#SuperStyler
SuperStyler is an add-on for Anki which allows you to edit stylesheets from the desktop client while previewing the changes on multiple other devices at the same time.
Here is a YouTube video demonstrating the add-on.
This add-on was created in response to the frustration of creating suitable stylesheets for my mobile devices; making small changes, syncing the deck on both ends, and then realising the changes weren't what you needed, is nettlesome. After doing it a hundred times, this add-on mysteriously materialized for the good of compulsive stylesheetists everywhere. It also helps to create better cross-platform stylesheets for those who intend to widely distribute their decks.
Template editing is not (yet!) supported. CSS only. Tested on AnkiDroid, AnkiWeb with FireFox, and the desktop client on Linux and Windows.
Your collection needs to be prepared before using SuperStyler. This is done to avoid having to do a full sync every time you use SuperStyler. SuperStyler needs to create its own card types to ensure it doesn't mess up your real data, but Anki needs to do a full sync any time you add a new card type. It would be very inconvenient to have to full-sync every time you needed to use SuperStyler. Thus, preparing your collection will create empty card types in all of your note types, so you only do a full sync once. These card types will have empty templates, so no new cards are generated. Do not edit those templates yourself in the card editor (see Cleanup). If you create a new note type, the prepare screen will prompt you to prepare again (because the new note type doesn't have the special card type yet).
The main screen lists your notes and all of their card types. You are shown notes instead of decks since the notes are the objects that contain the stylesheets. Editing a note's stylesheet affects all cards.
To begin editing, decide which card type to use as your base template and click the "Start" link next to it. The card's template will be copied over to the SuperStyler card (so your original is untouched) and a server is opened in the background.
Since SuperStyler opens a server to host your stylesheet, you will need inbound access to your machine, which a firewall will block. On Windows, you will be asked to give permission to Anki to allow it to communicate over the network. Stick to the defaults and click the "Allow access" button to proceed.
If you prefer to manually set the port, you must edit the main file that loads the plugin (sstyler.py). You can do this from within Anki. From the menu bar, click on Tools -> Add-ons -> sstyler -> Edit... and follow the instructions there. You must restart Anki to use the new port.
The main window shows you a warning that you must follow. SuperStyler creates brand new cards to freely modify for itself. These cards are in your collection and look identical to the base template you copied, so it's hard to tell them apart. If not removed, these cards may appear in your normal reviews as new cards. You must make use of the "[clear]" link shown on the SuperStyler main screen to remove any junk related to SuperStyler before reviewing normally again.
Click on the "[Open]" link to open the editor.
At this point, there will also be a new dynamic deck which contains the new SuperStyler cards that grab the stylesheet from the SuperStyler server.
This is the deck you must open to preview stylesheet changes when editing. The name of the dynamic deck will contain the note type's name at the end. This deck can be opened on any device to view changes as you make them. Of course, you need to synchronize your collection to make this deck available elsewhere.
Changes to the stylesheet in this window are automatically saved to your model when closed.
Before reviewing normally again, you must remove any temporary SuperStyler data from your collection to avoid interfering with your real data. This means clicking any "[clear]" links in the SuperStyler main window until there are none left (and the warning is gone). Manually deleting the dynamic deck from the home screen is not sufficient; you must use the [clear] option in SuperStyler instead.
If you wish to uninstall the add-on (or otherwise remove all traces of it from your collection), use the "Clean up" link at the bottom of the main window. This will remove any dynamic decks or card types (and their cards) with the prefix "##Styler".
- Using @font-face with a large font on a slow device will result in flickering of text that uses that font.
- AnkiDroid's relative font size has no effect; it always returns to 100% (because relative size is calculated in code before outputting the html/css, which we are replacing)
The plugin will run as-is if you place everything from this level in the Anki add-ons directory. There is one compiled file, maindialog.py, which is generated with pyuic4 (pyuic4 maindialog.ui > maindialog.py).
The output is already included in this project, so you don't need to do anything unless you modify the .ui file.
I manually package it by zipping everything except for the doc directory, the READMEs, and the .ui file.