UWP MVVM Data Binding for dummies (textbox.text from String) - c#

Well, having a go at MVVM with UWP template 10. I have read many pages, and although everyone tries to say its really easy, I still can't make it work.
To put it into context, OCR is being run on an image, and I would like the text to be displayed in textbox automatically.
Here is my Model:
public class TextProcessing
{
private string _ocrText;
public string OcrText
{
get { return _ocrText; }
set
{
_ocrText = value;
}
}
}
Here is my ViewModel:
public class ScanPageViewModel : ViewModelBase, INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private TextProcessing _ocrTextVM;
public ScanPageViewModel()
{
_ocrTextVM = new TextProcessing();
}
public TextProcessing OcrTextVM
{
get { return _ocrTextVM; }
set {
_ocrTextVM = value;
this.OnPropertyChanged("OcrTextVM");
}
}
public void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
this.PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
Here is my View:
<TextBox x:Name="rtbOcr"
Text="{Binding OcrTextVM.OcrText, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"
Firstly, that is not working. Could someone try to show where I am going wrong?
Then, the data is coming from a Services file, how would the Services update the value? What would be the correct code?
Thanks in advance.

Following code is cite from code.msdn (How to achieve MVVM design patterns in UWP), it will be helpful for you:
Check you code step by step.
1.ViewModel implemented interface INotifyPropertyChanged,and in property set method invoked PropertyChanged, like this:
public sealed class MainPageViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private string _productName;
public string ProductName
{
get { return _productName; }
set
{
_productName = value;
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(nameof(ProductName)));
}
}
}
}
2.Initialize you ViewMode in you page, and set DataContext as the ViewMode, like this:
public sealed partial class MainPage : Page
{
public MainPageViewModel ViewModel { get; set; } = new MainPageViewModel();
public MainPage()
{
...
this.DataContext = ViewModel;
}
}
3.In you xaml, binding data from viewMode, like this:
<TextBox Text="{Binding Path=ProductName,Mode=TwoWay,UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" Name="ProductNameTextBox" TextChanged="ProductNameTextBox_TextChanged" />

Your OnPropertyChanged call on OcrTextVM isn't actually called in your case, since you set the value in the constructor to its backing field and bypass the property.
If you set the value via the property, it should work:
public ScanPageViewModel()
{
OcrTextVM = new TextProcessing();
}
Of course your view needs to know that ScanPageViewModel is its DataContext. Easiest way to do it is in the constructor of the code-behind of your view:
public OcrView()
{
DataContext = new ScanPageViewModel();
InitializeComponent();
}
Assuming your OCR service is returning a new TextProcessing object on usage, setting the property of OcrTextVM should suffice:
public class ScanPageViewModel : ViewModelBase, INotifyPropertyChanged
{
//...
private void GetOcrFromService()
{
//...
TextProcessing value = OcrService.Get();
OcrTextVM = value;
}
}
On a note, the OcrTextVM name doesn't really reflect what the property is doing, since it doesn't look like it's a viewmodel. Consider renaming it.

Actually, it is very easy once I manage to understand. Here is the code needed to update a TextBox.Text
In the Models:
public class DisplayText : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private string _text;
public string Text
{
get { return _text; }
set
{
_text = value;
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(nameof(Text)));
}
}
}
In the XAML file:
<TextBox Text="{Binding Helper.Text, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" ... />
In the ViewModels:
private DisplayText _helper = new DisplayText();
public DisplayText Helper
{
get { return _helper; }
set
{
_helper = value;
}
}
Then any mod from the ViewModels:
Helper.Text = "Whatever text, or method returning a string";

Related

Xamarin forms ViewModels Inheritance

I work on developing a Xamarin forms application about video games using MVVM for my pet project. I am new in Xamarin forms, I need your advice.
I had a few ViewModels with the same code in it. I decided to create one base ViewModel and inherit others from that.
I have ViewModelBase with PropertyChanged event:
public class ViewModelBase : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private string _title;
public string Title
{
get => _title;
set => Set(ref _title, value);
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected virtual void Set<T>(ref T field, T value, [CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
field = value;
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
I also have a base GamesViewModel from which others are inherited, there is a lot of code, that is why I will show only that I inherit everything properly:
public class GamesViewModel : ViewModelBase
Below are derived ViewModels:
public class NewGamesViewModel : GamesViewModel
and
public class SearchViewModel : GamesViewModel
Problem is I have SearchGame property in the base GamesViewModel:
private string _searchGame;
public string SearchGame
{
get => _searchGame;
set => Set(ref _searchGame, value);
}
When the program is running I put the value inside SearchGame property,and in GamesViewModel I can see that value assigned, but in derived ViewModels value is null:
For example, in debugging in SearchViewModel which is inherited from the GamesViewModel I check the value and it's null.
var test = SearchGame; - value is null here
I don't create any object of GamesViewModel in the project.
In the pages Code-behind files in BindingContext I do like this:
public partial class SearchGamePage : ContentPage
{
public SearchGamePage()
{
InitializeComponent();
BindingContext = new SearchViewModel();
}
}
I tried to explain as more as I can. Maybe in Xamarin forms inheritance with ViewModels work not obviously.
Thank you in advance for the help!
Have a nice day!
First of all, I made a ViewModelBase like following code.
public class ViewModelBase : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private string _title;
public string Title
{
get => _title;
set => SetProperty(ref _title, value);
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected virtual void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs((propertyName)));
}
protected bool SetProperty<T>(ref T storage, T value, [CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
if (EqualityComparer<T>.Default.Equals(storage, value))
{
return false;
}
storage = value;
OnPropertyChanged(propertyName);
return true;
}
}
}
I set a text for SearchGame in the SearchViewModel.
public class SearchViewModel : GamesViewModel
{
public SearchViewModel()
{
SearchGame = "test";
}
}
Here is code about GamesViewModel.
public class GamesViewModel:ViewModelBase
{
private string _searchGame;
public string SearchGame
{
get => _searchGame;
set => SetProperty(ref _searchGame, value);
}
}
Then I make a Label to binding the SearchGame property like the xaml.
<Label Text="{Binding SearchGame}"
HorizontalOptions="Center"
VerticalOptions="CenterAndExpand" />
Here is layout background code.
public partial class MainPage : ContentPage
{
public MainPage()
{
InitializeComponent();
this.BindingContext = new SearchViewModel();
}
}
Here is running screenshot.
I sent a message to the GamesViewModel with search game value like this:
MessagingCenter.Send(this, "search_game", titleViewModel.SearchGame);
var detailPage = (Application.Current.MainPage as MasterDetailPage)?.Detail;
await detailPage.Navigation?.PushAsync(new SearchGamePage());
I subscribe to this message in GamesViewModel constructor and assigned to SearchGame property message value like this:
MessagingCenter.Subscribe<CustomTitleView, string>(this, "search_game", (sender, message) =>
{
SearchGame = message;
});
But as you can see in the code above I create SearchGamePage instance. SearchGamePage constructor calls and I create in it new SearchViewModel instance:
public partial class SearchGamePage : ContentPage
{
public SearchGamePage()
{
InitializeComponent();
BindingContext = new SearchViewModel();
}
}
That's why GamesViewModel constructor calls again and in SearchGame property assign null.
I solved this problem using DependencyService.Register in App.xaml.cs file:
public App()
{
InitializeComponent();
DependencyService.Register<MockDataStore>();
DependencyService.Register<IGameApiClient, GameApiClient>();
DependencyService.Register<IFavoriteGameService, FavoriteGameService>();
DependencyService.Register<GamesViewModel>();
DependencyService.Register<SearchViewModel>();
DependencyService.Register<NewGamesViewModel>();
DependencyService.Register<TitleViewModel>();
MainPage = new MainPage();
}
And finally, in SearchGamePage constructor I assign to BindingContext SearchViewModel like this:
public SearchGamePage()
{
InitializeComponent();
BindingContext = DependencyService.Get<SearchViewModel>();
}
Now everything is fine when I assign value to SearchGame property in GamesViewModel using messenger I can see the same value in the SearchGame property in SearchViewModel because this ViewModel wasn't recreated.
I understand that I didn't give full info when I asked a question. But I hope that if somebody else will face the same problem this answer will be useful.

OnPropertyChange does not update binding if not creating new instance of binding object

I have had some problems with data bindings in WPF, so I have been playing around to try to figure out what is going on. But I ran into something that I do not understand, and I hope someone could explain it to me. The code below is not anything I'm trying to use, it is only for testing.
I have a simple class "Lamp" with only one string property "Name". I also override ToString(), so that it returns the name.
In a "ViewModel" class I create a "Lamp" property and a ICommand:
class ViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
private Lamp _lamp1;
public Lamp Lamp1
{
get { return _lamp1; }
set { _lamp1 = value; }// OnPropertyChanged("Lamp1"); }
}
public ICommand Lamp_click { get { return new RelayCommand(param => LampClickExecute(param)); } }
public ViewModel()
{
Lamp1 = new Lamp() { Name = "Test" };
}
private void LampClickExecute(object param)
{
var name = Lamp1.Name + "I";
//HERE IS THE QUESTION!
//Lamp1 = new Lamp() { Name = name };
Lamp1.Name = name;
OnPropertyChanged("Lamp1");
}
}
In the view, I only have a button that binds to the command, and a label that I'm binding to Lamp1:
<Button x:Name="btn_lamp" Content="Button" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="859,27,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top" Height="29" Command="{Binding Path= Lamp_click}" CommandParameter="{Binding Path=Lamp1 }"/>
<Label Content= "{Binding Lamp1}" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="797,56,0,0" VerticalAlignment="Top"/>
If I in the command create a new instance of "Lamp" with a new name and call OnPropertyChanged (still in the command, it is commented away in the setter) everything is fine and the new value is shown in the view. But if I do not create a new instance, instead just changing the name of the current one, the view is not updated. I have put a breakpoint in the command to see that everytime the button is clicked, there is an "I" added to the name, nothing strange there.
What is going on behind the scenes here? Is it somehow required that the setter is called, eventhough OnPropertyChanged is called in the command?
As I said, I'm not trying to acheive anyhting specific with this code, just want this behaviour explained.
UPDATE:
My ViewModelBase looks like this:
class ViewModelBase : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
internal void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
You should use the INotifyPropertyChanged and add the code to your ViewModelBase class to update any object on the View.
{
public class ViewModelBase: INotifyPropertyChanged
{
#region INotifyPropertyChanged
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = "")
{
var changed = PropertyChanged;
if (changed == null)
return;
changed.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
#endregion
protected bool SetProperty<T>(ref T backingStore, T value,
[CallerMemberName]string propertyName = "",
Action onChanged = null)
{
if (EqualityComparer<T>.Default.Equals(backingStore, value))
return false;
backingStore = value;
onChanged?.Invoke();
OnPropertyChanged(propertyName);
return true;
}
}
}
And then your code should call the OnPropertyChanged
public Lamp Lamp1
{
get { return _lamp1; }
set { SetProperty(ref _lamp1, value; }
}
In your code you are not changing the property Lamp1. You are changing the property in the lamp class Name. If you implement INotifyPropertyChanged in you lamp class with the Name field it will update. With your current code if you changed Lamp1 to a new instance of Lamp with a different name then it would record the change because you are changing the Lamp1 field.
public class Lamp : NotifyChange { //NotifyChange is the INotifyPropertyChanged implementation in a base class
private _Name;
public Name{
get{ return _Name; }
set{
if( _Name != value ) {
_Name = value;
OnPropertyChanged( nameof( Name ) );
}
}
}
}
The property change needs to be implemented where the change is happening or it won't know that its changed. Hope that makes sense why you are not getting the update to show in your view.

Dependency property not updating the UI

I am new to the binding concept and got stuck with the following.
public sealed partial class MainPage : Page
{
Model model;
public MainPage()
{
this.InitializeComponent();
model = new Model();
this.DataContext = model;
}
private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
model.Name = "My New Name";
}
}
class Model : DependencyObject
{
public static DependencyProperty NameProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("Name", typeof(string), typeof(Model), new PropertyMetadata("My Name"));
public string Name
{
get { return (string)GetValue(NameProperty); }
set { SetValue(NameProperty, value); }
}
}
I have bound the Name property to Text property of TextView. All I need to do is, on the button click I want to update the Name value that will have to update the text box value. I thought, if I use dependency property instead of normal CLR property, I dont need to implement INotifyPropertyChanged.
But the value in the UI is not updating as expected. Am I missing something?
Thanks in advance.
There are a couple things that need to be addressed with your question. First of all, your model does not need to inherit from DependencyObject, rather it should implement INotifyPropertyChanged:
public class Model : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
string _name;
public string Name
{
get { return _name; }
set
{
if (_name != value)
{
NotifyPropertyChanged("Name");
}
}
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public void NotifyPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
}
An object that implements INotifyProperty can then be used as a DependencyProperty in your page/window/object:
public static readonly DependencyProperty ModelProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("Model",
typeof(Model), typeof(MainWindow));
public Model Model
{
get { return (Model)GetValue(ModelProperty); }
set { SetValue(ModelProperty, value); }
}
Finally, then, you can bind your TextBox.Text property to that in the XAML:
<Grid>
<StackPanel Orientation="Vertical">
<TextBox Text="{Binding Name}"/>
<Button Click="Button_Click">Click</Button>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
The INotifyPropertyChanged is still necessary here because there needs to be a way for the UI to know that the model object has been updated.

WPF TextBox Not Updating with Data Binding, iNotifyPropertyChanged, and PropertyChanged Trigger

I am having a binding issue I wasn't able to figure out for the past two days. I have thoroughly went through most of the relevant threads on SO, and I still wasn't able to pinpoint where my error lies.
The issue I'm having is with one of the textboxes in my program. The purpose of it is to show the file the user has selected from the file browser. I have bound the text property of it to a string called parameterFileSelected but the textbox never updates even though debugging seems to be showing that the iNotifyPropertyChanged is called and executed properly.
Please help me take a look at my code below if there are any mistakes in my code.
The textbox is part of an xaml called GenerateReports and this view is tied to the GenerateReportsViewModel as follows:
Code for setting datacontext to GenerateReportsViewModel
<Grid >
<Grid.DataContext>
<vm:GenerateReportsViewModel/>
</Grid.DataContext>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
....
Code for TextBox. I have tried removing the Twoway mode, changing it to Oneway and removing the mode but there is no difference.
<TextBox Grid.Column="2" Grid.Row="1" Margin="5" Text="{Binding parameterFileSelected, Mode=Twoway, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" ></TextBox>
To get the file browser and then to pass the selected file result to the GenerateReportsViewModel, this is the function in the codebehind file. The genviewmodel is initialized in the beginning of the codebehind file as GenerateReportsViewModel genViewModel = new GenerateReportsViewModel();
private void ParaFileButtonClick(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
OpenFileDialog openFileDialog = new OpenFileDialog();
if (openFileDialog.ShowDialog() == true)
{
DataContext = genViewModel;
genViewModel.updateParameterFileSelected(openFileDialog.FileName.ToString());
}
}
This is the code that's called in GenerateReportsViewModel to update the parameterFileSelected string the textbox is bound to.
class GenerateReportsViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
private string _parameterFileSelected;
public string parameterFileSelected
{
get { return _parameterFileSelected; }
set { SetValue(ref _parameterFileSelected, value); }
}
public void updateParameterFileSelected(string parameterFile)
{
parameterFileSelected = parameterFile;
}
}
Here is the ViewModelBase the viewmodel is attached to.
public class ViewModelBase : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public void SetValue<T>(ref T property, T value, [CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
if (property != null)
{
if (property.Equals(value)) return;
}
OnPropertyChanged(propertyName);
property = value;
}
protected virtual void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
var handler = PropertyChanged;
if (handler != null) handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
}
EDIT
Working Solution after Applying Kevin's Suggestions
For simplicity sake, the Datacontext was set in the XAML.
<Grid>
<Grid.DataContext>
<vm:GenerateReportsViewModel x:Name="generateReportsViewModel"/>
</Grid.DataContext>
Then, I call the string the textbox was bound to, in the viewmodel directly from code behind.
private void ParaFileButtonClick(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
OpenFileDialog openFileDialog = new OpenFileDialog();
if (openFileDialog.ShowDialog() == true)
{
generateReportsViewModel.parameterFileSelected = openFileDialog.FileName.ToString();
}
}
The ViewModel now uses Kevin's ViewModelBase:
public class GenerateReportsViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
public string parameterFileSelected
{
get { return this.GetValue<string>(); }
set { this.SetValue(value); }
}
}
Thank you Kevin for your solution. Now my 2-day-long problem is solved.
I found out that my previous ViewModelBase was calling iNotifyPropertyChanged but somehow when the View was updated, the value was null instead.
I'm trying to understand why using the ref keyword in your viewModel. I learned a nice way to create the BaseViewModel from the Classon and Baxter book which you can find below. The view-model implements the INotifyPropertyChanged like you did. What you did with [CallerMemberName] is great, it's really magical the way we can reference to our properties thanks to it.
The view model uses a the dictionary to store its properties. It uses a pretty neat trick of looking through the dictionnary keys to see if we contain the string name of the property.Otherwise, we will return a default T value.
public class CommonBaseViewModel: INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private Dictionary<string, object> Values { get; set; }
protected CommonBaseViewModel()
{
this.Values = new Dictionary<string, object>();
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected T GetValue<T>([CallerMemberName] string name=null)
{
if (this.Values.ContainsKey(name))
{
return (T)this.Values[name];
}
else
{
return default(T);
}
}
protected void SetValue(object value, [CallerMemberName] string name = null)
{
this.Values[name] = value;
//notify my property
this.OnPropertyChanged(new PropertyChangedEventArgs(name));
}
protected void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string name=null)
{
this.OnPropertyChanged(new PropertyChangedEventArgs(name));
}
protected virtual void OnPropertyChanged(PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if(this.PropertyChanged != null)
{
this.PropertyChanged(this, e);
}
}
}
As for your GenerateReportViewModel, with the common view model that I provided you, your class then becomes :
public class GenerateReportsViewModel : CommonViewModelBase
{
private string _parameterFileSelected;
public string parameterFileSelected
{
get { return _parameterFileSelected; }
set { SetValue(ref _parameterFileSelected, value); }
}
get
{
return this.GetValue<string>();
}
set
{
this.SetValue(value);
}
public void updateParameterFileSelected(string parameterFile)
{
parameterFileSelected = parameterFile;
}
}
Oh before I forgot, I don't know if it was your intention, but your GenerateReportViewModel is private. This has some impact on your code. Don't forget that by defaut, classes are private!
As for your code behind, even though it could be consider bad practice, I recommend that you have a private field (OpenFileDialog _openFileDialog)that you construct while initializing your page. Because doing it each time your clicking your button is going to consume more data that you need your application to.
//EDIT
I have review my code,and it seemed that the property was not programmed correctly.
public class GenerateReportsViewModel : CommonViewModelBase
{
private string _parameterFileSelected;
public string parameterFileSelected
{
get
{
return this.GetValue<string>();
}
set
{
this.SetValue(value);
}
public void updateParameterFileSelected(string parameterFile)
{
parameterFileSelected = parameterFile;
}
}
More about my comment about constructing the page and binding the view model. While creating your page, you have to create the view-model for that page and then bind it to the data context.
I don't know what you do in your code, but I could provide with this sample such as
public GenerateReportView()
{
InitializeComponent();
//Some operations
var generateReportViewModel = new GenerateReportViewModel();
this.DataContext = generateReportViewModel;
}

INotifyPropertyChanged.PropertyChanged fired, but UI not updated after form loads

Below is an example of my model , ViewModel and xaml binding. The viewmodel implements INotifyPropertChanged. The problem i'm having is...when the wpf form first loads i set ActiveStock and i see both setter and getter being called and the ui is updated to reflect the data correctly.
However, when i later set StockViewModel.ActiveStock, FirePropertyChanged is invoked but i don't see the getter being called, and consequently the UI does not update to reflect the new data. Any ideas what might be happening here?
The second question i have is whether i also need to raise PropertyChanged for the child properties (PriceData and CompanyData) of my model when ViewModel.ActiveStock is changed?
public class Stock
{
public string Ticker { get; set; }
public StockData PriceData { get; set; }
public StockData CompanyData { get; set; }
}
public class StockData
{
...
}
public class StockViewModel:INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private Stock _activeStock;
public Stock ActiveStock
{
get{ return _activeStock;}
set{ _activeStock = value; FirePropertyChanged("ActiveStock");}
}
...
}
XAML:
<UserControl Template="{StaticResource StockTemplate}" DataContext="{Binding ActiveStock}" Tag="{Binding PriceData}" />
<UserControl Template="{StaticResource StockTemplate}" DataContext="{Binding ActiveStock}" Tag="{Binding CompanyData}" />
Edit:
if i remove the DataContext binding for the UserControl and instead set the DataContext for these two controls in code behind when ActiveStock changes, it works fine. why???
The getter is not being called because as far as I can see nothing is "getting" the value, The only properties used are PriceData and CompanyData and these don't use INotifyPropertyChanged
You will have to implement INotifyPropertyChanged on your Stock class for the UI to reflect the changes.
public class Stock : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private string _ticker;
private StockData _priceData;
private StockData _companyData;
public string Ticker
{
get { return _ticker; }
set { _ticker = value; NotifyPropertyChanged("Ticker"); }
}
public StockData PriceData
{
get { return _priceData; }
set { _priceData = value; NotifyPropertyChanged("PriceData"); }
}
public StockData CompanyData
{
get { return _companyData; }
set { _companyData = value; NotifyPropertyChanged("CompanyData"); }
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private void NotifyPropertyChanged(string property)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(property));
}
}
}
You might want to try to specify the mode property on your datacontext bindings.
DataContext="{Binding ActiveStock, Mode=OneWay}"
I'm not sure that OneTime is the default binding for DataContext, but it would explain so if the above helps.
The second question has been answered by sa_ddam213.
HTH

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