[Q] Applying .tsk themes is failing - Windows Mobile Development and Hacking General

Hi, people.
I'm facing this weird issue - applying any .tsk theme reverts the overall look to some variation of the Classic Blue theme (gradients and stuff). I monitored and there are only partial registry changes under [HKCU/Software/Microsoft/Today].
Still, if I rename the .tsk to .cab and install it, it seems to be working - not always, though.
I'm on a home-made 6.5.3 ROM/Touch HD, which is pretty basic and stock like, I really don't suspect anything related to that.
From what I remember, this was an issue on several custom ROMs I tried.. but I can't find any info on this.
Any hints ?
TIA

Bump... 10 character filler ...

Related

SPB Mobile Shell 3.0 - Modifications/Hacks (dedicated thread)

I feel this thread to be redundant. This thread basically do the same thing but with bigger success and some active modders:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=507697
As we don't need two of the same threads and I feel I don't have enough time to mod and give in to this myself and not many modders have stepped in. I'm sorry. Consider this thread a good idea but the goal is now in the hands of Zepiii. To hack the hell out of MS 3.0
Good luck Zepiii
Hi,
don't think anyone has missed the amazing pre release of this sweet ap!
I'm a mod freak and there are somethings i would like to change in this prog.
like the programs "tab" only has 3 rows. i want to make this 4. anyone with a bit of experience possibly from the 2.xx series know where to do it?
the configs are simple ZIP files. Just open the DAT file as a ZIP file or rename it to ZIP.
in order to edit the file you need to put in the password which is:
b0fm18zq
Maybe we could custom tailor it and post the modded DAT files collected here. Most of the 2.xx series of mods/skins are portable with a little or no modification except renaming of some picture files (same password in 2.xx). the possibilities are endless
Please remove or correct my post if I'm violating/doubleposting something here.
Regards
/Frewys
DAT Files content:
qa_layouts.dat - This contains only XML files. 61 to be precise lots of interesting stuff! (tried to change the Iconspacing in programs to 24. didn't get my 4 icons row though )
vp_menu_btn.dat - Built in Icons
va_misc_now.dat - Built in system icons
vpw_bkg_now - portrait
vlw_bkg_now.dat - mostly contact icons landscape
va_weather_64.dat - weather Icons largest with XML file
vp_bkg_now.dat - Menu frame
vl_bkg_now.dat - same but in landscape
va_profile.dat - media player and profile widget icons
RegHacks:
adding more pages to lifestyle screen
more buttons in collected start menu
change default sms client (bottom)
Memorysaving (no reghack)
interesting links in similar spirit:
SPB 3.0 today wallpaper
SPB 2.1 skins for inspiration
Great idea. I would also love to see this!!!
Is possible to customise the theme colors that available in mobile shell 3? The existing preferences are to dark(I want a white color scheme). Can we do it by editing a dat file(which?) or a registry hack?
dancer_69 said:
Is possible to customise the theme colors that available in mobile shell 3? The existing preferences are to dark(I want a white color scheme). Can we do it by editing a dat file(which?) or a registry hack?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Dancer_69,
I don't know yet. I just played around with it last night before bed. I'm just a NB in this who poked around with this great ap after not being pleased with everything and curious on what could be achived so i dont have alla the answers this is a team effort. hopfully someone with the experience or knowhow checks this. In the meantime we have to do it by trial and error. and map it all as we go along
Regards
Frewys
good to know
I have discovered that Topaz enhanced menus works great with SPB MS 3.0 activated (and Manila installed but not activated in the today screen) so so far its a necessary evil to have Manila installed until we know possible witch file or reg settings are needed.
Regards
Frewys
i'll be waiting one this, happy moddings
adding more pages to lifestyle screen
this could be good for some. Found this over at modaco.com forum posted by turborepu quote:
"add more pages to lifestyle screen.. bg image pan works fine still
hklm/software/spb software house 2/spb mobile shell/widgets/homescreen
change "pagecount" to desired number.. i put 4. soft reset.."
supposedly its tested on 10 pages. the result is that when paned the wallpaper moves less then with three. If wallpaper size changed it will "smartfit" it to be the "correct" size.
haven't tried this myself yet three is plenty for me ATM
Hello
to improve finger friendly
please in new mobile shell v3
-imake an Sms menu , v2 uses windows Sms.
-alarm menu finger friendly
- apointments menu .....
V2 uses Windows Sms, alarm, apointmente
not very good needs the stylus...
Please make m.shellv3 completely finger friend with sms like iphone and alarm ....
Many thanks
and change applications
open sms with vito Sms ? it´s possible
change attachements ...
manyt hanks
When are you going to stop posting that little list of yours masrterk? Every thread/subforum on xda-developers and spb seems has one of your posts with the exact same thing.
masrterk said:
and change applications
open sms with vito Sms ? it´s possible
change attachements ...
manyt hanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi masrterk,
I personally don't agree. i like to taylor make my GUI and of course the tastes differ. For instants.. i would like to have it pretty barebone and point to the prefered app of choice like resco contactmannager or glarm witch are the best! IMHO annyway
BUT if one could integreate them somehow that would be great if you had that choice.
right now its really easy just to link to those apps from the lifestyle screen.
Regards
Frewys
masrterk said:
and change applications
open sms with vito Sms ? it´s possible
change attachements ...
manyt hanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could use this from the legendary vijay555
http://www.vijay555.com/?Releases:VJBrisk
Remove calendar from professional layout?
Hi guys
i am trying to figure out how to do something that we were able to do in 2.1, but has been left unoptional in 3.0. I would like to get rid of the calendar on the pro screen. All I want to see is my upcoming appointments (if I have any). I don't want the screen cluttered with a pesky grid-style calendar. I am such a nooB at this it is silly, but here I am, messing around with .dat files......
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
It would be nice to create a backup/restore tool for the settings/today items/widgets/etc...
When updating the rom this would be VERY useful!
is the pre release official? where's the download?
looks good from the youtube demos
Anyone figure out the password for the DAT files yet? Seems they changed it from the 2.x releases
Great idea. I just took a peek inside today, thanks for the breakdown of what some of the .dats do.
I have a feeling we'll start seeing some custom widgets in no time.
and yes, the release is now official.
619619 said:
It would be nice to create a backup/restore tool for the settings/today items/widgets/etc...
When updating the rom this would be VERY useful!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is already one in the SPB Shell settings, click the right softkey in settings and there it is, to the left of the exit button.
I tried it myself today, completely uninstalled mobile shell before I installed the official version, loaded the backup and everything was restored in the new version, included widgets and all
themirthfulswami said:
Anyone figure out the password for the DAT files yet? Seems they changed it from the 2.x releases
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am getting in fine using b0fm18zq
That said, I am still trying to figure out what I am doing........
wyldthng said:
Hi guys
i am trying to figure out how to do something that we were able to do in 2.1, but has been left unoptional in 3.0. I would like to get rid of the calendar on the pro screen. All I want to see is my upcoming appointments (if I have any). I don't want the screen cluttered with a pesky grid-style calendar. I am such a nooB at this it is silly, but here I am, messing around with .dat files......
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see the grid calendar on my pro screen anymore. On the pro settings page, choose "calendar", then change # of appointments to "as many as possible". After doing this, mine now shows the next two appointments.

Changing from Vodafone theme?

I've been looking around to see if there's a stock HTC theme for the touch pro 2, as I've got the Vodafone one, which is annoyingly red.
Is there a cab out there somewhere to get ride of it, does anyone know?
This http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=527644 is the best one that I have found so far but it does have some issues.
Is this the scottola from the dvd forums?
stunno said:
This http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=527644 is the best one that I have found so far but it does have some issues.
Is this the scottola from the dvd forums?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks stunno, what issues are you finding?
I'd forgotten how flash happy I'd got with the Kaiser, it seems weird searching around again. Some of the tweaks on the site are incredibly clever, it's great here.
Yep, it's me from the dvd forums.
Talking of issues, I'm going to cry if I hit the off button once more by accident, I've got to find a different way to hold the phone when typing.
It looks like we are sorted!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=528888
and if you follow the weather location program instructions ie copy the manilla file to your SD card before you install this and then copy it back to thw windows folder afterwards, you don't get French place namse
Fantastic - works perfectly so far, thanks for linking to this!
I didn't do the thing to preserve English place names, and I've lost my shortcuts etc, but it's worth it - looks so much better!
Cheers!
EDIT: I've had issues with this, and now need to hard reset my device, as it won't start (gets stuck on Vodafone boot screen). This hapenned after installing this, then AnX1 Nature's Grace v1.0 over the top. This did not work, so I uninstalled both. I then tried to install this theme again (which failed near the end), and now the phone won't start, so I'll need to hard reset
I had an 'episode' this afternoon, too.
Somehow the start.exe reappeared in the task list on the home page and I accidentally clicked it. Manila hung as usual but then would not start at all, so I had to hard reset.
This time I installed the black theme first and am hoping for good things
stunno said:
I had an 'episode' this afternoon, too.
Somehow the start.exe reappeared in the task list on the home page and I accidentally clicked it. Manila hung as usual but then would not start at all, so I had to hard reset.
This time I installed the black theme first and am hoping for good things
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you also install AnX1 Nature's Grace v1.0?
No I just installed the black theme that I linked to above.
Some of the fonts were a bit off on the AnX1 theme, so I thought I would wait until/if they were sorted.
2 days in and it's working perfectly!
After installing the black one from the Topaz secion I installed the Touch of Blue theme and it is spot on!
I think it must have been the cfc compression that was causing the problem
stunno said:
2 days in and it's working perfectly!
After installing the black one from the Topaz secion I installed the Touch of Blue theme and it is spot on!
I think it must have been the cfc compression that was causing the problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for the info, I have just got a Vodafone one and the display is doing me in, my mates HD (unbranded) is what I am after!
Unfortunately what you posted (and other peoples links) are gobbledegook to me as I am an absolute beginner in this field.
I am not stupid, I am not lazy ( I have searched and read) but most TUT's assume you have a basic knowledge etc. I even downloaded a pack of utils to dump my own ROM as an experiment as a thread says 'this is what you need' but when I opened it I got a migrain as it was just a swarm of applications with no clear 'start'.
So what I am asking (nicely I hope) is that someone details step by step how to do what you have done, ie remove the shocking red/pink theme on my Vodafone Pro2 and get something like the stock colours on there.
I understand this is not a 'hard' fix just yet, but will try all the same.
Thanks.
elab
EDIT: Ok I have installed it and it is workin great !! Only one problem, I could not see a 'manilla' folder in Windows to backup prior to install and so now I cannot set the UK in the weather section, anyone know how to get my UK location back please (i use the weather app a lot !)
I think you may have a French manila file. You need to look for Royaume Uni for United Kingdom
There isn't a Manila folder the files you needed to back up are the ones in the Windows folder with manila in the name and no extension
EDIT: I have attached my English weather manila file (or I hope I have), extract it to your windows directory with Total Commander and overwrite the one that is there, then soft reset
stunno said:
I think you may have a French manila file. You need to look for Royaume Uni for United Kingdom
There isn't a Manila folder the files you needed to back up are the ones in the Windows folder with manila in the name and no extension
EDIT: I have attached my English weather manila file (or I hope I have), extract it to your windows directory with Total Commander and overwrite the one that is there, then soft reset
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Stunno, you are a gent !
Last question for now (I hope!) I am struggling to overwrite the file using Total Commander, I assume there is a way to turn file protection/write only status off is there?
Thanks again, I do appreciate it.
EDIT: Sorted it , I renamed the old file, pasted in the new and rebooted. Your file was the right one, thank you !
See, I am learning already
Glad to be of help.
After all that's what this site is for!
I have a vodafone TP2 too the red theme is annoying but I'm growing to like the white background and light feel to the theme, there are two things i would change.
1. the red part of the theme, I think a black/grey glassy look against white would look amazing on such a high Res screen.
2. the notification bubbles that pop up over the TF3D icons for SMS and email are small dark red with red numbers and are almost invisible. Nedd to be changed.
Is there an app or instructions for creating a new full theme for TF3D ??
I used to skin a lot of today screens and launchers on previous devices WM and Palm, haven't done it for a while but would like to have a crack at a new one for my TP2
stunno said:
I think you may have a French manila file. You need to look for Royaume Uni for United Kingdom
There isn't a Manila folder the files you needed to back up are the ones in the Windows folder with manila in the name and no extension
EDIT: I have attached my English weather manila file (or I hope I have), extract it to your windows directory with Total Commander and overwrite the one that is there, then soft reset
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the file, i managed to get my english weather back with it but this other version of TouchFlo is completely missing the facebook intergration for the contact cards????
any help?
Ooh, I hadn't realised as I didn't use Facebook on my phone before I changed the theme.
I'll have to do some research
EDIT: Have you looked at Skybook?
http://www.magnifoca.com/products.html
Not ideal I suppose but better than nothing, and better than the garish VF theme!
for those who are only annoyed by the message counter bubble (pretty hard to read black text on dark red background!), there is a fix here:
http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=29331&st=20
just one file to copy... pretty risk free...
redmanmark86 said:
Thanks for the file, i managed to get my english weather back with it but this other version of TouchFlo is completely missing the facebook intergration for the contact cards????
any help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this might solve your problem
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4117638&postcount=5
Cheers for the 'dot'. I too have actually got quite weirdly fond of the vodafone rom after complaining about it to begin with.
I've changed the themes, etc and ended up changing back again, the only other thing I'd like to change is the bar that pops up when you are changing between favourite contacts. Black on red just doesn't work.
I'm assuming now that it's possible to change in the same way the 'red dot' is changed. Maybe it's time I stopped scratching the surface and got stuck in!
I've been using Max TTM (TF3D Theme Maker) to get rid of the Vodafone theme, only thing I can't change is the black text colour on all the screens (except home) which means you have to pick a lighter wallpaper to be able to see sms and the settings screens.

[REQ] Gray menu fix

What to change in tsk file to make it compatible with new WM6.5 builds and have white menu instead of the gray one? I've red that new tsk files works fine. I'm using m.caroll GlossyBlack theme. Thans
Problem has been popping all over the place on my themes aswell, especially now that everyone is using all the newer builds.
Appearently m.carrol seems to have fixed it in his theme; http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=506584
However I've not found his secret yet and others have asked ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4247220&postcount=71 )
I'd love to find a fix for this. Common fixes i've found on the forums so far haven't shown an improvement.
This has been discussed zillion times before. Look here and do a search!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4288265&postcount=89

Can I change the blue colors of my new AT&T HTC Tilt 2?

Hi all, total newb here.
I have a new Tilt 2 from AT&T and I'm in way over my head here with changing things around (first smart phone). I've been searching these board for several days, trying different things, but I'm not having much luck. Basically, all I want to do is get rid of all the blue on the TF3D. Anyway to do this?
I'd really love a simple, sleek black theme going. I tried the Dusk theme from another thread, but that didn't work. So, in short: Is there a simple, newb-friendly way to change all that blue to black?
Thanks for the time.
I've been digging around quite a bit, and it looks like there's no easy way to do this. So I've been playing with the manila editor I found on these boards, and I have a few questions for anyone who can help me out here.
1. I have found and copied all the manilla files from the phone. I am assuming all I need to do is simply alter the images and replace, correct?
2. In trying to replace the images - changing blue to black with a color replacement tool in Photoshop - I am having an issue with image quality once the file is converted back to a manila file. Here's what happens: I save the original manila file as a .png. I then alter this file by changing it from blue to black. Then I use the manila editor to replace the file. HOWEVER - after I replace the file, the image becomes horribly dithered. This also happens if I save as a .jpg. Any way to retain image quality when converting back to a manila file?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help out.
get MaxManilla and install HDWalls
make a background using HDWalls (save the image to use as theme background so you can see it under "start" too) and apply it.
I have a tilt2 and I flashed to leo energy with dusk... love the switch !
edit:
you can also try applying the HQ Wallpaper patch
Rajinn, thanks for the response. If I may pick your brain for a moment...
When you say "flashed to leo energy with dusk," what does that entail, exactly? (total n00b, remember?) What, exactly, does flashing to leo energy accomplish? Is this something a beginner can accomplish without destroying the phone?
Looking around at the non-AT&T Rhodium, I would be very happy with the standard TF3D black version, but I'll entertain other ways to get something similar. That blue Touchflo is just too... blue.
Thanks!
Alternatively, if this is easier:
Is there a way to change my blue AT&T TF3D to the standard, non-AT&T black TF3D?
lifeboat said:
Rajinn, thanks for the response. If I may pick your brain for a moment...
When you say "flashed to leo energy with dusk," what does that entail, exactly? (total n00b, remember?) What, exactly, does flashing to leo energy accomplish? Is this something a beginner can accomplish without destroying the phone?
Looking around at the non-AT&T Rhodium, I would be very happy with the standard TF3D black version, but I'll entertain other ways to get something similar. That blue Touchflo is just too... blue.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When he said "flashed to leo energy with dusk", he means he flashed to EnergyROM "Leo" (The ROM version) with the "MaxManila Dusk" Manila (aka TF3D) theme. While flashing a custom ROM, like EnergyROM, is pretty safe and has many benefits (such as faster overall speed and a superior user experience), you might not want to try it right away if you're still a bit new to your phone. I recommend you get a good feel for Windows Mobile and the Tilt2 before exploring more advanced options such as custom ROMs.
I would also follow his suggestion of using HDwalls. I've never used it myself, but it's very popular among the boards. There are also premade wallpapers here if you don't want to make your own. If you want to change the bottom slider with all the tabs, you might try this website for premade sliders.
Have had a Tilt 2 for a while now, and wanted to know the same thing. The highlight color is blue on the clock and other things and I hate it too. But I haven't found a way to change them yet. Tried HDwalls and some other stuff. Will end up flashing, just waiting for the right ROM to surface. Sorry. A far as mine tho only highlight is blue, Clear clock,no lines, curtians, sliders, ect...
DaveTheTytnIIGuy said:
While flashing a custom ROM, like EnergyROM, is pretty safe and has many benefits (such as faster overall speed and a superior user experience), you might not want to try it right away if you're still a bit new to your phone. I recommend you get a good feel for Windows Mobile and the Tilt2 before exploring more advanced options such as custom ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, and thanks for the advice. I'd be way in over my head if I tried it and I don't think it's worth the hassle.
I did manage to replace my blue clock, and hopefully I can replace the blue slider. With those two changes, I can definitely live with the remaining blue highlights.
(I now have a transparent clock with the white numbers. If anyone has a link or a .cab file for the stock black background clock with white numbers, I'd be grateful. The transparent is cool, but not quite what I'm after)
Thanks all!
lifeboat said:
I agree, and thanks for the advice. I'd be way in over my head if I tried it and I don't think it's worth the hassle.
I did manage to replace my blue clock, and hopefully I can replace the blue slider. With those two changes, I can definitely live with the remaining blue highlights.
(I now have a transparent clock with the white numbers. If anyone has a link or a .cab file for the stock black background clock with white numbers, I'd be grateful. The transparent is cool, but not quite what I'm after)
Thanks all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I still used Sense 2.1, this worked for me.
working on a tmo version of what you are describing...
... But the trouble is that there are so many image files that need to be converted. also, I agree abou the image quality. in fact, I found that the best way to go about changing images for TF3D is doing the complete oposite of what I was describing in my thread (signature).
the only way to make it look good is to dither it further, or make a design that uses no gradients (yes even a B&W gradient turns out bad). I am not sure why that is. maybe because winmo only supports 8 or 32 bit, and does not support 16 or 24 bit.
I have already changed my slider button from blue to black, but it is a completely different image. and yes, I had to complicate the image a lot for it to look half way decent. I kinda miss M2D in a way because if it.
DaveTheTytnIIGuy said:
When I still used Sense 2.1, this worked for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, I'll give that one a try this evening.
S.V.I: That slider button is the one thing that's driving me nuts. (Well, until it's changed, then something else will come along )
So I understand the process of changing images - once I alter an image using the Manila editor and replace the manila file with the new image, do I simply replace the manila file in the /windows directory?
If so, I noted that I do not have permissions to do a copy & replace (Total Commander needed, right?). Could I simply delete the original manila file and then paste the new file (so no copy/overwrite is needed)?
Thanks!
lifeboat said:
I agree, and thanks for the advice. I'd be way in over my head if I tried it and I don't think it's worth the hassle.
I did manage to replace my blue clock, and hopefully I can replace the blue slider. With those two changes, I can definitely live with the remaining blue highlights.
(I now have a transparent clock with the white numbers. If anyone has a link or a .cab file for the stock black background clock with white numbers, I'd be grateful. The transparent is cool, but not quite what I'm after)
Thanks all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you finally get tired of it, which you probably will, read up on flashing. If you read in the forums for days before asking a question, read on. Flashing, to me, is more benefial than keeping the stock ROM. IF AND ONLY IF, you get a good ROM that has no issues, and stick with it. For those of us who like to flash often, it is more of a hobby to test others work, than for us to use. But if you see a great ROM that you absolutely love the look of it, read read read, and flash flash flash. Be sure to ask as many questiosn as possible before flashing, so you don't mess nothing up though.
slider buttons. hopefully they uploaded bu opera.
these are the sliders buttons that I made. sorry i can not upload any photos. dont have them. but you can try them and see which suits you. just make sure that you disable manila before installing and uninstalling them.

[Q] N00b needs help installing themes

PLEASE HELP!!!!
I know people have started threads about being new and needing help installing themes, but none of them seem to work for me. I'm hoping someone can still help me out.
I just got a Touch Pro 2 for Sprint. OS = Windows Mobile 6.5
I'm trying to change themes. I've read numerous tutorials on many different sites and just can't seem to get it to work. I have HDWallS installed, but it never finds any wallpaper to load. I've tried placing .cab files in various locations on the phone for HDWallS to load, but they don't show up. All I see are folders like "Application Data" "ConnMgr" "Documents and Settings," etc.
I'm a bit confused by the whole thing quite frankly. Does HDWallS only change the wallpaper, and not the entire theme? If so, I guess I'm using the wrong program.
I've tried the tutorial here to no avail.
h ttp://forum.ppcgeeks.com/htc-touch-pro-2/96452-hdwalls-walkthrough-tp2-please.html
I'd like to use one the themes on these 2 pages:
1:
h ttp://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=529576&page=7
or 2:
h ttp://forum.ppcgeeks.com/pocket-pc-themes/74764-popdog54s-icon-sets-wallpapers-s2u2-themes.html (scroll down about halfway to the S2U2 themes, i.e. Star Wars, Star Trek, Halloween, etc.)
For the first site, I thought I could just download the .cab file to the phone, run it, and it would be done. No such luck, nothing happens. Do I somehow need to use HDWallS with the cab file or something?
For the second site, I downloaded a program called S2U2, and installed it, but couldn't get the program to find/load any wallpapers.
How do I get these themes to work? Please help!!! Thanks in advance!!!!!
Bueller? Can some help, please?
I disabled touchflo under settings, ran the .cab file, but no dice. The theme doesnt show up under the themes list! I tried disabling touchflo, installing the .cab, restarting, and then restarting touchflo, but that didnt work either.
What am I missing?
This might sound stupid but have you reboot your phone after this?
The problem is that he isn't installing any themes. HDWalls is an application. It says right on the first post, "...but what you end up with is a flawless wallpaper, higher in resolution than the standard methods, same background on all tabs, and absolutely no glitches or lags in rotation that I have noticed." It's for putting high quality wallpaper as the backgrounds. The other link is for a lock screen application called S2U2. Those themes aren't installed by cab files normally. You generally just copy over the files in the \S2U2 folder and restart the program for it to take affect. Basically the OP's problem wasn't that he didn't read enough.

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