Tanner Tools v16.0 Release Notes
Tanner Tools v16.0 Release Notes
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Release Notes
Table of Contents
Tanner Tools Version 16.01 ........................................................................................................................... 2
What's New in S-Edit v16.01 ..................................................................................................................... 2
What's New in T-Spice v16.01 ................................................................................................................... 2
What's New in W-Edit v16.01 .................................................................................................................... 3
What's New in L-Edit v16.01 ..................................................................................................................... 3
What's New in HiPer Verify v16.01 ........................................................................................................... 4
Tanner Tools Version 16.00 ........................................................................................................................... 5
What's New in S-Edit v16.00 ..................................................................................................................... 5
What's New in T-Spice v16.00 ................................................................................................................... 6
What's New in W-Edit v16.00 .................................................................................................................... 7
What's New in L-Edit Pro v16.00 ............................................................................................................... 8
What's New in HiPer Verify v16.00 ..........................................................................................................13
Additional Information ..................................................................................................................................15
Supported System Requirements ...............................................................................................................15
Recommended System Requirements .......................................................................................................15
Installation .................................................................................................................................................15
Licensing ...................................................................................................................................................15
Technical Support ......................................................................................................................................16
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Tanner Tools Version 16.01
Bug Fixes
Ctrl+S shortcut key now works correctly when assigned to Save all changesRedo
after Undoing can now be performed up to a point before design is Saved.
S-Edit now displays correct values of small signal parameters for diodes.
A non-string property is no longer written out if its value is overridden as blank.
Fixed problem where generated symbols were 10 times larger than what was
specified in the Generate Symbol dialog box.
View name is now appended to cell name when writing Spice, when there are
multiple views of a cell.
Property with empty value is no longer exported.
Unconnected pins in Verilog are no longer shorted after importing a Verilog netlist in
S-Edit.
We now snap Cadence ports to wire-ends and pins that are within original port
graphics mbb.
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What's New in W-Edit v16.01
Reorder Traces in Stacked Plots
CTRL-UP and CTRL-DOWN are now used to move selected curves up or down in
stacked plots. CTRL-arrow no longer moves a plot, instead SHIFT+UP and
SHIFT+DOWN will move plots up or down.
Bug Fixes
Stacked plots no longer lose stacking when there is an update during the simulation.
Cursor table was not updated hen opened after cursors are placed on chart.
Bug Fixes
Fixed problem where ports or labels in a tdb library could move to a different layer
when the layer list of the library does not match the layer list of the toplevel design.
Selection/Deselection
Edge deselection by mouse in Partly Enclosed mode, now deselects edges even
when vertex is included.
Fixed problem where deselect by mouse (Alt+ Right mouse click) did not work in
some cases.
Fixed problem where extended selection did not always work in some cases.
Fixed problem in implicit edge selection. Also fixed when in Edit-In-Place.
Undo of object stretch now keeps selected edges.
Edges of polygons can now be selected when Selection Range is 0.
Edit Range value now works correctly for polygons and wires.
Fixed problem in selection after deletion while in Edit-In-Place.
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Selecting two adjacent edges then invoking Edit Object will select the vertex between
the two edges in the Edit Object Dialog. This makes it very easy to select then delete
a vertex.
Edit/Move
Editing a 45 degree polygon or wire will no longer turn the object into an AA polygon
or wire.
Editing a vertical or horizontal edge of an all angle wire will no longer turn it all angle.
Moving an edge and curved edges now preserves curve heights and moves the edge
at the correct amount.
Perpendicular Edge Move now works when the polygon includes a curved edge.
Fixed a problem where wire got shorter instead of longer when editing.
Fixed a problem where editing the second from end segment of an AA wire did not
preserve location of endpoint vertex.
Fixed a problem when editing an all angle edge passed through 45 degree angle.
Rotating the polygon by 90 degree using Ctrl+R no longer results in off grid errors.
We now snap to the manufacturing grid after any rotation.
Fixed problems where the drawn vertex when drawing a polygon or wire would in
some circumstances not be exactly on the snap point.
Misc
Fixed problem where Delete Hierarchy deleted only first level of hierarchy and the
cell itself.
DXF Import now imports into the open toplevel design. It no longer creates a new
design.
Fixed problem where DXF import created a cell with blank cell name.
DXF import now handles interpolated b-spline vertices.
SDL Verilog import no longer splits out external connections into two nets.
A reservation is now obtained for a cell before allowing it’s T-Cell code to be edited.
Changing a layer in "New Port" dialog when port is first created now works.
Fixed problems editing objects in a port.
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Tanner Tools Version 16.00
Miscellaneous Improvements
A command, View > Hide Docked Views, has been added, which toggles hiding and
showing of docked views. This command is made even more convenient when bound
to a hot key.The library name is now printed in File > Hierarchy Report.
Fixed problem of not highlighting some wire segments in Highlight Net.
A warning is now issued when adding a library that is already part of the design.
Bug Fixes
Fixes in Hierarchy Priority have been made in netlist export and
Design checks. Design checks now respect Hierarchy Priority settings.
Subcircuits in schematic view are no longer written to netlist when the Hierarchy
Priority is set to veriloga.
Verilog export is now able to export parameters.
Veriloga views may now be created from symbol views.
Symbol generation from Verilog views now creates ports for arrays with the correct
array order.
Libraries are no longer modified when a cell view is deleted from top level design.
Copying a Spice or Verilog cell or view now renames the subcircuit/module name in
the text to the new name.
Problem in EDIF import which misplaced net labels resulting in dangling wires in
certain circumstances is fixed.
Verilog export now exports parameters in modules and instances.
Various Spice import bugs have been fixed.
Replace has been added to the Edit menu for text views.
Erroneous "Window to activate not found" messages have been fixed.
S-Edit no longer saves references to deleted cells, which would produce “missing
cell” warnings when the design was subsequently opened.
Fixed crash in S-Edit when annotating dc operating points.
Text in Additional SPICE Commands is now exported to netlist correctly.
S-Edit no long removes '@' character from instance names when importing Spice
netlist.
Upgrade Notes
The backslash character is now uniformly treated as an escape character, including
when used inside a quoted string. In v15 a backslash inside a quoted string was not
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treated as an escape character. Path separators should be written using either
double-backslash or single forward slash.
Models
New transistor models HiSIM2 and HiSIM_HV are now available.
All Berkeley BSIM models and Philips models have been updated to the latest
release.
Miscellaneous Improvements
Added support for diode tunnel saturation current equations.
T-Spice can be configured to play a sound or send an e-mail when simulations
complete.
Added device instance parameters delvto and mulu0 for BSIM3 and BSIM4
MOSFETs.
Implemented plotting of numerous internal state variables for NXP/Philips models
(MOS 9, PSP, Mestram, Juncap, etc.) The complete list is available through the T-
Spice UI menu selection: Help > Models Supported by T-Spice…
The ability to queue multiple simulation jobs in one operation is now available from
the T-Spice GUI Simulation > Batch Simulations… menu.
Input file parser does not stop after the first syntax error, but will continue until
.options maxsyntaxerror=n (default n=5) errors have been encountered or all input
files have been read.
Bug Fixes
Verilog-AMS input files cannot have a full pathname which is longer than 132
characters, and T-Spice will now issue an error message if this limit is exceeded.
Corrected the .hdl command behavior to search for input Verilog-AMS files relative to
the current input file directory, followed by the main netlist directory, and then the
vasearch and search option paths.
The performance for reading very large input files and model libraries has been
improved.
A warning message will be issued, and the command ignored, when the .global is
located within a .subckt declaration. The global command is only valid at the top level
of the circuit hierarchy.
Corrected an error when a Verilog-A module is referenced in a .model statement
which is located within a .subckt.
Corrected an erroneous “Unsupported model level 69” error when the PSP swgeo
model parameter was assigned.
Corrected the the .assert options start and stop which were not working.
Fixed a crash when transient analysis was combined with outer sweeps and
expression plotting.
Expressions in the input file that are enclosed in parentheses, e.g. (cscaled * 5), are
allowed and are treated the same as quoted expressions.
Improved the convergence of circuits containing BJTs.
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Upgrade Notes
Support for External C Models has been discontinued. Users should transition to
using Verilog-A models which have significantly greater capability, are an industry
standard, and are portable across simulators.
Cursor Table
A new cursor table in W-Edit, in a separate window from the plot, displays detailed
information about traces on the plot at the crossing of a single cursor, or between two
cursors. Information such as first and second derivative, min, max, average, peak-to-
peak, RMS, number of samples, or a user defined expression, can be displayed in
the table.
Horizontal as well as vertical cursors are displayed in the cursor table.
A new command, Edit > Select > Cursors. This can be used to easily select all
toolbars and then delete them.
Stackable Plots
Transient plots may now be displayed in a stacked format, where the min to max
height of each curve is scaled to equal height, and the curves are then offset on the y
axis one above the other. Right click on a plot and invoke Plot Properties, then set
Type to Stacked.
Histograms
Histograms are now filled.
A Histogram can now be made for any trace.
Legend Position
The legend can now be placed above, below, left or right of the plot.
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Axis Control
Axis titles can now be user controlled.
Axis can now be displayed in various user selected engineering units.
The number of significant digits on X/Y-axis is now automatically adjusted as needed
to provide sufficient resolution.
Miscellaneous Improvements
A command, View > Hide Docked Views, has been added, which toggles hiding and
showing of docked views. This command is made even more convenient when bound
to a hot key.
Markers can now be snapped to traces. This is done by having a single selected
trace when the marker is created. Markers can be used in the cursor table or in
measurements, as a substitute for a cursor. A new command “Draw Labeled Marker”
places a marker and a label, with the label set to display the X and Y values at the
position of the marker.
Missing or invalid data points in a trace, for example due to convergence problems in
a sweep, are marked by a triangle with an exclamation point inside.
The line style and color of selected cursors, markers and text can now be set by the
user. Choose Setup > Selection Styles.
A duplicate of a chart may now be made using the Chart > Duplicate Chart
command.
New measure commands have been added for measuring gain margin and phase
margin.
A new parameter "- versus" has been added to the Measures... commands in the
waveform calculator. When a simulation contains sweeps over one or more variables,
the “versus” parameter is used to select one of these as the independent variable
against which the measurement is taken. This can be used to create a new trace, for
plotting a measured result against a sweep parameter.
Bug Fixes
Fixed problems where expand and collapse traces would not work correctly.
Plot Properties View Port settings for Min and Max are now respected.
File > Export Chart Data now works for a AC simulation.
Copy to clipboard now works on multiple traces
Fixed problem where a Transient chart would sometimes open after a dc analysis.
Charts now obey the "Show cursor tables in charts" default option.
Trace color set from Trace navigator is now correctly used when trace is added to
charts.
Fixed crash in W-Edit when performing “Hide all but selected Simulations".
Upgrade Notes
'DC/Parametric' plot in v15 is now called 'X-Y'.
Tanner Tools v16 uses Tcl 8.5.10
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with a single user and no needs for OA compatibility. OpenAccess databases have
the ability to save data on a per cell basis, and thus offer fast save ability on large
databases. TDB however is a more compact database, and is faster for full database
read and write.
MultiUser
Designs in OpenAccess will support multiple users accessing and modifying the
same design at the same time. When you start to edit a cell, that cell will become
reserved to prevent changes by other users. When you are done making changes,
you save your changes to the database and release the reservation for the cell. To
obtain the latest updates made by other users, there are Update cell and Update All
commands. If you attempt to obtain a reservation on a cell that is already reserved,
L-Edit can tell you who has the reservation. A new Database toolbar has buttons to
Toggle reserve of cell view file on disk…, Save Cell…, Save all cells…, Update
cell…, and Update all… buttons.
Layer-Purpose Pairs
L-Edit now supports layer-purpose pairs. The Setup Layers dialog now contains the
ability to create new purposes, and to set the purpose for a layer. Layer-purpose
pairs may also be imported from various sources using Setup > Technology.
Layer-Purpose pairs now have a “Valid” setting, visible on the Setup Layers dialog.
This setting controls whether the layer is included in the layer palette; Valid layers are
included, Invalid layers are excluded. When the layer palette is set to show all layers
however, then both Valid and Invalid layers are included.
Vias
Two new types of vias have been added to L-Edit, corresponding to Standard Vias
and Custom Vias in OpenAccess. Standard Vias are defined based on a template of
parameters, such as upper, lower, and cut layer, surround distances, number of rows
and columns, etc. Custom Vias are defined as a reference to a cell, which could be
either a plain cell with layout, or a generator cell.
Vias may be designated as Valid for a particular technology. The list of valid vias is
shown in Setup > Design > Valid Vias.
A new command, Draw > Vias > Place Vias, with a button on the Drawing toolbar,
provides an easy way to place vias. A dialog is presented with a name filter and a
filter for selecting the Lower and Upper layers.
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Vias may be defined in a library for use in the main design. Vias from a library can be
added to the list of valid vias and used in automatic via placement using the [ and ]
keys.
Replace Instances
New Replace Instances operations have been implemented. Right click on a cell in
the Cell Navigator and invoke Replace Instances > Of This Cell… or Replace
Instances > In Selected Cells….
Replace Instances > Of This Cell… replaces instances of the selected with
instances of a new cell, within a specified scope. The specified scope is either the
active cell, the active cell and hierarchy, the library corresponding to the active cell, or
all libraries. Replace Instances > In Selected Cells… replaces instances of one
chosen cell with instances of another chosen cell, within the list of cells that are
selected in the cell navigator. Replace Instances can also be invoked from the Cell
menu.
When performing Replace Instances, non-default parameter values on T-Cells will be
transferred to the new instance, for those parameters that are in common between
the old and the new cell.
Replace Instances no longer requires confirmation for each cell when using the
Abutment option.
Copy Cell
A new Copy Cell command allows copying a cell from one library to another, with
options to copy hierarchy, retarget instances of the old cell to the new cell, and delete
originals.
Multi-Cell Operations
Multi-Cell Operations now offer a unified selection of the scope on which to operate.
The scope may be chosen from i) Selected objects, ii) Cell, iii) Cell and Hierarchy, iv)
Library, v) All Libraries, as appropriate for the particular operation. The Multi-Cell
operations include Change Layers, Fracture Polygons, Snap to Manufacturing
Grid, Clear Persistent Rulers, Assign GDSII Data Types, Replace Instances,
Clear Generated Layers, Clear Error Layer.
Setup > Merge Layers has moved to Draw > Convert > Change layers.
Edit Objects
The Edit Objects dialog now has a new Via tab for editing parameters of Standard
Vias.
Mask Import/Export
GDS Import now imports into and existing database. In cases of collisions with
existing cells, the user is given a choice to override or not override cells in the
database.
GDS export now has 6 choices for the scope of cells to export, i) All cells, ii) Active
cell, iii) Fabrication cell, iv) Selected cell, v) All cells from selected library, and vi)
Cells selected in navigator. For any scope of selected cells, the hierarchy of cells can
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be included or excluded for export, and also cells from selected libraries can be
excluded for export.
GDS Export now supports a layer map file for mapping of layer names to GDS
numbers, instead of using mapping from Setup > Layers.
Text in GDS files is now imported as labels rather than ports.
GDS Export now writes the instance name using GDS property number 6.
A GDS Export UPI function, LFile_ExportGDSII, is now able to set options and
perform GDS export.
The XRefLib name (now library name) is no longer appended to the cell name on
GDS export.
SPR
SPR will now reference cells from a standard cell library, rather than copying them
into the main design.
Miscellaneous Improvements
Speed of rendering “Highlight Layout” in SDL is significantly improved.
The Generate Layers dialog now has a layer name filter.
Layout Versus Layout (LVL) now supports OA databases. Comparisons can be done
between TDB and TDB, OA and OA, and OA and TDB.
The Design Navigator now displays cells grouped by library. Cells in libraries can be
expanded to show their contents. Autogen cells are now in a group under their
master.
Converting TDB to OA
To convert a TDB database to OpenAccess, choose File > Save Copy >
OpenAccess Database…. The save TDB to OpenAccess dialog offers four options
for saving technology, i) Local (use technology from the tdb file and save locally in
the newly created OA library) ii) Attach to an external OA library iii) Reference an
external OA library, and iv) copy technology from an external OA library.
Bug Fixes
Errors in T-Cell generation no longer present a message dialog for all autogens of the
same T-Cell.
T-Cell Generator cells are no longer written when exporting to GDS. These cells are
always empty, as the actual geometry is contained in the autogen cells.
DRC and layer generation now gives correct results when the layer name is a
number.
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Double clicking on a TDB file now reliably opens the file correctly, and no longer
gives an error message.
Fixed problem where object snapping on large layout would cause to L-Edit to hang.
When moving objects, Object Snapping no longer snaps to points in the selection.
Fixed problem where Interactive DRC would become very slow with Shift-Move.
Via cycle using the ‘ key now cycles correctly though vias for the current drawing
layer.
When drawing a wire, pressing the ] key, will place a via and start another wire on the
next layer up. When not drawing a wire, pressing the [ or ] key will now place a via
and start drawing a wire.
Replace Object With Guard Ring and Draw Guard Ring Around Selection now work
correctly on wires.
Fixes crashes on undo after various Draw > Wire Utilities operations.
Fixed crashes on undo after Alignment operations.
Fixed crashes on undo after Fillet/Chamfer operations.
Zero width wires no longer give an “Unrecoverable error” message when performing
a Fillet operation. They are ignored in Fillet operations.
Fixed problem where Text Layout Generator would place the previous text string.
Fixed problem where L-Edit would not retain the definition for some derived layers.
Fixed problem where one cannot change the default options for Gate inter-
connection and Bulk contact arrangement in HiPer DevGen MOSFET setup
In SDL, Diode pin names are now DP and DM, not DP and DN.
L-Edit no longer gives "invalid conversion from 'int' to 'LWireConfigBits'" error for T-
Cell code generated by T-Cell builder.
Upgrade Notes
File Compatibility
Files saved by L-Edit v16 cannot be read into previous versions of L-Edit. It is
recommended that you create a backup of your v15 or earlier database before saving
in v16. L-Edit will automatically create a backup of a pre-v16 database when saving
in v16.
UPI
The UPI function LCell_GetName has been deprecated. One of the following
functions should now be used: LCell_GetFullName, LCell_GetCellName,
LCell_GetViewName, LCell_GetLibName, LCell_GetPresentationName,
LCell_GetCanonicalName.
There are two new object types in L-Edit v16, Labels and Electrical Ports. UPI
macros and T-Cells will need to be updated to process these objects.
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All instances must be named in OpenAccess. When saving a TDB file to
OpenAccess, unnamed instances will be automatically assigned instance names.
Copy Across
Copying cells across TDB files is no longer allowed, except in the case of copying
from a library to the toplevel design.
Calibre Commands
HiPer Verify has improved performance in Boolean, Coincident Edge, Rectangle
Enclosure, and Net Area Ratio operations.
The Or Edge command has been implemented.
The Endpoint option of Touch Edge has been implemented.
The SEQUENTIAL option is now supported in the GROW command.
Dracula Commands
Support "PARAM RES" and "PARAM CAP" in Dracula deck
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Bug Fixes
Calibre Commands
Fixed problem in SIZE operation with INSIDE OF option.
Fixed crash in SIZE operation.
Missing and false errors in RECTANGLE ENCLOSURE are fixed.
Errors and crash in Boolean operations are fixed.
Errors in TOUCH EDGE and COIN EDGE are fixed.
HiPer now finds a violation of ENCLOSURE rule that was previously missed.
Fixed false errors in ENCLOSURE command.
Fixed problem computing edge layer results in INT operation.
Fixed error in ENCLOSE RECTANGLE operation.
Fixed several false errors on hierarchical layout, where flat layout shows no errors.
Fixed crash in DRC when array exceeded a certain size.
The SVRF MESSAGE command is now supported. The message is written to the
summary report.Dracula Commands
Fixed EXT command when two layers are the same. Treat as single layer operation.
Standard DRC
Fixed problem in Standard DRC where layer name is a number.
LVS
Problem in LVS caused by blank line in Spice model file has been fixed.
LVS now correctly handles filenames without extension.
Fixes and improvements are made to handling of options when running LVS from the
command line. LVS no longer crashes if options not passed correctly.
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Additional Information
Supported System Requirements
Microsoft® Windows XP, Windows Vista™ or Windows 7.
Intel® Pentium® 4 processor or Pentium 4 equivalent with SSE support
1 GB RAM
425 MB of available disk space with an additional 100 MB during installation
A video card with at least 64 MB of memory
3 button mouse
Installation
Install Tanner Tools from the Windows operating system. To begin, insert the distribution CD into
your CD-ROM drive. The setup program should start automatically; if it does not, then you should
navigate to the main CD directory from a file browser window, and double click SETUP.EXE to
run setup. The Tanner Tools setup program will provide information on how to proceed.
Administrator Privileges are required to install Tanner Tools v16. Power users are not able to
install Tanner Tools. On some Windows Vista machines, the following error will appear when
installing, even if you are logged in as an administrator: “Error 1925. You do not have sufficient
privileges to complete this installation for all users of the machine. Log on as an administrator and
then retry this installation.” If this occurs, the right-click on setup.exe on the installation CD and
select option Run As Administrator. This will bring you Tanner Setup window and the installation
will proceed.
Starting Tanner programs from the Windows Start menu, when logged in as a different user than
the user who performed the installation, will sometimes result in a message from Windows
requesting insertion of the installation CD. Inserting the CD and following the instructions will
complete the installation for this user, and the message will not appear again. If you install just T-
Spice and want to run Verilog-A, you must also install Minimalist GNU for Windows using Custom
Installation.
Licensing
Tanner Tools is licensed software; to use the program, you must have a license from Tanner
Research, Inc. Tanner Tools will verify the license either from License Server, installed on your
company network, or from a hardware lock attached to your computer's parallel port. Tanner
Tools is available in node- or network-locked licensing.
This version of Tanner Tools uses the SentinelLM version 7.3.0.6 License Server.
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When installing a .tlu license file, the Tanner Tools license installer will remove expired licenses
from the lservrc file.
Technical Support
Tanner Research, Inc. Europe
825 South Myrtle Avenue EDA Solutions Limited
Monrovia, CA 91016-3424, USA Unit A5 Segensworth Business Centre
Segensworth Road
Telephone: 1-877- 304-5544 (Toll Free)
Fareham, PO15 5RQ
1-626-471-9700
United Kingdom
Fax: 1-626-471-9800
Phone: +44 (0) 1489 564253
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: +44 (0) 1489 557367
Web: www.tannereda.com
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.eda-solutions.com
Japan
Tanner Research Japan K.K.
Israel
Burex Kojimachi 6F
New Artech Technologies Ltd.
3-5-2 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku
Kochav Herzeliya House
Tokyo 〒 102-0083 4th Floor
Japan 4 Hasadnaot Street
Tel: +81 (03) -3239-2840 46120 Herzeliya Pituach
Fax: +81 (03) -3239-2860 Israel
Email: [email protected] Phone: 972 99 962-8080
Web: www.tanner.jp Fax: 972 99 962-8090
Email: [email protected]
Taiwan
Tanner Research Taiwan, Inc.
6F.-8, No. 8
Ziqiang S. Road
Jhubei City
Hsinchu County, 302, Taiwan
Phone: 886(03)-6579108
Fax: 886(03)-6579107
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.tanner.com.tw
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