You can use a MODI Anki remote with image occlusion cards for the review actions that Anki exposes during study: reveal the answer, choose an answer button, replay audio if mapped, undo, or move through available controls. The remote does not turn image occlusion editing, mask placement, zooming, or panning into remote-only tasks. Treat it as a review controller for cards that are already built and synced to the app you plan to use.

MODI is an independent Bluetooth accessory, not an Anki, AnkiMobile, or AnkiDroid product, so the exact behavior depends on the active MODI mode and the study app's own supported inputs. Once the remote is connected, the practical question is simple: does the study screen respond to reveal, answer, and navigation commands the way your normal keyboard or gamepad controls would? A practical reference point is Anki remote for visual flashcards, which lists its desktop and mobile workflows along with the distinction between preset and customizable controls.

Reveal

Image occlusion reviews usually begin with a hidden label or covered region and a prompt asking you to identify what is under the mask. With MODI in a supported review setup, the reveal step should use the same kind of study action as an ordinary card. In desktop Keyboard Mode, Space or Enter-style behavior can reveal the answer in Anki. In Switch Mode, the mapped or default Good/Space-style input can perform the reveal action when the app accepts it.

Keep the distinction clear: the remote sends inputs, while Anki decides what those inputs do on the current screen. If you are on the front of an image occlusion card, reveal should be tested from the normal review screen, not from the card browser, image occlusion editor, or note editor. Those areas can require mouse, touch, keyboard, or app-specific controls that are outside a simple reveal-and-answer review workflow.

Answers

After the answer is revealed, the next step is choosing Again, Hard, Good, or Easy when those answer choices are available. MODI Keyboard Mode includes preset inputs for common Anki review actions, including Again, Hard, Good/Next, Easy, Undo, Suspend, Escape, Spacebar, and direction-key navigation. Desktop Anki also has standard keyboard controls, including Space or Enter to reveal or choose Good, plus number keys for answer buttons when they appear.

On mobile, answer behavior comes from the app's gamepad or key-bind settings rather than from desktop Anki shortcuts. AnkiMobile lets users assign gamepad actions in Settings, Review, Gamepads when iOS recognizes the controller profile. AnkiDroid uses Settings, Controls, Set Key Binds. With image occlusion cards, map the buttons you actually need during review first: reveal, Again, Hard, Good, Easy, and possibly Undo, depending on the app's available action list.

Limits

A remote can make review input less dependent on the keyboard, but it does not replace every interaction around image occlusion. Creating occlusion masks, editing note fields, cropping images, selecting regions, browsing media, or changing card templates can still require the tools provided by Anki or the mobile app. If you need to modify the image or the occluded regions, use the normal editor controls, then return to the study screen for remote-controlled review.

Navigation also has limits. Direction-key behavior can help only where the current app screen accepts those inputs, and gamepad-style inputs work only where the mobile app exposes actions for them. Do not assume that every image, webview, menu, or pop-up will respond. When something does not move or select as expected, the next diagnostic step is to identify whether the focus is still on the review screen or inside another interface element.

Testing

Before using the remote with a large deck, make a small test pass with a few image occlusion cards you already understand. Start on the first prompt, press the button you expect to reveal the answer, then choose each answer option you plan to use. Confirm that the answer chosen in Anki matches the button you intended, especially if you customized mappings or recently switched between Keyboard Mode and Switch Mode.

A useful test also includes mistakes. Try Undo after answering, then reveal and answer again. If replay audio is mapped and the card has audio, test that separately; do not treat it as proof that answer choices are mapped correctly. If a button does nothing, check the current MODI mode, the app's key-bind or gamepad settings, and whether another saved Bluetooth pairing is confusing the host device.

Desktop

For desktop Anki, Keyboard Mode is the simplest path when you want preset review controls and do not need custom remapping. No Anki add-on is required for that default workflow. This matters for image occlusion because most review actions are the same as other card types once the card is on screen: reveal, choose an answer, undo if needed, and continue. The image content changes the prompt, not the basic study-control model.

If you want custom desktop button assignments, Switch Mode can be used with the optional MODI add-on. The add-on extends desktop Anki and may need updates when Anki changes, so treat it as a configuration layer rather than a requirement for every user. For image occlusion, keep custom mappings conservative at first. Map the review actions you can verify immediately, then add secondary actions only after the core reveal-and-answer flow behaves consistently.

Mobile

For AnkiMobile on iPhone or iPad, the standard MODI mobile setup uses Switch Mode because it exposes gamepad-style inputs. After pairing, configure actions inside AnkiMobile's review gamepad settings. Test on actual image occlusion cards, since that confirms both the Bluetooth profile and the app-level action assignments. The remote is still independent from AnkiMobile, so the app's settings determine which review actions are available and how each button is interpreted.

For AnkiDroid, the standard mobile setup also uses Switch Mode, with button assignments handled in Set Key Binds. One known display issue can make X-Y-B-A inputs appear as Y-X-A-B in the AnkiDroid menu. Treat that as a visual label mismatch and verify by pressing the physical button on a test card. If the assigned command works during review, the label mismatch does not necessarily mean the remote is sending the wrong action.