How to Easily Zoom in/out Your Screen in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Last updated: June 3, 2022 — 3 Comments

Want to zoom in or zoom out your screen content? It’s easy to do the job via the system built-in magnifier tool.

If you just want to magnify your web pages, press Ctrl and + key combination on keyboard can do the trick in the most web browsers. For others, Ubuntu has a built-in screen magnifier.

It’s definitely the GNOME feature that also works in Fedora Workstation, and other Linux with the desktop environment. Which, can be useful when recording video tutorials.

Enable/Configure Screen Magnifier

It’s easy to enable the feature in Ubuntu 22.04 since “Settings” (aka Gnome control center) now includes the toggle option.

1. First, open “settings” via the top-right corner system menu.

2. When it opens, go to Accessibility from the left, then click on “Zoom” option in right to open the configuration page.

3. In next pop-up dialog, turn on/off the slider icon to enable or disable magnifier. The magnification factor defaults to 1.00 which means no magnification. You may set the value from 0.1 to 32 to either decrease or increase screen size.

There are options to set magnifier position to either follow mouse center or keep centered. Crosshairs in custom color is available to make mouse pointer easy to follow. And, you may adjust the screen brightness, contrast, and color when magnifier enabled.

Keyboard shortcut to Enable/Disable Magnifier

Besides using Gnome control center or Accessibility indicator (the human body icon in system tray), there’s a global keyboard shortcut Super (Windows key) + Alt + 8 to turn on/off the function quickly.

The shortcut key is quite useful. You may change it to any other key combination by going to “Settings -> Keyboard -> View and Customize Shortcuts -> Accessibility”.

As you can see, there are 2 more shortcuts Super + Alt + = and Super + Alt + -. Using them will set “Magnification factor” to 1.00 automatically. So, Super + Alt + 8 will only turn on/off the function but NO magnification, you can then press the 2 shortcut keys at any time to zoom in/out.

Change Magnifier shortcut key via Linux command:

For those familiar with Linux command, it’s possible to change the shortcut key (to Alt+Super+7 for example) using command:

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.media-keys magnifier "['<Alt><Super>7']"

And, reset the key if you want by running command:

gsettings reset org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.media-keys magnifier "['<Alt><Super>7']"

In the previous commands, you may also replace magnifier with magnifier-zoom-in or magnifier-zoom-out to change the corresponding shortcut keys.

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[Workaround] MPV has No title-bar & window border in Ubuntu 24.04 | 22.04

Last updated: May 6, 2024 — 4 Comments

Since Ubuntu 22.04, you’ll find that the MPV media player does NOT have window border and title-bar out-of-the-box.

That’s quite annoying! You can no longer drag resizing the app window. And, title bar buttons (minimize, maximize, and close) only appear when you hover over the window during video playback.

MPV no window border and title bar

Why:

It’s NOT feature but a bug! Someone has reported the issue almost 9 years ago. Though, it’s still not been fixed due to GNOME Wayland protocol.

You know, MPV is a command line media player. It does not use the GUI toolkit for window borders, but the server-side protocol. However, GNOME developers do deliberately do not support the xdg-decoration protocol for server-side decorations in Wayland (via this FAQ).

Ubuntu 22.04 finally switched Wayland as the default session. So, the problem occurs.

Workaround 1: Switch back Xorg Session

Besides MPV, still many applications have compatibility issues with GNOME Wayland. Even the Night Light feature does not work in Ubuntu 22.04 with this session.

As a workaround, user may switch back to the classic Xorg session. To do so, simply log out, click your username in login screen, then select “Ubuntu on Xorg” via the bottom right gear button menu, and finally type password to log in.

To verify your current session either run echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE command in terminal or check in “Settings -> About -> Windowing system”.

Workaround 2: Run MPV via X11 backend

For those prefer GNOME Wayland session, it’s possible to run MPV media player via X11 backend without switch session.

1.) To start video playback from command line, use command:

mpv --gpu-context=x11egl --hwdec=vaapi-copy PATH/TO/VIDEO_FILE

Here --gpu-context=x11egl tells to use x11 backend for video playback. And, --hwdec=vaapi-copy is required to enable GPU hardware acceleration in this case.

Thanks to S. Likhitrattanapisal, you may try --hwdec=vaapi flag to enable hwacc. Though it may not work, it depends on your hardware.

2.) To enable this for global use, you may add the flags into MPV configuration file.

Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When terminal opens, make a copy of configuration file first via command:

sudo cp /etc/mpv/mpv.conf /etc/mpv/mpv.conf.bak

Then, edit the file via command:

sudo xdg-open /etc/mpv/mpv.conf

When file opens, add the following new line:

gpu-context=x11egl

After saving the changes, start playing your movie via MPV. The window border as well as title-bar should be back!

Workaround 3: Use GUI front-end

There are a few media players that use MPV as backend. As far as I know, there are SMPlayer and Celluloid (formerly GNOME MPV), both of which are available to install via Ubuntu Software (or App Center).

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Firefox 101 Released! Allows to use Multiple Microphones at same time

Last updated: May 31, 2022 — Leave a comment

Mozilla Firefox 101 was released today with minor new features and security fixes.

If you do video conferencing regularly with Firefox web browser, you may now use as many microphones as you want, at the same time. It allows to switch your microphones at any time, if your conferencing service provider enables this flexibility.

For non-configured MIME file types, Firefox 101 allows to assign a custom action upon download completion.

Other changes in Firefox 101 include:

  • Allow sites to detect if user has requested web content present with a higher (or lower) contrast.
  • New inspector panel option ‘Click and drag to edit size values’.
  • WebDriver BiDi protocal.
  • Add support for large, small, dynamic viewport units and logical ones (*vi and *vb).
  • Various security fixes.

How to Get Firefox 101:

Ubuntu keeps updating the Firefox packages through its security & updates repository. Simply keep your system up-to-date, you’ll get this Firefox release soon in next few days.

For Ubuntu 22.04 user prefer .deb package, as well as the old Ubuntu 16.04, keep an eye on the MozillaTeam PPA.

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How to Enable & Improve On Screen Keyboard in Ubuntu 22.04

Last updated: April 21, 2024 — 12 Comments

Need on-screen virtual keyboard? Here’s how to enable and use the function in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

The default GNOME desktop environment has built-in on-screen keyboard for use in case you don’t have a physical keyboard. It’s easy to enable this feature by doing following steps one by one:

Enable on-screen keyboard:

1. Firstly, open settings (gnome-control-center) via the top-right corner system menu option.

2. When it opens, navigate to “Accessibility” in the left. In right, screen down and turn on the option for “Screen Keyboard”.

A new human body icon should appear in top-bar, indicates that “Screen Keyboard” has enabled. There are as well toggle options for ‘High Contrast’, ‘Large Text’, ‘Sticky keys’, and more.

Improve OSK Usability:

On-screen keyboard by default only arise in few cases, such as when you focus the search box in ‘Activities’ overview.

However, it does not show you the virtual keyboard in most cases, include typing in text editor or inserting number in a input box.

So the “Improved OSK” extension is present to improve the function by adding a small indicator applet on top-bar. By clicking on it, you may open up the on-screen keyboard at anytime and any input area your cursor focused.

Install “Improved OSK” extension

Method 1: Install extension via browser

Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the command below to install the agent:

sudo apt install chrome-gnome-shell

Next, turn on the slider icon in the link page below to install the extension:

Improved OSK

NOTE: The pre-installed Firefox is a Snap package that does not work for this stuff. Use another browser or try method 2.

Method 2: Use extension manager

Since Ubuntu 22.04, there’s an “Extension Manager” app available in system repository to install and manage Gnome extensions.

1. First press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. Then, run command to install the app:

sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-manager

2. Next, press Windows (Super) key on keyboard, then search for and open the “Extension Manager”

3. Finally, search for and install “Improved OSK” extension using the app under ‘Browse’ tab.

After installed the extension, open its settings page either via “Gnome Extensions” or “Extension Manager” (both available in Ubuntu Software/Gnome Software).

In the preference, you may increase or decrease the keyboard size, ignore touch input, and toggle display the indicator applet.

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How to Enable WebP Image File Support in Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

Last updated: February 24, 2024 — 2 Comments

Got some photo images in .webp file format? Here’s how to open them with system default image viewer (and other GTK apps), and generate image thumbnail in File manager in Ubuntu 22.04 & Ubuntu 20.04

Webp is an image file format developed by Google. It supports both lossy and lossless compression, as well as animation and alpha transparency. The file format has smaller size while keeping good image quality.

You may view the WebP images in Linux via many applications, such as Firefox, Chrome and gThumb. But, that’s not enough! Files (aka nautilus file manager) does not show image thumbnail for webp, and image annotation tools may not open and save images in that file format.

So, this open-source library is present to deal with WebP support for GTK applications.

WebP thumbnail & default image viewer support

How to Install the Library:

The library has been made into some Linux’s own repository, including Arch, Fedora, and Manjaro. For Ubuntu user, you may either build it yourself or use this unofficial Ubuntu PPA.

UPDATE 1: Ubuntu 22.04 now includes the library in system repository. Just run apt install command in step 3 to install it.

UPDATE 2: The PPA mentioned above uses auto-build feature and the 20.04 build is broken so far. So, I made another Ubuntu PPA for choice.

1. Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the command below to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/webp-pixbuf-loader

Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.

2. Linux Mint user needs to run command to update package cache, after adding PPA, which is done automatically in Ubuntu:

sudo apt update

3. Then, run the command to install the library:

sudo apt install webp-pixbuf-loader

In case the command above does not work for you, run sudo apt update first to update cache.

After installation, you can now open WebP images or animations with default image viewer (aka, Eye of GNOME).
In case of you’ve previously opened it via anther image viewer (e.g., Firefox), right-click and go to file “Properties” dialog and set “Image Viewer” as default app to open it. So, you may then double-click to open WebP images.

And, some GTK apps (e.g., GIMP and Shutter screenshot tool) will now support for import/exporting WebP after app restart.

How to remove the library

For any reason, you can remove the library by opening terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command:

sudo apt remove webp-pixbuf-loader

And, remove the PPA either via “Software & Updates” utility under “Other Software” tab or by running command in terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:helkaluin/webp-pixbuf-loader
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Hide Lock Screen option from System Menu in Ubuntu 24.04 | 22.04

Last updated: November 1, 2024 — Leave a comment

Want to hide the lock screen option from the upper-right corner system menu? Here’s how to do the trick in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

For Ubuntu, Fedora and other Linux with GNOME desktop, the screen lock can be disabled either totally or only from the system menu.

Method 1: Single command to disable lock screen

GNOME has a hidden option to disable the lock screen. Simply press “Ctrl+Alt+T” on keyboard to open terminal, then run the command below will do the trick:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.lockdown disable-lock-screen true

This command works on all current Ubuntu releases, including Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04, and even other Linux with recent GNOME, e.g., Debian 11/12, Fedora, etc.

NOTE: This command not only hide the menu option, but also completely disable the lock screen function. The Super+L shortcut and automatic screen lock when system idle will no longer work!

For those prefer a graphical configuration tool, this can also be done via “Dconf Editor” tool which is available to install in Ubuntu Software.

To re-enable this feature, open terminal and run command:

gsettings reset org.gnome.desktop.lockdown disable-lock-screen

Method 2: Only hide menu option via Gnome Extension

To just hide the option from system menu, but keep all other ways (e.g, Super+L and idle action) to trigger lock screen, there’s an extension for Ubuntu 22.04, Fedora 36, and other Linux with GNOME 42.

1.) Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the command below to install extension manager:

sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-manager

2.) Next, press Super (Windows) key on keyboard to open “Activities” overview screen, then search for and open the tool:

3.) Finally, search for and install “Hide Lock item in System Menu” extension from Browse tab and done.

For Fedora 36, you may visit the extension web page and turn on the slider icon to install it.

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Deb-get Make Easy to Install Many App .DEB Packages Not in Ubuntu Repository

Last updated: May 27, 2022 — Leave a comment

Want to install an app via classic DEB package, but it’s not available in Ubuntu’s own repository? There’s a new command line tool “deb-get“, makes installing apps from 3rd party repositories as easy as single command.

Many applications (e.g., Google Chrome, 1Password, Teamviewer and more) provide DEB packages for Debian/Ubuntu either in their own apt repositories / PPAs or for downloading directly in website.

Besides setup the repositories or find and download .deb packages manually, then install apps via apt (or apt-get), “deb-get” do all the things via a short single command.

For example, run the command below in terminal will add Mozilla Team PPA and install Firefox ESR automatically:

deb-get install firefox-esr

Install Firefox ESR via Deb-get

It’s a free open-source tool developed by Martin Wimpress (leader of Ubuntu MATE project) and many other contributors.

Install Apps via Deb-get

For those familiar with apt or apt-get, Deb-get is quite easy to use as it has similar command options.

Update package index:

Before installing any package, you may first run the command to update the package index for the latest sources:

deb-get update

sudo seems to be not required, though you may add it in the beginning in case of permission issue.

Install/Remove packages:

The tool so far supports for 107 apps including 1password, brave-browser, cawbird, discord, docker-ce, docker-desktop, expressvpn, keepassxc, mailspring, onlyoffice-desktopeditors, obs-studio, skpyeforlinux, sublime-text, whatsapp-for-linux. And, it keeps adding more and more apps support.

You may firstly, run the command below to get a full list of supported packages:

deb-get list

Or use deb-get search KEYWORD to find out if your app is supported.

And, to install an app package (google-earth in the case) use command:

deb-get install google-earth-pro-stable

You’ll see it’s setting up repository and use apt command to install the package. If the package is available via direct download link, it will download via curl and then install it via apt.

To find out all installed packages, use command:

deb-get list |grep installed

You may get info about an installed app, including package version, source, website and summary via command:

deb-get show PACKAGE_NAME

Like apt, to remove a package use command with either remove or purge (also delete configuration files) flag:

deb-get remove PACKAGE_NAME

The command will also remove the repository (if any) that was added for the package.

There also many other options, including upgrade to install available updates for all installed packages, reinstall to re-install a package, clean to clear out the local repository of retrieved package files. And, you may just run deb-get in terminal to get more about this command line tool.

How to install Deb-get in Ubuntu:

The tool is designed specially for Ubuntu and its based systems. The project page provides .deb package that installs in all current Ubuntu releases (Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04, 21.10, and 22.04).

Download Deb-get (under ‘Assets’)

Download the package, and open terminal via right-click menu in your ‘Downloads’ folder. And finally, run the command below to install it: 

sudo apt install ./deb-get*.deb

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How to Record Your Desktop with Audio in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Last updated: August 1, 2024 — 11 Comments

Want to record your screen or app window with sounds? Here’s how to do this in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

Ubuntu 22.04 comes with built-in screen recording UI. By pressing Ctrl+Shift+Alt+R key combination on keyboard, you can open it and select recording full-screen or a selection area. However, it does not record audio!

System built-in screen recorder

Method 1: Switch to Xorg session:

There are a few other tools available in system repository that record desktop with audio support. However, most of them do not work in the default Wayland session. As a workaround, you may switch back to the classic Xorg session to get your apps work.

1. Firstly, save your work and log out the current session.

2. In the login screen, click your username, then select “Ubuntu on Xorg” using the bottom right gear button menu.

3. Finally, type password to login and start recording via your applications.

In case you don’t know about any screen recording app, here are some that work in Xorg session with audio support.

  • Kazam
  • SimpleScreenRecorder (ssr)
  • vokoscreen-ng

All the 3 are available to install in Ubuntu Software. You can alternatively press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal, run one of the commands below to install the package in case you hate Ubuntu Software (aka Snap store):

sudo apt install kazam
sudo apt install simplescreenrecorder
sudo apt install vokoscreen-ng

Kazam

Method 2: Use Kooha

Except OBS Studio, Kooha is the only screen recorder that works great in the Wayland session as far as I know.

It supports recording your selected app window, full-screen, and selection area along with computer sound and/or microphone.

Just select the recording mode, enable audio and/or mouse cursor, and click on “Record” button. It will pop-up a new dialog allows to choose either app window or screen display, and start recording after clicking on “Share” button.

And, it can records video into WebM, MKV, MP4, and GIF file formats via the 3 lines icon menu.

Tip: You may minimize the Kooha counting window during recording process, by clicking the app icon on the dock. Though, you need to first enable ‘click minimize’ function by running command in terminal:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.extensions.dash-to-dock click-action 'minimize'

How to Install Kooha in Ubuntu & Other Linux

The software so far only provides Linux packages via Flatpak package. If you’re first time installing a Flatpak package, it’ll take a few hundred MB more disk space for run-time libraries.

1.) Firstly, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the command below to install the flatpak daemon:

sudo apt install flatpak

Other Linux may follow this setup guide to install the daemon.

2.) Then, install Kooha as Flatpak via command:

flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/io.github.seadve.Kooha.flatpakref

Once installed, click the top-left corner ‘Activities’, then search for and open the app:

How to Remove Kooha

Also, in a terminal window (Ctrl+Alt+T) run the command below will remove the package:

flatpak uninstall --delete-data io.github.seadve.Kooha

And, clean up the run-time libraries via command flatpak uninsatll --unused.

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KSnip Screenshot Tool 1.10 Adds Optical Character Recognition Support

Last updated: April 24, 2024 — Leave a comment

The popular Qt based screenshot tool KSnip 1.10.0 was released few days ago with some cool new features. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu.

For those never heard of KSnip, it’s a free open-source cross-platform (supports Windows, Linux and MacOS) screenshot tool with some annotation tools, upload options and more.

By releasing the new 1.10.0 release, it adds new command line options:

  • -p or --saveto <path> to specify where to save image.
  • -o or --upload to upload screenshot via default uploader without opening in editor.

For other command options, simply run ksnip --help in terminal.

With a new OCR plugin, the release now supports for extracting plain text from images. Just open an image, then click on the “Options -> OCR” menu option to use it. Though, it seems to be in very early stage, which is not working in my case.

Other changes in KSnip 1.10.0 include:

  • Add FTP uploading support.
  • Add debug logging.
  • New Save all option.
  • Search in preference.
  • Add support for RGBA colors with transparency.
  • Editing feature improvements.
  • And various bug-fixes.

How to Install KSnip 1.10

Option 1: Snap package

The easiest way to install the tool in Ubuntu is using the official Snap packages. Simply open Ubuntu Software, then you can search for and install it via few clicks.

Install Ksnip via Ubuntu Software

Option 2: AppImage / Deb

The software project page also provides AppImage and Deb packages, as well as Windows and Mac OS packages for download under ‘Assets’ section:

Download Ksnip

For most Linux, you may download the non-install AppImage package, make it executable via right-click menu “Properties” dialog -> “Permissions” tab, and finally click run the package to launch it.

For Debian and Ubuntu based system, download the .deb package and install it by running command in terminal (press Ctrl+Alt+T to open terminal):

sudo apt install ~/Downloads/ksnip-*.deb

NOTE for Ubuntu 22.04, double-click installing this local deb via “Software Install” option may not work properly. It refers to the Snap package, rather than installing the local package.

Option 3: Ubuntu PPA (unofficial)

For those prefer Ubuntu PPA, here’s an unofficial repository with Ubuntu 20.04 and Ubuntu 22.04 support.

Simply press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal, and run the commands below one by one will add the PPA and install the screenshot tool from it.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/ksnip
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ksnip libkimageannotator0 libkcolorpicker0

Install the OCR plugin:

The OCR plugin is available to install as a separate package. It’s available to download at the link below:

Download OCR plugin

Click to expand the ‘Assets‘ section, download & install the .deb package for Debian and Ubuntu based system.

Uninstall Ksnip

For the snap package, simply click ‘uninstall’ button in Ubuntu Software.

For deb package, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard and run the command below to remove it:

sudo apt remove --autoremove ksnip libkimageannotator0

And, remove the Ubuntu PPA (if added) by running command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/ksnip
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Linux Kernel 5.18 Released! How to Install it in Ubuntu 22.04

Last updated: May 23, 2022 — Leave a comment

Linux Kernel 5.18 was released on this Sunday. Ubuntu 22.04 user can install this new kernel via the mainline PPA repository.

The new Kernel release comes with many new features, and here are some of them:

  • Intel Hardware Feedback Interface “HFI” Driver
  • Intel Software Defined Silicon (SDSi) driver
  • AMD HSMP driver
  • Intel Indirect Branch Tracking (IBT)
  • New Razer Driver & Tablet improvements.
  • Intel’s Platform Environment Control Interface (PECI)
  • Intel Alder Lake N graphics and Alder Lake “PS” audio support.
  • SiGma Micro keyboard control ICs support

How to Install Kernel 5.18 in Ubuntu 22.04:

Ubuntu has build the kernel package in its Kernel Mainline PPA, available to install in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

NOTE: The Mainline Kernel package does not include any Ubuntu-provided drivers or patches, which are NOT appropriate for production use. ONLY install when you do require it and use at your own risk!

The Kernel 5.18 .deb packages are available to download at the link below:

Download Kernel 5.18

For Ubuntu 22.04 desktop PC/laptop, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run the commands below one by one to download the packages:

cd /tmp
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.18/amd64/linux-headers-5.18.0-051800_5.18.0-051800.202205222030_all.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.18/amd64/linux-headers-5.18.0-051800-generic_5.18.0-051800.202205222030_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.18/amd64/linux-image-unsigned-5.18.0-051800-generic_5.18.0-051800.202205222030_amd64.deb
wget -c https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v5.18/amd64/linux-modules-5.18.0-051800-generic_5.18.0-051800.202205222030_amd64.deb

Then install them via command:

cd /tmp && sudo apt install ./*.deb

In addition, there’s a third-party graphical tool can do the job with a few clicks.

Install Kernel via third-party tool

After installation, restart your computer and verify by running command:

uname -a

How to Remove Kernel 5.18:

To remove this kernel from your system, firstly boot (re-boot) with the previous Kernel from ‘Grub menu -> Advanced options’.

When you’re in, run the command below in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) to remove the Kernel 5.18:

sudo apt remove --autoremove linux-headers-5.18.0-051800 linux-image-unsigned-5.18.0-051800-generic

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