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[starting a new topic because searching the forums produces scattered, incomplete, and contradictory notions of installation and use information.]

 

Are there, somewhere, in one place, clear instructions on installing and troubleshooting plugins in AP?

Specifically interested in NIK Collection and their use in AP (is there some version that works and some that don't? Incompatible OS versions? Mac Win?)

 

The implication seems to be that they work in AP, but they don't seem to work for me (Do they work only from a certain folder? Do some obscure permissions need to be set? What is and what are the implications of a "plugin support folder" versus a "plugin search folder?" What is and what are the implications of "global support?")

 

If I can get them to work, is there a non-destructive way (reversible/editable) to use NIK tools in AP? 

 

As for myself, I have downloaded the free version of NIK Collection from Google and am running a Mac on El Cap (10.11.5) with AP (v 1.4.2) purchased via the Apple App Store.

 

Thanks

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No special permissions need to be set. See MEB's page here for info about which NIK (& other) plugins work with Affinity Photo (which currently is only available for OS X so there is no separate Windows version to be confused about).

 

MEB's post here explains how to set AP's plugin preferences for use with the NIK collection -- but note that the Plug-in Search Folders path will vary depending on if you have Photoshop installed or not.

 

This YouTube video explains how to run the installer & set up the AP preferences. It is for a slightly older version of AP but the important parts are the same.

 

EDIT: More stuff I forgot to mention:

 

• The NIK plugins are destructive so it is a good idea to duplicate the layer before using one of them.

• If you are still having problems getting them to work after checking out all of the above, please tell us if you have any version of Photoshop installed & if so, which one -- this makes a big difference in the install & setup procedure.

• Depending on if you create an extra install location, you may have installed standalone versions of each of the plugins -- these are apps that can you can run like any other app (independently of Affinity Photo or any other graphics app). This can be very useful if you want to apply any of the NIK plugin effects that don't work in AP.

Edited by R C-R

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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Just to confirm the above post really, and it works well enough.  I found that by pausing the video in minute increments, and then doing the required steps the easiest way to install the Nix Plug-ins.   I did this nearly 2 weeks ago, and there has been no issues with Affinty Photo on my Mac Air.

 

There is a lot there in the Nix plug-ins.  I won't be touching them for a long while yet (I toyed briefly with the HDR program) - as I'm getting to grips with Affinity Photo 1.4.2 as it is, let alone the upcoming 1.5 up-date with the HDR persona.  So add Nix into the mix, and you will have one almighty photo processing software program, which will no doubt take longer than a few days to get the best our of.

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Hi Rigger73,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

Just to let you know that Affinity Photo 1.5 Beta is able to run all of the Nik Collection plug-ins. There's still a few issues with some of them but overall they are woking a lot better in the latest Beta. If you are willing to give it a try you can download it from here (please read the notes in the first post). Files created or saved with version 1.5 beta are not compatible with older versions of the program (the current MAc App Store version -v1.4.2 - is not able to open them.

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Sparkleybright,

 

Just curious, but did you have Adobe Photoshop or Bridge installed on your system, and/or did you add the supplemental install location like the video shows at about the 2:45 point in the video? Some users who do not have any Adobe products installed seem to overlook the need to use the plus button in the installer to add a pre-created folder for the plugins, like the video shows near the beginning.

 

This has been mentioned several times in the Affinity forums but it is easy to overlook that critical step.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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So if I understand everything correctly, contrary to what may have been implied elsewhere, in actual fact:

 

1.) The NIK Plugins do not work with the current commercial release of AP (v 1.4.2)

 

2.) Some of the NIK Plugins do work with AP (v 1.5 beta) and the rest don't work completely properly yet. [eventual full functionality is assumed.]

 

3.) AP (v 1.5 beta) files are not backward compatible with the current commercial release of AP (v 1.4.2)

 

Further

 

1.) NIK plugins that do work with AP (v 1.5 beta) cannot be used in a non-destructive way (effects are not editable/reversible in the manner of adjustments, layer effects, or live filters) but can be applied to layer copies as a partial work around.

 

Assuming this is correct, I have two questions,

When (approximately) will vision 1.5 be released commercially?

Is it possible (or planned) for Affinity photo to enable the NIK plugin effects to be non-destructive (editable and reversible)? [i realize this may be beyond Affinity's control.]

Thanks.

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This is confusing. I thought MEB was saying they only worked on v 1.5  but as I read the link you supplied I'm thinking I may have misunderstood him.

Are you talking about running them on v 1.4.1 or 1.5?

I am using v 1.4 and none of them work for me.

 

No special permissions need to be set. See MEB's page here for info about which NIK (& other) plugins work with Affinity Photo (which currently is only available for OS X so there is no separate Windows version to be confused about).

 

MEB's post here explains how to set AP's plugin preferences for use with the NIK collection -- but note that the Plug-in Search Folders path will vary depending on if you have Photoshop installed or not.

 

This YouTube video explains how to run the installer & set up the AP preferences. It is for a slightly older version of AP but the important parts are the same.

 

EDIT: More stuff I forgot to mention:

 

• The NIK plugins are destructive so it is a good idea to duplicate the layer before using one of them.

• If you are still having problems getting them to work after checking out all of the above, please tell us if you have any version of Photoshop installed & if so, which one -- this makes a big difference in the install & setup procedure.

• Depending on if you create an extra install location, you may have installed standalone versions of each of the plugins -- these are apps that can you can run like any other app (independently of Affinity Photo or any other graphics app). This can be very useful if you want to apply any of the NIK plugin effects that don't work in AP.

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Sparkleybright,

 

Just curious, but did you have Adobe Photoshop or Bridge installed on your system, and/or did you add the supplemental install location like the video shows at about the 2:45 point in the video? Some users who do not have any Adobe products installed seem to overlook the need to use the plus button in the installer to add a pre-created folder for the plugins, like the video shows near the beginning.

 

This has been mentioned several times in the Affinity forums but it is easy to overlook that critical step.

 

I do have Photoshop and Bridge installed.  And, I followed the instructions completely.  Stopped the video after each step.  What I found after installing was that all but two ( Analog Efex and Color Efex) had "Unknown" listed next to them in the Detected PlugIns box and they did not show up under filters.  But before that, during the installation under Plugin Search Folders the first tutorial said to only check the Photoshop Plug Ins Folder (that I had generated earlier) and even said that you don't need to open that so that it shows Google.  On the video that works he said to open that folder and click on Google.  So that under the Plugin Search folders is is:  /Applications/Photoshop Plugins/Google.  Then he said that you have to also check "Allow 'Unknown' plugins to be used".  Once I clicked on the Google folder and checked the "Allow....."  It worked.  They all work.

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So if I understand everything correctly, contrary to what may have been implied elsewhere, in actual fact:

 

1.) The NIK Plugins do not work with the current commercial release of AP (v 1.4.2)

 

2.) Some of the NIK Plugins do work with AP (v 1.5 beta) and the rest don't work completely properly yet. [eventual full functionality is assumed.]

 

3.) AP (v 1.5 beta) files are not backward compatible with the current commercial release of AP (v 1.4.2)

 

Further

 

1.) NIK plugins that do work with AP (v 1.5 beta) cannot be used in a non-destructive way (effects are not editable/reversible in the manner of adjustments, layer effects, or live filters) but can be applied to layer copies as a partial work around.

 

Assuming this is correct, I have two questions,

When (approximately) will vision 1.5 be released commercially?

Is it possible (or planned) for Affinity photo to enable the NIK plugin effects to be non-destructive (editable and reversible)? [i realize this may be beyond Affinity's control.]

Thanks.

 

I have version 1.4.2 of Affinity Photo.  All of the plugins work now,

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Hi JPWatkins,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

Photoshop plug-in support is still being worked on. Some plug-ins run perfectly fine, a few still have a few issues while others may refuse to launch or crash the app.

Regarding the Nik Collection Some of them are not working in Affinity Photo 1.4.2 (Mac App Store version). For more details please check this page (click on each plug-in's name for details). They may appear in the menu and run but then display an error message stating they cannot apply the filter's effect to a separate layer.

Version 1.5 Beta has improved compatibility a little. All of them run inside Affinity Photo 1.5 however a few still have a couple issues. I will add a a second list just for the 1.5 Beta soon with more details.

 

Affinity Photo 1.5 should be out by the end of September/early October.

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I have version 1.4.2 of Affinity Photo.  All of the plugins work now,

 

You have Dfine, Sharpener Pro, Viveza, and Silver Efex working? (These are the only ones I really care about. Especially Viveza.)

Be that as it may, the AP page referenced above by R C-R says Dfine, Sharpener Pro, and Viveca do not work.

 

In any case I'm not sure where to start.

 

As I said before I am running a Mac running El Cap (10.11.5) with AP (v 1.4.2) purchased via the Apple App Store.

No Photoshop (swore it off and bought Affinity Design and Photo.)

The NIK plugins are running perfectly in Aperture.

 

If I could paste in a screenshot image of my plugins and preferences I would but apparently any images I use have to come from a URL.

 

 

This is where my NIK tools are:

Macintosh HD/Applications/NIK Collection/(This contains what I believe are the stand alone NIK Applications [Analog color HDR and silver Efex, with Define, Sharpener Pro, Viveza, and an uninstaller, i.e. "Analog Efex Pro 2.app"])

 

There is another folder too:

Macintosh HD/Applications/Photoshop Plugins/Google/[in here are individual folders for each efex, i.e. "Analog Efex Pro 2"] /[in each of those are1 or more plugins and config files i.e. "Analog Efex Pro 2.plugin"]

 

Attempting to use any of the plugins results in a crash and something like this:

 

Process:               Affinity Photo [44047]

Path:                  /Applications/Affinity Photo.app/Contents/MacOS/Affinity Photo
Identifier:            com.seriflabs.affinityphoto
Version:               1.4.2 (1.4.3)
App Item ID:           824183456
App External ID:       817630394
Code Type:             X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process:        ??? [1]
Responsible:           Affinity Photo [44047]
User ID:               501
 
Date/Time:             2016-08-21 20:16:17.280 -0500
OS Version:            Mac OS X 10.11.5 (15F34)
Report Version:        11
Anonymous UUID:        D67DDB10-40EF-46B4-D0D3-41944A359FAC
 
Sleep/Wake UUID:       482C4C8D-3102-4F0A-BBC1-F827E4DCDC3E
 
Time Awake Since Boot: 2600000 seconds
 
System Integrity Protection: enabled
 
Crashed Thread:        14
 
Exception Type:        EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes:       0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000
Exception Note:        EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY
 
Application Specific Information:
dyld: in dladdr()
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Hi JPWatkins,

This is the path you have to set in Affinity Photo Preferences, Photoshop plug-ins section, Plug-in Search folders/Applications/Photoshop Plugins/Google (see screenshot below).

You also have to press the Authorise Global button in the Preferences dialog, then Authorise again in the dialog that will open next if you haven't done so.

Also make sure you have Allow Unknown plugins to be used checked, close the Preference window and restart Affinity Photo.

 

post-59-0-65477300-1471830000_thumb.png

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The NIK plugins are running perfectly in Aperture.

The NIK installer creates & installs a separate set of Aperture plug in files in addition to the Photoshop ones. These are in a different format from the Photoshop plugins because Aperture can't use Photoshop plugins. Aperture is the only app that can use those special versions -- neither Affinity nor Photoshop or any other app that supports Photoshop plugins can use them. From what I can tell, the NIK installer always instal them, whether or not Aperture is installed on the Mac.

 

The Photoshop plugins are different. The NIK installer looks for an installation of Photoshop, Adobe Bridge, etc. -- anything it knows can use the PS versions -- which does not include Affinity -- & automatically installs them in the appropriate locations for those apps. This is why (both) videos mention creating a new folder in the Applications folder prior to running the NIK installer if you do not have any of the known apps (like Photoshop) on your system & adding that folder to the install locations using the plus button shown in the videos.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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Hi JPWatkins,

This is the path you have to set in Affinity Photo Preferences, Photoshop plug-ins section, Plug-in Search folders/Applications/Photoshop Plugins/Google (see screenshot below).

You also have to press the Authorise Global button in the Preferences dialog, then Authorise again in the dialog that will open next if you haven't done so.

Also make sure you have Allow Unknown plugins to be used checked, close the Preference window and restart Affinity Photo.

 

attachicon.gifphotoshop_plug-ins_preferences.png

 

I guess sparkleybright has a very special machine and software since it's running everything fine on 1.4.2  :-)

 

On my computer, everything is the same as the screenshot you posted, but in    AP Preferences > Photoshop Plugins, in the Detected Plugins window, Analog Efex and Color Efex bothe hav "requires global support" in the Status column (and they don't appear in the filters>plugins>Nik Collection menu (yes I did authorize global, and restart the program, as you mentioned.) That leaves Silver Efex as the only possibly running plugin (it actually ran before, but Define, Viveza, and Sharpener are the ones I really need running so I missed it.)

 

When I pull up Silver Efex, it tells me I have "seven days left in my trial" of the Collection!? This seems like a problem.

All the others crash the program.

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Thanks, R C-R,

I did follow that video.

According to MEB the plugins I really want will not work with 1.4.2 It is limited to only Analog, Color and Silver Efex plugins.

The current problem seems to be with the Analog and Color Efex plugins not getting their "global satisfaction" despite my best efforts.

And with the "7 days left on my trial" of NIK Collection by Google.

 

Do you have more than Analog, Color and Silver Efex working on your machine?

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JPWatkins,

Do you have downloaded and installed the latest version of the Nik Collection from this link on the top of the page (nikcollection-full-1.2.11.dmg)?

The Nik Collection plug-ins are now free. There's no trial versions anymore. Did you have installed a previous version of them before they were released as free plug-ins?

If so you may still have a few old config files left somewhere on your system. Please check this page on the Nik Collection Help site for instructions on how to remove them properly.

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Yes I installed the newest. and I ran an uninstaller beforehand just in case.

I may have installed an early version years ago, but I would have uninstalled it.

I figure there must be something old hanging around somewhere, but it's pretty hard to find stuff of that sort on the Mac these last few years.

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OK I've done everything all over (again.)

Uninstalled with every conceivable uninstaller.

Emptied the trash.

Reinstalled, again (This is at least the third time I've done this.)

And guess what.

After I uninstalled, nothing worked (in both Aperture and AP)—the plugins were gone.

After I reinstalled (yes, from the newest free installer from Google) everything was in the same state as before uninstalling (for both Aperture [working] and AP [only Silver Efex sort of working,]) and including the 7 days left in the "free trial" and the "requires global support" status warning.

Only Silver Efex Pro 2 v 2.2.24.10 x64 works, and only for 7 more days.

I don't know what else to do.

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JPWatkins:

 

What is the creation date of your file named Silver Efex Pro 2.plugin, & of the one named Silver Efex Pro 2.app if you have that as well?

 

It should be March 25, 2016 for these & all the other NIK files. Also, on my system both of these items have a version number of "2.2.24" without the ".10 x64" suffix.

 

If in Get Info windows the creation date shown for any of these files is earlier than March 24 of this year (the date Google released the free version), or they show a version number with more than the three number groups like 2.2.24, then I think this means there is some vestige of an earlier version of some or all of the NIK plugins somewhere on your system.

 

I know you said that you may have installed an early version years ago, but at that time there was no NIK Collection, just the individual plugins. As mentioned in the bottom section of the NIK Collection Uninstalling Help page (same link that MEB mentioned above), to uninstall any of these earlier "uncollected" plugins, you must download from that page the individual installers for each of them & run them prior to running the NIK Collection installer. The current free NIK Collection installer will not remove any of these old versions.

 

I never installed any of the older plugins but just to see what would happen, I downloaded the Viveza ones from that page & ran them (there are three in the download, one each for Aperture, Lightroom, & Photoshop). That had no effect on the Viveza 2 files on my system, a pretty good indirect indication that the NIK Collection installer does not touch any of the older plugin files, either during the install or uninstall process.

 

If you have not already tried running these uninstallers, I suggest you (once again) run the NIK Collection installer app to uninstall the new versions & then download & run each of these. Only after doing that, try running the NIK Collection installer app to install the new free plugins. This is the only way I know to guarantee that there will be no interference from any of the older files that might trigger the "free trial" warning.

 

Also, earlier you asked which plugins I had working on my Mac. What works for me with AP version 1.4.2 is exactly the same as MEB described on his Affinity Photo: Plug-Ins Support page. (Be sure to click on each plugin listed on that page to see the details.) All of the stand alone application versions also work.

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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Thanks for taking the time, BTW. I appreciate it from you, MEB, and everyone else. [Lucky you, you may be the only one near my time zone!]

 

"What is the creation date of your file named Silver Efex Pro 2.plugin, & of the one named Silver Efex Pro 2.app if you have that as well? It should be March 25, 2016 for these & all the other NIK files."

 

> No. All my creation dates for all plugins and apps are yesterday (since the files were created yesterday when I installed them.)

 

"Also, on my system both of these items have a version number of "2.2.24" without the ".10 x64" suffix."

 

>When I go to get the NIK Collection at Google obtained via Google search or via the link that MEB supplied (at "https://www.google.com/nikcollection/) and click on the download link  it downloads a file called "nikcollection-full-1.2.11.dmg"

which installs Silver Efex Pro 2 (v2.2.24) The ".10 x64" only appears in the splash screen when the plugin is called from the filter menu in AP It has has a down counting trial time period, but who knows if it actually is in effect? In any case I have to press a button labeled "demo" or "trial" or something like that in order to fully launch the plugin.

 

OK, I found an info Plist in the contents of the plugin that identifies 2.2.24 as the "bundle version short" and 2.2.24.10 as the "bundle version" so I don't think this is a problem. They would appear to be the same version. Also in the resources files are the splashscreen graphics I mentioned and they look exactly the same as the ones that come up when AP calls the plugin. I assume the extension merely indicates a Mac optimized 64 bit plugin.

 

"As mentioned in the bottom section of the NIK Collection Uninstalling Help page (same link that MEB mentioned above), to uninstall any of these earlier "uncollected" plugins, you must download from that page the individual installers for each of them & run them prior to running the NIK Collection installer. The current free NIK Collection installer will not remove any of these old versions."

 

>Yes, as I said, I did all of that (I did it when I first installed and then again on reinstall when MEB asked me to.)

 

"Also, earlier you asked which plugins I had working on my Mac. What works for me with AP version 1.4.2 is exactly the same as MEB described on his Affinity Photo: Plug-Ins Support page. (Be sure to click on each plugin listed on that page to see the details.)"

 

>Good to know. Confirms things.  Yes, I have looked at the details for them for both 1.4.2 and for 1.5)

 

"All of the stand alone application versions also work."

 

>Yeah . . .    How do you use those? They launch OK and Silver Efex has a File menu column (which is an annoying way to open a file,) but Viveza does not! Dragging an image into the window doesn't work. What do you do to get an image open? As you may have noticed, I actually don't really care about Analog or Color Efex, just sharpening, de-noise, b&w conversion (HDR also looks good, but I have yet to use it,) and most important of all—Viveza. So it's pretty frustrating for me that it doesn't work for me!

 

[i have since found I can drag a file onto the application icon, still not ideal, but what should I expect for a free, orphaned piece of software?]

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It might help if you would post a screen shot of your AP Preferences > Photoshop Plugins window. To do that, first open the preference to that item, press CMD+SHIFT+4, hover the pointer over the window, press the spacebar & then click. This will create the screen shot of that window.

 

To add it to a post, click the More Reply Options button at the bottom of the reply window, click the Choose File button, & choose the screen shot you just made. Then click the Attach This File button.

 

Also, can you confirm that the stand alone apps work OK, without showing any splash screens, trial version notices with demo buttons, or anything like that?

 

Is it still true that you have a Macintosh HD/Applications/Photoshop Plugins/Google/ folder, & in it are the plugins & config files? As MEB mentioned, does that folder appear in the preferences Photoshop plug-ins section, Plugin Search Folders list?

All 3 1.10.8, & all 3 V2.4.1 Mac apps; 2020 iMac 27"; 3.8GHz i7, Radeon Pro 5700, 32GB RAM; macOS 10.15.7
Affinity Photo 
1.10.8; Affinity Designer 1.108; & all 3 V2 apps for iPad; 6th Generation iPad 32 GB; Apple Pencil; iPadOS 15.7

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I tried to use the YouTube tut R C-R posted above and it didn't work,  only two of the Nik Filters installed.  Then I found this one and it works perfect:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8ReTarrSno

 

After following this tut all the Nik filters installed perfectly!!   And they all work!!  \0/   

 

Thank you for that link!  I've been trying various suggestions and none of them were working that well (prolly my misinterpretation of the instructions.)  Like you, I followed the simple steps in that video and all the NIK plugins are working.

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>To add it to a post, click the More Reply Options button at the bottom of the reply window, click the Choose File button, & choose the screen shot you just made. Then click the Attach This File button.

So *thats* where it is!

 

post-20819-0-74480200-1471965884_thumb.png

 

Yes, the standalone plugins work fine and I think all the apps and plugins are in their proper folders.

 

post-20819-0-47830100-1471966078_thumb.png

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