How do I convert a PDF to Anki flashcards?

Ask an AI assistant to write tab-separated cards using the prompt above, paste the result into the free CSV to Anki tool, and import the file into Anki. Or upload the PDF to Quizard, which writes the cards and exports them to Anki.

Can it read scanned PDFs?

Only with OCR. Try selecting the text first. If you cannot, run the file through OCR or use a tool that reads images, then check the result closely.

Can I convert Anki back to PDF?

Yes. The Anki to PDF tool turns an .apkg or a text export into printable sheets.

The converter is free and needs no account. Quizard’s free plan includes AI generation for 50 slides or pages a month, and Anki export is free.

All use cases

Turn a PDF into Anki flashcards

Handouts, slide exports and notes all end up as PDFs. Here is how to get them into Anki, and how to avoid the problems PDFs in particular cause.

Last updated 2 November 2026

A worked example

Example: page 3 of a nursing electrolytes handout

Potassium. A typical adult reference range is 3.5 to 5.0 mEq/L, and laboratories vary. Hypokalemia and hyperkalemia can both cause dangerous arrhythmias.

Rows ready for Anki

What is a typical adult reference range for potassium?3.5 to 5.0 mEq/L; laboratories vary [p. 3]
Why do potassium imbalances matter clinically?Both low and high potassium can cause dangerous arrhythmias [p. 3]

Source: Page 3

We wrote this example to show what good output looks like. Real results depend on your slides, so always check them against your own course.

First, check what kind of PDF you have

Try selecting a sentence. If you can highlight it, the PDF holds real text and any tool can read it. If you cannot, it is a scan or an image, and you need a tool with OCR, or you need to run OCR first. Check handwritten pages and tables by eye, because this is where text gets scrambled.

Cut it down first

A 300-page PDF makes a deck you will never finish. Pull out the chapters you are examined on and generate from those. The PDF tools on this site can extract page ranges and merge files in your browser.

Watch tables and columns

Two-column layouts and tables can be read in the wrong order, so facts get attached to the wrong row. That is especially risky with doses and reference ranges. Check any card built from a table against the page.

Check numbers against your course

Reference ranges and thresholds differ between sources. Learn the values your course uses, and put the page number on the card so you can confirm them.

A prompt you can use with any AI assistant

Using only the attached PDF, write Anki flashcards. Output plain text with one card per line, the front and back separated by a single tab, and no header or commentary. One fact per card. End every back with the page number in square brackets, for example [p. 12]. Copy any number, dose or range exactly as printed. List any page you could not read at the end, after a line that says UNREADABLE.

Check the result

Is the UNREADABLE list empty? If not, those pages have no cards.
Did you delete that list before pasting the rows into the converter?
Check every card with a number or dose against its page.
Did anything from a table end up on the wrong row?

Free tools for this

CSV to Anki Turn a spreadsheet or two columns of text into a file Anki imports in one step.
PDF tools Merge, extract pages from and compress PDFs, such as lecture slides, before you upload them.
Anki to PDF Turn an Anki .apkg deck or text export into printable flashcard sheets, entirely in your browser.

What Quizard does here

Quizard reads PDFs page by page, writes cards and questions, and links each one to its page.
Goodnotes and Notability notebooks work too: export them as PDF and send them in by email, the share menu or the Apple Shortcut.
Export any deck to Anki or CSV on every plan.

When this is not the right approach. If your PDF is a published textbook, check its licence and your university’s rules before putting it into any AI tool, and consider a publisher’s own question bank.

Try it on one of your lectures