I am unable to see, and thus enable, the “show new cards before reviews” setting on my Anki.
Whenever I click the settings “gear wheel” I am presented with four titles, including “new cards” and “repetitions” - and it looks very superficial in comparison to the settings menu of the youtubers who I have seen making tutorials on the app, who appear to have titlessuch as “new cards”, “lapses”, “timer” etc. in their settings menu. While I am able to change basic settings such as relearning steps, there is no setting for “show new cards before reviews”.
I am wondering whether my version of Anki lacks this setting or if I perhaps have a beta version. The version I use is Version 25.07.5.
That is an old version of the Options screen. You’ve got version 25.07.5 installed, so you should be using the current Options screen. Just click Options – without Shift – and you’ll find that setting under Display Options. Make sure you’re changing it for the preset used by the parent deck you click to study.
Wow, it indeed worked now. I feel so silly. Thank you so much for your help!
The reason I tend to open settings while pressing “shift” is because my Anki sometimes crashes if I don’t. So the 25.07.5 version which I use is not in obsolete - it still works?
In that case, please open anki in a terminal and reproduce the crash, then paste the output here on the forums. It really shouldn’t crash here. But first make sure you’re up to date and did these steps: Troubleshooting - Anki Manual.
It is obsolete. The latest version is 25.09. That being said: in theory even very old anki versions still work provided your hardware supports it and you do not rely on things like syncing or any new features. It’s recommended to use the latest version though, especially if you’re having troubles (the bug might be fixed in the latest version). Not upgrading also exposes you to potential security issues that had been fixed in a newer version.
Alright, thank you! Currently, it does not crash when I try to toggle settings but I will make sure to follow your instructions if the problem reappears.
I understand. The reason I haven’t upgraded is because I am afraid to encounter problems in my current decks if I update to the latest version. For example, I tend to use “Enhanced Cloze” (1990296174) quite a lot when studying and I fear that if I update my Anki, it might stop working with my cards if it is not compatible with the new version - making my cards “invalid”.
Awesome, thank you! Where can I check whether it is compatible with the latest Anki version or not? I am still very new to Anki, so I haven’t yet figured out where to find such things.
While 25.07 isn’t the most recent release, it’s a perfectly fine version to keep using. [It was released in July/Aug of this year.] There’s no need to update Anki unless you think that’s the source of the crash. You can follow the other Troubleshooting Checklist steps first.
The add-on page (which you can link to from Tools > Add-ons). If it hasn’t been updated recently, you should exercise caution, but not every new version of Anki requires add-ons to update. You can also check the recent reviews and/or GitHub issues (if there’s a link) to see if there are signs of a problem.
And your last refuge is just to try updating to the Anki version you want to use. If it isn’t working, restart in safe mode (see #2 on the Troubleshooting Checklist) and figure out which add-ons are having issues.
Yes, it’s fine to keep using. But if there are bugs then the latest version should be used for testing / reproducing. The difference between 25.07.5 and 25.09 is 85 commits with 128 changed files. I doubt that users typically understand if any of these changes could be the source of the crash. Besides: the troubleshooting list does mention the anki version as well. It might be wasted time to troubleshoot with an old version, just to realise that the issue is likely within anki itself, then upgrade and troubleshoot again.
Sometimes PRs accidently fix other issues as well. So just reading the change log alone probably isn’t enough to make sure. The easiest way for a “normal user” is to just test using the latest published stable version, or a published beta version if the user is a bit more technically skilled.
Thank you! In that case, I will probably stick to the version I currently use, as I don’t feel the need to update. Is there any thumb rule for how often you should update you Anki - or would it, in theory, be possible for me to keep using this version forever (as the app doesn’t update automatically)?
Also, would it be possible to return to an old version of Anki if the update wouldn’t be compatible with my add-ons?
There’s no rule. Unless there is a particular fix or new/improved functionality you’re looking for, you generally don’t need to be in any rush to update. The only recent exceptions I can think of is when there have been significant security changes – it’s worth getting those. [You already have the most recent ones I’m thinking of.]
Of course. Your version has the new launcher, so you can select Upgrade/Downgrade from the menu, and roll back to an earlier version.
If you want to know every time there’s a version update, you can watch the releases page on GitHub – Releases · ankitects/anki · GitHub . You could also just check it every 6 months or so.
I’m not sure that’s answerable It depends on what version you downgrade to – and on predicting the future for upgrades. Is there something particular you’re worried about?
Thank you! I am mostly worried I’ll lose my cards. This would be quite disastrous, as I rely heavily on them for my upcoming exam in january.
My last question is if I will be able to access this thread through my account after it has closed, in case I want to revisit the great answers you have provided.
Your cards are save in your local database. They won’t be lost during an update. Though you could export your entire collection before upgrading and save it somewhere safe if you really want to make sure you’ll keep your cards.
Yes, the post here will stay publicly visible, even after it closes.
