RSS feeds
What is an RSS feed?
RSS stands
for Really Simple Syndication. An RSS feed is an XML file that can be
used to distribute (or syndicate) content such as new news items or new
blog postings to people who subscribe to the feed.
Where can I find RSS feeds?
You can find links to RSS feeds on many sites and will usually see an RSS icon which you can click on to get the address of the feed. The BBC has RSS feeds for each section of news.
Alternatively you can find RSS feeds by searching a feed directory such as:
What can they be used for?
RSS feeds are useful on websites where the content
is updated regularly, for example a news site such as the BBC. You
can use something called an aggregator to subscribe to
feeds. That way rather than going to each individual website
you can see a list of all the new items and choose which ones to
read.
How do I subscribe to RSS feeds?
You use software called an 'aggregator' to subscribe to feeds and
receive the most up to date items. To subscribe you just need to copy
the address of the feed into the aggregator. We recommend the following
free aggregators:
|
Web-based aggregators: Very useful if you want to access your feeds from anywhere or for use on WTS. |
Desktop aggregators: These must be downloaded and installed onto your computer.
|
Software available on WTS:
| Software Type RSS facility Documentation | |||
| Thunderbird | email software | Subscribe to RSS feeds alongside email accounts |
View animation View manual - Word (225KB) |
| Mozilla Firefox | web browser | Add RSS feeds to your bookmarks | View manual - Word (206KB) |
Can I add an RSS feed to a webpage?
Yes, you can embed an RSS feed into an HTML page.
View sample feed.
To do this:
- First of all you need to get the address of your feed: e.g. For the BBC Education News Feed: http://newsrss.bbc.co.uk/rss/newsonline_uk_edition/education/rss.xml
- Go to a site that converts RSS to Javascript, we recommend: http://feed2js.org/
- Click the [Build] button and select the desired options - we suggest the following:
- Click the [Generate Javascript] button and copy the code produced.
- Open your website in an HTML editor.
- Paste the code into the existing HTML of the webpage.
| URL | Paste the URL of the RSS feed into the box provided. |
| Show channel? | Select Yes - this will display information about publisher of the feed. |
| Number of items to display. | Enter the number of news items you want listed. |
| Show/Hide item descriptions? | Enter 200>1 - this will display the first 200 characters of the description. |
| Use HTML in item display? | If you wish to see the images within the news, select Yes. |
| Show posting date? | Select Yes - this will show the date of each news item. |
| Target links in new window? | Select Yes - this will open the news item in a new window. |
| Select UTF-8 character encoding | Selecting this option will ensure non-Roman characters should be displayed. |
NOTE:
Do check the site's terms and conditions for displaying an RSS feed
within WebCT or on your own website. You will usually need to credit
the content provider, however be aware that you may not have permission
to display the company's logo. An example is the BBC's
use policy.
How do I create my own RSS feeds?
The
easiest way is to use an RSS Generator which will automatically create
the RSS feed for you. We recommend the following software:
- ListGarden - (Windows/Mac/Unix/Linux)
www.softwaregarden.com/products/listgarden/ - RSSEditor (Windows)
www.rss-info.com/en_rsseditor.html
The alternative is to write the RSS feed yourself. RSS uses XML which is a mark-up language similar to HTML. We recommend the W3Schools tutorial on how RSS syntax: www.w3schools.com/rss/rss_syntax.asp
If you are using a Blog, you can usually generate an RSS feed automatically. Please see your Blog provider's help pages for more information.
Page last modified on 18 sep 09 14:01
