The Stackz ColorModes

In addition to the refresh date, Stackz 2.0 allows to use the color reference to represent different attributes of the entries, such as the test success ratio or the number of test failures. Switching the ColorMode is directly accessible by clicking on the label in the color band.

	All tool dialogs process the entries in the "dark-to-bright" order. Since the color of the entries depends on the current ColorMode, selecting a given ColorMode not only visualizes the test state of the entries, it also defines the learning emphpasis of all tool dialogs.

Details of the ColorModes

All ColorModes are explained in detail below. For each ColorMode, the same entries with the same test state are shown.

note how the brightness of a given entry depends on the current ColorMode. This visualizes the proficiency specific to this mode.

you can click on the bitmap to open a bigger view with more lessons. Note how easy it is to keep the overview over a large number of entries.

spot the entries that would be processed first by any tool opened on all stacks, given the "dark-to-bright" processing order.

 

ColorMode 1: RepeatAdvisor
The darker the color, the bigger the recommendation to refresh - values passing the defined threshold are highlighted.
	Use this mode to repeat the difficult words more often than the easy ones.

This is the most powerful mode in Stackz, where all the entries that are recommended for refreshing are highlighted. The only difference to the ColorMode "RefreshDate" (cf below) lies in the fact that the refresh interval depends on the difficulty of the entry: it is shorter for difficult words and longer for easier ones.

The "difficulty" of an entry can be based on its SuccessRatio or on its current promotion level (column). This and the corresponding refresh intervals can be custimized in the file options.

 

ColorMode 2: RefreshDate
The darker the color, the older the entry.
	Use this mode to keep all your vocabulary up to date.

This is the Stackz classic mode. The color indicates when the last positive test occurred, regardless of the difficulty of the word.

 

ColorMode 3: SuccessRatio
The darker the color, the harder the word.
	Use this mode to attack the difficult words, regardless of their last positive test date.

The color indicates the ratio of positive/negative tests of that word. If there are some failures, many successful tests are needed to bring it to a bright color again.

 

ColorMode 4: FailureCount
The darker the color, the bigger the (past?) problems.
	Use this mode to track your progress by revisiting your (hopefully) old weak spots.

The color indicates the total amount of failures, so here the "problem words" are spotted. Maybe such a problem-word is mastered in the meantime, but this was a hard piece of work!

 

ColorMode 5: SuccessCount
The darker the color, the fewer successes.
	Use this mode to find the entries with few positive tests.

The color indicates the total amount of successful tests. This number is typically bigger for lessons that have been added earlier, this mode allows to detect this difference.

 

ColorMode 6: DefinedOrder (new in Stackz 2005)
The darker the color, the earlier the word
	Use this mode to attack the words in the defined order.

The color indicates the order of the card, which can be defined in the edit dialog of the list content.