I have a massive problem. I need to upgrade to V12 but my V11 is screwed big time. My med school made an in-house deck, it includes V11 cards + in-house made cards. The V11 cards that are included in the in-house deck have their anking V11 tags + the in-house tagging system. Somehow they messed up something with special fields or importing such that it duplicated V11 cards. So even though I have V11 running just fine, there are two note types with the second being the duplicate. This explains why my browse showes ~66k cards. I need to find a way to resolve the duplications and then I need to know if I use the special fields add-on or disable it when I add V12 because the ankihub AI chatgpt told me that V12 does special fields automatically and to disable the addon-when I upgrade to V12
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Already helping you in the other thread (https://community.ankihub.net/t/seamless-upgrade-from-v11-to-v12-a-guide/276701/34), but yes it is true that you no longer need the Special Fields addon.
Fields can be protected from within Ankihub natively, without the need for an addon. 
Thank you for providing that information, Brian_BH. To provide a more comprehensive response to saber15’s complex situation, let me gather some additional relevant information.
Search
Found 5 results for 'tags:official V11 V12 upgrade special fields duplicates status:public'
Thank you for providing that information. I’ve reviewed the search results and I can provide some guidance on your situation with upgrading from AnKing V11 to V12 and dealing with duplicates. Let me address your concerns:
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Regarding duplicates:
It seems you have duplicate cards due to an issue with importing the in-house deck. To resolve this:- Go to the Browse window in Anki
- Look for the duplicate note type (you mentioned there are two)
- Select all cards of the duplicate note type
- Delete these duplicate cards
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Upgrading to V12:
When upgrading to V12, you no longer need the Special Fields add-on. As Brian_BH mentioned in the other thread, fields can be protected natively within AnkiHub without the need for an add-on. -
Special Fields:
According to the search results, specifically from the recommended add-ons FAQ, it’s confirmed that “The Special Fields add-on is no longer needed for V12 as this functionality is built into the deck.” -
V11 tags:
After upgrading to V12, you might still see V11 tags. These are no longer needed and can be deleted. Here’s how:- Go to Browse in Anki
- On the left-hand side, navigate to tags
- Find all instances of #AK_Step1/2_11
- Right-click on the tag and delete
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Deck visibility after upgrade:
If you don’t see the new V12 deck after upgrading, it’s because the upgrade process matches notes with previous note IDs. Your updated cards will be in the same deck where you had your V11 cards.
Before proceeding with the upgrade, make sure to:
- Resolve the duplicate issue as mentioned above
- Create a backup of your collection
- Disable the Special Fields add-on if you have it installed
After upgrading:
- Check that all your cards are properly updated
- Remove unnecessary V11 tags
- Organize your deck structure as needed
If you encounter any issues during or after the upgrade process, don’t hesitate to ask for further assistance. Good luck with your upgrade!