# Keep Duplicates in Deck

**URL:** <https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/keep-duplicates-in-deck/70020>\
**Category:** Help\
**Created:** [June 8, 2026, 4:47pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/keep-duplicates-in-deck/70020 "2026-06-08T16:47:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Coala101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Coala101](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Coala101)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 4:47pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/keep-duplicates-in-deck/70020/1 "2026-06-08T16:47:23Z")

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Hello, i want to import a deck from a friend (.apkg) but it doesn’t import any of the cards since they are duplicates. The front side is duplicate, but the back isnt. I tried to look but I didnt find anything. How do I import those cards into my Anki?

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**Author:** ![ZornHadNoChoice](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/zornhadnochoice/32/28874_2.png) [@ZornHadNoChoice](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/ZornHadNoChoice)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/keep-duplicates-in-deck/70020/2 "2026-06-08T16:56:01Z")

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If your friend can export the deck as “notes in plain txt”, you can import it and there should be an option to duplicate the notes.

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**Author:** ![Coala101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Coala101](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Coala101)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/keep-duplicates-in-deck/70020/3 "2026-06-08T16:57:20Z")

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But the cards have photos in them, they cant be imported through .txt can they?

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**Author:** ![ZornHadNoChoice](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/zornhadnochoice/32/28874_2.png) [@ZornHadNoChoice](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/ZornHadNoChoice)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/keep-duplicates-in-deck/70020/4 "2026-06-08T17:11:00Z")

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I didn’t think about that.

The duplicate check is based on the note type as far as I know, so if you copy your note types and change the notes to the copied note types, you might be able to bypass it.

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**Author:** ![Coala101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Coala101](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Coala101)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 5:15pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/keep-duplicates-in-deck/70020/5 "2026-06-08T17:15:17Z")

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Im sorry I dont know what that means 😭 how does that work

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**Author:** ![ZornHadNoChoice](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/zornhadnochoice/32/28874_2.png) [@ZornHadNoChoice](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/ZornHadNoChoice)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/keep-duplicates-in-deck/70020/6 "2026-06-08T17:39:31Z")

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Explaining that is harder than coming up with another solution, lol, so…

Here’s another approach:

1. Make a backup (export your collection with media).
2. Export your deck.
3. Delete your deck.
4. Import your friend’s deck (.apkg).
5. Delete your friend’s deck.
6. Import your deck.
7. Import your friend’s deck (notes as .txt) with the duplicate option.
8. Double check that you have the right number of cards and that you haven’t lost any history, media, etc.

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/anki2/original/1X/8f1279ababc5879d54e4838989f606cfe55af8c7.jpeg) [@system](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/keep-duplicates-in-deck/70020/7 "2026-07-08T17:40:16Z")

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