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Impress Guide 7.2

Chapter 12
User Interface Variants

Copyright

This document is Copyright © 2021 by the LibreOffice Documentation Team. Contributors are listed below. This document maybe distributed and/or modified under the terms of either the GNU General Public License (https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html), version 3 or later, or the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), version 4.0 or later.

All trademarks within this guide belong to their legitimate owners.

Contributors

To this edition

Peter Schofield

Vasudev Narayanan

Rachel Kartch

To previous editions

First issue of this chapter.

Feedback

Please direct any comments or suggestions about this document to the Documentation Team’s mailing list: documentation@global.libreoffice.org

Note

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Publication date and software version

Published November 2021. Based on LibreOffice 7.2.

Using LibreOffice on macOS

Some keystrokes and menu items are different on macOS from those used in Windows and Linux. The table below gives some common substitutions for the instructions in this document. For a detailed list, see the application Help.

Windows or Linux

macOS equivalent

Effect

Tools > Options
menu selection

LibreOffice > Preferences

Access setup options

Right-click

Control+click or right-click depending on computer setup

Open a context menu

Ctrl (Control)

(Command)

Used with other keys

F11

+T

Open the Styles deck in the Sidebar

Introduction

By default, commands and tools used in LibreOffice Impress are grouped in a user interface consisting of cascading menus and toolbars. The functions and use of these cascading menus and toolbars are described in previous chapters of this user guide.

This chapter describes the user interface variants that are available for LibreOffice Impress. A user then has the option to select the user interface that suits their requirements and methods of creating presentations in LibreOffice Impress.

Selecting user interface

To select a user interface variant or switch between the user interface variants:

1)  Go to View > User Interface on the Menu bar to open the Select Your Preferred User Interface dialog (Figure 1).

2)  In UI variants, select one of the variants. An example of the selected variant is shown in the Preview box, along with a short description.

3)  Click on Apply to Impress to apply the variant selection to LibreOffice Impress only, or click on Apply to All to apply the user interface variant to all the LibreOffice modules. The LibreOffice window changes to match the selected variant.

4)  Click Close to close the dialog.

Note

If the option Enable experimental features has been selected in the Tools > Options > Advanced dialog, several more variants appear in UI variants. Being experimental, these variants are not described in this user guide.

Figure 1: Select Your Preferred User Interface Variant dialog

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Figure 2: Standard Toolbar user interface in LibreOffice Impress

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Standard Toolbar user interface

The Standard Toolbar user interface is the default view when LibreOffice is installed and the Workspace opened for the first time. Figure 2 shows an example of the default Workspace view in LibreOffice Impress consisting of the following:

For more information on the Impress Workspace, see Chapter 1, Introducing Impress.

Tabbed user interface

The Tabbed user interface provides a familiar interface for users coming from proprietary office suites, for example, Microsoft Office. Every tab within this user interface consists of a set of tools grouped by context. The context changes automatically depending on the LibreOffice module and the object selected.

If the tool icons on a tab page do not fit into the width of the Impress window, a double chevron >> appears at the right end of the row. Click the double chevron >> to display more commands.

On Windows and Linux operating systems, the Menu bar can be hidden or displayed by clicking on Menubar at the left end of the Tab bar.

On the right of the Tab bar, a Quick menu (≡) (Figure 3) is available giving access to some commonly used commands and links. Some of the Quick menu items have submenus, indicated by a small triangle ► on the right. The Quick menu is the same for all tabs.

Figure 3: Quick menu options

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Figure 4: Icon bar

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On the left of the Tab bar, an Icon bar (Figure 4) is available giving access to some commonly used tools – Menubar; Open (Ctrl+O); Save (Ctrl+S);Undo (Ctrl+Z); Redo (Ctrl+Y); Start from First Slide (F5).

The Tabbed user interface can be customized as follows:

1)  Click on Quick menu and select Customize from the submenu to open the Customize dialog.

2)  Click on Notebookbar to open the Notebookbar page in the Customize dialog.

3)  Select or deselect the various tools in Assigned Commands.

4)  Click OK to save the changes and close the Customize dialog.

For more information on the customization of LibreOffice, see the Getting Started Guide and the Writer Guide.

Note

When using the Tabbed user interface, the Impress toolbars are no longer visible. If necessary, it is possible to open toolbars by going to View > Toolbars on the Menu bar or Quick menu > Toolbars.

Fixed tabs

File tab

The File tab (Figure 5) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools, for example, to create new documents; open, save, print, and close documents; manage templates and so on. The File tab has a File menu (Figure 6) and a Help menu (Figure 7) providing links to a variety of resources and containing the same tools as the tools available on the tab.

File tab tools from left to right

  1. New

  2. Open Templates Manager (Shift+Ctrl+N)

  3. Save as Template

  4. Open (Ctrl+O)

  5. Recent Documents

  6. Open Remote File

  7. Save (Ctrl+S)

  8. Save As

  9. Save Remote File

  10. Export

  11. Export Directly as PDF

  12. Attach to Email

  13. Print (Ctrl+P)

  14. Print Directly

  15. Toggle Print Preview (Shift+Ctrl+O)

  16. Properties

  17. Digital Signatures

  18. Sign Existing PDF

Figure 5: Tabbed user interface - File tab

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Figure 6: File tab - File menu

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Figure 7: File tab - Help menu

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Home tab

The Home tab (Figure 8) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools, for example, to cut, copy, paste, and format text; insert common items; and so on. The Home menu (Figure 9) at the right end of the Home tab bar provides additional tools that are not on the tab.

Home tab tools from left to right

  1. Paste (Ctrl+V)

  2. Cut (Ctrl+X)

  3. Copy (Ctrl+C)

  4. New Page (Ctrl+M)

  5. Duplicate Page

  6. Delete Page

  7. Slide Layout

  8. Clone Formatting (double click for multi‑selection)

  9. Clear Direct Formatting (Shift+Ctrl+M)

  10. Font Name

  11. Bold (Ctrl+B)

  12. Italic (Ctrl+I)

  13. Underline (Ctrl+U)

  14. Strikethrough

  15. Toggle Shadow

  16. Font Size

  17. Set Character Spacing

  18. Character Highlighting Color

  19. Increase Font Size (Ctrl+])

  20. Decrease Font Size (Ctrl+[)

  21. Font Color

  22. Align Top

  23. Align Left (Ctrl+L)

  24. Center Vertically

  25. Align Center (Ctrl+E)

  26. Align Bottom

  27. Align Right (Ctrl+R)

  28. Toggle Unordered List

  29. Justified (Ctrl+J)

  30. Toggle Ordered List

  31. Set Line Spacing

  32. Increase Indent

  33. Increase Paragraph Spacing

  34. Decrease Indent

  35. Decrease Paragraph Spacing

  36. Left-To-Right

  37. Right-To-Left

  38. Insert Text Box (F2)

  39. Insert Vertical Text

  40. Insert Line

  41. Rectangle

  42. Curves and Polygons

  43. Basic Shapes

  44. Connectors

  45. Flowchart

  46. Line Color

  47. Fill Color

  48. Start from First Slide (F5)

  49. Start from Current Slide (Shift+F5)

  50. Find and Replace (Ctrl+H)

  51. Start from First Slide (F5)

Figure 8: Tabbed user interface - Home tab

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Figure 9: Home tab - Home menu

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Insert tab

The Insert tab (Figure 10) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools to insert many commonly used items. The Insert menu (Figure 11) at the right end of the Insert tab bar provides some of the same tools.

Insert tab tools from left to right

  1. New Page (Ctrl+M)

  2. Duplicate Page

  3. Insert Page from File

  4. Table

  5. Insert Chart

  6. OLE Object

  7. Insert Image

  8. Open Clip Art and Media Gallery

  9. Photo Album

  10. Insert Audio or Video

  11. Insert Hyperlink (Ctrl+K)

  12. Insert Fontwork Text

  13. Insert Snap Guide

  14. Field

  15. Insert Text Box (F2)

  16. Insert Vertical Text

  17. Insert Line

  18. Rectangle

  19. Polygon

  20. Ellipse

  21. Curve

  22. Callouts

  23. Lines and Arrows

  24. Curves and Polygons

  25. Basic Shapes

  26. Stars and Banners

  27. Symbol Shapes

  28. Callouts

  29. Block Arrows

  30. Flowchart

  31. Connectors

  32. 3D Objects

  33. Insert Special Characters

  34. Insert Formula Object (Ctrl+Alt+=)

  35. Insert Emoji

  36. Insert Image

  37. Insert Text Box (F2)

  38. New Page (Ctrl+M)

Figure 10: Tabbed user interface - Insert tab

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Figure 11: Insert tab - Insert menu

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Layout tab

The Layout tab (Figure 12) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools to create a slide layout. The Layout menu (Figure 13) at the right end of the Layout tab bar provides some of the same tools.

Layout tab tools from left to right

  1. Page Properties

  2. Header and Footer

  3. Set Background Image

  4. Save Background Image

  5. New Page (Ctrl+M)

  6. Duplicate Page

  7. Delete Page

  8. Rename Page

  9. Hide Slide

  10. Show Slide

  11. Page Up (Shift+Ctrl+Up)

  12. Page Down (Shift+Ctrl+Down)

  13. Change Slide Master

  14. Master Background

  15. Master Objects

  16. Rotate

  17. Align Objects

  18. Arrange

  19. Slide Layout

Figure 12: Tabbed user interface - Layout tab

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Figure 13: Layout tab – Layout menu

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Slide Show tab

The Slide Show tab (Figure 14) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools for creating a slide show. The Slide Show menu (Figure 15) at the right end of the Slide Show tab bar provides some of the same tools.

Slide Show tab tools from left to right

  1. Start from First Slide (F5)

  2. Start from Current Slide (Shift+F5)

  3. Rehearse Timings

  4. Custom Slide Show

  5. Slide Show Settings

  6. Slide Transition

  7. Animation

  8. Minimize Presentation

  9. Color

  10. Grayscale

  11. Start from First Slide (F5)

Figure 14: Tabbed user interface - Slide Show tab

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Figure 15: Slide Show tab - Slide Show menu

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Review tab

The Review tab (Figure 16) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools for reviewing a slide show. The Review menu (Figure 17) provides additional text editing tools. Some of these tools appear only if Asian or Complex Text Layout are selected in Tools > Options > Language Settings > Languages.

Review tab tools from left to right

  1. Spelling (F7)

  2. Thesaurus (Ctrl+F7)

  3. Toggle Automatic Spell Checking (Shift+F7)

  4. Hyphenation

  5. Comment (Ctrl+Alt+C)

  6. Next Comment (Ctrl+Alt+Page Down)

  7. Previous Comment (Ctrl+Alt+Page Up)

  8. Delete Comment

  9. Delete All Comments

  10. Comments

  11. Redact Document

  12. Toggle Edit Mode (Shift+Ctrl+M)

  13. Comment (Ctrl+Alt+C)

Figure 16: Tabbed user interface - Review tab

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Figure 17: Review tab - Review menu

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View tab

The View tab (Figure 18) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools to control the display of slides on a screen. The View menu (Figure 19) provides additional tools relating to the display of slides on a screen.

Top row, left to right

  1. Normal

  2. Slide Sorter

  3. Notes

  4. Outline

  5. Master Slide

  6. Master Notes

  7. Master Handout

  8. Zoom & Pan (Ctrl to Zoom Out, Shift to Pan)

  9. Zoom Previous

  10. Entire Page

  11. Zoom Next

  12. Page Width

  13. Sidebar (Ctrl+F5)

  14. Rulers (Shift+Ctrl+F5)

  15. Display Grid

  16. Menubar

  17. Toggle View Bars Visibility

Figure 18: Tabbed user interface - View tab

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Figure 19: View tab - View menu

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Extension tab

The Extension tab (Figure 20) is a fixed tab containing only the tool to access the Extension Manager allowing the installation of extensions that are compatible for use in LibreOffice.

Figure 20: Tabbed user interface - Extension tab

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Tools tab

The Tools tab (Figure 21) is a fixed tab providing a default set of tools for working with, for example, macros; color replacer; media player; and so on. The Tools menu (Figure 22) provides some of the same tools, plus extra tools for organizing, for example, macros and dialogs; image map; data sources; and so on.

Tools tab tools from left to right

  1. Run Macro

  2. Basic (Alt+F11)

  3. Edit Macros

  4. Minimize Presentation

  5. Color Replacer

  6. Media Player

  7. Design Mode

  8. Toggle Form Control Wizards

  9. Group Box

  10. Label

  11. Option Button

  12. Text Box

  13. List Box

  14. Check Box

  15. Combo Box

  16. Numerical Field

  17. Formatted Field

  18. Currency Field

  19. Date Field

  20. Pattern Field

  21. Time Field

  22. Push Button

  23. File Selection

  24. Image Button

  25. Navigation Bar

  26. Image Control

  27. Table Control

  28. Form Properties

  29. Form Navigator

  30. Activation Order

  31. Open in Design Mode

  32. Control Properties

  33. Automatic Control Focus

  34. Options (Alt+F12)

Figure 21: Tabbed user interface - Tools tab

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Figure 22: Tools tab - Tools menu

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Additional tabs

Additional tabs appear between the View and Extension tabs when an object in Impress is selected.

Draw tab

The Draw tab (Figure 23) becomes available when a drawing object is selected in a slide. It provides tools for editing, transforming, grouping, aligning, and distributing draw objects. The Draw tab menu (Figure 24) provides some of the tools required for editing, transforming and converting drawing objects.

Draw tab tools from left to right

  1. Interaction

  2. Transformations
    Rotate
    Set to Circle (Slant)
    Flip
    Distort
    In 3D Rotation Object
    Interactive transparency tool
    Set in Circle (perspective)

  3. Rotate

  4. Flip Vertically

  5. Flip Horizontally

  6. Distort

  7. Set to circle (slant)

  8. Line Style

  9. Area

  10. Area Style/Filling

  11. Line Color

  12. Arrow Style

  13. Shadow

  14. To Curve

  15. Left

  16. Top

  17. Centered

  18. Center

  19. Right

  20. Bottom

  21. Bring to Front (Shift+Ctrl++)

  22. Send to Back (Shift+Ctrl+-)

  23. Bring Forward (Ctrl++)

  24. Send Backward (Ctrl+-)

  25. Points (F8)

  26. Convert to Curve

  27. Symmetric Transition

  28. Close Bézier

  29. Eliminate Points

  30. Move Points

  31. Split Curve

  32. Insert Points

  33. Corner Point

  34. Delete Points

  35. Smooth Transition

  36. Show Glue Points Functions

  37. Combine (Shift+Ctrl+K)

  38. Merge

  39. Split (Shift+Ctrl+Alt+K)

  40. Subtract

  41. Select at least three objects to distribute

  42. Intersect

  43. Group (Shift+Ctrl+G)

  44. Enter Group (F3)

  45. Exit Group (Ctrl+F3)

  46. Toggle Extrusion

  47. Depth

  48. Direction

  49. 3D Color

  50. Surface

  51. Insert Fontwork Text

  52. Fontwork Shape

  53. Fontwork Alignment

  54. Fontwork Same Letter Heights

  55. Fontwork Character Spacing

  56. Area

  57. Line

  58. Position and Size (F4)

Figure 23: Tabbed user interface - Draw tab

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Figure 24: Draw tab - Draw menu

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Image tab

The Image tab (Figure 25) becomes available when an image is selected in a slide, for example a photograph. It provides tools for working with images, such as cropping, borders, area styles, colors, and so on. The Image tab menu (Figure 26) provides links to dialogs for working with images.

Image tab tools from left to right

  1. Interaction

  2. Compress

  3. Rotate

  4. Crop Image

  5. Flip Vertically

  6. Flip Horizontally

  7. Replace

  8. Save

  9. Line

  10. Area

  11. Line Style

  12. Area Style/Filling

  13. Line Width

  14. Line Color

  15. Arrow Style

  16. Shadow

  17. To Curve

  18. Left

  19. Top

  20. Centered

  21. Center

  22. Right

  23. Bottom

  24. Bring to Front (Shift+Ctrl++)

  25. Send to Back (Shift+Ctrl+-)

  26. Bring Forward (Ctrl++)

  27. Send Backward (Ctrl+-)

  28. Filter

  29. Brightness

  30. Contrast

  31. Transparency

  32. Gamma

  33. Image Mode

  34. Color

  35. Area

  36. Line

  37. Position and Size (F4)

Figure 25: Tabbed user interface - Image tab

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Figure 26: Image tab - Image menu

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Object tab

The Object tab (Figure 27) becomes available when an object, such as a chart, is selected. It provides tools to position, resize, choose colors, and so on for the selected object. The Object tab menu (Figure 28) provides extra tools matching the type of object selected.

Object tab tools from left to right

  1. Interaction

  2. Transformations

  3. Rotate Flip Vertically

  4. Flip Horizontally

  5. Distort

  6. Set to circle (slant)

  7. Line

  8. Area

  9. Line Style

  10. Area Style/Filling

  11. Line Width

  12. Line Color

  13. Arrow Style

  14. Shadow

  15. To Curve

  16. Left

  17. Top

  18. Centered

  19. Center

  20. Right

  21. Bottom

  22. Bring to Front (Shift+Ctrl++)

  23. Send to Back (Shift+Ctrl+-)

  24. Bring Forward (Ctrl++)

  25. Send Backward (Ctrl+-)

  26. Area

  27. Line

  28. Position and Size (F4)

Figure 27: Tabbed user interface - Object tab

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Figure 28: Object tab - Object menu

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Table tab

The Table tab (Figure 29) becomes available when a table is selected in a slide. It provides tools to format a table to the presentation requirements. The Table tab menu (Figure 30) includes extra tools for editing a table.

Table tab tools from left to right

  1. Interaction

  2. Insert Column Before

  3. Insert Row Above

  4. Insert Column After

  5. Insert Row Below

  6. Delete Column

  7. Delete Row

  8. Insert Line

  9. Area

  10. Borders (Shift to overwrite)

  11. Border Style

  12. Area Style/Filling

  13. Border Color

  14. Fill Color

  15. Merge Cells

  16. Split Cells

  17. Select Table

  18. Select Column

  19. Select Row

  20. Optimize

  21. Align Top

  22. Align Left (Ctrl+L)

  23. Center Vertically

  24. Align Center (Ctrl+E)

  25. Align Bottom

  26. Align Right (Ctrl+R)

  27. Right-toLeft

  28. Justified (Ctrl+J)

  29. Table Design

  30. Table Properties

Figure 29: Tabbed user interface - Table tab

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Figure 30: Table tab - Table menu

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Media tab

The Media tab (Figure 31) only becomes available when a media object is selected in a slide. It provides tools for positioning and running an audio or video file. The Media tab menu (Figure 32) includes extra tools for editing a media object.

Media tab tools from left to right

  1. Name

  2. Media Player

  3. Rotate

  4. Left

  5. Top

  6. Centered

  7. Center

  8. Right

  9. Bottom

  10. Bring to Front (Shift+Ctrl++)

  11. Send to Back (Shift+Ctrl+-)

  12. Bring Forward (Ctrl++)

  13. Send Backward (Ctrl+-)

  14. Play

  15. Pause

  16. Stop

  17. Repeat

  18. Media Player

  19. Area

  20. Line

  21. Position and Size (F4)

Figure 31: Tabbed user interface - Media tab

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Figure 32: Media tab - Media menu

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Single Toolbar & Sidebar user interfaces

When selected, the Single Toolbar and Sidebar user interfaces only show the Menu bar with no toolbars. However, toolbars can be added to either of these user interfaces by going to View > Toolbars on the Menu bar and selecting the required toolbar from the options available. For more information on toolbars, see Appendix B, Toolbars in this guide and the Getting Started Guide.

Tabbed Compact user interface

The Tabbed Compact user interface has the same tabs as the Tabbed user interface, but the tools on each tab are arranged as a single row of tools. Some of these tools have drop‑down menus with extra options. Figure 33 shows an example of the File tab in the Tabbed Compact user interface.

The tab menu on the right of the Tabbed Compact user interface provides the same options as the tab menus in the Tabbed user interface, see “Tabbed user interface” for more information.

Figure 33: Example of Tabbed Compact user interface showing File tab

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Groupedbar Compact user interface

The Groupedbar Compact user interface is divided into groups that contain commands organized as sets of tools and menus. The tools and menus that are available change to suit the type of object selected. Clicking on the double chevron >> displays more tools for editing an object. Figure 34 shows an example of Groupedbar Compact user interface when a basic shape object is selected.

The Groupedbar Compact menu (Figure 35) on the right-hand end of this interface provides extra tools for working with LibreOffice Impress, including convenient ways to change the user interface and access toolbars.

Figure 34: Example of Groupedbar Compact user interface with an object selected

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Figure 35: Menu for Groupedbar Compact UI

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Contextual Single user interface

The Contextual Single user interface displays a single toolbar to suit the type of object that has been selected. Clicking on the double chevron >> displays more tools for editing an object. Figure 36 shows an example of a Contextual Single user interface when a basic shape object is selected.

Figure 36: Example of Contextual Single user interface with a basic shape selected

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