Basic Internet Tutorial 1

Introduction
It seems like everyone's talking about the Internet these days. But what is it
really? How does it work? How do you access it? And most important, what
can it do for you at work or at home?
Fortunately, accessing and using the Internet is fairly simple. Let this tutorial
be your guide to the Internet as you connect for the first time and explore the
network's vast and useful resources.

How Does the Internet Work?

The Internet is a worldwide collection of computer networks, cooperating with
each other to exchange data using a common software standard. Through
telephone wires and satellite links, Internet users can share information in a
variety of forms. The size, scope and design of the Internet allows users to:

connect easily through ordinary personal computers and local phone

numbers;
exchange electronic mail (E-mail) with friends and colleagues with
accounts on the Internet;
post information for others to access, and update it frequently;
access multimedia information that includes sound, photographic
images and even video; and
access diverse perspectives from around the world.

An additional attribute of the Internet is that it lacks a central authorityin

other words, there is no "Internet, Inc." that controls the Internet. Beyond the
various governing boards that work to establish policies and standards, the
Internet is bound by few rules and answers to no single organization.
In February 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Communications
Decency Act, which provides criminal penalties for those who post or transmit
"indecent" material via the Internet. This law, however, has been challenged in
U.S. courts by those who feel it would unfairly prohibit many legitimate uses
of the Internet, and was ruled unconstitutional in July 1996. The federal
government, however, is preparing an appeal.

What Kinds of Information are Available?

In addition to text documents, the Internet makes available graphics files
(digitized photographs and artwork), and even files that contain digitized
sound and video. Through the Internet, you can download software, participate
in interactive forums where users post and respond to public messages, and

even join "chats," in which you and other users type (and, in some cases,
speak) messages that are received by the chat participants instantly.

How Do People Use the Internet?

Obviously, the Internet can bring you a whole host of capabilities. But how
can they be put to practical use?
Among the ways that users like yourself are taking advantage of the Internet
are:

Sharing research and business data among colleagues and like-minded

individuals.
Communicating with others and transmitting files via E-mail.
Requesting and providing assistance with problems and questions.
Marketing and publicizing products and services.
Gathering valuable feedback and suggestions from customers and
business partners.

The Internet's potential is limited only by users' vision and creativity. And as
the Internet grows, new and innovative uses will surely follow.

The Sum of Many Parts

Unlike many computer networks, the Internet consists of not one but multiple
data systems that were developed independently. The most popular and
important systems are:

E-mail, for exchange of electronic mail messages.

USENET newsgroups, for posting and responding to public "bulletin
board" messages.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP), a system for storing and retrieving data
files on large computer systems.
Gopher, a method of searching for various text-based Internet
resources (largely obsolete).
TELNET, a way of connecting directly to computer systems on the
Internet.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC), a system for sending public and private
messages to other users in "real time"that is, your message appears
on the recipient's screen as soon as you type it.
CU-SeeMe, a videoconferencing system that allows users to send and
receive sound and pictures simultaneously over the Internet.
The World Wide Web.

A Quick Tour of a Typical Web Site

A Web site may consist of a single Web page, or may comprise multiple,
interconnected pages. The following is a view of how the CenterSpan home
page appears through a popular browser:

1. Browser tools help you navigate around the Web. These vary among
browsers, but most include tools for moving back and forth between
pages, saving data to your hard disk, and controlling how Web pages
will appear on your screen.
2. A "Bookmark" list, "favorites" list or "hotlist" lets you save the
names and locations of favorite sites for easy reference (usually
accessible through pull-down menus).
3. The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is the address of a Web site.
URLs for Web pages begin with the code http:// ("http" stands for
hypertext transfer protocol).
4. Some Web pages contain special graphic buttons that, when clicked,
take you to another resource as would a regular hotlink.
5. Hypertext hotlinks are connections to other pages and resources. To
access, just click on them with your mouse or trackball. Most pages
contain hotlinks throughout the text, as well as lists of links to other
sites judged by the author/sponsor to be of particular interest. Some
sites contain hotlinks to places where you can download software,
listen to a sound file, or view a video clip.
6. CenterSpan uses several applets, or small program segments run by
Java, ActiveX or some other protocol. Applets are downloaded when
you access a Web site, and run only as long as you remain at that
location. Applets can perform a variety of functions; the applet on the
CenterSpan home page generates a scrolling banner.
If your browser does not have the capability to display Java applets,
you will not be able to see this banner.

7. To make it easy to contact the author or sponsor of a Web site, most

contain one or more E-mail links. Clicking on such a link brings up a
form where you can type an E-mail message to a pre-set address (not
shown here).
CenterSpan is among more elaborate Web sites that contain forms, where you
can submit information in an easy-to-follow format, and bulletin board
features that allow you to post information for others to see.

Definitions
The Internet
The Internet is a worldwide network of computers, using a common protocol (TCP/IP
or Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) to communicate with each other.
These computers possess software to provide or "serve" information and/or to request
and see information. Academic, commercial, governmental, and military networks are
part of the Internet.
No one owns the Internet. Each person 'owns' the part of the Internet s/he uploads data
to.
When you connect your computer to the Internet you are a part of the Internet.
The Internet offers a variety of services, mainly:
Electronic mail (E-mail) - allows the online exchange of mail.
FTP - allows you to access network locations of FTP resources and save them
into your computer.
Telnet - allows your computer connect to another computer and access its
files.
World Wide Web - is the graphical portion of the Internet.
The World Wide Web
The World Wide Web, the WWW, or the Web, is the largest, the fastest growing,
and the most popular Internet service. In addition to text, it can display images,
animations, sounds, and videos. To access the Web information you need:
(1) A connection to the Internet and
(2) A Web browser such as Netscape or Internet Explorer.
Web browser
A Web browser is a software program that allows you to view or "browse" individual
pages on the Web. The computer running a Web browser is called a client machine
(because it just requests and receives data) while the computer called server provides
the data it stores.
Web page
A Web page is a single electronic document written in HTML. Web pages vary in
content, design, and size, depending on the purpose.

You need to save (or upload) your HTML documents (or Web pages) to a Web server,
so they can be viewed by users on the Web.
Web site
A Web site may have one or more related Web pages. The first page one sees in a
Website is called the homepage. This page usually provides an overview of what you
will find in the Web site and offers a list of items, which link to other pages on the site
or to other Web sites.
Home Page
It is the web page that appears each time your Web browser (internet explorer). You
can choose any page on the web to set as your home page.
HTML
HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language and it is the standard computer
language used on the World Wide Web. The HTML code tells browsers (such as
Explorer and Netscape) how Web pages should be presented. Web browsers then let
you see the Web pages content.
Navigation Buttons
Allow you to move through information on the web (Back, Forward). You can even
stop the transfer of a web page if it is taking a lot of time.
Hyperlinks
A web page contains a lot of text that is highlighted such that when you click on it can
take you to another page. Hyperlinks allow you to move through a vast number of
information on the internet by moving from one web page to another.
URL
Each Web page has its own address, or URL (Uniform Resource Locator). The URL
identifies the location of each file on the WWW. Ex. www.aub.edu.lb
E-mail
The internet allows you to exchange electronic mail with people around the world.
Electronic mail is fast, inexpensive, and saves paper. The most popular web-based email services are www.hotmail.com and www.yahoo.com.
Downloading software
Thousands of programs are available on the internet. The internet offers you the
facility of downloading programs.
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Information
The internet gives you access to information on any subject. You can view magazines,
newspapers, academic papers, government documents, job listings, and anything you
could possibly think of. You can search for anything you want by logging on to
www.google.com or any other search engine.

Internet Explorer 7
Internet Explorer 7 is a popular Microsoft web browsing tool
that allows you to explore and retrieve information from the Wellesley College
website and the Internet. World Wide Web documents can contain text, images,
sounds, animation, and digital video. Though Internet Explorer 7 is recommended,
some computers may still be using the older version, Internet Explorer 6.

Getting Started
To launch Internet Explorer
On a Windows PC, double-click on the Internet Explorer icon on your desktop.
You can also click on the Start menu and go to All Programs to select Internet
Explorer.

To turn on the Menu Bar

Internet Explorer 7 does not display the Menu Bar by default.

1. Click on the Tools button on the upper right corner of the browser.

2. Then make sure Menu Bar is checked

Using Internet Explorer 7 Overview

Below is a picture of the Internet Explorer window with important components
highlighted.

Note: If the Menu Bar (File, Edit, etc.) disappears completely, you can restore
the menu bar by clicking on the Tools button and making sure that the Menu
Bar is checked.

URL of current webpage

The Internet Explorer 7 window displays a home
page upon launch. The URL (Universal
Resource Locator) is the address of the webpage
being viewed. Each webpage has its own unique
URL. Some URLs are case-sensitive and all
have to be typed exactly, including spaces or
special symbols such as ~.
Navigate Backwards and
Forwards

The Back button lets you return to the last

webpage that you visited. If you click on the
downward facing triangle to the right of the
button, you can see a menu of webpages you
have visited.

Reload and Stop Load Buttons

Home Button

When displaying a webpage, IE transfers a copy

of the webpage from the Internet onto your
computer. Therefore if the webpage changes,
you can update the webpage in your browser
window by clicking the Reload button with the
green arrows. If the webpage is taking too long
to load, you can stop the process by clicking on
the Stop button with the red X. Click on the
Reload button to start the loading process again
from the beginning.
The Home button lets you return to the home
page that you set. You can change the home
page

Search Engine / Search Provider

You can type in a word or a phrase to search the

Internet. Putting a phrase in quotes will search
for that exact phrase. You can change the
default search engine to Google or something
else.

Favorites Buttons

In order to save the webpage URL link for future

web browsing sessions, you must save it as a
bookmark by clicking on the Add Favorites
button

. Clicking on the View Favorites

button
, allows you to see all your favorites
you have saved. You can also export and
import bookmarks.
Tab Browsing Features

The Tab Bar allows you to have multiple

webpages open at once in a single window. Each
webpage will appear under a separate tab and
you can simply click on the tab to access that
webpage. Read the tab browsing overview.

Tabbed browsing overview

Tabbed browsing allows users to open multiple websites in one Internet

Explorer window by clicking on the open New Tab button
CTRL+T.

or pressing

Users can preview thumbnail images of all open tabs in a single view, by
clicking on the Quick Tab button

(also see screenshot below).

The Add Tab Group to Favorites feature allows users to save multiple
tabbed windows into one favorite tab group. For example, a user may
have ten tabs open and instead of saving each tab one-by-one, she can
save them all at once into one group. Click on the add favorites star icon
and select Add Tab Group to Favorites. Then next to Tab Group
Name, type in a name (e.g. Disease Pathology websites visited Sept 1).
Finally, click Add.

To change your home page

Your home page is displayed when Internet Explorer first opens or when you click
the Home button. You can choose any webpage to be your home page.
Option 1
1. Open Internet Explorer and go to the webpage you want to use as the
home page.
2. Click the down arrow to the right of the Home button
Add or Change home page.

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, and then click

3. In the Add or Change Home Page dialog box, click Use this webpage as
your only home page.
4. Click Yes to save your changes.
Option 2
1. Go to Tools and select Internet Options.
2. In the General tab, under the Home page category, type in the URL you
wish to be your home page (e.g. http://www.wellesley.edu).
3. Click Apply to save your changes. Click OK.

To add a new search provider (search engine)

1. Click the down arrow to the right of the Search Options button
.
2. Click Find More Providers.
3. Click the search provider you want to add. The Add Search Provider
dialog box will appear.
4. If you want the provider that you just added to be used by default when
searching from the Address bar or search box, select the Make this my
default search provider check box.
5. Click Add Provider.

To remove a search provider (search engine)

1. Open Internet Explorer. Click the down arrow to the right of the Search
Options button.
2. Click Change Search Defaults.
3. Select the search provider you would like to remove. Click Remove and
then click OK.

To restore default settings in order to prevent IE7

crashes
Occasionally Internet Explorer may become unstable and start constantly
crashing. Before you consider uninstalling and reinstalling Internet Explorer, you
can try returning IE7 to its default settings.
1. In Internet Explorer 7, go to Tools > Internet Options. Click the
Advanced tab. (If your IE7 browser won't even open without crashing,
you can also right-click on your IE7 desktop icon and select Properties
and then click the Advanced tab.)
2. Click the Reset... button near the bottom. A window will appear explaining
to you what restoring your settings will do to your browser. For example,
your favorite bookmarks will not be erased. Your add-ons will be disable
and your temporary internet files and cookies will get erased. Most users
will not notice these items are gone or can easily re-enable them later. So
if your browser is unstable, we recommend that you reset your browser
settings.
3. Click Reset.
4. You will be prompted to close and reopen your browser.

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Loading and Saving Webpages

To empty the Temporary Internet Files folder (cache)
Every time you visit a webpage, Internet Explorer saves a copy of the webpage to
a folder called Temporary Internet Files. If this folder gets too full, Internet
Explorer may run more slowly and behave in an unstable way. Also, if a webpage
is not loading correctly and shows an error message (such as "Range not
satisfiable..."), a common solution is to empty the cache. You should clear the
cache at least once a month.
1. In Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet
Options.
2. In the General tab, under Browsing history, click Delete.
3. In the Temporary Internet Files category, click Delete files, and then
click Yes.
4. Click Close, and then click OK.

To clear the browsing history

The browsing history is a listing of all the recent websites you have visited within
a set period of time (e.g. two weeks). Clearing your history list does not affect
your bookmarks.
1. In Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet
Options.
2. On the General tab, under Browsing history, click Delete.
3. In the History category, click Delete history , and then click Yes.
4. Click Close, and then click OK.

To save a picture from a webpage

1. In Internet Explorer, using the mouse, right-click the picture you want to
save.
2. Click Save Picture As.
3. In the Save Picture dialog box, browse to the folder where you want to
save the file, and then click Save.

To save a webpage onto your computer

1. In Internet Explorer, go to the webpage you want to save. Click the Page
button

and then click Save As.

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2. Navigate to the folder in which you want to save the webpage.

3. In the File name box, type a name for the webpage.
4. In the Save as type box, pick one of the following from the drop down
menu:
o Webpage, complete: To save all of the files needed to display this
webpage, including graphics, frames, and style sheets, select
Webpage, complete. This option saves each file in its original
format.
o Webpage, HTML only: To save just the current HTML webpage,
click Webpage, HTML only. This option does not save individual
files of images, sounds, or video onto your computer. But it does
save all the HTML code information that would preserve formatting,
text, hyperlinks, and the pathways to images, sounds, and video.
o Web Archive, single file: To save all of the information needed to
display this webpage in a single file, click Web Archive, single
file. This option saves a snapshot of the current webpage. This
option is available only if you have installed Outlook Express 5 or
later.
o Text File: To save just the text from the current webpage, click
Text File. This option saves the information on the webpage in text
format.
5. Then click Save.

To open the webpage that you have saved

1. Launch Internet Explorer 7. Then go to the File menu and select Open.
2. Click on Browse to find and select the file you want to open.
3. Click Open and then click OK.

To make webpage load without images or sounds

Loading a webpage with no images or sounds can speed up the time that it takes
the webpage to load.
1. In Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet
Options.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. In the Settings section, under Multimedia, uncheck the boxes next to
Play sounds in webpages and Show pictures. Click OK.
Notes: To view one image without downloading the other images, right-click on
the selected image and then click on Show Picture.

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Bookmarks
Bookmarks provide a permanent and easy way to remember your favorite
webpage. They are only deleted when you delete them, not when you quit
Internet Explorer.

To create bookmarks (favorites)

1. Go to the webpage you want to bookmark.
2. Click on the Add to Favorites icon
or go to the Favorites menu.
3. Then click on Add to Favorites.
4. Give the webpage a name (e.g. American Revolution Prints) or keep its
original name.
5. Select the folder you would like the bookmark to reside in.
6. Click Add.

To view and use bookmarks (favorites)

1. In Internet Explorer, click click on the View Favorites button
and
select Favorites. (Another option is to click on the Favorites menu in
the main toolbar.)
2. From that list, click on the bookmark of the webpage you want to see.

To organize your bookmarks (favorites)

Internet Explorer lets you arrange your bookmarks in folders and change the
order in which they appear. You can also rename and delete your bookmarks.
1. In Internet Explorer, click on the Favorites menu and select Organize
Favorites.
2. The Organize Favorites window will let you create folders and place
bookmarks in those folders by using the New Folder and Move buttons.
You can delete and rename existing bookmarks by using the Delete and
Rename buttons. Dragging bookmarks around within the display window
will change the order in which they appear.
3. Click Close to save your changes.
Note: In the Favorites menu itself you may also drag bookmarks around to
change the order in which they appear or to move them into folders.

To import bookmarks (favorites) into Internet

Explorer 7
First, you must have your bookmarks exported from your old web browser. In
most browsers, this is done by saving all your bookmarks into a file (you can

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name it whatever you want, but it is usually called bookmarks.html). Detailed

instructions for backing up your bookmarks are available for specific
browsers such as Netscape, Safari, Firefox, and older versions of Internet
Explorer.
After you have created a bookmarks file, do the following:
1. In Internet Explorer, click the Add to Favorites button
, and then
click Import and Export.
2. The Import/Export Wizard will open up. Click Next.
3. Under Choose an action to perform, select Import Favorites. Click Next.
4. Under Import from a File or Address, select Browse.
5. Find and select your bookmarks file (e.g. bookmarks.html) and then click
Next.
6. Select the folder where you would like to place the imported favorites.
Click Next.
7. You have successfully imported your bookmarks. Click Finish.

To export bookmarks (favorites) out of Internet

Explorer 7
1. In Internet Explorer, click the Add to Favorites button
, and then
click Import and Export.
2. In the Import/Export Wizard, click Next.
3. Under Choose an action to perform, select Export Favorites. Click Next.
4. Then select which folder you want to export. Clicking Favorites will export
all your bookmarks.
5. Click on Browse to choose where you want to save your bookmarks,
which will be in a file named bookmark.htm (you can also name it
something else if you want). Click Next.
6. Click Finish. Click OK.

List of shortcut keys

Viewing and exploring webpage
Shortcut
F1
F11

Command
Display Help
Toggle between full-screen and regular views of the

TAB

browser window in Internet Explorer

Move forward through the items on a webpage, the

SHFT+TAB
ALT+HOME
ALT+RIGHT ARROW

Address bar, or the Links bar

Move back through the items on a webpage, the Address
bar, or the Links bar
Go to your home page
Go to the next page
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ALT+LEFT ARROW or
BACKSPACE
SHFT+F10
CTRL TAB or F6

Go to the previous page

Display a shortcut menu for a link
Move forward through frames and browser elements
(only works if tabbed browsing is disabled) in Internet

CTRL+SHFT+TAB
UP ARROW
DOWN ARROW
PAGE UP
PAGE DOWN
HOME
END
CTRL+F
F5
CTRL+F5

Explorer
Move backward between frames (only works if tabbed
browsing is disabled)
Scroll toward the beginning of a document
Scroll toward the end of a document
Scroll toward the beginning of a document in larger
increments
Scroll toward the end of a document in larger increments
Move to the beginning of a document
Move to the end of a document in Internet Explorer
Find on this page
Refresh the current webpage
Refresh the current webpage, even if the time stamp for
the web version and your locally stored version are the

ESC
CTRL+O
CTRL+N
CTRL+W
CTRL S
CTRL+P
ENTER
CTRL+I
CTRL H
CTRL+J
ALT+P
ALT+T
ALT+H

same
Stop downloading a page
Open a new website or page
Open a new window
Close the current window (if you only have one tab open)
Save the current page in Internet Explorer
Print the current page or active frame
Activate a selected link
Open Favorites
Open History in Internet Explorer
Open Feeds
Open the Page menu
Open the Tools menu
Open the Help menu

Working with Tabs

Shortcut
CTRL click
CTRL + SHFT + click
CTRL+T
CTRL+TAB or
CTRL+SHFT+TAB
CTRL+W

Command
Open links in a new tab in the background in Internet
Explorer
Open links in a new tab in the foreground
Open a new tab in the foreground
Switch between tabs
Close current tab (or the current window if tabbed
browsing is disabled)
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ALT+ENTER
CTRL n (where n is a
number between 1 and 8)
CTRL+9
CTRL+ALT+F4
CTRL+Q

Open a new tab in the foreground from the Address bar

Switch to a specific tab number in Internet Explorer
Switch to the last tab
Close other tabs
Toggle Quick Tabs (thumbnail view) on or off

Using zoom
Shortcut
CTRL+PLUS SIGN
CTRL+MINUS SIGN
CTRL+0

Command
Increase zoom (+ 10%)
Decrease zoom (- 10%)
Zoom to 100%

Using Zoom
Shortcut
CTRL + E
ALT+ENTER
CTRL+DOWN ARROW

Command
Go to the search box in Internet Explorer
Open your search query in a new tab
Open the search provider menu

Using Print Preview

Shortcut
ALT P
ALT+U
ALT+HOME
ALT+LEFT ARROW
ALT+A
ALT RIGHT ARROW
ALT+END
ALT+F

Command
Set printing options and print the page in Internet
Explorer
Change paper, headers and footers, orientation, and
margins for this page
Display the first page to be printed
Display the previous page to be printed
Type the number of the page you want displayed
Display the next page to be printed in Internet Explorer
Display the last page to be printed
Specify how you want frames to print (this option is
available only if you are printing a webpage that uses

ALT+C

frames)
Close Print Preview

Using Address bar

Shortcut
ALT D
F4
CTRL+LEFT ARROW

Command
Select the text in the Address bar in Internet Explorer
Display a list of addresses you've typed
When in the Address bar, move the cursor left to the next
logical break in the address (period or slash)

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CTRL+RIGHT ARROW

When in the Address bar, move the cursor right to the

CTRL+ENTER

next logical break in the address (period or slash)

Add www. to the beginning and .com to the end of the

UP ARROW
DOWN ARROW

text typed in the Address bar

Move forward through the list of AutoComplete matches
Move back through the list of AutoComplete matches in
Internet Explorer

Opening Internet Explorer toolbar menus

Shortcut
ALT+M
ALT R
ALT+J
ALT O
ALT+L

Command
Open the Home menu
Open the Print menu in Internet Explorer
Open the RSS menu
Open the Tools menu in Internet Explorer
Open the Help menu

Working with feeds, history, and favorites

Shortcut
CTRL+D
CTRL B
ALT+UP ARROW

Command
Add the current page to your favorites (or subscribe to
the feed when in feed preview)
Open the Organize Favorites dialog box in Internet
Explorer
Move selected item up in the Favorites list in the

ALT+DOWN ARROW

Organize Favorites dialog box

Move selected item down in the Favorites list in the

ALT+C
CTRL+H
CTRL+J
CTRL+SHFT+J

Organize Favorites dialog box

Open Favorites Center and display your favorites
Open Favorites Center and display your history
Open Favorites Center and display your feeds
Open and dock the Favorites Center and display your

ALT+Z

feeds
Open Add to Favorites menu (or open Subscribe to feed

ALT A

when in feed preview)

Open the Favorites menu from the menu bar in Internet

ALT+I
ALT+M
ALT+S

Explorer
Display all feeds (when in feed view)
Mark a feed as read (when in feed view)
Put cursor in Search box in feed view

Editing
Shortcut

Command

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CTRL+X

Remove the selected items and copy them to the

CTRL C

Clipboard
Copy the selected items to the Clipboard in Internet

CTRL+V

Explorer
Insert the contents of the Clipboard at the selected

CTRL+A

location
Select all items on the current webpage

Using the information bar

Shortcut
ALT + N
SPACEBAR

Command
Move focus to the Information bar in Internet Explorer
Click the Information bar

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