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Turn your slides and photos into Anki flashcards with pictures

Upload diagrams, labeled slides or photographed handouts. DeckOwl reads the text in them and builds flashcards you can review with spaced repetition and export to Anki.

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Making picture-based cards that stick

Diagrams and labeled photos are hard to memorize as plain text, so pairing each visual with a short question works better. Here is how to set up Anki flashcards with pictures from your own material.

Put the diagram on the front and ask for a label or function on the back.
Crop photos tightly so only the relevant part of the figure appears.
Write one question per labeled part instead of one card for the whole figure.
Review the picture cards regularly so spaced repetition can schedule them well.

Example anatomy diagram flashcards

Heart diagram: which chamber pumps oxygen-rich blood to the body?The left ventricle, which has the thickest muscular wall of the four chambers.

Labeled cell diagram: which organelle produces most of the cell's ATP?Mitochondria, through cellular respiration.

Eye diagram: which structure changes shape to fine-tune focus?The lens, which adjusts focus; the cornea does most of the light bending.

Skeleton diagram: which bone is the longest and strongest in the body?The femur, or thigh bone.

Kidney diagram: what is the functional unit that filters blood?The nephron, which filters blood and forms urine.

Generate the full set

Reads text from photos

Photos of pages and images are read with text recognition, so a snapped handout or textbook figure can become study material.

Spaced repetition built in

Cards are scheduled to come back just before you would forget them, so you spend time on what is still hard.

Anki export on Plus

Export your cards to Anki on the Plus plan and keep your picture cards in the app you already use.

How it works

Upload your material

Add a PDF, slide deck, set of notes or a photo of a labeled diagram.

Review the generated cards

Check each question and answer against the picture, then edit anything that is unclear.

Study or export

Review in the browser on the free plan, or export to Anki on Plus and add the images to the card fields.

In Anki, you can drag an image into a card field or use the image button in the editor, so the picture appears on the card during review. Keep each card to one fact and one image, and ask for a label or function rather than repeating the picture.

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Frequently asked questions

How many picture flashcards should I make for one diagram?

Start with one card per labeled part or key relationship, which is usually 5 to 15 for a single figure. Cards that test one fact each are easier to review than crowded ones.

Is it better to put the image on the front or the back of a card?

Showing the diagram on the front and asking for a label or function tests recall more directly. Once you know the structures well, reverse some cards so you can also identify them from their names.

Can DeckOwl export my picture cards to Anki?

Anki export is a Plus feature, available at $39/year or $7.99/month. The free plan lets you study flashcards in the browser but does not include exports.

Does DeckOwl work with photos of handouts?

Yes, images and photos of pages are read with text recognition, so you can upload a photographed handout. The free plan includes 3 generations per month, and no credit card is needed to start.

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Keep exploring the topic

Review the main ideas visually or practice recalling them.