I love the ascending intervals sort order, but I wish I could sort by subdeck first. Essentially, “New card gather order” but for reviews.
Currently, there is a “Deck, then…” review sort order, but unfortunately you also have to sort by due date.
Details:
Recently, I finished a deck of one note type, and started learning a deck with a different note type. Since they’re for the same language, I tried combining them under a single parent deck, so that I wouldn’t have to switch between decks. But unfortunately, having these different note types mixed together is confusing and slows me down.
As far as I can tell, I have two options:
(1) Leave the decks separate — The problem with this is that I have to review a small number of cards for one deck, exit, then open a new deck—which really incentivizes me to skip the reviews in the first place. It would be a lot more convenient to be able to review them quickly and then immediately see new material.
(2) Use the “Deck, then due date” review sort order — The problem with this is that I’m really attached to the ascending intervals sort order. I don’t always have the time to review daily, and I’ve found that this is the sort order that is best for my retention—as long as I review just a few cards, it keeps me from forgetting cards I’ve just learned.
So for me, the ideal solution would be an ascending intervals sort order, with a separate toggle or drop-down (Review gather order) to sort by subdeck first.
I understand that the “Deck, then…” order itself is not recommended per the manual, but I think that, in certain cases, it’s actually very helpful. It allows a lot of flexibility when you’re working with a single broad subject/different note types, and when you want to ensure you stay on top of old, infrequently-due material without it having to feel like a chore that’s distracting you from the new stuff.
I’m not responding to your suggestion, but thinking about ways for you to live with things as they are now, this caught my eye –
Why are you getting confused between the 2 note (or card) types? Are they asking for different sorts of answers, and it’s not clear on the front which answer your supposed to be providing? That should be fixable on your card templates.
There’s an argument to be made (and I’m sure someone can make it better than I …) that switching between different language skills (reading, listening, writing, speaking – or more broadly just recognition and production) during a study session is a benefit, because it’s more like what you brain needs to do on-the-fly when you use a language. So, it might take more effort, but that extra work might be worth it.
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I appreciate the suggestion! One is a typical flashcard (the finished deck) and the other is a cloze type. I guess that the switch from “what does this word mean” to “what is the missing word” is significant enough to slow me down. Since it’s a different process, I have to change the way I approach the card. It’s probably only a second or half a second of hesitation, but it’s enough to be annoying.
As for whether that’s helpful or not, I’m not sure. When it comes to Anki, I’ve found that when I address something that annoys me and/or slows me down (for example, I use JavaScript to add a “NEW!” label on new cards, because otherwise I waste time going “Is this card new or did I forget it?”)—it tends to be a boon. And anything I can do to maintain focus and streamline my studying, leaves me more time and energy to study in general.
I honestly think ascending intervals alone boosted my retention by 10% (this was before I switched to FSRS, which is fantastic), so I’m not keen to let it go. So I’m currently using separate decks. I know it’s a small thing to have to switch decks, but the temptation to skip those musty old reviews is so strong, and occasionally I just can’t help it.
Generally, I’m big fan of “whatever works” – and it’s clear you’re keen to the possible issues, so I won’t interfere. 
But I did have another idea about how to stack these decks – a Filtered Deck with a 2nd filter. You can use the 2 filters to pull from the 2 decks separately (deck:X is:due should be enough for a filter), each will be sorted and presented independently. Yes, you’ll have to rebuild it each day, but it should give you what you’re looking for. Filtered Decks - Anki Manual
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This is a really interesting idea. I already did my reviews for today, but I’ll give it a try hopefully tomorrow…
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Alright… I could certainly be doing something wrong, but I think this leaves no way to limit new cards? For the first deck I can do is:due but for the second deck I need is:due or is:new, and since I can’t know how many cards will be due in advance, I can’t cap the number of new cards.
A really clever idea though. I appreciate the help!
But for New cards you won’t need the ascending intervals order, right? So those won’t have to go through the Filtered deck.
Ahhhh. So you meant to make the filtered deck a subdeck along with the deck containing the new cards! Just tried it, and it worked.
But funnily enough, it messes up the JavaScript for new cards that I happened to mention earlier. That makes it unworkable for me, but others in a similar situation might be able to use it. (And, to be honest, I’d definitely get tired of rebuilding the deck every day.) A really clever workaround nonetheless. I’ve been using Anki for years but I’d never have thought of it.
Just wish there was a simple setting to change, similar to the existing settings.
I’m not sure why the JS would work any differently for those cards. But I’m also not sure why you’re adding that label. Anki already shows you which cards are being introduced for the first time.
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Yeah, in tiny text at the very bottom of the card 
I’m honestly surprised more people don’t ask for this more often, but it does seem to come up every once in a while.
It’s through custom scheduling, which I think differentiates between review types? But I am not a programmer and don’t really even know how the code I wrote works itself, lol.
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