The RSS Feed Component is a news aggregator that will be placed on NetObjects Fusion sites. It reads a RSS feed and then makes it available to be seen on the published Web site.
Before starting to use the NOF RSS Feed Component, it is important that you understand the basics of RSS.
This tutorial describes:
Understanding the Basics of RSS
How to use the RSS Feed Component
Adding the RSS Feed Component to a Page
Subscribing to a RSS Feed
Customizing the Layout of the RSS Feed Component
Publishing the RSS Feed Component
RSS is a XML - based format that allows the lists of hyperlinks to syndicate, along with other information, or metadata, and that helps viewers to decide if they want to follow the link.
Glossary:
RSS = Really Simple Syndication = Rich Site Summary = RDF Site Summary RSS file = RSS feed = RSS channel = feed = channel a website is syndicated = a website produces an RSS feed RSS reader = news reader = RSS aggregator = a program that can read RSS files
What Is a RSS Feed?
RSS Feed (also called RSS files or channels) contain a list of items. Usually, each item contains a title, a summary and a link to a URL (e.g. a Web page). Other information (the date, creator’s name, etc.) may also be available. The most common use for RSS files is for news and other reverse-chronologically ordered Web sites like blogs.
What Are RSS Aggregators?
Also known as newsreaders and news aggregators, RSS aggregators are dedicated programs, which allow you to read RSS files.
The NOF RSS Feed Component works with one RSS feed at a time. But the user may place several RSS Feed Components on the same page.
How to Use the NOF RSS Feed Component
You can access the NOF RSS Feed Component on the NetObjects Fusion Custom Components toolbar, in Page View.
If you do not see it on the Custom Components toolbar:
From the View menu, select Toolbars.
Check the NOF Standard Components (if it is not already checked).
The RSS Feed Component menu will appear on the Fusion Custom Components toolbar.
Usually, when you first place a component on the Layout of a page in NetObjects Fusion, the Component’s dialog box appears. If you close the dialog box and you want to configure the component’s settings in a future moment of time, follow the next steps:
Select the component on the layout. You will see the component’s name in the NOF RSS Feed Properties window.
Double click on Editor from the Properties window and the dialog box appears.
Launch NetObjects Fusion and open the site where you want to insert the RSS Feed Component.
Place the NOF RSS Feed Component on a page of your site.
The RSS Feed dialog will appear. Here you will specify the necessary information for subscribing for a RSS file that the component will read and display on the site.
Before configuring the RSS Feed Settings, you need to know how to locate a RSS file.
For example, suppose that you want to display some news from www.news.com on one of your pages. The steps you have to follow are:
Open a browser and go to http://www.news.com
Go to the bottom of the page and identify "All RSS Feed" link
Click on that link
Go to the desired domain and right click the "XML" icon
Choose Copy Shortcut from the Contextual menu.
The XML location is now copied into the clipboard. Now you can write it down for the next steps.
Fill in the fields in the 2 sections of the RSS Feed Component, as following:
RSS feed: type the RSS address in this field.
A possible RSS feed address may be: http://news.com.com/2547-1001_3-0-5.xml
Refresh rate: select this option if you want to set the RSS Feed Component to check for new items in the feed you are subscribed to. Select the refresh rate at your convenience.
Proxy URL: the RSS Feed Component comes with 2 proxies (one in ASP and one in PHP). Depending on what your Web server uses, select the appropriate option from the drop-down box. This will cause the default script for the proxy type that you have selected, to be copied on your Web server.
Suppose that your user name on a Linux server is "joesmith" and the publish directory is public_html/mycoolsite
The proxy scripts are published in the "scripts" directory, so a valid path for a PHP proxy will be: http://www.mydomain.com/~joesmith/mycoolsite/scripts/xmlfetch.php
You can notice now that the proxy URL and the RSS feed compose the path as the URL parameter.
Server Script: Select the scripting language from the drop-down box: ASP or PHP. Check with your Internet service provider to determine which option is appropriate for your hosting environment.
Templates: select the template to use from the drop-down list.
Style: use a different CSS Style.
RSSList presents the information in a list like
manner (see below) while RSSTree presents the information in a tree like
manner. You can expand the items and you can follow the links (see below)
Loading message: type here the message that will be displayed while the component reads and displays the requested feed. The default message is 'loading...'
In the Layout section you have another two sections: Show and Expand.
On the Show section:
Show all items: check this option if you want all the items to be displayed by the RSS Feed Component.
Visible items: if you leave the 'Show all items' option unchecked, type in the number of items that you want to be displayed.
On the Expand section:
Expand all items: check this option if you want all the items to be expanded.
Items to expand: if you leave the 'Show all items' option unchecked, type in the number of the items you want to be expanded.