Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Below are a list of some of the most commonly asked questions that users have about Mental Case. If you don't find what you are looking for here, please email your question to us.

iOS Devices

Can I sync my Mac and iPhone/iPad via USB?

No. Apple does not allow third party developers access to the USB connection at this stage. Mental Case syncs via a wifi (airport) network.

My Mac and iPhone/iPad can't find each other. Why not?

In order for the iPhone and Mac to talk, they need to be connected to the same network. If you have a wifi network at home, usually you will be able to connect to it with your iPhone/iPod touch, and everything will work fine. If it doesn't, you can try creating a computer-to-computer network on your Mac, and connecting to that with your iPod. To find out how to create a computer-to-computer network, open Help on your Mac, and search for 'creating a computer-to-computer network', or read the document online here.

My Mac and iPhone/iPad still can't find each other. Why not?

If your Mac and iPhone still cannot locate each other when connected via a computer-to-computer network, it may help to turn on internet sharing on your Mac. Some users have found that it helps to turn on Internet Sharing in the Sharing pane of System Preferences — to share the Mac's ethernet connection with devices connected via Airport — before you create the computer-to-computer network. Try this if your computer-to-computer network does not work.

My Mac and iPhone/iPad see each other, but when I try to connect, nothing happens. Why?

With version 3.0 and later of Mental Case for iPhone/iPad, you need to enable IPv6 for your Airport network in order to sync. To do this, open System Preferences on your Mac, select your Airport network, and press the Advanced button. Under the TCP/IP tab, make sure the Configure IPv6 setting is on 'Automatically'.

I upgraded Mental Case, and now it won't sync. Why not?

Sometimes we make changes to the syncing protocol to add new functionality to Mental Case. We try to make the new versions compatible with older versions for syncing, but it is not always possible. If you upgrade either the Mac or iPhone versions of Mental Case, and syncing stops working, please check to see that you have the latest version on both platforms. If we upgrade syncing on one platform, we will usually release a new version for the other platform at the same time. To update on the Mac, choose Mental Case > Check for Updates... On the iPhone, go to the App Store, and choose the Updates tab.

Why is syncing so slow?

At this point, third party developers have no access to the USB connection to your iPhone or iPod touch. Syncing has to be carried out via the wireless network, which is much slower. To give you an idea of the difference, a 100GB backup with Time Machine takes an hour or two when connected via USB, and about 2 days over a wireless network.

How much data should I sync?

Because syncing over a wireless network is relatively slow, you should be selective in what you sync. Don't sync your whole library, but choose the cases you want to study on a given day, and don't transfer the others. In this way, you can keep the amount of data to be synced to a minimum, and syncing will take less time.

How do I delete notes and/or cases from my iPhone?

Just swipe your finger left-to-right or right-to-left over any case or note listed, and then press the Delete button that appears. This is the same gesture that is used to delete emails in the Mail app.

How do I download notes from Flashcard Exchange to the iPhone?

You need to have the paid version of Mental Case to do this, not the 'Lite' version. Once you have that version, you go to the 'Exchange' tab. You can then go into Categories, or Search, and find card sets on Flashcard Exchange. When you find a set you want to download, scroll down to the bottom of the information and hit the 'Download' button. The case should then appear in your the Cases tab when it is finished downloading.

How do I download my own notes from Flashcard Exchange to the iPhone?

To download your own notes from Flashcard Exchange, you have to make them 'Public' on the Flashcard Exchange web site. After you enter your user email in the Exchange tab under Account Settings, you should be able to download your notes from 'My Notes' and 'Favorites'.

Mac OS X

Can I sync the Mental Case libraries on two different Macs?

This is not officially supported, though it is possible using an online sharing service like Dropbox, or even MobileMe. To do it, you move the folder ~/Library/Application Support/Mental Case to a synced folder. You then create a so-called symbolic link from the original folder location to the new location. Do this on both machines and they should sync, but be careful: do not have Mental Case open on both machines at the same time, or you could get problems. For more info, see this post. If you decide to do this, always make sure you have a good backup of your library, in case things go wrong.

Import/Export

Can I import flash cards from web sites like flashcardexchange.com?

Yes. Mental Case can import comma-separated values (CSV) files, which you can generate with other flash card applications and on most flash card web sites. In order to export CSV from Flashcard Exchange, you have to have a paid Flashcard Exchange account. (An alternative is to buy Mental Case for iPhone, which can download from a free Flashcard Exchange account.)

Can I share my flash cards with people who don't own Mental Case, or even use a Mac?

Yes. Mental Case allows you to export your flash cards in a variety of formats. You can use CSV format to export text notes for use in other applications (eg spreadsheets). You can also export your flash cards as images (eg JPEG, PNG), or use the print-to-file functionality of Mac OS X to generate a PDF document. If you export notes in Study Archive format, you can upload the file to a file sharing site like DropBox, and allow users of Mental Case for iPhone to import them.

Lessons

What is the Lesson?

The lesson is a collection of all the mental notes that are currently scheduled to be studied.

Why can't I add my notes to the Lesson?

The lesson is prepared automatically for you, based on the lesson schedule you have selected in the preferences (and in your cases and notes). When a note passes its due date, it is added to the lesson automatically. So you don't add notes to the lesson yourself — Mental Case does it automatically for you. All you have to do is choose the lesson schedule that you want to be used for your notes.

Can I study my notes outside the Lesson?

Yes. Simply select the notes or cases that you want to study, and choose one of the slide show viewing options from the Slide Show menu (eg View Notes in Case). Using this approach, you can study any notes you like at any time, independently of the Lesson.

Can I turn off the Lesson?

Yes. Go to the preferences (Mental Case > Preferences...), and in the Notes tab, choose None as the Lesson schedule.

Slide Shows

Can I navigate a slide show manually, rather than have Mental Case change the slides automatically?

Kinda. There are two ways you can get behavior something like this. The first is simply to pause the slide show as soon as it starts, and leave it paused for the whole show. The second is to set the slide viewing times in the preferences to maximum. Provided you don't have slides that need more time than the maximum to view, you will effectively be able to navigate manually.

Can I change the existing slide themes, or make my own?

Kinda. There is no official support for this yet, but if you know some HTML/CSS/Javascript, and are brave, you can do it.

All you need to do is copy a theme (with extension .mctheme) from inside the Mental Case application bundle (right click on Mental Case, and choose 'Show Package Contents', and navigate to Contents/PlugIns) in the following directory

~/Library/Application Support/Mental Case/PlugIns

You need to make this directory yourself in Finder.

Then change the name of the theme, and edit the HTML/CSS files etc inside to make your theme. When you relaunch MC, you should have the new theme available.

If anyone does make a cool theme, and wants to have it included in Mental Case, send it along and we will take a look.