Posts Tagged ‘CadExplorer’

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CadExplorer, Offering Search and Replace Across Multiple MicroStation and AutoCAD Files, Now Supports ProjectWise

Wednesday, 5 January 2011

Search, Replace, Filter, Group and More — Even with Files in ProjectWise

Clearwater, Florida, USA — Axiom, one of the world’s most experienced developers of time-saving CAD software products, announces the release of CadExplorer version 4.1. Previously released for MicroStation and AutoCAD, CadExplorer now supports ProjectWise, Bentley’s project management system. The new version of CadExplorer can now look into ProjectWise, allowing users to find virtually any DGN or DWG file objects (including text, cell or block names, circles, lines, shapes and many others) across multiple files based on a wide range of search criteria, including text strings, cell or block names, level or layer names, color, weight, style and many more. It can also make batch modifications of both DGN elements or DWG objects.

Finding what you need quickly is a snap using CadExplorer’s intuitive, easy-to-use interface. CadExplorer easily finds, filters and groups data from all your DGN and DWG files. With the latest release, CadExplorer now supports ProjectWise.

Per Axiom, CadExplorer’s addition of ProjectWise support has been a much sought-after feature requested by customers. For over a year, users (even non-CAD users) have been using CadExplorer to ignore the boundaries between both MicroStation and AutoCAD files and interactively find, display, analyze, explore, report on, investigate and edit MicroStation and AutoCAD file data in ways never before possible. In addition, Axiom reports that CadExplorer’s interface provides an easier way to find, select, preview and modify text across multiple MicroStation or AutoCAD files than by any other method. With CadExplorer, users can modify found text elements’ text strings in any imaginable way — even using wildcard and regular expression substitution — and can preview proposed text changes before committing them to all their selected MicroStation or AutoCAD files, even when these files are stored in ProjectWise.

“There is no other product out there that lets someone so easily peer into hundreds or thousands of MicroStation and AutoCAD files at a time and rapidly find the elements and objects that they need to locate”, said Axiom’s Vice President of Technology, Oscar Albornoz.

Axiom reports that in addition to the newly added ProjectWise support, CadExplorer is stuffed with tools and features that go beyond anything that can be done with MicroStation or AutoCAD alone. CadExplorer shows users virtually all the data contained in one, ten, hundreds or even thousands of design files in an easy-to-use and intuitive grid. Need to see all the cells or blocks that are being used in any project on the network and get a count of each one? A few mouse-clicks is all it takes. What are the chances of catching an odd-ball mistake before submitting the project to a client, like a misspelled level or layer name or some text that happens to be on the wrong level or layer? Spotting errors like misspellings or a cell or block that was only used once (a shoe-in for a CAD-standards violation) becomes much easier, faster and, per Mr. Albornoz, is “even kind of fun” when using CadExplorer.

How to Contact Axiom
For more information on CadExplorer or to see a free, online demonstration, call Axiom at 727-442-7774 extension 1638 or e-mail 1638@AxiomInt.com or visit Axiom on the Web at www.AxiomInt.com to find out more about the main features of CadExplorer as they relate to AutoCAD.

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MicroStation can’t find these. New technology from Axiom can.

Wednesday, 12 May 2010

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, USA — Axiom, the world’s most experienced third-party developer of products that make MicroStation easier, announces the release of a version of CadExplorer that goes even further beyond the powerful capabilities of MicroStation. CAD file inspection, normally a tedious and time-consuming activity, just got an overhaul and became a lot easier with the latest release of CadExplorer.

There is no tool in any version of MicroStation that can find all elements that are — or should be — within a user-specified distance of other elements. How can a MicroStation user quickly ensure that each desk cell has a chair cell within a specified number of inches or feet in all the design files in the project? How can someone easily go through hundreds of files just to find out which cables are within 20 feet of which radio towers and then export that list to Excel? What if a project contains a multi-floor building with a fire code that requires escape route maps, fire extinguishers and special doors within so many feet of elevators and stairwells? How does someone verify that the new building design meets such codes? Short of laborious, time-consuming, element-by-element measuring, these kinds of searches can only be done with CadExplorer.

“There is no other product out there that lets someone easily peer into hundreds or thousands of MicroStation files at a time and rapidly find the elements that they need to locate”, said Axiom’s Vice President of Technology, Oscar Albornoz. He continued, “Now, with the newest release of CadExplorer, we’ve gone a step further and given users the ability to locate all pairs of elements that are within a user-specified distance of each other. For example, you can locate all support pillar cells that have an electrical outlet cell within a specified distance. Not only that, it also reports those elements that do not have a certain element within the user-specified distance. In other words, you could find all the support pillar cells that don’t have an electrical outlet within your required distance. These new capabilities can be applied to any kind of graphical element (cells, text strings, lines, arcs, shapes, tags, text nodes, the whole lot). This proximity searching feature has never before been available to MicroStation users.”

Axiom reports that in addition to the newly added proximity searching feature, CadExplorer is stuffed with tools and features that go beyond anything that can be done with MicroStation alone. CadExplorer shows users virtually all the data contained in one, ten, hundreds or even thousands of design files in an easy-to-use and intuitive grid. Need to see all the cells that are being used in any project on the network and get a count of each one? A few mouse-clicks is all it takes. What are the chances of catching an odd-ball mistake before submitting the project to a client, like a misspelled level name or some text that happens to be on the wrong level? Without CadExplorer, these are virtually impossible to locate and requires someone to laboriously go through each design file, element by element and level by level. Spotting errors like misspellings or a cell that was only used once (a shoe-in for a CAD-standards violation) becomes much easier, faster and, per Mr. Albornoz, is “even kind of fun” when using CadExplorer.

How to Contact Axiom
For more information on CadExplorer or to see a free, online demonstration, call Axiom at 727-442-7774 extension 1638 or e-mail 1638@AxiomInt.com or visit Axiom on the Web at www.AxiomInt.com.

About Axiom
Axiom is the world’s most experienced developer of time-saving MicroStation software solutions and the largest third-party provider of general-purpose add-ons and e-learning for MicroStation. Axiom focuses on making MicroStation easier by creating time-saving and productivity-boosting tools based on real-world problems MicroStation users encounter. Based in Clearwater, Florida, Axiom has been developing software for MicroStation for over 20 years. MicroStation is the flagship CAD package of Bentley Systems, Incorporated of Exton, Pennsylvania.

CadExplorer, and Axiom are trademarks of Axiom. MicroStation is a registered trademark of Bentley Systems, Incorporated.

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MicroStation Today — March 2010 (Volume 17, Issue 3)

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

Click here for back issues.

MicroStation Today — March 2010 (Volume 17, Issue 3)

Download a PDF version of this issue.

To read the pages above, download Adobe®‘s free Acrobat Reader®, if not already installed in your computer.

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Extra: Revolutionary new MicroStation technology allows proximity searching.

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

Clearwater, ­Florida, USA — Axiom has just announced brand-new technology that allows MicroStation users to instantly find elements in hundreds of design files based on how close geographically the elements are to each other.

For instance, you can now instantly:

  • ­Find all text elements in all design files containing the string “gas fumes” within 8 inches of a cell named “flame”.
  • ­Find all instances of text string “Cliff” (in all design files) that don’t have a nearby “Warning Sign” cell on level “Signage”.
  • ­Find all design files that contain two or more cells named “Border”.

You can restrict the search to elements of a certain color, weight, style, font, level, model name, file name and other characteristics.

You can instantly find matches even if each element of the pair reside in different models or even in different design files (such as when you have multiple design files representing overlapping geographic areas)!

This new technology allows you to catch — instantly and in large quantities — quality control errors that could never before be easily detected.

Unfortunately, this new release came too late for us to put a full article in this issue of MicroStation Today. The amazingness and power of the new technology is difficult to fully describe in just a few words.

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Tips & Tricks — MicroStation drawing inspection made easier than ever.

Wednesday, 30 December 2009

By Steve Palmer

Are you often burdened with the task of manually inspecting multiple project design files in preparation for CAD standards inspections? Is it tedious for you to open up each project file, one by one, to check how well your drafting crew (or a subcontractor) complied with your drafting standards? How much time does this typically consume for each project — hours, days, weeks?

How would you like to dramatically reduce the amount of time required to inspect and correct multiple design files? Like minutes rather than hours, days or weeks?

Axiom’s CadExplorer™ (formerly known as CadExplore Browser™) technology allows you to instantly view and analyze MicroStation project data in ways never before possible. It allows you to display all elements in all files with infinitely flexible sorting and filtering so that you can easily see standards violations, errors and oddball departures which would never be spotted without CadExplorer technology.

And you can save and reuse your favorite CadExplorer filters and sorts. This feature lets you easily return to the precise view of your project data, so you can quickly confirm that all errors and oddball departures have been addressed.

You can easily do this with CadExplorer — here’s how:

First, CadExplorer automatically collects information from your project files and CadExplorer Server automatically maintains your CadExplorer database — so project information is ready for immediate access at any time using CadExplorer.

When you start CadExplorer, all project information, as shown in Figure 1, is displayed in a spreadsheet-like grid. The grid displays one row for each element (line, circle, cell, text, etc.) in your design files.

CadExplorer-Figure-1-b-Revised

Figure 1. CadExplorer allows you to view CAD project information — such as details about every graphical element in a project — in a spreadsheet-like grid.

For even a small project, CadExplorer’s grid will typically contain thousands of rows — one row for each element in the whole project. To keep all of this information under your control, CadExplorer provides tools, which make it easy to filter and sort project data exactly the way you need to see it.

For example, with just a couple mouse-clicks you can direct CadExplorer to group and summarize the level names used in all project design files.

CadExplorer-Level-Names-2RA

Figure 2. CadExplorer makes it easy to group data. For example, to group information by “Level Name”, simply click and drag the column heading “Level Name”, then drop it into the space above the column headings.

This drag and drop action groups all elements under the level name on which they reside. This grouping allows you to instantly see oddball, non-compliant level names and find out exactly where they are being used.

CadExplorer-Level-Names-3RA

Figure 3. When you drag and drop the column heading “Level Name” into the blank area below the tabs, CadExplorer collapses (groups together) all drawing elements which reside on each level. For example, Figure 3 shows four elements on the level named “temporary”. Who created that non-standard level? Click on the “+” symbol to view details about the elements residing on the oddball level “temporary” — details such as “which project files the elements on the non-standard level reside in”.

This summarized view allows you to inspect all the level names in use by all design files in your entire project — and you can see this instantly without opening any of the files with MicroStation.

From this grouped view, you can now click on the “+” sign next to a level name to display the elements which have been placed on that level.

CadExplorer-Level-Names-4RA

Figure 4. In this example, four elements were placed on the non-standard level named “temporary” in Floor2.dgn. Double-click on one of the four rows to view the illegally placed elements with MicroStation — this allows you to immediately handle elements placed on this non-standard level.

When you double-click on a specific element, CadExplorer automatically opens the design file in MicroStation and zooms in on that element. You can then easily use MicroStation commands to delete or modify the few oddball elements that were revealed by CadExplorer.

Click CadExplorer’s “Save SmartTab” tool to save this customized layout — all sorting and filtering is remembered. Your customized layout thereafter displays on the SmartTabs menu for handy reuse whenever needed!

CadExplorer-SmartTabs-1RA

Figure 5. SmartTabs are saved and reusable customized views of your project data. Your SmartTab names appear in the SmartTabs menu.

That’s just the beginning for CadExplorer.
This article illustrates just a few of the time-saving, unprecedented CadExplorer features you can use to group and summarize any important design file information you need to quickly find and view in your project files.

Recent CadExplorer releases now include the ability to search and replace the content of text elements as well as the ability to update element symbology. For a complete overview of CadExplorer, get a free on-line demonstration!

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MicroStation Today — August 2009(Volume 16, Issue 8)

Saturday, 1 August 2009

Click here for back issues.

MicroStation Today — August 2009 (Volume 16, Issue 8)

Download a PDF version of this issue.

To read the pages above, download Adobe®‘s free Acrobat Reader®, if not already installed in your computer.

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New technology instantly finds text elements in thousands of MicroStation files and modifies them — in one super-fast batch process!

Friday, 3 July 2009

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, USA — Axiom, the world’s most experienced developer of time-saving MicroStation software solutions, announces the release of CadExplorer™ version 2.0. The new release allows users to make batch modifications to text elements in dozens, hundreds or thousands of design files across multiple projects quickly with the ability to preview the changes that will be made in an easy-to-use, spreadsheet-like view before committing the changes!

CadExplorer utilizes new technology that lets users magically ignore the boundaries between MicroStation files and interactively find, display, analyze, explore, report on and investigate MicroStation data in ways never before possible. The recently enhanced CadExplorer now lets users modify selected text in just seconds — even using wildcard and regular expression substitution. Users can preview proposed text changes in a spreadsheet-like view before committing them to the design files. Generating the preview windows takes only seconds, even when processing thousands of design files! Additionally, users do not have to have access to MicroStation to in order to analyze design files or modify text elements. There is no easier way to select, preview and modify text across multiple MicroStation design files.

“I won’t use the word ‘revolutionary’ because that term has been overused and so most people, when they see that word, assume it’s just another case of an ad agency trying to make a big splash”, said Ed Clark, President of Axiom. “That’s unfortunate because every once in a great while, something comes along that actually does fit the definition of ‘revolutionary’. This technology does something that has never been done before and should reset the thinking on how to handle text in CAD files. (Yes, this release works only for MicroStation. Hang in there, AutoCAD nation.)” Clark continued, “We listen to users, most of whom work in Engineering or other CAD-using shops where someone (often many ‘someones’) is spending an awful lot of man-hours on adding, removing or modifying text in many or all the files of a project. What a ridiculous loss of time that is. But it’s not the users’ fault. What else could they do? Until now.”

In addition to the new text modification capability, here are just a few of the other things that users can do with CadExplorer:

  • Instantly find, using any combination of common MicroStation element characteristics, any MicroStation element (or elements) in any design file in a project or at an entire site.
  • Instantly zoom in on found elements in any design file that resides on the network. At the click of a button, CadExplorer will open the design file containing the found element or elements, zoom in on them and await further instructions.
  • Instantly and interactively search all the design files in any project or at an entire site for elements that violate specific standards that you can generate on the spot.
  • Find all kinds of oddball errors.
  • Find all kinds of oddball duplicates (duplicate elements, models or files).
  • Instantly see a list of reference files and which design files have them attached.
  • See how many times each cell is included in a certain set of design files.
  • Export from CadExplorer to Microsoft Excel.
  • Use Structured Query Language (SQL) to perform free-form queries on design file data. Use Crystal Reports, or IT’s favorite tools, to view and report CadExplorer data.

CadExplorer uses a technology similar to Google™. Just as Google constantly scans the Internet, building a database of every webpage it finds, CadExplorer scans design files to maintain a database of all the MicroStation elements and models in a project or at a site. CadExplorer’s database is a live, up-to-date mirror (cache) of the actual MicroStation data. The actual MicroStation files are not moved or modified in any way. CadExplorer is blazingly fast because it gathers all the data it needs invisibly before you request it. Once set up, it does its job totally automatically. CadExplorer then lets users instantly and interactively view, sort, filter and group MicroStation design file data in any imaginable way.

How to contact Axiom
For more information on CadExplorer or to see a free, online demonstration, call Axiom at 727-442-7774 extension 1638 or e-mail 1638@AxiomInt.com or visit Axiom on the Web at www.AxiomInt.com.

About Axiom
Axiom is the world’s most experienced developer of time-saving MicroStation software solutions and the largest third-party provider of general-purpose add-ons and e-learning for MicroStation. Axiom focuses on creating time-saving and productivity-boosting tools based on real-world problems MicroStation users encounter. Based in Clearwater, Florida, Axiom has been developing software for MicroStation for over 20 years. MicroStation is the flagship CAD package of Bentley Systems, Incorporated of Exton, Pennsylvania.

CadExplorer, and Axiom are trademarks of Axiom. MicroStation is a registered trademark of Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Google is a trademark of Google Inc. Crystal Reports is a registered trademark of Business Objects SA.

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New technology instantly finds text elements in thousands of MicroStation files and modifies them — in one super-fast batch process!

Friday, 3 July 2009

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, USA — Axiom, the world’s most experienced developer of time-saving MicroStation software solutions, announces the release of CadExplorer™ version 2.0. The new release allows users to make batch modifications to text elements in dozens, hundreds or thousands of design files across multiple projects quickly with the ability to preview the changes that will be made in an easy-to-use, spreadsheet-like view before committing the changes!

CadExplorer utilizes new technology that lets users magically ignore the boundaries between MicroStation files and interactively find, display, analyze, explore, report on and investigate MicroStation data in ways never before possible. The recently enhanced CadExplorer now lets users modify selected text in just seconds — even using wildcard and regular expression substitution. Users can preview proposed text changes in a spreadsheet-like view before committing them to the design files. Generating the preview windows takes only seconds, even when processing thousands of design files! Additionally, users do not have to have access to MicroStation to in order to analyze design files or modify text elements. There is no easier way to select, preview and modify text across multiple MicroStation design files.

“I won’t use the word ‘revolutionary’ because that term has been overused and so most people, when they see that word, assume it’s just another case of an ad agency trying to make a big splash”, said Ed Clark, President of Axiom. “That’s unfortunate because every once in a great while, something comes along that actually does fit the definition of ‘revolutionary’. This technology does something that has never been done before and should reset the thinking on how to handle text in CAD files. (Yes, this release works only for MicroStation. Hang in there, AutoCAD nation.)” Clark continued, “We listen to users, most of whom work in Engineering or other CAD-using shops where someone (often many ‘someones’) is spending an awful lot of man-hours on adding, removing or modifying text in many or all the files of a project. What a ridiculous loss of time that is. But it’s not the users’ fault. What else could they do? Until now.”

In addition to the new text modification capability, here are just a few of the other things that users can do with CadExplorer:

  • Instantly find, using any combination of common MicroStation element characteristics, any MicroStation element (or elements) in any design file in a project or at an entire site.
  • Instantly zoom in on found elements in any design file that resides on the network. At the click of a button, CadExplorer will open the design file containing the found element or elements, zoom in on them and await further instructions.
  • Instantly and interactively search all the design files in any project or at an entire site for elements that violate specific standards that you can generate on the spot.
  • Find all kinds of oddball errors.
  • Find all kinds of oddball duplicates (duplicate elements, models or files).
  • Instantly see a list of reference files and which design files have them attached.
  • See how many times each cell is included in a certain set of design files.
  • Export from CadExplorer to Microsoft Excel.
  • Use Structured Query Language (SQL) to perform free-form queries on design file data. Use Crystal Reports, or IT’s favorite tools, to view and report CadExplorer data.

CadExplorer uses a technology similar to Google™. Just as Google constantly scans the Internet, building a database of every webpage it finds, CadExplorer scans design files to maintain a database of all the MicroStation elements and models in a project or at a site. CadExplorer’s database is a live, up-to-date mirror (cache) of the actual MicroStation data. The actual MicroStation files are not moved or modified in any way. CadExplorer is blazingly fast because it gathers all the data it needs invisibly before you request it. Once set up, it does its job totally automatically. CadExplorer then lets users instantly and interactively view, sort, filter and group MicroStation design file data in any imaginable way.

How to contact Axiom
For more information on CadExplorer or to see a free, online demonstration, call Axiom at 727-442-7774 extension 1638 or e-mail 1638@AxiomInt.com or visit Axiom on the Web at www.AxiomInt.com.

About Axiom
Axiom is the world’s most experienced developer of time-saving MicroStation software solutions and the largest third-party provider of general-purpose add-ons and e-learning for MicroStation. Axiom focuses on creating time-saving and productivity-boosting tools based on real-world problems MicroStation users encounter. Based in Clearwater, Florida, Axiom has been developing software for MicroStation for over 20 years. MicroStation is the flagship CAD package of Bentley Systems, Incorporated of Exton, Pennsylvania.

CadExplorer, and Axiom are trademarks of Axiom. MicroStation is a registered trademark of Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Google is a trademark of Google Inc. Crystal Reports is a registered trademark of Business Objects SA.

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MicroStation Today — June 2009(Volume 16, Issue 6)

Monday, 1 June 2009

Click here for back issues.

MicroStation Today — June 2009 (Volume 16, Issue 6)

Download a PDF version of this issue.

To read the pages above, download Adobe®‘s free Acrobat Reader®, if not already installed in your computer.

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Tips & Tricks — How to quickly find any text string (or just about anything else) in all the design files at your entire site

Friday, 15 May 2009

By Rick Sewell

Have you ever had a need to determine which of your massive set of DGN project files contained a specific text string or a particular cell or model or level? How do you handle those situations now? How much time have you lost on projects just trying to locate things? How much money do you lose on time-consuming searches?

Now you can instantly and easily locate almost any design file component in any DGN file at your entire site — and that’s just the beginning.

I routinely field calls from MicroStation users and CAD managers who are looking for ways to find a specific graphical element which they know is located somewhere in one or more of their hundreds (or thousands) of MicroStation files. Now that CadExplore Browser™ has been released, I can’t wait to tell you what can be accomplished with this powerful new technology.

Example: How to find every instance of a specific text string in all your design files (and how to modify it)
 There are any number of examples I can use, but I’ve chosen this one because it represents a real-world customer request that I believe will be useful for most MicroStation users.

  1. Load CadExplore Browser.
  2. Click on the “Elements” tab.

    Figure 1. In CadExplore Browser, every column has a filter button allowing limitless display possibilities for your CAD data.

  3. Locate the column labeled “Text”.
  4. Hover your mouse over the “Text” column to display the filter icon. Click the filter icon.
  5. Choose “(Filter Editor)”. This will display the “Filter Editor” dialog box.
  6. Click on “Is not blank” and set it to “abc Contains” (shown in Figure 2).
  7. In the “<enter a value>” field, enter the text value that you are looking for. For this example, we will search for the text string “Project X” (Figure 3).
  8. Press <Apply> to activate your filter.
    Each row represents an instance of a given element in a design file. CadExplore Browser’s grid will refresh and display only those rows that match your filter. In this example, each row in Figure 4, represents a single instance of the text string we searched for (“Project X”) along with the name of the DGN file and model where the instance resides.

    Figure 2. With CadExplore Browser, you can choose from many different filtering options to create a filter precise enough to find a needle in a haystack.

    For this simple example, notice that CadExplore Browser found two design files (“Phase1.dgn” and “Phase2.dgn”) that contain instances of the text we searched for. (Six instances were found in “Phase1.dgn” and nine were found in “Phase2.dgn”)
    Next we will use one of my favorite CadExplore Browser features (Grouping) to create a list of the files which contain the text which matches our filter.

    Figure 3. The filter editor lets you instantly find the exact MicroStation elements you are looking for using powerful filters like the “Text Contains” filter shown here.

This results in a list that summarizes which MicroStation files contain the text you are hunting for (in this case, the text string “Project X”). No need to tediously open design files one by one to locate text! You can modify your filter to search for any other text string instantly. You can filter and group any combination of columns — so this is just a taste of the capabilities of CadExplore Browser.

Figure 4. In this example, CadExplore Browser applies the filter you defined (as shown in Figure 3) to display only those text elements which contain “Project X”, along with the name of the file and model in which each text element resides.

Now that you have your list of every design file that contains the text string “Project X”, you can do whatever you want to with it. For example, if you need to modify the selected text string, you could change every instance of it, in batch, simply by exporting the list you just created with CadExplore Browser into Microsoft Excel. By simply saving your Excel spreadsheet as a text file, you can then import it into Global File Changer™. Global File Changer can then make any change you want to every instance of your text string in those files very fast.

Figure 5. The grouping feature allows you to summarize information that is in a particular column such as the “Drive”, “Folder” or “File Name” columns. The example above shows how you would use the grouping feature to summarize the information in the “File Name” column.

There are many other things you can do too, but I’m out of space, so that will have to be the topic of another article.

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