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Step 1: Select "Create a new Contact" on the BulkSMS Text Messenger Toolbar. This will open a window “Contact Properties” which you will need to fill in to add a contact

Step 2: Enter the title, name and surname of the new contact. The title and surname are optional and can be used for personalized messages

Step 3: Enter the new contacts cellphone number. The country code (e.g. 27 for South Africa) that you entered when the BulkSMS Text Messenger was installed will be applied as the default country code.

You can change the default country code by using the drop down list. If the country is not in the drop down list, uncheck the Auto format check box, and type in the country code and mobile number. This country code will be stored with the cellphone number for the new contact

Step 4: To add the new contact to an existing group, tick the group name that the contact should be added to. If you need to create a new group, Click on the “Add Group” button.

Step 5: The “Custom Fields” are fields that can be used when typing up and sending personalized messages. For example: account number, balance, payment amount.

When composing a personalized message is composed, select Custom Fields to specify which custom field you would like placed where in the message. A single message can therefore be sent to any number of Groups or Contacts, with up to five Custom Fields of unique information for each contact.
Example of personalised message: Dear {First Name}, please pay {Amount owing} before {date owing} for account number {account number}. {Company signature}

The company signature can be one that you have inserted. It can include details such as company name and contact details.

Step 6: Click “OK” to save the new contact. The contact properties window will close.

2.1.2. Search for and Edit an individual

The BulkSMS Text Messenger gives you full access to your contacts, allowing you to search for, add, edit or delete contacts. In order to search for an individual, simply:

Step 1: Click Find and Manage on the toolbar

Step 2: Enter the text that you would like to search for. You can change the search criteria according to your search. For example, you can search by name, number etc.

Step 3: Click on “Find” to find the contact.

Step 4: Click on the contact that you would like to review / edit.

Step 5: Change the relevant details in the Contact Properties window

Step 6: Click “Ok” to save your changes

2.1.3. Find and Delete an individual

Step 1: Click Find and Manage on the toolbar

Step 2: Enter the text that you would like to search for. You can change the search criteria according to your search. For example, you can search by name, number etc.

Step 3: Click on “Find” to find the contact.

Step 4: Right click on the contact that you would like to delete

Step 5: Click “Delete”

2.1.4. Delete all contacts

To discard all contacts, you can:

Step 1: Right Click on Contacts

Step 2: Click “Delete All Contacts”

All your contacts will now be deleted.

2.2. Add, edit and delete groups in your online phonebook

2.2.1. Add groups

The BulkSMS Text Messenger allows you to create groups to which you would like to send SMS messages. You can add new or existing contacts to these new groups.

To set-up a group, simply:

Step 1: Click “Groups”

Step 2: Click “Create a new Group…”

Step 3: Type in the Group Name of your choice (i.e Group 1; Grade 9 parents; Regular customers). You can select existing contacts (see Step 4) or add a new contact (see Step 8).

Step 4: Click “Select Members…” in order to insert existing contacts that you would like in the group.

Step 5: Type the name of the contact you would like to add to the group, alternatively, select the name from the list below. Hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple contacts for a group

Step 6: Once you have selected the contact name from the list, click “>” to move the contact to the ‘Selected Contacts’ box.

Step 7: Click ‘OK’ to add the Selected Contacts to the New Group that you have created.

Step 8: Should you wish to add a new contact (i.e. one that isn’t already in your contact list), click “Add New…” and you can add the contact in the same way as creating a new individual contact

Step 9: When you have finished adding all the contacts that you would like in the group, click “OK”. All contacts are now added to your new group.

2.2.2. Edit group details and/or members

Step 1: Click on your ‘Groups’ folder to expand it so that you the groups you have set-up are displayed.

Step 2: Right click the group that you would like to edit.

Step 3: Click “Edit Group…”

Step 4: Change the details that you would like to edit. i.e. Group name, Members etc. If you would like to edit the members, you can add them in the same way as you did when creating the group. To remove a contact from the group, select the contact and click “Remove”.

Step 5: Click “OK” when you are finished editing.

2.2.3. Split Large Groups

Step 1: Click on ‘Groups’ in the toolbar.

Step 2: Click on ‘Split large Groups into smaller Sub Groups...’

Step 3: Enter the Maximum Contacts Per Group

Step 4: Click ‘Split Groups’

The groups will now be split into smaller sub groups with the maximum number in each groups as specified by you.

2.2.4. Delete phonebook groups

Step 1: Expand the groups by Right Clicking the group that you would like to delete.

Step 2: Click “Delete Group…”

Step 3: Click “Yes” to confirm the deletion of the selected group.

2.2.5. Upload a database using the Import Wizard

A file containing thousands of new contacts can be imported to the BulkSMS Text Messenger with unique information about each contact. A temporary backup file (contacts.bak) is created on your computer by default for all contacts stored on the BulkSMS Text Messenger.

Step 1: Select "Import Contacts" on the Messenger Tool Bar. This opens the Import Wizard

Step 2: Choose one of the four file types to import your file from:
* MS Excel (.xls),
* MS Outlook,
* Windows Address Book and Outlook Express,
* CSV and TAB delimited files.

There are other ways to import contacts: You can also drag and drop any of these files directly into groups in the Messenger Folders. Select a Saved Rule and the process of importing further contacts from a datasource is then reduced to a few seconds.

2.2.5.1 Importing Contacts from MS Excel Spreadsheets

Step 1: Select "Import Contacts" on the Messenger Tool Bar. This opens the Import Wizard.

Step 2: Ensure the MS Excel Spreadsheet has at least two fields, including Name and Cellphone number. The order of the fields is not important. Other fields can include personal details for each contact (see Map Fields below for examples). Example of a spreadsheet to be imported:

The Name, Cellphone Number, and any other details must be entered in adjacent cells starting at Cell A1 in the spreadsheet, with one record per line. The Cellphone Number should not contain spaces or separating characters when entered. Nevertheless, the BulkSMS Text Messenger does format Cellphone Numbers into the required format once the data is imported. The Cellphone Numbers do not need to have country codes as prefixes, as this formatting is addressed in the Import Wizard.

Note:Importing a file containing more than 20,000 contacts in an MS Excel spreadsheet using this method is not advised. Rather, use Link to External Datasource

Step 3: Select the type of file you would like to import from. In this case, MS Excel Spreadsheet (*.xls)

Step 4: Click Next

Step 5: Click ‘Select File…’ to choose the MS Excel Spreadsheet that you would like to import

Step 6: Select the location of the MS Excel Spreadsheet

Step 7: Select the MS Excel Spreadsheet

Step 8: Click ‘Open’ to import the Spreadsheet

Step 9: Click ‘Next’ to confirm that this is the MS Excel Spreadsheet that you would like to import

Step 10: Click ‘Map Fields…’. This is so that you can tell the Import Wizard which field belongs where. Each spreadsheet may be in a different format. i.e. in 1 spreadsheet the cellphone number may be the first field and in another spreadsheet, the first name of the contact may be in the first field. Mapping the fields helps you to ensure that the contact list is imported correctly.

Step 11: Click on each of the various fields that you would like to import into the BulkSMS Text Messenger

Step 12: Select which field relates to which column so that they may be intelligently imported (i.e. so that the BulkSMS Text Messenger can insert the relevant information into each contact field). You can also select and import Custom fields for future personalised sending options.

Step 13: Click ‘OK’ when you have mapped all the relevant fields.

Step 14: Click ‘Next’

Step 15: Select the Group that you would like to add the contacts to. Should you wish to create a new group, you can do so be clicking ‘Add Group’. This will allow you to create a new group.

Step 16: Click ‘Next’

Step 17: If the database being imported contains cellphone or mobile numbers from within your country, then the default can remain the same.

In Import Rules you can format the country code for your contact list. The BulkSMS Text Messenger is an application that caters for all international prefixes. All cellphone numbers must have a country code for a message to be delivered to the correct cellphone.

The country code chosen when Messenger was registered is displayed by default. If the checkbox Auto Format Cellphone Numbers for this Country is ticked, then the cellphone numbers to be imported will be formatted for the selected country even if they are imported without country codes. i.e. In South Africa, the numbers starting with 0 will automatically have 27 added at the front of each contact number.

To format the cellphone numbers to be imported for a different country code, select the Country from the drop list. If the cellphone numbers to be imported are for various countries, the country codes need to be prefixed to the cellphone numbers in the MS Excel file. In this case, the Autoformat checkbox should not be ticked.

Step 18: Choose either to update an existing contact or to leave the existing contact as is, without importing any new data to that contact. The BulkSMS Text Messenger can not accept contacts with duplicate cellphone numbers. In the event that an existing cellphone number is to be imported, select either: Update the Contact Information which changes the existing contact's details to the newly imported details, or Do not Import the Contact which discards the imported details and keeps the contact details already in the BulkSMS Text Messenger.

Step 19: Click ‘Next’.

Step 20: Click ‘Yes’ to complete the import.

The import wizard will display the results from the import. It will tell you how many records have been added, updated, skipped or failed.

Step 21: Click ‘Save as a Rule’ if you would like to import this file on a regular basis (i.e. the database is updated on a regular basis).

Step 22: Click ‘Finish’

2.2.5.2 Importing Contacts from MS Outlook

Step 1: Click ‘Contacts’

Step 2: Select ‘Import Contacts…’. This opens the Import Wizard.

Step 3: Select the type of file you would like to import from. In this case, Microsoft Outlook.

Step 4: Click ‘Next’.

Step 5: Choose the import option.

Step 6: Click ‘Next’.

Step 7: Select the Group that you would like to add the contacts to. Should you wish to add a new group, you can do so be clicking ‘Add Group’. This will allow you to create a new group.

Step 8: Click ‘Next’

Step 9: If the database being imported contains South African cellphone numbers, then South Africa can remain as the default

In Import Rules you can format the country code for your contact list. The BulkSMS Text Messenger is an application that caters for all international prefixes. All cellphone numbers must have a country code for a message to be delivered to the correct cellphone.

The country code chosen when the BulkSMS Text Messenger was registered is displayed by default. If the checkbox Auto Format Cellphone Numbers for this Country is ticked, then the cellphone numbers to be imported will be formatted for the selected country even if they are imported without country codes. i.e. in South Africa, the numbers starting with 0 will automatically have 27 added at the front of each contact number.

To format the cellphone numbers to be imported for a different country code, select the Country from the drop list. If the cellphone numbers to be imported are for various countries, the country codes need to be prefixed to the cellphone numbers in the MS Outlook file. In this case, the Autoformat checkbox should not be ticked.

Step 10: Choose either to update an existing contact or to leave the existing contact as is, without importing any new data to that contact specifically. The BulkSMS Text Messenger can not accept contacts with duplicate cellphone numbers. In the event that an existing cellphone number is to be imported, select either: Update the Contact Information which changes the existing contact's details to the newly imported details, or Do not Import the Contact which discards the imported details and keeps the contact details already in the BulkSMS Text Messenger.

Step 11: Click ‘Next’.

Step 12: Click ‘Yes’ to complete the import.

Step 13: Click ‘Save as a Rule’ if you would like to import this file on a regular basis (i.e. the database is updated on a regular basis)

Step 14: Click ‘Finish’

2.2.5.3 Importing Contacts from Windows Address Book and Outlook Express (*.wab)

Step 1: Click ‘Contacts’

Step 2: Select ‘Import Contacts…’. This opens the Import Wizard.

Step 3: Select the type of file you would like to import from. i.e. Text files

Step 4: Click ‘Next’

Step 5: Choose the import option.

Step 6: Click ‘Next’.

Step 7: Select the Group that you would like to add the contacts to. Should you wish to add a new group, you can do so be clicking ‘Add Group’. This will allow you to create a new group.

Step 8: Click ‘Next’

Step 9: If the database being imported contains South African cellphone numbers, then South Africa can remain as the default.

The country code chosen when Messenger was registered is displayed by default. If the checkbox Auto Format Cellphone Numbers for this Country is ticked, then the cellphone numbers to be imported will be formatted for the selected country even if they are imported without country codes. i.e. in South Africa, the numbers starting with 0 will automatically have 27 added at the front of each contact number.

To format the cellphone numbers to be imported for a different country code, select the Country from the drop list. If the cellphone numbers to be imported are for various countries, the country codes need to be prefixed to the cellphone numbers in the Windows address or Outlook Express file. In this case, the Autoformat checkbox should not be ticked.

Step 10: Choose either to update an existing contact or to leave the existing contact as is, without importing any new data to that contact specifically. The BulkSMS Text Messenger can not accept contacts with duplicate cellphone numbers In the event that an existing cellphone number is to be imported, select either: Update the Contact Information which changes the existing contact's details to the newly imported details, or Do not Import the Contact which discards the imported details and keeps the contact details already in the BulkSMS Text Messenger.

Step 11: Click ‘Next’.

Step 12: Click ‘Yes’ to complete the import.

Step 13: Click ‘Save as a Rule’ if you would like to import this file on a regular basis (i.e. the database is updated on a regular basis).

Step 14: Click ‘Finish’

2.2.5.4 Importing Contacts from Text Files (.csv and .txt)

Step 1: Click ‘Contacts’

Step 2: Select ‘Import Contacts…’. This opens the Import Wizard.

Step 3: Select the type of file you would like to import from. In this case, Text files

Step 4: Click ‘Next’

Step 5: Click ‘Select File…’ to choose the text file that you would like to import

Step 6: Select the location of the Text file

Step 7: Select the Text file

Step 8: Click ‘Open’ to import the text file

Step 9: Click ‘Next’ to confirm that this is the Text file that you would like to import

Step 10: Click ‘Map Fields…’. This is so that you can tell the Import Wizard which field belongs where. The text files may be in different formats. i.e. in 1 text file the cellphone may be the first column and in another spreadsheet, the first name of the contact may appear in the first column. Mapping the columns helps you to ensure that the contact list is imported correctly.

Step 11: Click on each of the various fields that you would like to import into the BulkSMS Text Messenger

Step 13: Click ‘OK’ when you have mapped all the relevant fields.

Step 14: Click ‘Next’

Step 15: Select the Group that you would like to add the contacts to. Should you wish to add a new group, you can do so be clicking ‘Add Group’. This will allow you to create a new group.

Step 16: Click ‘Next’

Step 17: If the database being imported contains South African cellphone numbers, then South Africa can remain as the default.

The country code chosen when Messenger was registered is displayed by default. If the checkbox Auto Format Cellphone Numbers for this Country is ticked, then the cellphone numbers to be imported will be formatted for the selected country even if they are imported without country codes. i.e. in South Africa, the numbers starting with 0 will automatically have 27 added at the front of each contact number.

To format the cellphone numbers to be imported for a different country code, select the Country from the drop list. If the cellphone numbers to be imported are for various countries, the country codes need to be prefixed to the cellphone numbers in the text or .csv file. In this case, the Autoformat checkbox should not be ticked.

Step 18: Choose either to update an existing contact or to leave the existing contact as is, without importing any new data to that contact specifically. The BulkSMS Text Messenger can not accept contacts with duplicate cellphone numbers. In the event that an existing cellphone number is to be imported, select either: Update the Contact Information which changes the existing contact's details to the newly imported details, or Do not Import the Contact which discards the imported details and keeps the contact details already in the BulkSMS Text Messenger.

Step 19: Click ‘Next’.

Step 20: Click ‘Yes’ to complete the import.

The import wizard will display the results from the import. It will tell you how many records have been added, updated, skipped or failed.

Step 21: Click ‘Save as a Rule’ if you would like to import this file on a regular basis (i.e. the database is updated on a regular basis).

Step 22: Click ‘Finish’

2.2.5.5 Importing Contacts with Drag and Drop

The BulkSMS Text Messenger also allows you to Drag and Drop contact lists into the programme. To use the Drag and Drop feature, simply:

Step 1: Ensure that both the folder containing the file to be imported and BulkSMS Text Messenger are open and visible. Resize the folder and the BulkSMS Text Messenger if necessary

Step 2: Select the file to be imported and drag it into the BulkSMS Text Messenger. Depending on the file being imported, the Import Wizard opens at Map Fields (see from Step 3) or Groups (see from Step 8) options.

Step 3: Click ‘Map Fields…’. This is so that you can tell the Import Wizard which field belongs where. The text files may be in different formats. i.e. in 1 text file the cellphone may be the first column and in another spreadsheet, the first name of the contact may appear in the first column. Mapping the columns helps you to ensure that the contact list is imported correctly.

Step 4: Click on each of the various fields that you would like to import into the BulkSMS Text Messenger

Step 5: Select which field relates to which column so that they may be intelligently imported (i.e. so that the BulkSMS Text Messenger can insert the relevant information into each contact field). You can also select and import Custom fields for future personalised sending options.

Step 6: Click ‘OK’ when you have mapped all the relevant fields.

Step 7: Click ‘Next’

Step 8: Select the Group that you would like to add the contacts to. Should you wish to add a new group, you can do so by clicking ‘Add Group’. This will allow you to create a new group.

Step 9: Click ‘Next’

Step 10: If the database being imported contains South African cellphone numbers, then South Africa can remain as the default.

The country code chosen when Messenger was registered is displayed by default. If the checkbox Auto Format Cellphone Numbers for this Country is ticked, then the cellphone numbers to be imported will be formatted for the selected country even if they are imported without country codes. i.e. in South Africa, the numbers starting with 0 will automatically have 27 added at the front of each contact number.

To format the cellphone numbers to be imported for a different country code, select the Country from the drop list. If the cellphone numbers to be imported are for various countries, the country codes need to be prefixed to the cellphone numbers in the imported file. In this case, the Autoformat checkbox should not be ticked.

Step 11: Choose either to update an existing contact or to leave the existing contact as is, without importing any new data to that contact specifically. The BulkSMS Text Messenger can not accept contacts with duplicate cellphone numbers. In the event that an existing cellphone number is to be imported, select either: Update the Contact Information which changes the existing contact's details to the newly imported details, or Do not Import the Contact which discards the imported details and keeps the contact details already in the BulkSMS Text Messenger.

Step 12: Click ‘Next’.

Step 13: Click ‘Yes’ to complete the import.

The import wizard will display the results from the import. It will tell you how many records have been added, updated, skipped or failed.

Step 14: Click ‘Save as a Rule’ if you would like to import this file on a regular basis (i.e. the database is updated on a regular basis). To use the save as a rule function, simply click ‘Save as a Rule’ in the Import Wizard, select the saved rule, click Open, browse to a drive and folder where the rule will be saved, then type a name for the file and click ‘Save’.

After being imported, the file should be moved to a different folder, and the next file to be imported should be saved to the original folder with the same name as the original file, as the rule will look for that file only and in that specific folder location. If new files are imported daily, the amount of contacts in the specified Group will increase correspondingly unless those contacts are deleted.

Step 15: Click ‘Finish’

2.2.5.6 Find and Delete an individual

This allows you to set up a link between BulkSMS Text Messenger and a dynamic datasourse, i.e. a set of data that you wish to manage from a centralised datasource and not keep updating to the BulkSMS Text Messenger groups.

To add external contacts from an external datasource (MS Access database, SQL database, contact list, or another programme) follow these steps:

Step 1: Click ‘Contacts’,

Step 2: Click on ‘External Contacts’

Step 3: Select ‘Create a new Link’. A new window will open.

Step 4: Name the new link by typing a short descriptive name in the ‘Connection Name’ field

Step 5: Click ‘Select File’ in the ‘Link to a file’ or if you wish to link to a datasource over the internet or network, see ‘ODBC data Source’.

Step 6: Browse to the drive and folder where the datasource is stored

Step 7: Select the file/Datasource that you wish to link to

Step 8: Click ‘Open’

Step 9: Click the drop-down list under Select the source table to select the file/sheet that you would like the BulkSMS Text Messenger to link to.

Step 10: Click on each of the various fields that you would like to import into the BulkSMS Text Messenger

Step 11: Select which field relates to which column so that they may be intelligently imported (i.e. so that the BulkSMS Text Messenger can insert the relevant information into each contact field). You can also select and import Custom fields for future sending.

Step 12: Click ‘OK’ when you have mapped all the relevant fields.

The datasource can now be viewed under the External Contacts tab. Eg:

Should you wish to delete the link, simply right click on the file (in this case, Example) and select ‘Remove Link’.

The BulkSMS Text Messenger also provides you with additional options when adding external contacts from a datasource:

Click the checkbox Automatically Format CellphoneNumbers if the cellphonenumbers begin with '0'.

Click Treat as a Huge List when more than 20,000 phone contacts are in the datasource. Select the size for each sub-group. This is a powerful tool when dealing with hundreds of thousands of contacts. For example, a file with 1,000 contacts can be split into 10 Groups of 100, or a file of 10,000,000 can be split into 500 Groups of 20,000.

To view a Group, select the Group in the left Folder List field. To view Sub-Groups, select the sub-group and click View the contents of this Group from the options in the right field.

2.2.5.7 ODBC Connection link to External Database

Step 1: Click ‘Contacts’,

Step 2: Click on ‘External Contacts’

Step 3: Select ‘Create a new Link’. A new window will open.

Step 4: Name the new link by typing a short descriptive name in the ‘Connection Name’ field

Step 5: Click ‘ODBC data Source’.

Step 6: Browse to the drive and folder where the datasource is stored

Step 7: Select the file/Datasource that you wish to link to

Step 8: Click ‘Open’

Step 9: Click the drop-down list under Select the source table to select the file/sheet that you would like the BulkSMS Text Messenger to link to.

Step 10: Click on each of the various fields that you would like to import into the BulkSMS Text Messenger

Step 12: Click ‘OK’ when you have mapped all the relevant fields.

You will now be able to view the datasource under the External Contacts menu item.

2.2.6. Download a database

2.2.6.1 Exporting contacts (single export file)

Step 1: Click ‘Contacts’,

Step 2: Click ‘Export Contacts…’

Step 3: Select the Export Type (i.e. single file export). This means that all your contacts will be exported into a single file.

Step 4: Click Next

Step 5: If you would like to import all your contacts to the Web to SMS platform, tick this box. Should you wish to download all your contacts, this can remain unticked.

Step 6: Tick the fields that you would like to include in the Export.

Step 7: Click ‘Next’.

Step 8: Choose the Export file type from the drop down list.

Step 9: Click ‘…’ in order to choose where you would like the exported contact file to be saved.

Step 10: Select the folder that you would like the exported file to be saved in.

Step 11: Type a file name.

Step 12: Click ‘Save’.

Step 13: Once you have selected the Export file type and chosen where you would like the export file saved and what to call it, click ‘Next’.

Step 14: Click ‘Finish’ to complete the export.

2.2.6.2 Exporting contacts (one Export file per group)

Step 1: Click ‘Contacts’,

Step 2: Click ‘Export Contacts’,

Step 3: Select the Export Type (in this example, Export Grouped Contacts). This means that all groups will be exported individually.

Step 4: Click ‘Next’

Step 5: Use the ‘add’ (> / >>) or ‘remove’ (< / <<) buttons to select the contact groups that you would like to Export. The list on the right hand side will be exported.

Step 6: Click ‘Next’

Step 7: If you would like to import all your contacts to the Web to SMS platform, tick this box. Should you wish simply to download all your contacts, this can remain unticked.

Step 8: Tick the fields that you would like to include in the Export.

Step 9: Click ‘Next’.

Step 10: Choose the Export file type from the drop down list.

Step 11: Click ‘…’ in order to choose where you would like the exported contact file to be saved.

Step 12: Select the folder that you would like to save the export files to.

Step 13: Click ‘OK’.

Step 14: Once you have selected the Export file type and chosen where you would like the export file saved, click ‘Next’.

Step 15: Click ‘Finish’ to complete the export.

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Also See:

2. Manage your online Phonebook

2.1. Add, edit and delete individual members in your online phonebook

2.1.1. Add an individual

2.1.2. Search for and Edit an individual

2.1.3. Find and Delete an individual

2.1.4. Delete all contacts

2.2. Add, edit and delete groups in your online phonebook

2.2.1. Add groups

2.2.2. Edit group details and/or members

2.2.3. Split Large Groups

2.2.4. Delete phonebook groups

2.2.5. Upload a database using the Import Wizard

2.2.5.1 Importing Contacts from MS Excel Spreadsheets

2.2.5.2 Importing Contacts from MS Outlook

2.2.5.3 Importing Contacts from Windows Address Book and Outlook Express (*.wab)

2.2.5.4 Importing Contacts from Text Files (.csv and .txt)

2.2.5.5 Importing Contacts with Drag and Drop

2.2.5.6 Find and Delete an individual

2.2.5.7 ODBC Connection link to External Database

2.2.6. Download a database

2.2.6.1 Exporting contacts (single export file)

2.2.6.2 Exporting contacts (one Export file per group)

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