Article
11/18/2011

Grid Class

Microsoft Silverlight will reach end of support after October 2021. Learn more.

Defines a flexible grid area that consists of columns and rows.

Inheritance Hierarchy

System.Object
  System.Windows.DependencyObject
    System.Windows.UIElement
      System.Windows.FrameworkElement
        System.Windows.Controls.Panel
          System.Windows.Controls.Grid
            System.Windows.Controls.Primitives.DataGridFrozenGrid

Namespace: System.Windows.Controls
Assembly: System.Windows (in System.Windows.dll)

Syntax

'Declaration
Public Class Grid _
    Inherits Panel

public class Grid : Panel

<Grid ...>
  oneOrMoreUIElements
</Grid>

XAML Values

oneOrMoreUIElements
One or more object elements that derive from the UIElement class. Object elements defined here become members of the Children collection.

The Grid type exposes the following members.

Constructors

	Name	Description
	Grid	Initializes a new instance of the Grid class.

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Properties

	Name	Description
	ActualHeight	Gets the rendered height of a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	ActualWidth	Gets the rendered width of a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	AllowDrop	Gets or sets a value that determines whether this UIElement can be a drop target for purposes of Silverlight drag-and-drop operations. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	Background	Gets or sets a Brush that is used to fill the panel. (Inherited from Panel.)
	CacheMode	Gets or sets a value that indicates that rendered content should be cached when possible. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	Children	Gets the collection of child elements of the panel. (Inherited from Panel.)
	Clip	Gets or sets the Geometry used to define the outline of the contents of a UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	ColumnDefinitions	Gets a ColumnDefinitionCollection defined on this instance of Grid.
	Cursor	Gets or sets the cursor image that displays while the mouse pointer is over a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	DataContext	Gets or sets the data context for a FrameworkElement when it participates in data binding. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	DesiredSize	Gets the size that this UIElement computed during the measure pass of the layout process. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	Dispatcher	Gets the Dispatcher this object is associated with. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	Effect	Gets or sets the pixel shader effect to use for rendering this UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	FlowDirection	Gets or sets the direction that text and other user interface elements flow within any parent element that controls their layout. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	Height	Gets or sets the suggested height of a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	HorizontalAlignment	Gets or sets the horizontal alignment characteristics that are applied to a FrameworkElement when it is composed in a layout parent, such as a panel or items control. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	IsHitTestVisible	Gets or sets whether the contained area of this UIElement can return true values for hit testing. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	IsItemsHost	Gets a value that indicates whether this Panel is a container for UI items that are generated by an ItemsControl. (Inherited from Panel.)
	Language	Gets or sets localization/globalization language information that applies to a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	Margin	Gets or sets the outer margin of a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	MaxHeight	Gets or sets the maximum height constraint of a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	MaxWidth	Gets or sets the maximum width constraint of a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	MinHeight	Gets or sets the minimum height constraint of a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	MinWidth	Gets or sets the minimum width constraint of a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	Name	Gets or sets the identifying name of the object. When a XAML processor creates the object tree from XAML markup, run-time code can refer to the XAML-declared object by this name. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	Opacity	Gets or sets the degree of the object's opacity. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	OpacityMask	Gets or sets the brush used to alter the opacity of regions of this object. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	Parent	Gets the parent object of this FrameworkElement in the object tree. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	Projection	Gets or sets the perspective projection (3-D effect) to apply when rendering this UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	RenderSize	Gets the final render size of a UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	RenderTransform	Gets or sets transform information that affects the rendering position of a UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	RenderTransformOrigin	Gets or sets the origin point of any possible render transform declared by RenderTransform, relative to the bounds of the UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	Resources	Gets the locally defined resource dictionary. In XAML, you can establish resource items as child object elements of a frameworkElement.Resources property element, through XAML implicit collection syntax. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	RowDefinitions	Gets a RowDefinitionCollection defined on this instance of Grid.
	ShowGridLines	Gets or sets a value that indicates whether grid lines are visible within this Grid.
	Style	Gets or sets an instance Style that is applied for this object during rendering. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	Tag	Gets or sets an arbitrary object value that can be used to store custom information about this object. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	Triggers	Gets the collection of triggers for animations that are defined for a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	UseLayoutRounding	Gets or sets a value that determines whether rendering for the object and its visual subtree should use rounding behavior that aligns rendering to whole pixels. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	VerticalAlignment	Gets or sets the vertical alignment characteristics that are applied to a FrameworkElement when it is composed in a parent object such as a panel or items control. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	Visibility	Gets or sets the visibility of a UIElement. A UIElement that is not visible does not render and does not communicate its desired size to layout. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	Width	Gets or sets the width of a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)

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Attached Properties

	Name	Description
	Column	Gets or sets a value that indicates which column child content within a Grid should appear in.
	ColumnSpan	Gets or sets a value that indicates the total number of columns that child content spans within a Grid.
	Row	Gets or sets a value that indicates which row child content within a Grid should appear in.
	RowSpan	Gets or sets a value that indicates the total number of rows that child content spans within a Grid.

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Methods

	Name	Description
	AddHandler	Adds a routed event handler for a specified routed event, adding the handler to the handler collection on the current element. Specify handledEventsToo as true to have the provided handler be invoked for routed event that had already been marked as handled by another element along the event route. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	Arrange	Positions child objects and determines a size for a UIElement. Parent objects that implement custom layout for their child elements should call this method from their layout override implementations to form a recursive layout update. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	ArrangeOverride	Arranges the content of a Grid element. (Overrides FrameworkElement.ArrangeOverride(Size).)
	CaptureMouse	Sets mouse capture to a UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	CheckAccess	Determines whether the calling thread has access to this object. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	ClearValue	Clears the local value of a dependency property. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	Equals(Object)	Determines whether the specified Object is equal to the current Object. (Inherited from Object.)
	Finalize	Allows an object to try to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before the Object is reclaimed by garbage collection. (Inherited from Object.)
	FindName	Retrieves an object that has the specified identifier name. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	GetAnimationBaseValue	Returns any base value established for a Silverlight dependency property, which would apply in cases where an animation is not active. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	GetBindingExpression	Retrieves the BindingExpression for a dependency property where a binding is established. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	GetColumn	Gets the value of the Grid.Column attached property from the specified FrameworkElement.
	GetColumnSpan	Gets the value of the Grid.ColumnSpan attached property from the specified FrameworkElement.
	GetHashCode	Serves as a hash function for a particular type. (Inherited from Object.)
	GetRow	Gets the value of the Grid.Row attached property from the specified FrameworkElement.
	GetRowSpan	Gets the value of the Grid.RowSpan attached property from the specified FrameworkElement.
	GetType	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object.)
	GetValue	Returns the current effective value of a dependency property from a DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	InvalidateArrange	Invalidates the arrange state (layout) for a UIElement. After the invalidation, the UIElement will have its layout updated, which will occur asynchronously. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	InvalidateMeasure	Invalidates the measurement state (layout) for a UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	Measure	Updates the DesiredSize of a UIElement. Typically, objects that implement custom layout for their layout children call this method from their own MeasureOverride implementations to form a recursive layout update. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	MeasureOverride	Measures the children of a Grid in anticipation of arranging them during the ArrangeOverride pass. (Overrides FrameworkElement.MeasureOverride(Size).)
	MemberwiseClone	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object.)
	OnApplyTemplate	When overridden in a derived class, is invoked whenever application code or internal processes (such as a rebuilding layout pass) call ApplyTemplate. In simplest terms, this means the method is called just before a UI element displays in an application. For more information, see Remarks. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	OnCreateAutomationPeer	When implemented in a derived class, returns class-specific AutomationPeer implementations for the Silverlight automation infrastructure. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	ReadLocalValue	Returns the local value of a dependency property, if a local value is set. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	ReleaseMouseCapture	Removes mouse capture from a UIElement. After this call, typically no object holds mouse capture. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	RemoveHandler	Removes the specified routed event handler from this UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	SetBinding	Attaches a binding to a FrameworkElement, using the provided binding object, and returns a BindingExpressionBase for possible later use. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	SetColumn	Sets the value of the Grid.Column attached property to the specified FrameworkElement.
	SetColumnSpan	Sets the value of the Grid.ColumnSpan attached property to the specified FrameworkElement.
	SetRow	Sets the value of the Grid.Row attached property to the specified FrameworkElement.
	SetRowSpan	Sets the value of the Grid.RowSpan attached property to the specified FrameworkElement.
	SetValue	Sets the local value of a dependency property on a DependencyObject. (Inherited from DependencyObject.)
	ToString	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object.)
	TransformToVisual	Returns a transform object that can be used to transform coordinates from the UIElement to the specified object. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	UpdateLayout	Ensures that all positions of child objects of a UIElement are properly updated for layout. (Inherited from UIElement.)

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Events

	Name	Description
	BindingValidationError	Occurs when a data validation error is reported by a binding source. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	DataContextChanged	Occurs when the data context for this element changes. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	DoubleTap	Occurs when a DoubleTap gesture is committed while over this UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	DragEnter	Occurs when the input system reports an underlying drag event with this element as the target. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	DragLeave	Occurs when the input system reports an underlying drag event with this element as the origin. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	DragOver	Occurs when the input system reports an underlying drag event with this element as the potential drop target. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	Drop	Occurs when the input system reports an underlying drop event with this element as the drop target. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	GotFocus	Occurs when a UIElement receives focus. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	Hold	Occurs when a Hold gesture is committed while over this UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	KeyDown	Occurs when a keyboard key is pressed while the UIElement has focus. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	KeyUp	Occurs when a keyboard key is released while the UIElement has focus. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	LayoutUpdated	Occurs when the layout of the Silverlight visual tree changes. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	Loaded	Occurs when a FrameworkElement has been constructed and added to the object tree. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	LostFocus	Occurs when a UIElement loses focus. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	LostMouseCapture	Occurs when the UIElement loses mouse capture. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	ManipulationCompleted	Occurs when a manipulation and inertia on the UIElement is complete. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	ManipulationDelta	Occurs when the input device changes position during a manipulation. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	ManipulationStarted	Occurs when an input device begins a manipulation on the UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	MediaCommand	Occurs when a button is pressed on a remote control. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	MouseEnter	Occurs when the mouse (or a stylus) enters the bounding area of a UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	MouseLeave	Occurs when the mouse (or the stylus) leaves the bounding area of a UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	MouseLeftButtonDown	Occurs when the left mouse button is pressed (or when the tip of the stylus touches the tablet) while the mouse pointer is over a UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	MouseLeftButtonUp	Occurs when the left mouse button is released (or the tip of the stylus is removed from the tablet) while the mouse (or the stylus) is over a UIElement (or while a UIElement holds mouse capture). (Inherited from UIElement.)
	MouseMove	Occurs when the coordinate position of the mouse (or stylus) changes while over a UIElement (or while a UIElement holds mouse capture). (Inherited from UIElement.)
	MouseRightButtonDown	Occurs when the right mouse button is pressed while the mouse pointer is over a UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	MouseRightButtonUp	Occurs when the right mouse button is released while the mouse pointer is over a UIElement. However, this event will only be raised if a caller marks the preceding MouseRightButtonDown event as handled; see Remarks. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	MouseWheel	Occurs when the user rotates the mouse wheel while the mouse pointer is over a UIElement, or the UIElement has focus. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	SizeChanged	Occurs when either the ActualHeight or the ActualWidth properties change value on a FrameworkElement. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)
	Tap	Occurs when a Tap gesture is committed while over this UIElement. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	TextInput	Occurs when a UI element gets text in a device-independent manner. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	TextInputStart	Occurs when a UI element initially gets text in a device-independent manner. (Inherited from UIElement.)
	TextInputUpdate	Occurs when text continues to be composed via an input method editor (IME). (Inherited from UIElement.)
	Unloaded	Occurs when this object is no longer connected to the main object tree. (Inherited from FrameworkElement.)

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Fields

	Name	Description
	ColumnProperty	Identifies the Column dependency property.
	ColumnSpanProperty	Identifies the ColumnSpan dependency property.
	RowProperty	Identifies the Row dependency property.
	RowSpanProperty	Identifies the RowSpan dependency property.
	ShowGridLinesProperty	Identifies the ShowGridLines dependency property.

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Remarks

Grid is one of the Panel elements that enable complex layout. By default, a Grid contains one row and one column. To define multiple rows and columns use the ColumnDefinitions and RowDefinitions collections. Each RowDefinition and ColumnDefinition object inside the RowDefinitions and ColumnDefinitions collections define a single row or column. The RowDefinition and ColumnDefinition objects also define the size of each row and column using the GridLength object. For a definition of each unit type, see GridUnitType.

Note:
Grid is designed to use for layout of your application's user interface. It is not intended for data display. For displaying and binding to sets of data, use DataGrid.

You can position objects in specific cells of the Grid by using the Grid.Column and Grid.Row attached properties.

Columns and rows can take advantage of Star sizing to distribute remaining space proportionally. When Star is selected as the height or width of a row or column, that column or row receives a weighted proportion of the remaining available space. Star sizing is the default behavior.

The following illustration shows a grid where the height of the first two rows is set to * and the last row is 2*.

Shows 3 rows of a Grid with Star sizing

Columns and rows can use Auto sizing to distribute space evenly based on the size of the content that is within a column or row. The following illustration shows 3 columns using Auto sizing.

3 columns in a Grid with Auto sizing

Content can span across multiple rows and columns using the RowSpan and ColumnSpan attached properties.

Setting the Margin property on the child elements in a grid sets the distance between the element and its grid cell boundaries. The HorizontalAlignment and VerticalAlignment properties describe how the child element should be positioned within the grid cell. You can precisely position child elements of a Grid by using a combination of the Margin property and alignment properties.

Child elements of a Grid are drawn in the order in which they appear in markup or code. As a result, layered order (also known as z-order) can be achieved when elements share the same coordinates. For more information about z-order, see ZIndex.

The following table summarizes the other available layout containers provided by Silverlight.

Panel name	Description
Canvas	Defines an area where you can explicitly position child elements by X and Y values.
StackPanel	Arranges child elements into a single line that can be oriented horizontally or vertically.

For scenarios that require application layout that is not possible using any of the predefined Panel elements, custom layout behaviors can be achieved by inheriting from Panel and overriding the default measure and arrange behavior by using the MeasureOverride and ArrangeOverride methods. For more information, see Custom Panels.

Examples

The following code example shows how to design a layout by using a Grid.

<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot" Background="#DCDCDC" Width="400" Height="300" ShowGridLines="True">
    <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
        <ColumnDefinition Width="250" />
        <ColumnDefinition Width="150" />
    </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
    <Grid.RowDefinitions>
        <RowDefinition Height="Auto" />
        <RowDefinition Height="2*" />
        <RowDefinition Height="*"/>
    </Grid.RowDefinitions>
    <TextBlock Grid.Row="0" Grid.Column="0" Grid.ColumnSpan="2" Margin="10" FontWeight="Bold" Text="Contoso Corporation" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center" />
    <Grid x:Name="FormLayoutGrid" Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="0" ShowGridLines="True">
        <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
            <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />
            <ColumnDefinition />
        </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
        <Grid.RowDefinitions>
            <RowDefinition Height="*" />
            <RowDefinition Height="*" />
            <RowDefinition Height="*" />
        </Grid.RowDefinitions>
        <TextBlock Grid.Row="0" Grid.Column="0" Text="First Name" Margin="10" HorizontalAlignment="Left" VerticalAlignment="Center" />
        <TextBox Grid.Row="0" Grid.Column="1" Margin="10" />
        <TextBlock Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="0" Text="Last Name" Margin="10" HorizontalAlignment="Left" VerticalAlignment="Center" />
        <TextBox Grid.Row="1" Grid.Column="1" Margin="10" />
        <TextBlock Grid.Row="2" Grid.Column="0" Text="Address" Margin="10" HorizontalAlignment="Left" VerticalAlignment="Center" />
        <TextBox Grid.Row="2" Grid.Column="1" Margin="10" />

    </Grid>
 </Grid>

Partial Public Class Page
    Inherits UserControl

    Public Sub New()
        InitializeComponent()
        LayoutDesign()
    End Sub

    Private Sub LayoutDesign()
        'Create Stackpanel for ListBox Control and its description 
        Dim DeptStackPanel As New StackPanel()
        DeptStackPanel.Margin = New Thickness(10)

        LayoutRoot.Children.Add(DeptStackPanel)
        Grid.SetColumn(DeptStackPanel, 1)
        Grid.SetRow(DeptStackPanel, 1)

        Dim DeptListHeading As New TextBlock()
        DeptListHeading.Text = "Department"

        Dim DeptList As New ListBox()
        DeptList.Items.Add("Finance")
        DeptList.Items.Add("Marketing")
        DeptList.Items.Add("Human Resources")
        DeptList.Items.Add("Payroll")

        DeptStackPanel.Children.Add(DeptListHeading)
        DeptStackPanel.Children.Add(DeptList)

        'Create StackPanel for buttons 
        Dim ButtonsStackPanel As New StackPanel()
        ButtonsStackPanel.Margin = New Thickness(10)
        ButtonsStackPanel.Orientation = Orientation.Horizontal
        ButtonsStackPanel.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Center

        LayoutRoot.Children.Add(ButtonsStackPanel)
        Grid.SetColumn(ButtonsStackPanel, 0)
        Grid.SetRow(ButtonsStackPanel, 2)
        Grid.SetColumnSpan(ButtonsStackPanel, 2)

        Dim BackButton As New Button()
        BackButton.Content = "Back"
        BackButton.Height = 30
        BackButton.Width = 100

        Dim CancelButton As New Button()
        CancelButton.Content = "Cancel"
        CancelButton.Height = 30
        CancelButton.Width = 100

        Dim NextButton As New Button()
        NextButton.Content = "Next"
        NextButton.Height = 30
        NextButton.Width = 100

        ButtonsStackPanel.Children.Add(BackButton)
        ButtonsStackPanel.Children.Add(CancelButton)
        ButtonsStackPanel.Children.Add(NextButton)

        BackButton.Margin = New Thickness(10)
        CancelButton.Margin = New Thickness(10)
        NextButton.Margin = New Thickness(10)
    End Sub
End Class

    public Page()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        LayoutDesign();
    }

    private void LayoutDesign()
    {
        //Create Stackpanel for ListBox Control and its description
        StackPanel DeptStackPanel = new StackPanel();
        DeptStackPanel.Margin = new Thickness(10);

        LayoutRoot.Children.Add(DeptStackPanel);
        Grid.SetColumn(DeptStackPanel, 1);
        Grid.SetRow(DeptStackPanel, 1);

        TextBlock DeptListHeading = new TextBlock();
        DeptListHeading.Text = "Department";

        ListBox DeptList = new ListBox();
        DeptList.Items.Add("Finance");
        DeptList.Items.Add("Marketing");
        DeptList.Items.Add("Human Resources");
        DeptList.Items.Add("Payroll");

        DeptStackPanel.Children.Add(DeptListHeading);
        DeptStackPanel.Children.Add(DeptList);

        //Create StackPanel for buttons
        StackPanel ButtonsStackPanel = new StackPanel();
        ButtonsStackPanel.Margin = new Thickness(10);
        ButtonsStackPanel.Orientation = Orientation.Horizontal;
        ButtonsStackPanel.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Center;

        LayoutRoot.Children.Add(ButtonsStackPanel);
        Grid.SetColumn(ButtonsStackPanel, 0);
        Grid.SetRow(ButtonsStackPanel, 2);
        Grid.SetColumnSpan(ButtonsStackPanel, 2);

        Button BackButton = new Button();
        BackButton.Content = "Back";
        BackButton.Height = 30;
        BackButton.Width = 100;

        Button CancelButton = new Button();
        CancelButton.Content = "Cancel";
        CancelButton.Height = 30;
        CancelButton.Width = 100;

        Button NextButton = new Button();
        NextButton.Content = "Next";
        NextButton.Height = 30;
        NextButton.Width = 100;

        ButtonsStackPanel.Children.Add(BackButton);
        ButtonsStackPanel.Children.Add(CancelButton);
        ButtonsStackPanel.Children.Add(NextButton);

        BackButton.Margin = new Thickness(10);
        CancelButton.Margin = new Thickness(10);
        NextButton.Margin = new Thickness(10);
    }
}

The preceding example produces output that is similar to the following illustration.

A complex Grid layout

Version Information

Silverlight

Supported in: 5, 4, 3

Silverlight for Windows Phone

Supported in: Windows Phone OS 7.1, Windows Phone OS 7.0

Platforms

For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.

Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

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