Import files even after newest update

Anki Help
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HELP I HAVE AN EXAM TMRW …hey :slight_smile: so I have the newest update and tried to import a deck from a friend but it always says: “UNABLE TO READ FILE. IT PROBLY REQUIRES A NEWER VERSION OF ANKI TO IMPORT” what should I do, already disabled add-ons, still not working

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Help > About – what’s your “Version” number?

And what version did your friend use to make the export?

[Or is this a cross-post from reddit? Reddit - Dive into anything]

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Version: 23.12.1 (1a1d4d54)

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Same for your friend?

Are either of you using add-ons? Especially the “Special Fields” add-on?
Do you get the same error when you are runnning Anki without add-ons? Troubleshooting - Anki Manual

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yes same without the add-ons- u mean pressing shift while opening it?

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The problem is most likely caused by an add-on such as Special Fields as @Danika_Dakika suggested. This particular error doesn’t appear in recent Anki versions unless an add-on is forcing Anki to use the older importing logic (Special Fields does exactly that). So I recommend double checking add-ons.

Yes. Check whether add-ons were actually disabled from Tools > Add-ons. Anki also shows a tooltip message at startup if Shift was pressed.

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I just got this ?
and do u mean by tooltip message the sentence at the beginning something like "Skipping automatic and add-ons or something like that "

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Interesting. If you open the debug console and run this code, what’s the output you get?

print(mw.pm.legacy_import_export())

If it says True, run this code then try importing the deck again:

mw.pm.set_legacy_import_export(False)
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The legacy import/export option can also be adjusted in the preferences>editing screen.

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Oh I thought that option was removed.

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It was originally introduced for the sticky fields add-on, and I’m not sure it’s useful for anything else. If the add-on is adjusting the setting itself, I’d be ok with removing the setting in Anki, though it will mean users will need to use the console if they previously toggled the setting.

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The add-on patches ApkgImporter.do_import():

I think the least confusing solution is to keep the option but modify Special Fields to stop overriding it (and maybe show a warning when legacy importing is not enabled).

@AnKingMed This should be a simple fix. I can send a PR if you agree. I understand the add-on became less useful after AnkiHub came out, but it’s still included with the Butler add-on and is causing some confusion: "Unable to read file" when importing a recently exported deck into Anki Windows, 23.12.1 Qt6 · Issue #37 · johnpincock/SpecialFields · GitHub

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Agreed this should be fixed. I’ve had a few similar complaints. Thanks @abdo

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