Why "Tankan"?
Tankan is the name of sweet and delicious variety of orange which
grows on the island of Yakushima. This is the inspiration behind
the orange theme. The word tankan also has additional meanings. It
means "single kanji" (written 単漢) and also "brevity" or
"simplicity" (単簡). Both these meanings are close to what the
program is about!
I'm trying to learn the N3/N2 JLPT kanji, but there are too many!
Enable Tankan's filter, and choose "Filter by: subset". A
set of checkboxes, which break down the kanji into sixteen
groups that you can select individually or in any combination.
See the User Guide for more info.
How can I maintain custom lists or, dictionary entries?
Such features are left out of the program because we believe
they complicate the user interface without adding significant value.
We believe that Tankan's numerous methods for selecting subsets of
Kanji for study are adequate. Please contact support with suggestions
if you believe that a critical feature is missing!
Does Tankan implement the Leitner system?
In short, no. Tankan keeps a detailed response history for each
kanji. Kanji that require more study are identified by evaluating
that history in complex ways. Predating the era of personal
computers, the Leitner system is a manual system of prioritizing the
presentation of paper flashcards.
My kanji look blocky, not like the Tankan screenshots!
It's because of your font: change it! If you're using Firefox,
look in Tools/Options/Content. The font you see in the screenshots
is MSMincho.
Is this really the best way to learn kanji?
In short, no, because there is no single best way.
This program is only a tool for memorization, intended to
complement other forms of study, especially "offline" study
away from the computer. It's important to study the kanji
in their context: words and sentences. Likewise, it is
crucially important to write the kanji.
Speaking of which, you can generate writing practice sheets using
Tankan. Thanks to the web-based interface, anything you see in Tankan
can be sent to your printer. Some Tankan users practise writing from
by using Tankan selecting some Kanji, choosing either Japanese
readings or English meanings, and then printing out the main page.
Working with the printed pages, it is possible to cover up the left
side to hide the kanji, look at the definitions or readings on the
right side and write kanji in the middle space. Then uncover the
kanji and check your work for incorrect or missing strokes.
I get "Error opening file for writing" when installing!
You might not have permissions to the installation folder; choose
another location.
Quite possibly, you have an existing installation of Tankan,
and Tankan happens to be running. Look for the Tankan icon in
the system notification area ("tray"). Right click it and Exit.
Before doing that, you might want to find the browser window
with your Tankan session and save your state!
After quitting Tankan, switch back to the installer's error
dialog box and click the Retry button.
If there is no icon in the system tray, then use the Windows Task
Manager to locate and stop any process named
tankan.exe
and
tankan-service.exe. Then try continuing the
installation. (We have never run into an issue like this.)
Be sure that you don't have any of the Tankan installation materials
open in any application such as an editor or browser. Sometimes the
Windows Explorer shell can prevent files from being overwritten. The
only fix is to stop and restart the Explorer shell or to reboot the
system entirely. Such issues should not affect Tankan unless
you explore the Tankan installation folder.
I accidentally erased my license file!
You can recover your license from the Tankan licensing server,
if you are on the same computer. Simply go through the "activate"
workflow from the main screen. The licensing server will inform you
that you have an existing license. Use the "Provision" button at
the bottom of that screen to have the license reinstalled.
If you lost the license because of a complete operating system
re-install on the same computer, then the license probably won't be
valid for the new installation. However, you need the old license in
order to exercise your option to get a new license through the Tankan
user interface. In this situation, please contact customer support.
I paid for Tankan; how can I use it on a different PC?
You have to transfer the existing Tankan license you have to the new
PC. To do this, you will need a way to transfer files between PC's,
such as an external hard drive or network share. You can also write
an e-mail to yourself and attach the file, and then read the e-mail
and download the attachment on the other computer.
Install Tankan on the new PC using the installer. Then on
both PC's, find the folder where Tankan saves information, such as
C:\Users\<username>\Tankan.
On the old PC, this folder has a file called
license.lisp. Copy the file
license.lisp
to the Tankan folder on the new computer. Tankan will recognize
that this is a valid license, but for a different computer.
Run Tankan, or if Tankan is already running, refresh the browser
window showing Takan's main screen so that Tankan notices the license
file and presents you with a "re-activate" link. Use the
"re-activate" link to go through the process of obtaining a license
on the new computer. You will get a temporary license which gives
you access to the full features. Meanwhile, staff will review
the activation request. If it is granted, a new license will be
prepared for you on the server.
I have a feature idea. Can you implement it?
Every feature suggestion will be given consideration.
Please send any suggestions or bug reports to the support
e-mail address. Thanks!
