Image occlusion flashcards, without drawing the boxes
Upload your lecture and StudyPDF finds the labeled diagrams, places a mask over every label, and builds one occlusion card per figure.
- Masks placed automatically on every label
- Hide all labels or reveal one at a time
- Adjust any mask with the built-in box editor
Sample output
What does the mitochondrion produce?
ATP, the cell's main energy source.
On this page
The slow part of image occlusion is drawing the boxes
Image occlusion is one of the best ways to learn a diagram. You cover the labels, recall each part, and reveal to check. Anki users have sworn by it for years, first through the Image Occlusion Enhanced add-on and now through Anki's built-in occlusion editor.
The method is great. Making the cards is not. A single anatomy figure can carry ten or fifteen labels, and each one needs its own carefully drawn rectangle. Do that for every diagram in a lecture and you have spent your study session on data entry. StudyPDF does that part for you: it reads your file, finds the labeled figures, and places the masks itself.
For Anki users tired of manual occlusion
If you already review in Anki, nothing about your routine has to change. StudyPDF builds the occlusion deck from your lecture, you fix up any mask in the box editor, and then, on Pro, you export a .apkg file that uses Anki's native Image Occlusion note type. No add-on to install, and the cards stay fully editable in Anki's own occlusion editor afterwards.
That makes StudyPDF a front end for the tedious part rather than a replacement for your setup. The mask drawing happens automatically, the spaced repetition keeps happening wherever you like it.
Why occlusion beats plain flashcards for figures
A text card can ask you what the mitral valve does. It cannot ask you where it is. For anatomy, cell biology, histology, geography, and every subject where the exam shows you a picture, the position of a structure is half the answer.
Occlusion cards test exactly that. The mask sits on the diagram itself, so every recall ties the name to the location. Choose hide-all mode to name every part of a figure in one pass, or one-at-a-time mode to drill each label as its own card.
Try it on one lecture
Upload one lecture with a few labeled figures and see what comes back. If the masks need a nudge, the editor takes seconds. The same upload also gives you regular flashcards, a quiz, and a study guide, and everything cites the page it came from.
How to make image occlusion flashcards automatically
- 1
Upload your lecture
- 2
Masks appear on their own
- 3
Check and adjust
- 4
Review here or in Anki
What you get
The occlusion deck you would have made by hand, minus the hour of drawing rectangles.
- No more drawing a box over every single label
- Hide-all or one-at-a-time review modes
- One card per diagram, so decks stay organized
- Works from scans and photos, not just clean PDFs
Questions and answers
What are image occlusion flashcards?
They are flashcards built on top of an image. Masks cover the labels of a diagram, and each review asks you to recall what sits under a mask before revealing it. They are the standard way to memorize labeled figures in anatomy, biology, and similar subjects.
Do I need the Image Occlusion Enhanced add-on for Anki?
No. On Pro and up, StudyPDF exports to Anki's native Image Occlusion note type, which is built into current versions of Anki. The deck imports as a normal .apkg file and the cards stay editable in Anki's own built-in occlusion editor.
How is this different from making occlusion cards in Anki by hand?
In Anki you pick an image and draw a rectangle over every label yourself. StudyPDF reads your whole file, finds the labeled diagrams, and places the masks automatically, one card per figure. You only step in to adjust a mask, not to draw fifteen of them.
3 more questions
Can I adjust the masks if one is off?
Yes. StudyPDF has a built-in box editor where you can move, resize, add, or delete masks on any card. After export you can also keep editing the cards in Anki's occlusion editor.
Does it work with scans and photos?
Yes. StudyPDF reads scanned pages and photos of your textbook, not just clean digital PDFs. If the figure and its labels are readable, it can mask them.
Is it free?
It is free to start. Free gives you about 4 materials a week. Upgrade to Pro for more, and for Anki export.
Make flashcards from your own lecture.
Upload one lecture or chapter and flip through your first cards.