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RSS The Easy Way!Reading & Creating Feeds with Free and Easy to Use Tools Russell O’Neill General Services Administration Senior Software Engineer, FirstGov.gov February 21, 2006
Reading Feeds • Getting the RSS Reader • Using RSSOwl to Read Feeds
Getting the RSS Reader • There are many free RSS readers…I’ll demonstrate one (RSSOwl) today. • For a large list of readers, you can visit: http://dmoz.org/Reference/Libraries/Library_and_Information_Science/Technical_Services/Cataloguing/Metadata/RDF/Applications/RSS/News_Readers • Even though each one is different, they all function similarly.
Getting the RSS Reader • Get the file http://internap.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/rssowl/rssowl_1_2_win32_bin.zip. • Extract the zip file to your desktop. • This will create a folder: rssowl_1_2_win32_bin.
Create a new favorite (aka: add a feed) Create a new folder for your favorites Using RSSOwl to Read Feeds: Main interface
Use RSSOwl to Read Feeds: Adding a feed Once you identify a RSS file to subscribe to, copy the URL of the feed. You can do this by selecting the URL in the address bar of your web browser, right-clicking, and selecting copy. 1
Use RSSOwl to Read Feeds: Adding a feed Next, click “New” in RSSOwl. This will create a new favorite and allow you to easily update your feed so you can see what’s new. 2
Use RSSOwl to Read Feeds: Adding a feed • Enter the information for the feed. This includes: • The feeds URL (which you can paste into the field by right-clicking and selecting paste). • A title (you can have RSSOwl pull the tile from the feed, or you can type one). • A category (or folder) to hold your favorite. • How frequently you would like RSSOwl to update the feed. • Whether you would like RSSOwl to open the feed automatically when you open RSSOwl. 3
Using RSSOwl to Read Feeds: Reading a feed Items Channels
Creating Feeds • What is an RSS File? • Getting an RSS Editor • Using the RSS Editor
What is an RSS File? • Simple XML-based format. • Relies on items being specified in a standard XML (plain text) format. <rss> <channel> <item> <item> <item> <item> Tools can help you create these files…and these tools vary from content management systems to simple editors. <item>
Getting an RSS Editor • I’ll show you how to use the RSS Editor Firefox Extension. • Download and install Firefox from http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/. • Visit https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?id=344&application=firefox.
Using the RSS Editor: Entering channel information • Most fields are self-explanatory. • Required: Title, Link, Description. • Link: HTML link for entire feed’s content. • Language: For English, enter en-us. • Date fields: Format is day_of_week, day_of_month three_letter_month_abbreviation year hour:minute:seconds timezone. Use the “…” button to have the editor build the format for you.
Using the RSS Editor: Entering items • Most fields are self-explanatory. • Link: HTML link for specific item’s content. • Date fields: Format is day_of_week, day_of_month three_letter_month_abbreviation year hour:minute:seconds timezone. Use the “…” button to have the editor build the format for you. • Required: Title or Description.
Using the RSS Editor: Saving feeds • When naming the feed, ensure it has: • No spaces (use _ if needed). • No special characters (@, #, etc). • An extension of .xml. • Follows the URL standards for your website.
Using the RSS Editor: Opening a feed • Exact the same as creating a feed.
Putting it All Together • Using RSSOwl to Test an RSS feed
Questions/Comments? Russell O’Neill russell.oneill@gsa.gov 202-219-1682 http://www.firstgov.gov/rss/index.shtml
