Choose a mode according to what you want to do in the next session: check a meaning, type an answer, compare pairs, draw, or listen. You can use the same deck for different tasks without making a separate copy.

## Pick a task from Study Modes

The **Select Study Mode** dialog separates **Study Modes**, **Game Modes**, and **Brain Gym**. Under Study Modes, these options offer different ways to work with your cards:

| Mode | A practical use |
| --- | --- |
| Flashcards | Read a prompt, attempt an answer, then reveal the other side. |
| Multiple Choice | Choose an answer from the displayed options. |
| Writing | Type an answer when you want to check its wording or spelling. |
| Match List | Match terms and definitions in a list. |
| Drawing | Sketch an answer, character, diagram, or formula. |
| Audio Review | Play a continuous sequence of questions and answers using text-to-speech. |

Start with Flashcards to inspect a new deck's content. Switch to Writing when typing is the task you want to practice, or Audio Review when you want a listening session. These are workflow suggestions, not a requirement to complete every mode in a fixed order.

If a mode says it needs more usable cards, check that the selected cards have both prompts and answers. A partly filled deck may not provide enough material for a matching or choice activity.

## Make the review screen fit your cards

In **Settings**, **Zen mode** hides distractions across study modes while keeping answers and essential controls available. Try it when you want fewer controls on screen; turn it off when you need the extra information again.

Two other controls apply to **Flashcards** review and help with content that does not fit comfortably:

- **Enable Scroll** allows scrolling for very long card content. Check that you have read the whole answer before moving on.
- **Image below text** puts each side's image beneath its text instead of on a separate flip. This control is disabled when **Display Images Only** is enabled.

Scrolling can make an existing long card usable, but an answer that requires several screens may also be a reason to rewrite it as smaller prompts in the [web editor](/wiki/first-deck-web-editor).

## Check direction, filters, and session size

**Reverse Review** shows the definition first and the term afterward. For a vocabulary deck, this lets you change which language appears as the prompt without exchanging the stored front and back text.

**Favorites Only** restricts study to starred cards. If a session contains fewer cards than expected, check this setting. **Display Images Only** is another filter to inspect if text cards appear to be missing.

For card review sessions, use **Review Cards Number** to select 10, 20, 30, or No Limit, and **Review Sort** to choose the review order. Set a smaller card count when you want a bounded review session. The card-count limit does not apply to continuous **Audio Review**, which plays all selected cards with text.

## Test audio before a listening session

For Audio Review, open **Settings → Text-to-Speech**, enable speech, and check the selected **Speech engine**. Downloaded MOSS voices and device voices have different language coverage and preparation times. Test a short sample and confirm that your sound output works before starting a longer session.

See [downloadable MOSS voices](/wiki/downloadable-moss-voices) for setup, supported languages, and the browser-performance caveats.

## Listen with the Audio Review player

Choose **Audio Review**, then select **Play**. The player reads the question, then the answer, then moves to the next card. It uses all selected cards with text, skipping textless sides and cards. There is no Reveal step or grading. **Reverse Review** changes the side order to answer first.

Use **Pause** to pause listening, **Previous card** or **Next card** to move between cards, or the **Choose card** slider to jump to a position. **Stop** ends playback. Turn on **Repeat deck** if you want the sequence to repeat.

**Speed** offers 0.75×, 1×, 1.25×, 1.5×, and 2×. **Pause between sides** offers 0, 2, or 5 seconds; choose a longer pause if you want time to attempt the answer before hearing it.

The back-arrow **Minimize player** control keeps playback running in a mini-player while you navigate within the app. Keep the browser tab open. Media keys can control playback where the browser supports them; do not assume playback continues after closing the tab or when the computer sleeps.

MOSS reuses voice setup, prepares one upcoming utterance, and saves generated audio locally for replay, including after a reload. Its saved audio cache is bounded to 64 MB and is cleared with **Remove download**. New text or first model use can still take time, particularly in Firefox. Cached audio improves reuse without guaranteeing instant or gap-free playback.