Free printable flashcard maker

What the flashcard maker does

EasyPalmCards lays your text out as a sheet of cards on ordinary paper. You type or paste the content, the editor places it on evenly sized cards, and you print the page from your browser. Cut along the lines and you have a set of flash cards ready for revision.

Each card is a small rich text editor. You can use bold, headings, bullet lists and text colour, which helps when a card needs a term, a short definition and one example. If you already have notes in a document, import the file instead of retyping it. Word, Pages, OpenDocument, RTF, TXT and Markdown files are supported.

Printing from the browser is free. PDF export is also available, with a Free daily quota. A Gold subscription removes the quota and lets you save card sets to your account and share them.

Make flashcards in five steps

1. Open the editor Start with a blank set, or pick the exam revision template if you want a structure to fill in.
2. Add your content Paste notes, import a document or type straight onto the cards. One question, term or fact per card works best.
3. Choose a card size In the Layout panel, choose how many cards go on each page. Palm cards fit 8 on a page, cue cards fit 4, and small cards fit 12.
4. Check every card Use Grid view to see the whole set at once. Shorten anything that is too long to read at a glance.
5. Print and cut Print at 100% scale, then cut along the lines. Turn on Cut lines around cards in the Layout panel if you want a guide to follow.

For more detail on paper, print settings and cutting, read the guide to printable flash cards.

Study on screen

Switch the editor to flash card mode and every card gets a front and a back. From there you can flip through the set one card at a time, or use one of three free study modes that make you recall the answer instead of just reading it:

• Learn asks your cards in small rounds, first as multiple choice and then as typed answers, and lets you go over the ones you missed again.
• Test builds a quiz from your own cards, using answers from other cards in the set as options, and shows your score at the end.
• Match is a timed game: pair each term with its answer as fast as you can. Your best time is kept on your device.

Study modes work on phones as well as computers, and ads never appear while you study (the free plan has ads elsewhere; Gold has none). If your cards already live in another app, paste a Quizlet export, upload a CSV file or import from Anki instead of retyping them.

Spaced repetition

Spaced repetition means reviewing a card just before you would forget it. EasyPalmCards uses the SM-2 schedule, the same one Anki started from. When you get a card right, its next review moves further out: the next day, then about six days later, then longer gaps. When you miss it, the card starts again and comes back within minutes. Study due cards shows only the cards that are due today.

On the Free plan your progress is saved on the device you study on. With Gold, progress for saved sets syncs to your account, so you can review on your phone and carry on at your desk.

Double-sided printing

Some people revise better with paper in hand. Flash card mode has two print layouts. Double-sided prints the questions on one side of the sheet and the answers on the back, in the right place to line up. In your print dialog choose two-sided printing, flip on the long edge, and 100% scale.

Fold in half prints each question and its answer side by side. Cut the pair out as one strip and fold it down the middle, so the question sits on the front and the answer on the back. This works on any printer, including ones that only print on one side. A dab of glue stick keeps the halves together.

What makes a good flashcard

A flash card should test one thing. If a card asks for three facts, you will remember the first and skim the rest. Split it into three cards instead.

• Write a question, not a heading. “What are the three types of rock?” makes you recall. “Types of rock” only makes you recognise.
• Keep answers short. A word, a number or one sentence. Longer explanations belong in your notes.
• Use your own words. Rewriting a definition is part of learning it.
• Add an example where it helps. A quick example makes an abstract term easier to remember.
• Sort as you go. Keep three piles: know it, nearly, and not yet. Spend most of your time on the last pile.

For structured revision sets, browse the study templates, or try the free card generator to preview how a block of notes splits into cards before opening the editor.

Use the study modes on screen when you have a few spare minutes, and a printed stack when you want to revise away from a screen, on the bus or at your desk. Both come from the same set of cards.