A question about studying different subjects

🙋 Support
1

Hello again, I had another question about how to use the decks.

Let’s say today I studied Pathoma/Cardio and learned a certain number of new and matured my review cards.

Tomorrow I want to study Pulmonology so I will untag the Pathoma Pulmonology cards.

What will happen to my progress on the Cardio cards? Right now as I understand how to use the Anki Step 1 Deck, you untag the systems you want to study, but what happens when you select a new system?

In my own private AnkiDecks I’ve created decks by different subjects so I have a bunch of different subjects with various levels of learning going on in each other at the same time and I can go back and forth between the subjects when needed.

I’m sure it’s functionally the same with the Anking Step 1 Deck too, but since it is a master deck with tags used to reveal the specific subjects you want I just wondered how it works when going to a new subject. What happens if I want to go back to the old subject (in this instance for example Cardio)? Do I just reselect by that particular tag again and the cards are organized specific to my previous progress?

Hopefully my question makes sense, I may not have explained it in the best manner.

Thank you.

2
Thinking

Search
Found 0 results for ‘tags:official A question about studying different subjects untag systems you want to study AnKing Step 1 category::person_raising_hand: Support order:latest_topic max_posts:5 status:open’

You’re understanding most of this correctly, and your question makes perfect sense.

First big point: your progress is stored on the cards themselves (their scheduling), not on the tags. Tags just control which cards are shown, not how “learned” they are.

So in your example:

Today I study Pathoma/Cardio. Tomorrow I want to study Pulmonology, so I will untag the Pathoma Pulmonology cards.

I think you might be mixing two different workflows here:

1. The usual AnKing / Step 1 workflow (recommended)

Most people do not untag things to hide them. Instead, they:

  • Keep the master deck structure as-is (e.g. AnKing Overhaul).
  • Use tags (like Pathoma::Cardio, Pathoma::Pulm, etc.) only for organization / filtered decks.
  • Control what they’re seeing each day with:
    • Deck options (new card limits, etc.)
    • Filtered decks / Custom Study (e.g. “only study tag:Pathoma::Cardio today”).

In that setup:

  • When you study Cardio today, those cards get normal Anki scheduling (some become learning/mature, with due dates).
  • Tomorrow, if you want to switch to Pulm, you either:
    • Study a filtered deck built from tag:Pathoma::Pulm, or
    • Use Custom Study on the main Step 1 deck and filter by that tag.
  • Your Cardio progress is preserved. The due dates remain wherever Anki scheduled them.
  • When you want to go back to Cardio later, you:
    • Use the Cardio tag again in a filtered deck/Custom Study.
    • You’ll see them at the stage they were last at (learning/mature, with their current intervals).

Nothing is “reset” by changing tags or switching systems. Cards keep their progress unless you do something like “Forget”/“Reschedule.”

2. If you literally remove tags

If you literally untag cards (delete Pathoma::Cardio tag from them):

  • The underlying scheduling (progress) is unchanged.
  • You’ll just lose that quick way of selecting those cards by tag later.
  • To go back to “Cardio” as a unit, you’d need some other way to identify those cards (another tag, search by deck, etc.).

Because of that, it’s generally better to leave tags in place, and instead:

  • Use tags to include what you want (tag:Pathoma::Cardio),
    not to hide things by untagging them.

Mapping this to your “multiple subject decks” mental model

In your private setup:

  • You have separate decks like “Cardio,” “Pulm,” etc.
  • You can jump between them, and each has its own in-progress cards.

With AnKing/Step 1:

  • Think of the main Step 1 deck as your master deck.
  • Tags like Cardio / Pulm act like “virtual subdecks.”
  • When you filter or Custom Study by a tag, you are temporarily creating a “Cardio deck” (or “Pulm deck”) out of that master deck.
  • Switching between subjects does not erase or interfere with progress; it’s like switching between decks in your old system.

Practical workflows you can use

  1. Use filtered decks by tag

    • Browser → search: tag:Pathoma::Cardio → right-click → “Create Filtered Deck”
    • Study that filtered deck.
    • When done, cards go back to the home deck, with updated scheduling.

  2. Use Custom Study from the main deck

    • Click the Step 1 / AnKing deck → Custom Study → “Study by card state or tag”
    • Choose tags like Pathoma::Pulm or Pathoma::Cardio
    • This will temporarily pull those into a custom study session.

Either way, if you later come back using the same tag, Anki will pick up right where you left off.

If you tell me:

  • Which exact Step 1 deck you’re using (e.g. “AnKing Overhaul vX”) and
  • Whether you’re on Anki desktop or AnkiMobile/AnkiDroid,

I can walk you through the exact clicks/taps to set up a simple “Today Cardio, tomorrow Pulm” workflow using tags without ever losing card progress.

3

Thanks for that, AI :wink: So what do you mean by a filtered deck? Right now, once I’ve searched in the “Browse” bar for my “Pathoma::Pulm” (and any other queries I may also add to filter), and have the specific cards I want, I am “toggle:suspend” to start studying.

Are you saying once I find the cards I want to study for that day, I can create a filtered deck with them?

4

Thanks for that, AI :wink: So what do you mean by a filtered deck? Right now, once I’ve searched in the “Browse” bar for my “Pathoma::Pulm” (and any other queries I may also add to filter), and have the specific cards I want, I am “toggle:suspend” to start studying.

Are you saying once I find the cards I want to study for that day, I can create a filtered deck with them?

Also, I meant to say“Toggle":suspend” to show cards, not “untag” as you’re right that would make it harder to find again. “Toggle:suspend” was to show only the cards I want after I had searched for them.

5

I’m using the AK_Step1_V12 deck and I’m on Anki desktop.

6
Thinking

Search
Found 0 results for ‘tags:official filtered deck suspend tags Pathoma Pulm category::person_raising_hand: Support order:latest_topic max_posts:5 status:open’

Yes, you’ve got it: instead of relying only on toggle:suspend, you can use a filtered deck built from your search (like Pathoma::Pulm) and let Anki handle the scheduling for you.

Because you’re on Anki desktop with AK_Step1_V12, here’s a concrete way to do “Today Pulm, tomorrow Cardio” using filtered decks.

1. What a filtered deck is (in your situation)

A filtered deck is a temporary deck that:

  • Pulls in cards that match a search (e.g. tag:Pathoma::Pulm).
  • Lets you study only those cards.
  • When you’re done, puts them back into their home deck with normal Anki scheduling.

Your progress lives on the cards, not in the filtered deck. So if you:

  • Study Pulm today in a filtered deck,
  • Then rebuild a Pulm filtered deck next week,

you’ll pick up Pulm exactly where you left off.

2. How you’re currently doing it (suspend/unsuspend)

Right now you’re doing:

  1. Browse → search tag:Pathoma::Pulm (and maybe other filters).
  2. Select those cards.
  3. Use toggle suspend so only those unsuspended cards will show up in the main deck.

This works, but:

  • You’re constantly suspending/unsuspending, which can get messy.
  • If you switch systems a lot, it’s easy to accidentally leave things unsuspended or hide cards you didn’t mean to.

Filtered decks let you avoid constantly flipping suspend and instead just tell Anki “show me only these today”.

3. How to create a filtered deck for, say, Pathoma Pulm

On Anki desktop with AK_Step1_V12:

  1. Figure out the search you like

    • Open Browse.
    • At the top search bar, try something like:
      "AK_Step1_V12::AnKing Overhaul" tag:Pathoma::Pulm
      (Adjust deck name if yours is slightly different; the idea is: main deck + the Pathoma Pulm tag.)
    • Confirm you’re seeing the cards you actually want.

  2. Create the filtered deck

    • From Anki’s main window (Decks screen), go to:
      Tools → Create Filtered Deck…
    • In Search box, paste the same search you tested in the Browser, e.g.:
      "AK_Step1_V12::AnKing Overhaul" tag:Pathoma::Pulm
    • Set a Limit (e.g. 9999 if you just want “as many as exist,” or 100 if you want a cap for the day).
    • Choose order (e.g. Random or Oldest seen first depending on your preference).
    • Click Build.

You’ll now see a new deck on your deck list, e.g. Filtered Deck 1. That deck only contains the Pulm cards matching your search.

4. Daily workflow with filtered decks

Example “Today Pulm, tomorrow Cardio”:

Today (Pulm):

  1. Build or Rebuild a filtered deck using:
    "AK_Step1_V12::AnKing Overhaul" tag:Pathoma::Pulm
  2. Study that filtered deck until you’re done for the day.

Tomorrow (Cardio):

  1. Edit the filtered deck (or create a second one) with:
    "AK_Step1_V12::AnKing Overhaul" tag:Pathoma::Cardio
  2. Click Rebuild (or Build if new).
  3. Study that deck.

At all times:

  • Card progress (learning/mature intervals, ease, etc.) is kept.
  • Switching from Pulm to Cardio does not undo or reset anything.
  • You don’t have to suspend/unsuspend whole tags each time.

5. How this interacts with suspend

A few useful rules:

  • Suspended cards are never pulled into a filtered deck.
  • So if you truly don’t want to see something at all (ever, or for a long time), you can still suspend those cards.
  • But for day‑to‑day system switching, it’s usually cleaner to:
    • Leave cards unsuspended,
    • Use filtered decks by tag to control which subject you see.

Your earlier idea:

Once I’ve searched in the “Browse” bar for my “Pathoma::Pulm”… and have the specific cards I want, I am “toggle:suspend” to start studying. Are you saying once I find the cards I want to study for that day, I can create a filtered deck with them?

Yes—exactly. Instead of suspending to control visibility:

  1. Use the search in Browse to define what you want.
  2. Use that same search as the filter for a filtered deck.
  3. Study the filtered deck.

If you’d like, paste exactly one of your current search strings (e.g. what you type into the Browse bar for Pulm), and I can give you the exact filtered-deck search line I’d use with AK_Step1_V12.

7

Hello,

The bot gave a detailed explanation, but I would like to explain it in a different way to help clarify.

  1. It seems there might be a misunderstanding of how Anki works, which is completely normal as Anki’s scheduling can be confusing at times. When using a single deck, all your cards are in one place and organized by tags. The main purpose of tags is to help you find specific cards so you can suspend or unsuspend the exact group you want to study.

  2. In your scenario:

This means you have reviewed some cards that you unsuspended previously which are now mature (green), and you are reviewing new cards (blue) that you have just unsuspended.

Let’s look at what happens tomorrow. Some Pathoma Cardio cards that you unsuspended previously may appear in the review (green) stage. Some new cards that you studied yesterday may also appear as learning (red) or review (green) cards so you can see them again. Then, when you unsuspend the Pulmonology cards, you will simply review them as new cards (blue).

Nothing changes regarding your progress on the Cardio cards. When you have one deck with all your cards in it, the cards just keep appearing depending on their interval, which is defined by your deck settings.

You really don’t need to worry about that. You just need to keep reviewing any cards that appear in the deck and unsuspend new cards when you want to add a new topic to your study. That is how Anki works. Every day you will have reviews to do for cards you already unsuspended in the past and you can unsuspend new cards to add to your study and keep reviewing them as Anki shows them to you.

Here is a video by TheAnKing about Anki settings so you can trust the algorithm and not worry about when cards appear to you: https://youtu.be/uo-qQvOZDfg?si=6ZJ1cpQWQT7fztlI

Let us know if you need help with anything else! :blush: