So I currently dont have access to my computer and wanted to add a new deck to my collection so I used another computer where I imported the file, logged into my account and I pressed sync. After this all my previous collections disappeared from AnkiWeb. As I don’t have access to my own computer I am worried if they would still be present on that device? Is there any way to restore my previous collection from AnkiWeb, as this computer has none of my previous decks.
If it cannot be restored like this, will my computer still have those decks when I am able to access it again, just for peace of mind…?
Thanks in advance, and let me know if anything needs clarification!
When you did that, since a “first” sync on a new device is always a one-way sync, it sounds like you chose to upload your “collection” – which was just this one new deck – to AnkiWeb, and you overwrote your real collection there. That was where you went wrong.
Presumably your regular computer is turned off right now – or at least Anki is closed and not syncing, right? When you get back to your newown computer, you’re going to need to be careful to fix this –
Start Anki while holding down Shift (until you see the confirmation message), to skip auto-sync. You’ll find that your collection is just like you left it.
In Tools > Preferences > Syncing, choose “On next sync, force changes in one direction” – and then sync. When given the option, you need to upload to AnkiWeb to put this collection back on AnkiWeb. That new one-deck “collection” on AnkiWeb will be overwritten.
Then, you can import the new deck into your real collection, and you’ll be able to continue syncing normally.
Thank you so much for the help Danika! Would it be possible to restore the AnkiWeb from one of those periodic backups without having access to the old device?
Or the only option to recover them is by doing the one-way syncing from the old device as you described in your first reply?
No, the automatic backups only exist locally on the device where Anki (or AnkiDroid or AnkiMobile) is installed. You have to push it to AnkiWeb from there.
Hi Damien, is there any chance you could recover my AnkiWeb from a backup even if it is a week or more old? I haven’t used my Anki much for the past month so it would be okay. That would save my life otherwise I would only have access to my older device in about another month.
Thank you so much in advance and sorry for giving you work
The backup prior to your sync was from Jan, so I’m not sure how much use that is to you, but I’ve restored your collection to it. Please choose Download when you next sync if you wish to keep it.
