pleco-to-anki

A Python script which parses XML output from Pleco and creates semicolon-separated CSV data for Anki.

Example

Input:

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<plecoflash formatversion="2" creator="Pleco User -1" generator="Pleco 2.0 Flashcard Exporter" platform="Android" created="1605883885">
  <categories/>
  <cards>
    <card language="chinese">
      <entry>
        <headword charset="sc">感冒</headword>
        <headword charset="tc">感冒</headword>
        <pron type="hypy" tones="numbers">gan3mao4</pron>
        <defn>noun common cold
verb 1 catch cold 2 dialect be interested in; like (usu. used in the negative)</defn>
      </entry>
      <dictref dictid="PACE" entryid="21428224"/>
    </card>
    ...
  </cards>
</plecoflash>

Output:

<span><font color="blue">găn</font></span> <span><font color="purple">mào</font></span>;感冒;noun common cold verb 1 catch cold 2 dialect be interested in. like (usu. used in the negative)
...

Prerequisites

• git or gh, for downloading the repo.
• bazel, for building/running the script.

How to install:

• Download the repo locally with gh repo clone ambuc/pleco-to-anki or git clone https://github.com/ambuc/pleco-to-anki.git.
• Build the project with bazel build ....

Usage

For me, this script is the keystone of a larger pipeline.

Step 1: Export from Pleco:

• On your phone, open Pleco.
• Open the menu.
  • Under "FLASHCARDS", select "Import / Export", then "Export Cards".
  • Under "File Format", set "File format" to "XML File".
  • Under "Include Data", mark "Dictionary definitions" as true.
  • Select "Export now" and save the flash-<todays_date>.xml file to Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

Step 2: Use p2a to generate a .csv.

• On your computer, download the .xml file you created in the previous step.
• Run bazel run :p2a -- --path=your_input.xml > your_output.csv to generate a new .csv file.
• (Mac-only, optional): specify an --audio_out=~/Library/Application\ Support/Anki2/User\ 1/collection.media path to a directory in which to write audio files. (Mac-only since this uses the say utility.)

This generates a new, semicolon-separated file. The first column is the pinyin as HTML, the second column is the word, and the third column is the definition.

Step 3: Use Anki to import the .csv.

• On your computer, open Anki and import the .csv file you created in the previous step.
• Make sure the columns map to fields in your custom card layout. Save, sync, and quit.