Button Add new at the bottom of the screen makes it possible to add new learning material to SuperMemo.
If you click Add new, SuperMemo will add a new element to your collection and create two editing fields: one for the question and one for the answer. You can type in the question, press Esc to move to the answer field, and type in the answer.
If you press Esc, you will be able to see your newly created element the way it will appear during repetitions.
You can change between editing the question and the answer by choosing Ctrl+T. You can also quickly start editing the question by pressing Q, or editing the answer by pressing A. Esc finishes editing
Professional level
If you want to go beyond simple question and answer mode, you can define a template that will determine the appearance of newly added elements (e.g. font, color, size, number and type of components, etc.).
If you want to use more than one template for different branches of your knowledge tree, read about categories.
After you add a large number of elements to a single branch in the contents window you will be prompted with Category change dialog box that will assist you in selecting another branch to which you will add new items. Keeping a limited number of elements in a single branch prevents reducing the performance of the program due to processing a large number of elements
Frequently Asked Questions
(David Seagull, USA, Jul 10, 1998)
Question:
How can I define French keyboard for use with SuperMemo in
Windows 95?
Answer:
In Windows Control Panel use Keyboard and add French on the
Language tab (e.g. French - Canadian). Set French as default
(Joe Fosnot, USA, Nov 23, 1998)
Question:
How can I quickly increase the size of the font used in questions
and answers?
Answer:
The simplest way is to choose Tools : Options : Appending : Default font and select
the most appropriate font. If you want to define more fonts and
use them differently with different element categories, read
about templates and categories
(Jim Ivy, USA, June 4, 1997)
Question:
What is the difference between a topic
and an item?
Answer:
Topics are used to present knowledge (like chapters in a book),
while items are used to test knowledge by means of repetitions (e.g. they have the question-and-answer
structure). The main difference is that topics do not take part
in repetitions but are only presented before learning a sequence
of items. This helps to approach the subject as a whole before
repetitions begin. See also: Topics vs items
(Bonnie Smithson, USA, Feb 24, 1998)
Question:
How do I put pictures into the answer
part?
Answer:
Check Answer on the
image component
pop-up menu
Question:
What is the purpose of the option Tools : Categories?
Answer:
SuperMemo 98 introduces the concept of a category to help you keep items related to
different subjects in different branches of the knowledge
tree (contents window). It also makes it possible to give
different item groups different appearance (e.g. size of
text components, screen layout, font, color, and many
more). Read more: Using categories
(Charles
Maggio, USA, July 7, 1997)
Question:
I use ChemDraw to create structured formulas of organic
substances. How can I paste them to an image component?
Answer:
You can use your ChemDraw formulas and formulas generated with
other applications as long as they support OLE 2.0. Do not use
the image component here, use the OLE component
Question:
How can I change the position of the question window on the
screen?
Answer:
Alt-click the window twice. It will become
draggable.
Alternatively, you can choose Dragging mode on the question's pop-up
menu or on the element pop-up menu (in the latter case, all components will
become draggable)
(Ryszard Kosowicz, Krakow, Poland, May
16, 1997)
Question:
How can I quickly copy the text of an item to another item
without using clipboard twice (for question and for answer)?
Answer:
Use Duplicate on the element pop-up menu (or press Ctrl+Alt+U on the copied element)
(David Mckenzie, New Zealand, Apr 8, 1998)
Question:
How to make a hyperlink?
Answer:
Ctrl-drag a component to Hyperlink ClipBox (on the main toolbar), go to
the linked element and drag the contents of Hyperlink ClipBox onto the
element
window.
If you remember the number of the linked element, a faster method
would be to input this number after choosing the option Links
: Hyperlink on the component pop-up menu
(Eryk Horloza, Poland, June 3, 1997)
Question:
How can I keep different fonts for the question and the answer
component in SuperMemo 98?
Answer:
The fastest way is:
- Add a new item with Ctrl+A
- On the pop-up menu of the question component choose Text : New font (or Links : Font if you have already defined the font)
- Select the appropriate question font
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the answer components
- On the element pop-up menu choose Template : Save as template. Remember the newly created template name for the next step
- In Tools : Options : Appending : Default item template type in the name of the new template
- Choose Ctrl+A again to see if your new template has been applied correctly
Now your new template with new fonts will be used each time you add a new item. Note, that you should rather use Tools : Categories rather than Tools : Options : Appending : Default item template if you have more than one category in the collection