese, and I use different Japanese fonts for different purposes. For example: Kyouka or Mikachan for Kanji writing practice, Mincho or Gothic for reading, etc. And within each file, I often use different fonts for the entry and the reading (For instance, Kyouka for the main entry and Gothic for the reading.)

Hoever, I have noticed that Stackz! has no way to specify different fonts for a given language. If you want to use another Japanese font in another file, you need to create a new Stackz! "language" within Stackz! Options, and this creates a number of complications:

1) Anytime you open a Stackz! file, Stackz! changes its system language to the one in the main entry of the file. Every time I open my "Remembering The Kanji" list, which uses a Kyouka font (which I had to configure as a separate language called "Written Japanese") for the main entry and Gothic for the readings (that is, the default Stackz! "Japanese" language), the Stackz! system language switches to "Written Japanese". Since my dictionary is always in "Japanese", this creates an awkward situation while I'm in Test or Edit mode: I cannot use F6 to make a quick lookup of an entry... I can't even type it in the dictionary window because the Stackz! system language does not match the Dictionary language... although both are Japanese, only with different fonts!

To solve this, everytime I load this list I have to remember to manually switch the system language back to "Japanese" before doing anything else, which is slightly inconvenient.

2) While in Edit mode, readability is everything. In the same file, my Kyouka font becomes very difficult to read. Brush style fonts are even worse. It would be nice if I could configure Stackz! to render all Japanese text with the Gothic font while in Edit mode, overriding locally selected fonts.

To solve this, everytime I need to edit this file, I have to switch the "language" of my main entry to "Japanese" before editing and then change it back to "Written Japanese" after editing.

Most of the time, I have to deal with both problems at the same time.

So I wish Stackz! could actually made a distinction between a Language and a Font, freeing you from having to create lots of fictional "languages". And if it could allow Font overriding for certain windows... that would be really 便利な。

NHK is now broadcasting a show for learners of Japanese called エリンが挑戦　(Called "Erin's Challenge" in Japanese bookstores and "Getting into Nihongo" in NHK's weekly schedule). Although it has been heavily criticized (It teaches very basic grammar but some skits use advanced language), it seems to be quite popular among learners.

If someone has a transcript of this show, perhaps he could create a file for each episode containing the most difficult words a mid-beginner (Let's say, someone who has passed Level 4 of the official test) is likely to encounter. The file could be divided in Lessons that correspond with the core parts of each episode: 基本スキット (Basic skit), 応用スキット (Applied skit), これはなに? (What is this?), やってみょう, etc.

This is probably off-topic, but I remember that older versions of Stackz! did not recognize fonts with Japanese names. I'm not talking about the filename, but the font name, which is embedded.

So I had to download a font-editing program to change the names of my favorite fonts to English names.

I'm glad to see that this limitation has been corrected in the latest version.

Besides Japanese vocabulary, I've used it for memorizing my friends' phone numbers and Bible quotes (Just the book, chapter number and verse number)

I agree, I've been using Stackz 07 RC6 for a while and have no problems to report.

Well, I guess I'm out of place here:

There have been cases when a once cool, simple application gradually became way too complex, slow and crammed with options and features. It passed from being as refreshingly simple as an Ultralight trike plane to becoming as button-filled as a Boeing 777. Among these are:

- MS Word (Come on... so much buttons just to write a letter?)
- MS Outlook (I stopped using it a few years ago because of that)
- Winamp 3 (I had to go back to Winamp 2)
- MusicMatch (I still have a now ancient version, and I prefer it)
- DivX Player (idem)

And I don't want that to happen to Stackz!

Stackz! goal has -so far- been to emulate a stack of physical flashcards, giving us the cool feeling of being in complete control of the process.

Improvements brought with each version sought just to streamline the process.

IMHO, Stackz! is almost perfect just as it is.

I really think adding links to audio files would be nice, but it would have to be implemented in a discreet way that does not destroy the Wabi-Sabi, the Zen beauty of the program, and these features should be concealed from view to those not interested in using them. Just like stowing away a futon when you're not using it. The room you're using should have only the furniture you need right now.

I liked Gigapops approach, and here I'll try to flesh it out. The following is just a proposal of how these features could be discretely concealed, and at the same time easy to activate:

If someone wishes to have a sound file linked to some of his cards in a file:

In the file options dialog, the column name "File Language" is already a misnomer, since most users have different languages mixed in a single file. A more appropriate name would be "Attribute language", or, making room for sound and images, "Type of content". Then, when clicking in the "..." button, one could choose if the content type for the selected attribute is either text or sound. If one chooses text, the "Select language" dialog would appear, but if one chooses "sound", there is nothing else to be set. Then, when one is in edit mode, one could just write the relative or absolute path to the sound file in the cell reserved for that Attribute within the current flashcard.

A concrete scenario: Let’s say that someone decided to make room for sound file links in the column where the “Entry” attribute normally resides. Of course, he would have renamed this column to “Sound” or something like that, and selected “Sound” from the “Type of content” column in the File Options dialog. Then, in the Edit dialog, in the cell reserved for the link to the sound file for Japanese word “Sumimasen”, he would just have to write, let’s say, “C:\stackz_sounds\sumimasen.mp3” (absolute path), or, if he is more organized and has all the sound files in a sub-folder names “sounds” within the same folder containing the Stackz! Files, he could just write “sounds\sumimasen.mp3” (relative path). Then, during test, instead of displaying the actual link (which would give away the answer), Stackz! Could display a text message, something like “Press P to play sound”.

To keep Stackz! simple, perhaps it could invoke a background sound player to do the sound-playing stuff instead of trying to integrate a sound player within Stackz!. I think there’s a sound player integrated in Windows… but Winamp is a lot more open to sound formats…

Well, just dreaming… As I said before, Stackz! is almost perfect just as it is, and this is just a suggestion about how to implement new features without making it way too gaudy or flashy.

As a final note, from the two file linking approaches (Absolute or relative), I really favor the relative approach, because it would make it a lot easier to share the new stackz! lists with sound links… The creator would just have to pack both the stackz! file and the folder with the linked sounds into a RAR file, and upload them, knowing that there isn’t going to be any broken link issues when someone downloads and unRARs his bundle.

I'll make mock-up images of how this will work when I get some free time.

Well, yes, it was just another... PEBKAC! (Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair)...

I really though that the graph was always based on the whole file... Had no idea it was related to the selection.

By the way, I don't know what it is, but with Stackz! 7 I've finally come to appreciate the Learn dialog. Before that, I always used the Test dialog to learn  ;D .

Ok... Here's how it happened:

1) I opened a file that has both expired and not-expired cards:



Notice that it's set to "Repeat advisor".

2) Opened the RM... Notice how the bar graph looks.



3) And clicked on "Examine expired cards":



Notice how the graph changes. And the file is still set to "Repeat Advisor"...

Ok... I found a way to reproduce this error that works almost 100% of the time, with ANY of my Stackz! files... Here it goes:

1) First, make sure the RM has been previously set to be in its extended form.

2) Open a file, any file, that has expired cards.

3) Open the RM.

4) Click on "Examine expired cards".

5) Close the RM.

6) Close the file.

7) Open the same file again, or any other file.

8) Open the RM.

9) Stackz! crashes.

A tip: It might not work if the file has only expired cards; it works better with files that have both expired and not-expired cards.

Ok...

If the Retention Manager was set in its abbreviated form, and I open it again, this may happen:



A video problem covers the Expand button... When I click it, this happens:



The problem disappears, but it does not expand. The second time I click it:



It finally works!  :D

Well, this happened today again, and with another file that was not part of the original group of problematic files I reported. It seems that the problem has just become less frequent, and more erratic.

By the way, now the retention manager has a couple of quirks I did not recognize before. I'll be reporting on another thread.

Uninstalled Beta 4, installed Beta 5a. Still the same problem, but this time it seems to happen with only one particular file from the group of files I sent you: KPR2_clean36.szm.

Anyway, It's not a big deal.

Same thing here. Uninstalled Beta 4, installed Beta 5a (By the way, I could not find Beta 5b), and still getting this:



Not only that, but now, when I maximize the test dialog, the buttons get a kinda odd "shadow":



But it's easy to kill this problem. Just switch to another app and come back to Stackz!.

OK... this happens with about 50% of my lesson files. Not a big thing and is easily fixed, but since we're here to report bugs, I though I should post it.

Sometimes, when opening a lesson file and then opening the Retention Manager, if the Retention Manager was previously set in its extended form (That is, showing all the bars in the lower part), Stackz! crashes.

I've tested my files one by one and found that more than the half have this problem. I've compiled them in a ZIP for studying these rare specimens. You can download it from http://arqui3d.com/crashingfiles.zip.

I have found that I can prevent this from happening in two ways:

1) Make sure that I always leave the Retention Manager in its abbreviated form after using it. It only happens when it's in its extended form, at least with these files. If I make sure the R.M. it's in its short form before closing it, and then I open one of these files and open the R.M. again, nothing happens. I can then extend the R.M. to view the colored bars and everything works fine.

2) Save the problematic files with another name from within Stackz! 7. All these were old files from Stackz! 2005 v3, and after saving them again from within the new Stackz! version, the problem went away.

By the way, I tested on 2 different PCs with Win XP (A Core 2 Duo w/2 Gigs of RAM and a P4 w/512MB RAM), and the same thing happens.