Anki Excel: The Complete Guide To Faster Flashcards (And A Smarter Alternative Most People Miss) – Stop wrestling with spreadsheets and start actually learning faster.

Anki + Excel: Powerful… But Kind Of A Pain

If you’re googling “Anki Excel”, you’re probably trying to:

• Import a bunch of flashcards into Anki from a spreadsheet
• Export your Anki cards to Excel to edit or back them up
• Or just figure out a faster way to bulk-create cards

Totally get it. Spreadsheets sound efficient… until you’re stuck fighting with CSV formats, weird encoding issues, and fields randomly shifting columns.

If you want the short version:

You can use Anki with Excel, but it’s clunky. If you just want fast, modern, easy flashcards on iPhone/iPad with spaced repetition built in, Flashrecall is a much smoother option:

👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

Let’s break down:

• How Anki + Excel actually works
• The common problems (and how to fix them)
• And why a tool like Flashrecall can save you hours of setup and just let you study

How Anki + Excel Normally Works

1. The Basic Idea

Anki lets you import CSV files, and Excel can save files as CSV.

So the usual workflow is:

1. Create a spreadsheet in Excel

2. Put your front of the card in column A, back in column B

3. Save as CSV (Comma delimited)

4. Import that CSV file into Anki

5. Map columns to fields (Front, Back, etc.)

Sounds simple. In practice… it’s a bit messier.

2. Typical Use Cases

People usually use Excel with Anki when:

• They have a huge vocab list (e.g. 500+ words)
• They’re importing from a textbook, word list, or PDF
• They want to bulk edit existing cards
• They like typing in tables more than in Anki’s editor

If that’s you, Excel can help — but you’ll have to watch out for some landmines.

The Common Anki + Excel Headaches (And Quick Fixes)

1. CSV Formatting Issues

Anki expects a very specific format. Problems pop up when:

• You accidentally save in .xlsx instead of .csv
• You use commas inside your fields (which breaks columns)
• Your file uses the wrong encoding (e.g. for non-English languages)

• In Excel, use *“Save As” → CSV (Comma delimited) (.csv)**
• If you’re using special characters (e.g. Japanese, Arabic, accents), it’s safer to use UTF-8 CSV if your Excel version supports it
• Avoid random commas inside cells, or switch your delimiter to tab-separated and use a text editor if needed

2. Field Mapping Confusion

When importing into Anki, you have to tell it:

• Column 1 → Front
• Column 2 → Back
• Column 3 → Extra, etc.

If you mess this up, you end up with fronts on the back, tags in the wrong place, or half-empty cards.

Before you import a huge file, test with 3–5 rows first. Import them, check if they look right, then do the full import.

3. Editing Existing Cards In Excel

If you want to:

• Export your cards from Anki
• Edit them in Excel
• Re-import them

You’ll run into:

• ID / GUID issues (Anki needs unique identifiers)
• Risk of creating duplicates instead of updating
• Losing scheduling data if you’re not careful

Honestly, this is where it stops being “simple” and starts being “I wish I hadn’t touched this.”

If you just want to study instead of babysitting spreadsheets, this is exactly where a simpler flashcard app shines.

A Simpler Alternative: Skip Excel Completely With Flashrecall

If your goal is “more studying, less fiddling with CSVs”, then using something like Flashrecall can save you a ton of time.

Flashrecall is a flashcard app for iPhone and iPad that basically removes the whole Excel step entirely:

👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

Instead of:

> textbook → Excel → CSV → Anki → map fields → troubleshoot…

You can go:

> textbook / notes / YouTube / PDF → Flashrecall → study immediately

How Flashrecall Replaces The Whole Excel Workflow

With Flashrecall, you can create cards from:

• Images – Snap a photo of your textbook or handwritten notes, it pulls out the text and turns it into cards
• Text – Paste any text, highlight key bits, turn them into Q&A cards
• Audio – Great for language learning or lectures
• PDFs – Import slides, readings, exam guides
• YouTube links – Turn video content into flashcards
• Typed prompts – Just write your own cards manually if you want full control

So instead of formatting everything nicely in Excel, you just feed the raw content into Flashrecall and it helps you turn it into cards directly.

With Anki, spaced repetition is powerful but also kind of intimidating if you’re new — lots of settings and options.

Flashrecall just bakes in spaced repetition automatically:

• You study
• It schedules your next review based on how well you did
• It sends study reminders so you don’t forget to come back

No need to tweak intervals or remember to review. You just open the app and it tells you what to do.

The whole point of flashcards is active recall – forcing your brain to pull info out, not just reread it.

Flashrecall is literally built around that:

• You see the question
• You try to recall the answer
• Then you reveal it and rate how well you knew it

It sounds simple, but this is way more effective than staring at a spreadsheet or rereading notes.

This is something Excel and Anki just don’t do.

In Flashrecall, if you’re unsure about a concept, you can literally chat with the flashcard to get clarification or deeper explanations.

Example:

• You have a card: “What is the difference between mitosis and meiosis?”
• You forget a detail → you can ask follow-up questions right inside the app

It’s like having a tutor living inside your flashcards.

When Anki + Excel Still Makes Sense

To be fair, there are cases when sticking with Anki + Excel is reasonable:

• You already have huge, well-structured spreadsheets
• You’re sharing decks with a community that uses Anki
• You like tinkering with data and settings

If you’re heavily invested in Anki, Excel might still be part of your workflow.

But if you’re:

• On iPhone or iPad
• Want something fast, modern, and less technical
• Prefer to just get your content in and start learning

Then Flashrecall is going to feel way smoother.

Flashrecall vs Anki + Excel: Side-By-Side

Realistic Use Cases: Which Tool Fits You?

If You’re A Student With Lots Of PDFs And Slides

Instead of:

1. Copy text into Excel

2. Clean it up

3. Save as CSV

4. Import into Anki

You can just:

• Import the PDF directly into Flashrecall
• Turn key points into flashcards in the app
• Start reviewing with spaced repetition immediately

If You’re Learning A Language

With Anki + Excel, you’d:

• Make vocab lists in Excel
• Deal with special characters / encoding
• Import and map fields manually

With Flashrecall, you can:

• Paste vocab lists straight in
• Add audio or example sentences
• Use reminders + spaced repetition to keep words fresh
• Study offline on your phone anywhere

If You’re In Medicine, Law, Or Any Content-Heavy Field

You probably don’t have time to babysit CSV files.

Flashrecall lets you:

• Pull from lecture slides, notes, and textbooks
• Generate flashcards quickly
• Rely on automatic spaced repetition to keep the mountain of info manageable

So… Should You Still Bother With Anki + Excel?

If you enjoy spreadsheets and tinkering, or you’re deep in the Anki ecosystem already, then yes — learning the Excel → CSV → Anki workflow is worth it.

But if your thought process is more like:

> “I just want an easy way to make flashcards and actually remember stuff…”

Then honestly, skipping the Excel step and using something like Flashrecall will make your life easier.

You get:

• Fast card creation from almost any source
• Built-in spaced repetition and active recall
• Study reminders so you don’t fall off
• Offline support
• A clean, modern interface on iPhone and iPad
• And even the ability to chat with your flashcards when you’re stuck

You can try it free here:

👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

If Anki + Excel feels like more work than learning, it might be time to switch to a setup that lets you focus on what actually matters: remembering what you study.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Anki good for studying?

Anki is powerful but requires manual card creation and has a steep learning curve. Flashrecall offers AI-powered card generation from your notes, images, PDFs, and videos, making it faster and easier to create effective flashcards.

What's the fastest way to create flashcards?

Manually typing cards works but takes time. Many students now use AI generators that turn notes into flashcards instantly. Flashrecall does this automatically from text, images, or PDFs.

How do I start spaced repetition?

You can manually schedule your reviews, but most people use apps that automate this. Flashrecall uses built-in spaced repetition so you review cards at the perfect time.

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