Συχνές Ερωτήσεις
How to add questions to the FAQ: Follow the these instructions
General
Can I just download the AAPS installation file?
Όχι. Δεν υπάρχει κανένα αρχείο apk που να μπορείτε να κατεβάσετε για το AAPS. You have to build it yourself. Ο λόγος που δεν διανέμεται τέτοιο αρχείο είναι ο εξής:
Το AAPS χρησιμοποιείται για να ελέγξει την αντλία σας και να χορηγήσει ινσουλίνη. Σύμφωνα με την ισχύουσα νομοθεσία στην Ευρώπη, όλα τα συστήματα που ανήκουν σε κατηγορίες όπως είναι οι lla ή llb χαρακτηρίζονται ως ιατρικές συσκευές. Για την κυκλοφορία τέτοιων συσκευών απαιτείται έγκριση από τους αρμόδιους φορείς. Προκειμένου να ληφθεί τέτοιου είδους έγκριση (CE) απαιτείται μία σειρά μελετών, δοκιμών και ελέγχων. Διαφορετικά, η διάθεση τους δεν είναι νόμιμη. Τέτοιες διαδικασίες ελέγχου και εγκρίσεων υπάρχουν και σε άλλα μέρη του κόσμου.
Τα παραπάνω δεν αφορούν μόνο συστήματα που διατίθενται προς πώληση (δηλ. έναντι χρηματικού ποσού) αλλά σε όλα τα συστήματα, με όποιον τρόπο και αν διανέμονται (ακόμα και αν διατίθενται δωρεάν). Το να δημιουργήσεις μια ιατρική συσκευή για δική σου χρήση και με δική σου ευθύνη, είναι η μόνη περίπτωση μη εφαρμογής των παραπάνω.
Για αυτό δεν διατίθενται εκτελέσιμα αρχεία εγκατάστασης του AndroidAPS.
How to begin?
Πρώτον, χρειάζονται τα εξής (hardware) εξαρτήματα συμβατά με το κύκλωμα:
an Android smartphone (Apple iOS is not supported by AAPS - you can check iOS Loop) and
Secondly, you have to setup your software components: AAPS, CGM/FGM source and a reporting server.
Thirdly, you have to learn and understand the OpenAPS reference design to check your treatment factors. The founding principle of closed looping is that your basal rate and carb ratio are accurate. All recommendations assume that your basal needs are met and any peaks or troughs you’re seeing are a result of other factors which therefore require some one-off adjustments (exercise, stress etc.). Οι ρυθμίσεις που μπορεί να κάνει το κλειστό κύκλωμα έχουν περιοριστεί λόγο ασφάλειας (δείτε το μέγιστο επιτρεπόμενο προσωρινό βασικό ρυθμό στο OpenAPS Reference Design ), πράγμα που σημαίνει ότι δεν θέλετε να χάσετε την επιτρεπόμενη δοσολογία στη διόρθωση ενός λάθους βασικού. Αν, για παράδειγμα, έχετε συχνά χαμηλές μετρήσεις στην προσέγγιση ενός γεύματος, τότε είναι πιθανό να πρέπει να προσαρμόσετε τις βασικές σας ανάγκες. You can use Autotune to consider a large pool of data to suggest whether and how basals and/or ISF need to be adjusted, and also whether carb ratio needs to be changed. Or you can test and set your basal the old-fashioned way.
What practicalities of looping do I have?
Password protection
If you don’t want your preferences to be easily changed then you can password protect the preferences menu by selecting in the preferences menu «password for settings» and type the password you choose. Την επόμενη φορά που θα μεταβείτε στο μενού προτιμήσεων, θα ζητηθεί αυτός ο κωδικός πρόσβασης προτού προχωρήσετε περαιτέρω. Εάν αργότερα θέλετε να καταργήσετε την επιλογή κωδικού πρόσβασης, μεταβείτε στον «κωδικό πρόσβασης για τις ρυθμίσεις» και διαγράψτε το κείμενο.
Android Wear Smartwatches
Εάν σκοπεύετε να χρησιμοποιήσετε την εφαρμογή wear του Android για χορηγηση ινσουλίνης ή για να αλλάξετε τις ρυθμίσεις, τότε θα πρέπει να διασφαλίσετε ότι οι ειδοποιήσεις από το AndroidAPS δεν αποκλείονται. Η επιβεβαίωση των ενεργειών γίνεται μέσω ειδοποιήσεων.
Disconnect pump
Εάν αφαιρέσετε την αντλία σας για ντους, κολύμβηση, κολύμπι, σπορ ή άλλες δραστηριότητες θα πρέπει να ενημερώσετε το AAPS ότι δεν χορηγείται ινσουλίνη για να διατηρηθεί η ενεργή σας ινσουλίνη σωστά.
The pump can be disconnected using the Loop Status icon on the AAPS Home Screen.
Recommendations not only based on one single CGM reading
Για λόγους ασφάλειας, οι συστάσεις που γίνονται δεν βασίζονται σε μία ανάγνωση CGM αλλά στο μέσο δέλτα. Επομένως, εάν χάσετε μερικές τιμές, μπορεί να χρειαστεί λίγος χρόνος μετά την επιστροφή των δεδομένων των τιμών πριν ξεκινήσει ξανά η επαναφορά του AndroidAPS.
Further readings
Υπάρχουν διάφορα αγγλικά blogs που έχουν συμβουλές για να καταλάβετε καλύτερα το κλειστό κύκλωμα:
Fine-tuning Settings See my CGM
Why DIA matters See my CGM
Limiting meal spikes #DIYPS
Hormones and autosens See my CGM
What emergency equipment is recommended to take with me?
You have to have the same emergency equipment with you like every other T1D with insulin pump therapy. When looping with AAPS it is strongly recommended to have the following additional equipment with or near to you:
Battery pack and cables to charge your smartphone, watch and (if needed) BT reader or Link device
Μπαταρίες για την αντλία έγχυσης ινσουλίνης
Current apk and preferences files for AAPS and any other apps you use (e.g. xDrip+, BYO Dexcom) both locally and in the cloud (Dropbox, Google Drive).
How can I safely and securely attach the CGM/FGM?
You can tape it. There are several pre-perforated “overpatches” for common CGM systems available (search Google, eBay or Amazon). Κάποιοι χρήστες χρησιμοποιούν χαμηλού κόστους ελαστικές ταινίες κινησιολογίας ή rocktape.
You can fix it. You can also purchase upper arm bracelets that fix the CGM/FGM with a band (search Google, eBay or Amazon).
APS algorithm
Why does it show «dia:3» in the «OPENAPS AMA»-tab even though I have a different DIA in my profile?
Στην ΑΜΑ, η DIA στην πραγματικότητα δεν σημαίνει «διάρκεια δράσης της ινσουλίνης». Πρόκειται για μια παράμετρο, η οποία χρησιμοποιείται για τη σύνδεση με το DIA. Τώρα, αυτό σημαίνει, «σε ποιο χρονικό σημείο πρέπει να ολοκληρωθεί η διόρθωση». Δεν έχει καμία σχέση με τον υπολογισμό του IOB. In OpenAPS SMB, there is no need for this parameter any longer.
Other settings
Nightscout settings
AAPSClient says “not allowed” and does not upload data. What can I do?
In AAPSClient check “Connection settings”. Maybe you actually are not in an allowed WLAN or you have activated “Only if charging” and your charging cable is not attached.
CGM settings
Why does AAPS say “BG source doesn’t support advanced filtering”?
If you do use another CGM/FGM than Dexcom G5 or G6 in xDrip native mode, you’ll get this alert in AAPS OpenAPS-tab. See Smoothing blood glucose data for more details.
Pump
Where to place the pump?
Υπάρχουν αναρίθμητες δυνατότητες για την τοποθέτηση της αντλίας. Δεν έχει σημασία αν είστε σε κύκλωμα ή όχι.
Batteries
Looping can reduce the pump battery faster than normal use because the system interacts through bluetooth far more than a manual user does. Το καλύτερο είναι να αλλάξετε τη μπαταρία στο 25%, καθώς η επικοινωνία γίνεται πιο δύσκολη. You can set warning alarms for pump battery by using the PUMP_WARN_BATT_P variable in your Nightscout site. Τα κόλπα για την αύξηση της διάρκειας ζωής της μπαταρίας περιλαμβάνουν:
μειώστε τη διάρκεια ενεργής οθόνης LCD (στο μενού ρυθμίσεων της αντλίας)
reduce the length of time the backlight stays on (within pump settings menu)
select notification settings to a beep rather than vibrate (within pump settings menu)
only press the buttons on the pump to reload, use AAPS to view all history, battery level and reservoir volume.
AAPS app may often be closed to save energy or free RAM on some phones. When AAPS is reinitialized at each startup it establishes a Bluetooth connection to the pump, and re-reads the current basal rate and bolus history. Αυτό καταναλώνει μπαταρία. Για να δείτε αν συμβαίνει κάτι τέτοιο, μεταβείτε στην επιλογή Προτιμήσεις> NSClient και ενεργοποιήστε την επιλογή «Αρχείο καταγραφής εφαρμογής σε NS». Nightscout will receive an event at every restart of AAPS, which makes it easy to track the issue. To reduce this happening, whitelist AAPS app in the phone battery settings to stop the app power monitor closing it down.
For example, to whitelist on a Samsung phone running Android Pie:
Go to Settings -> Device Care -> Battery
Scroll until you find AAPS and select it
De-select «Put app to sleep»
ALSO go to Settings -> Apps -> (Three circle symbol in the top-right of the screen) select «special access» -> Optimize battery usage
Scroll to AAPS and make sure it is de-selected.
clean battery terminals with alcohol wipe to ensure no manufacturing wax/grease remains.
for Dana R/RS pumps the startup procedure draws a high current across the battery to purposefully break the passivation film (prevents loss of energy whilst in storage) but it doesn’t always work to break it 100%. Αφαιρέστε και επανατοποθετήστε την μπαταρία 2-3 φορές μέχρι να εμφανιστεί 100% στην οθόνη ή χρησιμοποιήστε το κλειδί της μπαταρίας για βραχυκύκλωμα μπαταρίας πριν την τοποθέτηση εφαρμόζοντας και στους δύο ακροδέκτες για ένα δευτερόλεπτο.
see also more tips for particular types of battery
Changing reservoirs and cannulas
The change of cartridge cannot be done via AAPS but must be carried out as before directly via the pump.
Long press on «Open Loop»/»Closed Loop» on the Home tab of AAPS and select “Suspend Loop for 1h”
Now nnect the pump and change the reservoir as per pump instructions.
Also priming and filling tube and cannula can be done directly on the pump. In this case use PRIME/FILL button in the actions tab just to record the change.
Μόλις επανασυνδεθείτε με την αντλία, συνεχίστε με το πάτημα του κουμπιού «Αναστολή (X m)».
The change of a cannula however does not use the «prime infusion set» function of the pump, but fills the infusion set and/or cannula using a bolus which does not appear in the bolus history. Αυτό σημαίνει ότι δεν διακόπτει ένα τρέχον προσωρινό βασικό ρυθμό. On the Actions (Act) tab, use the PRIME/FILL button to set the amount of insulin needed to fill the infusion set and start the priming. Αν η ποσότητα δεν είναι αρκετή, επαναλάβετε την πλήρωση. Μπορείτε να ορίσετε κουμπιά προεπιλεγμένου ποσού στις Προτιμήσεις > Άλλο > Συμπληρώστε / Αρχίστε την κανονική ποσότητα ινσουλίνης. Ανατρέξτε στο φυλλάδιο οδηγιών στο κουτί της κάνουλας για το πόσες μονάδες θα πρέπει να γίνουν ανάλογα με το μήκος της βελόνας και το μήκος της σωλήνωσης.
Wallpaper
You can find the AAPS wallpaper for your phone on the phones page.
Daily usage
Hygiene
What to do when taking a shower or bath?
Μπορείτε να αφαιρέσετε την αντλία ενώ κάνετε ντους ή μπάνιο. For this short period of time you may not need it, but you should tell AAPS that you’ve disconnected so that the IOB calculations are correct. See description above.
Work
Depending on your job, you may choose to use different treatment factors on workdays. As a looper you should consider a profile switch for your typical working day. For example, you may switch to a profile higher than 100% if you have a less demanding job (e.g. sitting at a desk), or less than 100% if you are active and on your feet all day. You could also consider a high or low temporary target or a time shift of your profile when working much earlier or later than regular, of if you work different shifts. You can also create a second profile (e.g. “home” and “workday”) and do a daily profile switch to the profile you actually need.
Leisure activities
Sports
You have to rework your old sports habits from pre-loop times. If you simply consume one or more sports carbs as before, the closed loop system will recognize them and correct them accordingly.
So, you would have more carbohydrates on board, but at the same time the loop would counteract and release insulin.
When looping you should try these steps:
Make a profile switch < 100%.
Set an activity temp target above your standard target.
If you are using SMB make sure «Enable SMB with high temp targets» and «Enable SMB always» are disabled.
Pre- and post-processing of these settings is important. Make the changes in time before sport and consider the effect of muscle filling.
If you do sports regularly at the same time (i.e. sports class in your gym) you can consider using automation for profile switch and TT. Location based automation might also be an idea but makes preprocessing more difficult.
The percentage of the profile switch, the value for your activity temp target and best time for the changes are individual. Start on the safe side if you are looking for the right value for you (start with lower percentage and higher TT).
Sex
You can remove the pump to be “free”, but you should tell AAPS so that the IOB calculations are correct. See description above.
Drinking alcohol
Το αλκοολούχο ποτό είναι επικίνδυνο σε λειτουργία κλειστού κυκλώματος, καθώς ο αλγόριθμος δεν μπορεί να προβλέψει σωστά το BG που επηρεάζεται από το αλκοόλ. You have to check out your own method for treating this using the following functions in AAPS:
Απενεργοποίηση λειτουργίας κλειστού κυκλώματος και θεραπεία του διαβήτη χειροκίνητα ή
θέτοντας στόχους υψηλούς και απενεργοποιώντας UAM για να αποφευχθεί ο αυξανόμενος κύκλος IOB λόγω ενός μη επιτηρούμενου γεύματος ή
κάντε μια αλλαγή προφίλ σε αισθητά λιγότερο από 100%
Όταν πίνετε αλκοόλ πρέπει πάντα να προσέχετε το CGM σας για να αποφύγετε χειροκίνητα μια υπογλυκαιμία τρώγοντας υδατάνθρακες.
Sleeping
How can I loop during the night without mobile and WIFI radiation?
Πολλοί χρήστες γυρίζουν το τηλέφωνο τους σε λειτουργία αεροπλάνου το βράδυ. If you want the loop to support you when you are sleeping, proceed as follows (this will only work with a local BG-source such as xDrip+ or “Build your own Dexcom App”, it will NOT work if you get the BG-readings via Nightscout):
Ενεργοποιήστε τη «λειτουργία πτήσης» στο κινητό σας.
Περιμένετε μέχρι να ενεργοποιηθεί η λειτουργία του αεροπλάνου.
Ενεργοποιήστε το Bluetooth.
Τώρα δεν δέχεστε τηλεφωνήματα ούτε είναι συνδεδεμένο το κινητό σας στο διαδίκτυο. Όμως το κύκλωμα λειτουργεί κανονικά.
Some people have discovered problems with local broadcast (AAPS not receiving BG values from xDrip+) when phone is in airplane mode. Go to Settings > Inter-app settings > Identify receiver and enter info.nightscout.androidaps
.
Travelling
How to deal with time zone changes?
Με τις αντλίες DanaR και DanaR Korean δεν απαιτείται καμία ρύθμιση από τον χρήστη. For other pumps see time zone travelling page for more details.
Medical topics
Hospitalization
If you want to share some information about AAPS and DIY looping with your clinicians, you can print out the guide to AAPS for clinicians.
Medical appointment with your endocrinologist
Reporting
You can either show your Nightscout reports (https://YOUR-NS-SITE.com/report) or check Nightscout Reporter.
Frequent questions on Discord and their answers…
My problem is not listed here.
My problem is not listed here but I found the solution
Remind us to add your solution to this list!
AAPS stops everyday around the same time.
Stop Google Play Protect. Check for «cleaning» apps (ie CCleaner etc) and uninstall them. AAPS / 3 dots menu / About / follow the link «Keep app running in the background» to stop all battery optimizations.
How to organize my backups ?
Export settings very regularly: after each pod change, after modifying your profile, when you have validated an objective, if you change your pump… Even if nothing changes, export once a month. Keep several old export files.
Copy on an internet drive (Dropbox, Google etc) : all the apks you used to install apps on your phone (AAPS, xDrip, BYODA, Patched LibreLink…) as well as the exported setting files from all your apps.
I have problems, errors building the app.
Please
check Troubleshooting Android Studio for typical errors and
the tipps for with a step by step walktrough.
I’m stuck on an objective and need help.
Screen capture the question and answers. Post-it on the Discord AAPS channel. Don’t forget to tell which options you choose (or not) and why. You’ll get hints and help but you’ll need to find the answers.
How to reset the password in AAPS v2.8.x ?
Open the hamburger menu, start the Configuration wizard and enter new password when asked. You can quit the wizard after the password phase.
How to reset the password in AAPS v3.x
You find the documentation here.
My link/pump/pod is unresponsive (RL/OL/EmaLink…)
With some phones, there are Bluetooth disconnects from the Links (RL/OL/EmaL…).
Some also have non responsive Links (AAPS says that they are connected but the Links can’t reach or command the pump.)
The easiest way to get all these parts working together is : 1/ Delete Link from AAPS 2/ Power off Link 3/ AAPS 3 dot menu, quit AAPS 4/ Long press AAPS icon, Android menu, info on app AAPS, Force stop AAPS and then Delete cache memory (Do not delete main memory !) 4bis/ Rarely some phones may need a reboot here. You can try without reboot. 5/Power on Link 6/Start AAPS 7/Pod tab, 3 dot menu, search and connect Link
Build error: file name too long
While trying to build I get an error stating the file name is too long. Possible solutions: Move your sources to a directory closer to the root directory of your drive (e.g. «c:\src\AndroidAPS-EROS»).
From Android Studio: Make sure «Gradle» is done syncing and indexing after opening the project and pulling from GitHub. Execute a Build->Clean Project before doing a Rebuild Project. Execute File->Invalidate Caches and Restart Android Studio.
Alert: Running dev version. Closed loop is disabled
AAPS is not running in «developer mode». AAPS shows the following message: «running dev version. Closed loop is disabled».
Make sure AAPS is running in «developer mode»: Place a file named «engineering_mode» at the location «AAPS/extra». Any file will do as long as it is properly named. Make sure to restart AAPS for it to find the file and go into «developer mode».
Hint: Make a copy of an existing logfile and rename it to «engineering_mode» (note: no file extension!).
Where can I find settings files?
Settings files will be stored on your phone’s internal storage in the directory «/AAPS/preferences». WARNING: Make sure not to lose your password as without it you will not be able to import an encrypted settings file!
How to configure battery savings?
Properly configuring Power Management is important to prevent your Phone’s OS to suspend AAPS and related app’s and services when your phone is not being used. As a result AAPS can not do its work and/or Bluetooth connections for sensor and Rileylink (RL) may be shut down causing «pump disconnected» alerts and communication errors. On the phone, go to settings->Apps and disable battery savings for: AAPS xDrip or BYODA/Dexcom app The Bluetooth system app (you may need to select for viewing system apps first) Alternatively, fully disable all battery savings on the phone. As a result your battery may drain faster but it is a good way to find out if battery savings is causing your problem. The way battery savings is implemented greatly depends on the phone’s brand, model and/or OS version. Because of this it is almost impossible to give instructions to properly set battery savings for your setup. Experiment on what settings work best for you. For additional information, see also Don’t kill my app
Pump unreachable alerts several times a day or at night.
Your phone may be suspending AAPS services or even Bluetooth causing it to loose connection to RL (see battery savings) Consider configuring unreachable alerts to 120 minutes by going to the top right-hand side three-dot menu, selecting Preferences->Local Alerts->Pump unreachable threshold [min].
Where can I delete treatments in AAPS v3 ?
3 dots menu, select treatements, then 3 dots menu again and you have different options available.
Configuring and Using the AAPSClient remote app
AAPS can be monitored and controlled remotely via the AAPSClient app and optionally via the associated Wear app running on Android Wear watches. Note that the AAPSClient (remote) app is distinct from the NSClient configuration in AAPS, and the AAPSClient (remote) Wear app is distinct from the AAPS Wear app–for clarity the remote apps will be referred to as “AAPSClient remote” and “AAPS remote Wear” apps.
To enable AAPSClient remote functionality you must: 1) Install the AAPSClient remote app (the version should match the version of AAPS being used) 2) Run the AAPSClient remote app and proceed through the configuration wizard to grant required permissions and configure access to your Nightscout site. 3) At this point you may want to disable some of the Alarm options, and/or advanced settings which log the start of the AAPSClient remote app to your Nightscout site. Once this is done, AAPSClient remote will download Profile data from your Nightscout site, the “Overview” tab will display CGM data and some AAPS data, but but may not display graph data, and will indicate that a profile isn’t yet set. 4) To activate the profile:
Enable remote profile synchronization in AAPS > NSClient > Options
Activate the profile in NSClient remote > Profile After doing so, the profile will be set, and AAPSClient remote should display all data from AAPS. Hint: If the graph is still missing, try changing the graph settings to trigger an update. 5) To enable remote control by the AAPSClient, selectively enable the aspects of AAPS (Profile changes, Temp Targets, Carbs, etc.) that you would like to be able to control remotely via AAPS > NSClient > Options . Once these changes are made, you’ll be able to remotely control AAPS via either Nightscout or AAPSClient remote.
If you’d like to monitor/control AAPS via the AAPSClient remote Wear App, you’ll need both AAPSClient remote and the associated Wear app to be installed. To compile the AAPSClient remote Wear app, follow the standard instructions for installing/configuring the AAPS wear app, except when compiling it, choose the AAPSClient variant.
I have a red triangle / AAPS won’t enable closed loop / Loops stays in LGS / I have a yellow triangle
The red and yellow triangles are a security feature in AAPS v3.
Red triangle means that you have duplicate BGs and AAPS can’t calculate precisely the deltas. You can’t close the loop. You need to delete one BG of each duplicated value in order to clear the red triangle. Go to BYODA or xDRIP tab, long press one line you want to delete, check one of each lines that are doubled (or via 3 dots menu and Delete, depending on your AAPS version). You may need to reset the AAPS databases if there are too many double BGs. In this case, you’ll also loose stats, IOB, COB, selected profile.
Possible origin of the problem: xDrip and/or NS backfilling BGs.
The yellow triangle means unstable delay between each BG reading. You don’t receive BGs every 5 min regularly or missing BGs. It is often a Libre problem. It also happens when you change G6 transmitter. If the yellow triangle is related to the G6 tansmitter change, it will go away by itself after several hours (around 24h). In case of Libre, the yellow triangle will stay. The loop can be closed and works correctly.
Can I move an active DASH Pod to other hardware?
This is possible. Note that as moving is «unsupported» and «untested» there is some risk involved. Best to try the procedure when your Pod is about to expire so when things go wrong not much is lost.
Critical is that pump «state» (which includes it’s MAC address) in AAPS and DASH match on reconnecting
Procedure I follow in this:
Suspend the DASH pump. This makes sure there are no running or queued commands active when DASH loses connection 2) Put the phone into airplane mode to disable BT (as well as WiFi and Mobile data). This way it is guaranteed AAPS and DASH can not communicate. 3) Export settings (which includes the DASH state) 4) Copy the settings file just exported from the phone (as it is in airplane mode and we do not want to change that, easiest way is using USB cable) 5) Copy the settings file to the alternate phone. 6) Import settings on the alternate phones AAPS. 7) Check the DASH tab to verify it is seeing the Pod. 8) Un-suspend the Pod. 9) Check the DASH tab and confirm it is communicating with the Pod (use the refresh button)
Congratulations: you did it!
Wait! You still have the main phone thinking it can reconnect to the same DASH:
On the main phone choose «deactivate». This is safe because the phone has no way of communicating with DASH to actually deactivated the Pod (it is still in airplane mode) 2) Deactivation will result in a communications error - this is expected. 3) Just hit «retry» a couple of times until AAPS offers the option to «Discard» the Pod.
When Discarded, verify AAPS is reporting «No Active Pod». You can now safely disable airplane mode again.
How do I import settings from earlier versions of AAPS into AAPS v3 ?
You can only import settings (in AAPS v3) that were exported using AAPS v2.8x or v3.x. If you were using a version of AAPS older than v2.8x or you need to use setting exports older than v2.8x, then you need to install AAPS v2.8 first. Import the older settings of v2.x in v2.8. After checking that all is OK, you can export settings from v2.8. Install AAPS v3 and import v2.8 settings in v3.
If you use the same key to build v2.8 and v3, you won’t even have to import settings. You can install v3 over v2.8.
There were some new objectives added. You’ll need to validate them.