10 Game-Changing Table of Contents Ideas to Structure Your Content in 2025

Unlock better navigation with our top 10 table of contents ideas. Find templates and examples for blogs, ebooks, and Notion pages to boost engagement.

10 Game-Changing Table of Contents Ideas to Structure Your Content in 2025
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A well-crafted table of contents (TOC) is the unsung hero of great content. It’s far more than a simple list of links; it's a strategic roadmap that guides your readers, boosts on-page engagement, and significantly improves your SEO performance. In an age of skim-readers and short attention spans, a compelling TOC can be the crucial element that transforms a quick bounce into a deep, meaningful interaction with your work.
This guide moves beyond the basics, exploring 10 innovative table of contents ideas designed to enhance user experience and content structure. We'll provide actionable templates and best practices you can implement immediately across various formats, including blog posts, ebooks, Notion pages, and newsletters. To truly appreciate the multifaceted role of a TOC, a foundational understanding of content marketing is indispensable, as it frames the TOC not just as a navigational aid but as a core component of your content strategy.
Whether you're looking for a traditional hierarchical structure, a visual infographic layout, or an interactive, expandable menu, this comprehensive list has a solution. Each idea is presented with its purpose, ideal use cases, example headings, and copy-paste templates to streamline your workflow. For Feather users, creating a hyperlinked, SEO-friendly TOC is effortless. The platform automatically generates one from your Notion headings, ensuring both your readers and search engines can navigate your content with maximum ease. Let's dive into the ideas that will transform your content's structure and usability.

1. Hierarchical/Traditional Table of Contents

The Hierarchical, or Traditional, table of contents is the most recognizable and widely adopted format. It organizes content in a clear, linear, and nested structure, often seen in academic textbooks, professional reports, and technical manuals. This top-down approach presents main topics (H2s) first, followed by indented subtopics (H3s, H4s) that correspond to their order of appearance in the document.
This classic structure provides a predictable and intuitive roadmap for the reader. It excels at breaking down complex, dense subjects into a logical sequence, allowing users to grasp the overall scope of the content at a glance and navigate directly to specific sections. This is one of the most fundamental table of contents ideas for long-form content where clarity and order are paramount.

When to Use This TOC

This format is the gold standard for documents that require formal structure and easy navigation through extensive information.
  • Best For: Ebooks, long-form guides, technical documentation, academic papers, and comprehensive reports.
  • Why It Works: Its logical flow builds a strong foundation for understanding complex topics, guiding the reader from general concepts to specific details in an organized manner.

Best Practices & Tips

To maximize the effectiveness of a hierarchical TOC, focus on clarity and consistency.
  • Limit Hierarchy Depth: Stick to three, or at most four, levels of nesting (e.g., H2, H3, H4). Anything deeper can become cluttered and difficult to scan.
  • Use Descriptive Headings: Your headings should be concise yet clearly describe the content of the section. This not only aids navigation but also improves SEO by targeting relevant keywords.
  • Maintain Consistent Formatting: Ensure each heading level has a distinct and consistent style (e.g., font size, weight, indentation) to visually signal its place in the hierarchy. This principle is a core part of effective content organization. For a deeper dive into structuring your content, explore our guide on how to structure a blog post.

2. Visual/Graphical Table of Contents

A Visual, or Graphical, table of contents moves beyond traditional text lists by integrating visual elements like icons, color-coding, thumbnails, or illustrations. This approach transforms the navigational experience from a purely functional one into an engaging and intuitive journey, making it a dynamic choice among modern table of contents ideas. It leverages visual cues to help readers quickly identify and jump to sections, which is particularly effective in design-heavy or interactive documents.
This format excels at capturing attention and conveying the tone or theme of the content before the reader even dives in. By using visuals to represent different chapters or topics, you can create a more memorable and aesthetically pleasing roadmap that guides the user through your material. It’s a powerful way to organize information when the content itself is highly visual, such as in portfolios, magazines, or interactive reports.
notion image

When to Use This TOC

This format is ideal for digital-first content where user engagement and brand aesthetic are top priorities. It shines in documents that benefit from a less formal, more creative structure.
  • Best For: Interactive PDFs, digital magazines, portfolios, annual reports, product catalogs, and course modules.
  • Why It Works: It breaks down information into visually distinct, scannable blocks, reducing cognitive load and making navigation faster and more enjoyable for the audience.

Best Practices & Tips

To create an effective visual TOC, the design must support, not overshadow, the content's usability.
  • Ensure Visuals Are Intuitive: Use icons, images, or colors that have a clear and direct connection to the section's content. Ambiguous visuals can cause confusion.
  • Prioritize Accessibility: Always pair visual elements with clear text labels. This ensures users with visual impairments or those using screen readers can navigate just as easily.
  • Maintain Brand Consistency: The design of your visual TOC should align with your overall brand identity, using consistent colors, typography, and imagery. For more inspiration, explore these website layout design examples.
  • Optimize for Digital Performance: For web or interactive documents, ensure image files are optimized to keep loading times fast and maintain a smooth user experience.

3. Expandable/Collapsible Table of Contents

The Expandable, or Collapsible, table of contents is a dynamic and interactive format ideal for digital content. It presents top-level headings while keeping subsections hidden, allowing users to click a heading to reveal or collapse the nested topics. This approach declutters the initial view, presenting a clean, high-level summary of the document's structure.
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This user-controlled navigation experience prevents overwhelm by letting readers explore content at their own pace. It's a modern take on content organization, popularized by technical documentation platforms and knowledge bases where information density is high. This is one of the most effective table of contents ideas for improving usability in complex digital documents.

When to Use This TOC

This format excels in digital environments where space is limited and user engagement is key. It provides a clean interface without sacrificing access to detailed information.
  • Best For: Online documentation (e.g., API guides), comprehensive knowledge bases, interactive ebooks, lengthy FAQ pages, and digital course modules.
  • Why It Works: It reduces cognitive load by presenting a simplified initial view. Users can quickly scan main topics and only expand the sections relevant to their immediate needs, creating a more focused and efficient reading experience.

Best Practices & Tips

To create an effective expandable TOC, prioritize intuitive design and seamless interaction.
  • Use Clear Visual Cues: Employ icons like arrows or plus/minus signs to clearly indicate that a section is expandable. The icon should change state when clicked, providing immediate visual feedback.
  • Consider Default States: For crucial or introductory sections, consider leaving them expanded by default to guide new users. This helps orient them to the most important content immediately.
  • Ensure Mobile-Friendliness: Test the TOC's functionality on various screen sizes. The tap targets for expanding and collapsing sections should be large enough for easy use on mobile devices.
  • Provide Keyboard Accessibility: Allow users to navigate and interact with the TOC using keyboard commands (e.g., Tab and Enter keys) to ensure it is accessible to all users.

4. Infographic/Timeline Table of Contents

The Infographic, or Timeline, table of contents transforms a conventional list into a compelling visual journey. It organizes content along a graphical path, such as a timeline, roadmap, or flow chart, making it an excellent choice for narrative-driven or process-oriented documents. This format is designed to be both functional and engaging, guiding the reader through a sequence of events or steps.
This visual approach is one of the more creative table of contents ideas, turning navigation into an integral part of the storytelling experience. Instead of just listing chapters, it illustrates the progression of the content, which can significantly enhance reader comprehension and retention. It’s perfect for showing how different pieces of a story or process connect to form a cohesive whole.

When to Use This TOC

This format excels when the structure of your content follows a clear sequence, journey, or chronological order. It adds a layer of visual context that a standard list cannot.
  • Best For: Company history pages, project roadmaps, step-by-step tutorials, case study walkthroughs, and historical narratives.
  • Why It Works: It frames the content as a story or progression, making it more intuitive and engaging for the reader to follow. This visual guide helps users understand the relationships between sections at a glance.

Best Practices & Tips

To create an effective infographic TOC, you must balance visual appeal with navigational clarity.
  • Prioritize Visual Flow: Design the timeline or path to follow natural reading directions (e.g., left-to-right or top-to-bottom) to ensure an intuitive user experience.
  • Use Consistent Visuals: Employ a consistent set of icons, colors, and fonts to represent different types of milestones or stages. This creates a clean, professional look.
  • Keep Labels Concise: Each point on the infographic should have a brief, descriptive label that clearly communicates the section's topic. Avoid clutter by keeping text to a minimum.
  • Ensure Readability: Test your design to ensure it is legible and functional across various screen sizes, especially on mobile devices where space is limited.

5. Multi-Column Table of Contents

The Multi-Column table of contents is a space-efficient design that organizes content across two or more vertical columns. Popularized by magazines and professional print publishing, this layout condenses a long list of sections into a more compact and visually engaging format. Instead of a single, lengthy list that requires extensive scrolling, it presents the document's structure in a balanced, newspaper-style grid.
This approach is one of the most effective table of contents ideas for managing a high volume of entries without overwhelming the reader. By arranging topics side-by-side, it allows users to scan more information at once, making it ideal for content-rich documents like annual reports, comprehensive manuals, or digital magazines where maximizing page real estate is crucial for both aesthetics and usability.

When to Use This TOC

This format excels in documents where the table of contents is extensive and a single-column layout would appear daunting or waste space. It modernizes the look and feel while improving scannability.
  • Best For: Digital magazines, newsletters with many sections, comprehensive annual reports, large product catalogs, and conference programs.
  • Why It Works: It transforms a potentially long and intimidating list into a neatly organized, digestible overview. This structure is particularly effective on wider screens where horizontal space can be used to prevent excessive vertical scrolling.

Best Practices & Tips

To create an effective multi-column TOC, focus on balance, readability, and logical flow.
  • Balance Column Content: Distribute the entries as evenly as possible across columns to create a visually stable and professional look. Avoid having one column significantly longer than the others.
  • Use Visual Separators: Employ subtle lines, ample white space, or distinct typographic styling between columns to guide the reader's eye and prevent the layout from feeling cluttered.
  • Ensure Logical Flow: The reading order should be intuitive, typically flowing from top to bottom in the first column before moving to the top of the next. This ensures users can follow the sequence of content easily.
  • Test for Responsiveness: If used in a digital format, ensure the layout adapts gracefully to different screen sizes. The columns might need to stack into a single column on mobile devices to maintain readability.

6. Annotated Table of Contents

The Annotated table of contents enhances the traditional format by including brief descriptive summaries or annotations alongside each section title. This approach moves beyond simple navigation, offering readers a preview of the content within each chapter or module. By providing this extra layer of context, it empowers users to quickly assess the relevance of each section to their specific needs.
Originating in academic and technical fields, this format is one of the most effective table of contents ideas for guiding readers through complex or specialized information. The short descriptions act as a "teaser," helping users make informed decisions about where to invest their time, thereby improving engagement and comprehension. This is particularly useful in documents where sections can be consumed non-linearly.

When to Use This TOC

This format is ideal for content-rich documents where readers benefit from a brief overview before diving into the details. It helps manage expectations and directs users to the most valuable information for them.
  • Best For: Online course curricula, in-depth white papers, technical documentation, research papers, and comprehensive "how-to" guides.
  • Why It Works: Annotations provide immediate value by explaining the "why" behind each section, not just the "what." This helps readers pinpoint solutions and insights more efficiently, especially in long or dense materials.

Best Practices & Tips

To create an effective annotated TOC, the goal is to add context without creating clutter. The descriptions should be helpful, not overwhelming.
  • Keep Annotations Concise: Aim for one to two sentences per annotation. The summary should be scannable and get straight to the point, highlighting the key takeaway or topic of the section.
  • Use a Consistent Style: Maintain uniformity in the length, tone, and formatting of your annotations. This creates a clean, professional, and easy-to-read layout.
  • Include Relevant Keywords: Naturally weave primary and secondary keywords into your descriptions. This enriches the TOC for users and can improve the document's searchability and on-page SEO.
  • Consider Adding Indicators: For educational or technical content, consider adding indicators like "Beginner," "Advanced," or estimated reading times to further guide the reader's journey.

7. Hyperlinked/Interactive Table of Contents

The Hyperlinked, or Interactive, table of contents is a digital-native format that transforms a static list into a dynamic navigation tool. Each entry is a clickable hyperlink that instantly transports the reader to the corresponding section within the document. This approach is fundamental for any digital content, from PDFs and ebooks to websites and online documentation, providing a seamless, one-click user experience.
This modern structure eliminates the need for manual scrolling, making navigation effortless and efficient. It greatly enhances usability, especially in lengthy digital documents, by allowing readers to pinpoint and access specific information immediately. For digital publishers and content creators, a hyperlinked TOC is no longer a luxury but an essential feature for reader engagement and a core component of effective digital table of contents ideas.

When to Use This TOC

This format is indispensable for any digital document where quick navigation improves the user experience. It's the standard for interactive and user-friendly content.
  • Best For: Ebooks (EPUB, PDF), web pages, online documentation, digital reports, interactive presentations, and lengthy blog posts.
  • Why It Works: It provides immediate access to content, reducing friction and frustration for the user. This interactivity makes content feel more professional, accessible, and easier to consume on any device.

Best Practices & Tips

To create an effective hyperlinked TOC, prioritize functionality and user convenience.
  • Test All Links: Before publishing, rigorously test every hyperlink to ensure it directs to the correct section. Broken links can quickly frustrate a reader.
  • Use Descriptive Anchor Text: The linked text should clearly match the heading of the destination section. This avoids confusion and improves accessibility.
  • Implement "Back to Top" Links: Place a "return to table of contents" or "back to top" link at the end of each major section to allow for easy return navigation.
  • Ensure Cross-Device Compatibility: Verify that all links function correctly across different devices and platforms, including desktops, tablets, and mobile phones. For a broader view on structuring navigation, explore our guide on how to make a sitemap.

8. Narrative/Story-Based Table of Contents

The Narrative or Story-Based table of contents breaks from conventional lists to frame your document as a compelling journey. This unconventional format organizes content along a story arc, presenting sections as chapters or stages in a larger narrative. Instead of functional labels, headings become thematic and evocative, guiding the reader through a problem, a transformation, or a quest.
This approach transforms navigation from a simple directory into an engaging experience. It’s a powerful tool for building an emotional connection and making complex information more memorable and digestible. For topics that involve personal growth, strategic evolution, or a historical progression, this is one of the most creative table of contents ideas you can use to captivate your audience from the very first page.

When to Use This TOC

This format is ideal for content where the journey is just as important as the destination, and when storytelling is central to the message.
  • Best For: Self-help books, brand narratives, marketing case studies, in-depth personal development guides, and business strategy documents.
  • Why It Works: It builds anticipation and provides a coherent, engaging framework that helps readers internalize the content by connecting it to a relatable progression.

Best Practices & Tips

To execute a narrative TOC effectively, you must balance creative storytelling with functional clarity.
  • Establish a Clear Arc: Define your narrative's beginning (the problem), middle (the struggle/process), and end (the resolution/transformation) before structuring your content.
  • Use Consistent Metaphors: Maintain a single, cohesive metaphor throughout your headings (e.g., "The Ascent," "Navigating the Fog," "Reaching the Summit") to reinforce the story.
  • Balance Story with Clarity: While headings should be evocative, they must still signal the section's content. Consider using a descriptive subheading if the main heading is too abstract.
  • Consider a Dual Index: For very long or complex documents, pair the narrative TOC with a traditional, keyword-based index at the end to ensure users can still find specific terms quickly.

9. Tag-Based/Category Table of Contents

The Tag-Based, or Category, table of contents breaks away from linear structure, organizing content through user-selected filters, tags, and categories. This modern format is ideal for digital platforms where content isn't consumed sequentially, such as extensive blogs, digital libraries, or knowledge bases. Instead of a fixed hierarchy, it empowers users to create their own navigation paths based on their specific interests or needs.
This dynamic approach offers a flexible and user-centric browsing experience. It excels at managing large, interconnected bodies of work where a single piece of content may be relevant to multiple topics. By allowing users to filter by theme, subject, or other attributes, this is one of the most powerful table of contents ideas for creating personalized content discovery journeys in complex digital ecosystems.

When to Use This TOC

This format is perfect for non-linear content collections where user freedom and discoverability are more important than a prescribed order.
  • Best For: Large blogs, resource hubs, knowledge bases (e.g., Notion or Confluence), digital portfolios, and e-commerce catalogs.
  • Why It Works: It caters to diverse user intents by allowing individuals to curate the information they see, making it easier to find relevant content within a vast repository.

Best Practices & Tips

To implement an effective tag-based TOC, focus on creating an intuitive and consistent classification system.
  • Develop a Clear Taxonomy: Before you start tagging, create a defined set of categories and tags. This prevents tag duplication and ensures your classification system is logical and easy to understand.
  • Keep Tags Focused: Avoid overwhelming users with too many options. Limit your primary tags to essential, high-level categories and use more specific sub-tags for granular filtering.
  • Implement an Intuitive Interface: Your filtering mechanism should be visually clean and simple to use. Features like dropdown menus, checkboxes, and even tag clouds can provide a great user experience.
  • Integrate Search Functionality: A tag system works best when paired with a robust search bar. This combination allows users to either browse by topic or search for specific keywords, covering all navigation preferences.

10. Minimalist/Progressive Table of Contents

The Minimalist, or Progressive, table of contents strips navigation down to its essential elements, prioritizing simplicity and clarity. This approach often reveals only top-level sections initially, with sub-sections becoming visible upon interaction. It is heavily influenced by modern web design and minimalist philosophies, creating a clean, uncluttered, and highly focused user experience.
notion image
This format is perfect for digital interfaces where screen space is limited and user attention is brief. By removing visual noise, it directs the user’s focus entirely to the content structure, making it feel intuitive and modern. This is one of the most effective table of contents ideas for platforms like SaaS product documentation, online course modules, and contemporary digital magazines where a sleek aesthetic is key.

When to Use This TOC

This format excels in design-forward contexts where simplicity enhances the user experience and reduces cognitive load, allowing the content to take center stage.
  • Best For: Tech company documentation (like Apple's), modern online courses, SaaS product guides, and minimalist websites or ebooks.
  • Why It Works: Its clean presentation prevents overwhelm and creates a sense of calm and order, making complex information feel more approachable and manageable for the reader.

Best Practices & Tips

To create an effective minimalist TOC, every design choice must be deliberate and serve a clear purpose, ensuring usability is not sacrificed for style.
  • Embrace Whitespace: Use negative space strategically to separate elements and create a visual hierarchy. This prevents the layout from feeling cramped and improves scannability.
  • Use Typography Thoughtfully: Rely on subtle changes in font weight, size, and style to differentiate heading levels instead of using complex indentation or symbols.
  • Ensure High Contrast: With a minimal color palette, it's crucial that text has sufficient contrast against the background to ensure readability for all users, including those with visual impairments.
  • Implement Progressive Disclosure: For digital content, consider an "accordion" style where users can click a main heading to reveal the sub-topics beneath it, keeping the initial view clean.

Comparison of 10 Table of Contents Ideas

TOC Type
Implementation Complexity 🔄
Resource & Skill Requirements ⚡
Expected Outcomes 📊
Ideal Use Cases 💡
Key Advantages ⭐
Hierarchical / Traditional Table of Contents
Low — standard top-down structure, easy to auto-generate
Low — basic formatting tools suffice
Reliable navigation; clear hierarchy and pagination
Academic books, reports, manuals, legal documents
Familiar to readers; scalable for long docs
Visual / Graphical Table of Contents
High — layout and visual design required
High — designers, icons, images, longer production time
High engagement and recognition; faster visual scanning
Magazines, websites, brochures, interactive PDFs
More memorable; strengthens brand identity
Expandable / Collapsible Table of Contents
Medium‑High — interactive behavior (JS) and state management
Medium — development and testing across devices
Reduced cognitive overload; on‑demand detail
Online help, wikis, API docs, interactive ebooks
Saves space; user‑controlled depth of detail
Infographic / Timeline Table of Contents
High — custom visual composition and sequencing
High — design effort and asset creation
Strong narrative comprehension; memorable visuals
Timelines, roadmaps, case studies, historical sections
Shows progression clearly; highly shareable
Multi‑Column Table of Contents
Medium — careful layout to maintain flow and balance
Medium — manual adjustments for print/digital
Compact presentation; reduced vertical length
Magazines, annual reports, conference programs
Efficient use of horizontal space; modern appearance
Annotated Table of Contents
Medium — requires concise summaries per entry
Medium‑High — writing effort and ongoing updates
Better section selection; clearer relevance signals
Academic journals, technical guides, course materials
Helps readers decide what to read; improves usability
Hyperlinked / Interactive Table of Contents
Medium — add and validate links across document
Low‑Medium — authoring tools plus link testing
Seamless one‑click navigation; non‑linear access
PDFs, ebooks, websites, digital docs
Fast navigation; expected in digital formats
Narrative / Story‑Based Table of Contents
Medium — narrative design and thematic framing
Medium — strong writing and editorial planning
High engagement; encourages sequential reading
Business books, brand narratives, memoirs
Creates emotional connection; distinctive voice
Tag‑Based / Category Table of Contents
High — taxonomy and cross‑referencing design
High — CMS/database support and IA expertise
Flexible discovery; multiple navigation paths
Blogs, digital libraries, e‑commerce, large repos
Supports non‑linear browsing; highly scalable
Minimalist / Progressive Table of Contents
Low‑Medium — focus on typographic hierarchy
Low — limited assets; emphasis on layout
Clear, fast, low cognitive load; good performance
Tech docs, minimalist books, PWAs, SaaS docs
Clean, timeless design; fast loading and easy to scan

Start Building Better Content Roadmaps Today

We've explored a diverse landscape of table of contents ideas, moving far beyond the simple, linear lists of the past. From the sturdy reliability of the hierarchical structure to the engaging dynamism of an interactive, visual map, it’s clear that a table of contents is not merely a navigational tool. It’s the first handshake with your reader, a promise of the value within, and a critical component of a thoughtful user experience. The right approach transforms a wall of text into an accessible, easily digestible resource, empowering your audience to find exactly what they need with minimal friction.
Choosing the perfect format isn't about finding a single "best" option; it's about aligning your choice with your content's goals, your audience's expectations, and your platform's capabilities. A sprawling ebook demands a different roadmap than a concise blog post, just as a technical documentation hub requires a different structure than a creative newsletter. By deliberately selecting and implementing the right style, you signal professionalism and a deep respect for your reader's time.

Key Takeaways for Immediate Implementation

To distill our journey into actionable insights, remember these core principles as you craft your next piece of content:
  • Function Over Form: While a creative design like an infographic or narrative TOC can be highly engaging, never sacrifice clarity for novelty. The primary goal is always to help the reader navigate. If the design hinders that, it has failed.
  • Audience-Centric Design: Always consider who you are writing for. A technical audience might prefer a dense, multi-column or expandable TOC for quick reference, while a general audience might be more engaged by a visually-driven or annotated guide.
  • Platform and Purpose Alignment: The medium dictates the method. An interactive, hyperlinked TOC is a natural fit for a blog post or Notion page, but a static, traditional format is more suitable for a printable PDF. Match your TOC's functionality to the environment where it will live.
Mastering these table of contents ideas is more than just an organizational exercise; it’s a strategic advantage. A well-structured article with an interactive TOC can significantly boost on-page SEO by encouraging longer dwell times and creating jump links that may appear as sitelinks in search results. It enhances readability, reduces bounce rates, and builds a reputation for your brand as a source of high-quality, user-friendly information.

Your Actionable Next Steps

Feeling inspired? Don't let these concepts remain theoretical. Here’s how you can start applying these ideas today:
  1. Audit Your Existing Content: Revisit your top-performing long-form articles. Could their user experience be improved with an expandable or annotated table of contents? A simple update can breathe new life into old content.
  1. Plan Your Next Piece with the TOC in Mind: Instead of treating the table of contents as an afterthought, build it into your outlining process. This forces you to think logically about content flow and structure from the very beginning. This strategic planning is crucial, not just for a single article but for your entire editorial strategy. For comprehensive content planning across all platforms, exploring how to build a social media content calendar can further complement your content roadmap strategies.
  1. Experiment with a New Format: Step outside your comfort zone. If you always use a traditional list, try implementing a visual or minimalist TOC on your next project. See how your audience responds and gather feedback to refine your approach.
Ultimately, every table of contents you create is a roadmap. It guides your reader from a point of curiosity to a destination of knowledge. By thoughtfully designing this map, you ensure they enjoy the journey and arrive at their destination feeling informed and empowered. This commitment to clarity and user experience is what separates good content from truly exceptional, memorable resources.
Ready to create beautiful, SEO-optimized content without worrying about the technical details? Feather turns your Notion pages into a full-featured blog, automatically generating a clean, interactive table of contents for you. Focus on your writing and let Feather handle the rest, ensuring your readers always have a perfect roadmap.

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