Changelog

🎙️ Introducing Live Audio Transcription

Transform your lecture experience with our groundbreaking Live Audio Transcription feature! Now you can convert real-time audio from your classes into digital notes, flashcards, and quizzes instantly. Say goodbye to frantic note-taking and hello to more engaged learning!

Here is a quick demo of the new live transcription feature now in Memo:

✨ New

• Live Audio Transcription: Automatically convert lectures into digital study materials

• Memo AI Tutor: Ask questions and get clarifications during live lectures

• Real-time Q&A: Interact with the AI tutor without interrupting the class

• Instant Study Materials: Generate notes, flashcards, MCQs, and quizzes from transcribed lectures

• Practice Tests: Create and take exams based on lecture content immediately after class

At the moment, live audio transcription is in beta and is currently only in English whilst we are testing it. More languages will be coming out very soon.

Thank you for your continued support of Mimo (formerly PDF2Anki). As a small team of medical students, we're committed to revolutionizing your learning experience. Happy studying!

Memo Team

🃏 New Flashcard Toggle in Notes Mode

Enhance your note-taking experience with our new /flashcard feature! This toggle allows you to create flashcards directly within your notes, hiding answers for effective self-testing.

✨ New

- /flashcard command in Notes mode: Create toggleable flashcards within your notes

- Redesigned interface for tablet and larger screens: Easy switching between Cards and Notes views

- New dropdown menu in the top-right navigation bar for regeneration and download options

💎 Improvements

- Increased PDF file size limit: All Pro/Ultra plans now support up to 500MB (previously 50MB)

- Reorganized layout:

- Notes view moved to right-side toggle on tablet+ screens

- Full-screen Notes mode available by turning off the source panel

- AI Tutor now more accessible, replacing the previous download deck button

🐞 Fixes

- Various UI adjustments for improved user experience

Note: Flashcards created in Notes mode are currently independent of the Cards view. We're working on syncing between Notes and Cards for a future update!

Thank you for your continued support of PDF2Anki. As a small team of medical students, we're committed to enhancing your learning experience. Happy studying!

PDF2Anki Team

Dear PDF2Anki users,

Hello everyone, this is Jason, the co-founder of Memo (formerly PDF2Anki).

We're excited to announce that PDF2Anki is now called Memo. It is the same great tool you know and love, with powerful new features and a new branding.

Our domain has changed from pdf2anki.com to memo.cards. By visiting the new site, you'll be redirected to memo.cards automatically. Please note that for the first time, you will need to login again. The same account credentials will apply and your data and payment plans are still the same.

Story be told, PDF2Anki started as a weekend project in a library as an internal tool for ourselves and our friends at HKU medical school. Calvin (my growth co-founder) and I were both pre-clinical medical students at the time and met in our first semester's PBL (Problem Based Learning) class.

During our first year of medical school, we had to dabble with learning and memorizing huge amounts of knowledge to be stuffed into our cerebral cortex. This includes a lot of different subjects, including anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology, and clinical medicine etc.

Personally, I have been using Anki ever since high school biology and chemistry which has proven to be a game changer for me and ultimately Anki is the one I should thank for getting into medical school and passing my year 1 summative examinations.

However, as we progressed through medical school, we realized that manually creating flashcards was a tedious and time-consuming process. After every lecture, e.g. let's say after gastrointestinal microbiology, we would spend like 4 to 6 hours upon hours creating flashcards for ourselves.

The spaced repetition system is something that is crucial for us and Anki is really the only solution in the market that is effective for us.

Recommending Anki to our friends and classmates was always a challenge, as it was not as easy to use as it should be. In addition, we found, after asking many of our peers, the #1 problem is that it is just too time-consuming to create flashcards.

After our first year's summative exams, we had lunch and thought of the idea if AI can help expedite the process. At that time, ChatGPT was recently released and we thought whether or not we can leverage this technology to solve this exact problem for us. Surprisingly, at that time at least, not many solutions existed that can help us with this problem.

I started to code and build a prototype and after a few weeks, I got something working. I asked my friends to try it out and they were amazed at how much better it was compared to the manual process.

Calvin started making videos and sharing it via social media and it grew exponentially from there to a point our servers kept crashing - our database and website was not prepared for the amount of traffic. Mind you, the first version was a super scrappy Python web app meant to be used just for the few of us only.

We started by creating flashcards for ourselves, and then we shared them with our friends. Before we knew it, we had a community of over 100,000 users.

Our Journey: From Medical Students to Learning Innovators

As medical students, we intimately understood the challenges of managing vast amounts of information. We created PDF2Anki to solve a problem we faced ourselves: the need for efficient, effective learning tools.

Version 1: The Scrappy MVP

Inspired by the rise of generative AI, we spent a weekend in the library creating a simple MVP built on Streamlit. As medical students, we intimately understood the challenges of managing vast amounts of information. Our goal was to solve a problem we faced ourselves: the need for efficient, effective learning tools. It wasn't pretty, but it worked, and it resonated with fellow students who shared our struggles. This scrappy beginning laid the foundation for what would become a global learning revolution.

Version 2: Growing and Learning

As our user base grew from a few thousand to tens of thousands, so did our ambitions. Version 2 expanded our capabilities significantly, introducing more advanced AI models and improved user interfaces. However, it wasn't without its challenges. We faced server capacity issues and had to quickly adapt to meet the growing demand. Your feedback during this phase was invaluable in shaping our vision. We learned about the diverse needs of students across different disciplines and began to see the potential for PDF2Anki to become more than just a flashcard tool.

Version 3: The Modern PDF2Anki (now Memo)

Today, we're proud to announce that PDF2Anki is now renaming to Memo. This change reflects our broader vision for the future of learning. Built from the ground up with Next.js, Memo offers the fastest and most modern web experience for your learning journey. It encapsulates our expanded goals beyond just flashcard creation, addressing the needs of our diverse user base, which now includes 180,000 users from over 30 different academic disciplines. We've seen adoption from students at prestigious institutions like Oxford and Cambridge, and even received heartfelt messages from users in conflict zones who found our tool invaluable. Memo represents our commitment to creating a comprehensive learning system that can adapt to various needs, from ADHD support to accessibility for visually impaired users.

Why Memo?

What started as a weekend project in a library has grown beyond our wildest dreams. In just one year, our amazing community of 180,000 users from over 30 different academic disciplines has generated over 10 million flashcards. We've seen adoption from students at prestigious institutions like Oxford and Cambridge, and even received heartfelt messages from users in conflict zones who found our tool invaluable.

We grew out of the name of "PDF2Anki" - frankly, it was a bit of a mouthful, people would always ask us what it stands for. In particular, we under-estimated how many people don't know what Anki is (especially out side of the medical student community).

As I continued to work on PDF2Anki, I continued to expand the capabilities of the app including Notion-like flashcard editing, built in spaced-repetition review, shared decks and library etc.

People would say that PDF2Anki sounds like those online conversion tools like mp3 to wav etc. However, we wanted to be more than just an PDF to flashcard conversion tool. We wanted to be the smarter and more efficient way for students to learn around the world.

Our mission is to build the future of human cognition and knowledge and we are working super hard to increase the number of super learners in the world.

Memo is our answer to these evolving needs. The name "Memo" embodies our expanded vision in two key ways:

1. It's short for "memory," reflecting our commitment to enhancing your learning and retention across all disciplines.

2. It evokes the idea of a "memo card" or flashcard, paying homage to our roots while signaling our expansion beyond just flashcard creation.

3. It is short and easy to remember and pronounce and our goal is to build a great product in public such that referring your friends to Memo is as easy as possible. We know we still have a lot to work on and it is a very long way to go and we are working super hard to get there.

This dual meaning encapsulates our goal: to be your comprehensive memory and learning companion, supporting students and learners worldwide in their quest for knowledge.

What's New with Memo?

1. Learn Mode - Our Spaced Repetition System: Optimize your study schedule based on scientific principles, ensuring long-term retention and efficient learning.

2. Multi-format Learning: Create and interact with study materials from various sources, adapting to your preferred learning style and content type.

3. Memo Cats: Our friendly AI assistants provide personalized guidance, answering questions and offering study tips tailored to your needs.

4. Faster, More Intuitive Interface: Experience a seamless learning journey with our redesigned platform, optimized for speed and ease of use.

And this is just the beginning. We're committed to building in public, listening to your feedback, and continuously improving Memo to meet your evolving needs.

Our Vision for the Future

We believe learning is the key to human progress. With Memo, we're not just creating a product; we're fostering a community of super learners capable of quickly acquiring and applying knowledge.

As we look to the future, we're excited to:

• Expand our AI capabilities to provide personalized learning experiences, including adaptive quizzes and custom study plans

• Introduce gamification elements to make learning more engaging and rewarding, including achievements, leaderboards, and study streaks

• Develop social features to connect learners, enabling study groups, peer-to-peer support, and collaborative learning experiences

• Integrate with popular learning management systems and educational platforms to streamline your study workflow

• Develop advanced analytics to give you deeper insights into your learning patterns, helping you identify strengths and areas for improvement

• Collaborate with educational institutions and researchers to continually refine our learning methodologies

Join Us on This Journey

You've been with us from the start, from our scrappy MVP to the sleek, powerful tool Memo is today. We couldn't have done it without you, and we can't wait to see what we'll achieve together in the future.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to build in public. Thank you for being part of our community. Here's to the future of learning!

Jason
Co-founder of Memo (formerly PDF2Anki)

Introducing our new Learn Mode! This powerful feature leverages spaced repetition to intelligently schedule your learning, optimizing long-term retention. With the Smart Grading toggle, Memo AI can grade your responses and automatically select the appropriate scheduling buttons for you. Plus, receive personalized feedback on your performance, along with additional context and mnemonics to boost your memory.

🎨 New Visual Identity Sneak Peak → Soon We are Rebranding to Memo!

• New generating decks screen featuring one of our new memo cats, Bobby!

• Currently updating slight changes in UI Color Palette

• More illustrations and animations to come in 4.0

✨ New

• Learn Mode: Spaced repetition system for optimized learning

• Smart Grading: AI-powered automatic grading and scheduling

• Personalized feedback and mnemonics in Learn Mode

• "Start from Scratch" as an option for creating decks without any PDFs.

• New navigation buttons for different input sources

• AI Models have been updated with smarter intelligence and better output flashcards. This includes using GPT-4 and GPT-4o as a minimum for all processing.

💎 Improvements

• Enhanced AI capabilities for better performance

• Redesigned Learn Mode buttons in a 2x2 grid layout

• Updated Learn Mode button colors for better visibility

• Sorting decks by page number for easier navigation

• Removed the "New" badge for a cleaner interface

• Added renaming notices to Memo for better user guidance

🐞 Fixes

• Resolved issue in Flashcard Mode where answers could be seen when flipping to the next card

• Fixed PDF input number problem

• Corrected typo on the onboarding screen

• Eliminated glitchy scrollbar on marketing sites

Thank you for your continued support of PDF2Anki. As a small team of students, we're committed to enhancing your learning experience. With this major update, we're excited to bring you more powerful tools to streamline your studies. Happy learning!

PDF2Anki Team

Elevate your study materials with our new drag-and-drop image feature! Easily enrich your notes and flashcards with visual content directly from your computer.

✨ New

- Drag & Drop Images: Seamlessly add images to notes and flashcards by dragging files from your computer

- Support for image insertion in both the notes section and individual flashcards

💎 Improvements

- Enhanced user interface for smoother image integration

- Optimized image processing for faster upload and display

🐞 Fixes

- Resolved 500 error occurring on Explore and Library pages

Thank you for your continued support of PDF2Anki. As a small team of medical students, we're committed to enhancing your learning experience. Happy studying!

PDF2Anki Team

We're excited to introduce our new editor with a Notion-like block editing experience! This major upgrade is now present in the brand new notes interface as well as answers in your flashcards.

✨ New

• The brand new Notes tab is now editable with full manual control of text, font size, font type, styles, tables, bullet list, images, etc!

• Block-based notes and flashcards editor for a Notion-like editing experience

• You can now add images to the Notes and also to the answer field of the flashcards!

• Brand new design of the notes tab with section at the bottom to get started with the 4 types of notes with AI creating the first personalized draft

• Please note that if your deck had notes generated before, it will show up the old version of the Notes tab that is non-editable

• Brand new design of the Flashcards, Practice Test and Download button

💎 Improvements

• Saving badge has now been moved to the top right corner navigation

• Improved loading animation and loading state for going into the deck with better snappiness and responsiveness

• Toast messages (e.g. Deck uploaded successfully!) is now moved to the bottom right corner to prevent obstruction to content

• Enhanced server action handling

• Restructured and streamlined codebase for better maintainability

• Improved error handling and success messages for various actions

🐞 Fixes

• Fixed issues with flashcard optimistic updates

• Resolved inconsistencies in code style and structure

Thank you for your continued support of PDF2Anki. As a small team of students, we're committed to enhancing your learning experience. Happy studying!

PDF2Anki Team

We're thrilled to introduce 4 couple game-changing features that will revolutionize your study experience: Lightning fast editing and deleting; capture selection; deck sharing and explore page and manual card creation.

✨ New

⚡ Lightning-Fast Flashcard Management:

• Edit and delete flashcards with instant feedback - no more waiting!

• Changes appear immediately, making your study sessions smooth and interruption-free

• Behind the scenes, we're still saving your work, but you won't notice any delay

📸 Capture Selection Tool:

• Click the camera icon to select PDF content and generate study materials

• Our Vision AI processes various content types (text, diagrams, tables)

• Create flashcards, multiple-choice questions, or fill-in-the-blank questions

• Custom request bar for personalized learning materials

🦽 Manual Card Creation

• A new option to start the deck from scratch

• Choose to create the first few cards manually and selective generate specific cards using the regeneration tool or capture selection tool

🌐 Deck Sharing:

• Share your decks with others using a simple link

• Choose between public and private decks

• All existing decks are private by default

• New decks are public by default, with an option to make them private

🔍 Explore Page:

• Discover and access shared decks from other users

• Browse a variety of topics and subjects

• Expand your knowledge beyond your own materials

🚀 Other Enhancements:

• Side-by-side auth page: Improved layout for tablet and desktop viewports

• All Topics Selector: Easily select or deselect all topics in the review screen

💎 Improvements

• Redesigned Flashcard Skeleton for better loading experience

• Updated loading components across exam, flashcard, and dashboard areas

• Enhanced settings management with immediate page refresh after saving

• Improved dark mode compatibility for chat components

• Optimized PDF viewer performance and functionality

🐞 Fixes

• Resolved settings state retention issue

• Fixed footer UI and positioning problems

• Corrected library route pagination behavior

Thank you for your continued support of PDF2Anki. As a small team of students, we're committed to enhancing your learning experience and fostering a collaborative learning environment. Enjoy the speed, share your knowledge, and happy studying!

PDF2Anki Team

🎨 Unified Flashcard Experience

We're excited to introduce a completely revamped flashcard screen that unifies all PDF2Anki modes into a single, intuitive interface. This major update streamlines your study process and enhances overall usability.

✨ New

• Unified flashcard interface: Access all card types (flashcards, MCQs, and cloze) from a single page

• Toggle between card types: Easily switch between different card formats without navigating to separate pages

• Enhanced sorting options: Sort cards by creation date or page number

• Topic toggle: Organize and filter cards by different topics

• PDF/Notes view toggle: Show or hide the PDF/Notes view as needed

• Tutor view switch: Alternate between flashcard and tutor views

💎 Improvements (Thanks to Nelson!)

• Scrollable flashcard container: View all cards from all pages by simply scrolling, replacing the old page number viewer

• Dark mode support: Reduced eye strain with our new dark theme, powered by next-themes

• Mobile navigation: Updated background color for better readability and consistency

• Folder selection interface: Enhanced arrangement and responsiveness for easier deck organization

• Layout transitions: Switched from flex to grid in various components for improved space utilization

• Profile dropdown: Streamlined UI with new imports and enhanced structure

• PDF loading: Improved image thumbnail rendering for a smoother upload experience

🐞 Fixes (Thanks to Nelson!)

• Resolved 500 internal server error related to Action Client

• Enhanced error handling in core functionality

• Fixed clickable area of homepage link

• Improved cookie handling with new CookieOptions

• Resolved syncing issues between devices

• Corrected text rendering problems for certain UI elements

Thank you for your continued support of PDF2Anki. As a small team of medical students, we're committed to enhancing your learning experience. We'd like to extend a warm welcome to Nelson, our new team member who has contributed significantly to this release. Happy studying!

PDF2Anki Team