How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? (PDF ...

How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website?This module reviews how to create Ext Feed Reader items and include them on your pages.A feed reader allows you to display an RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feed from a vt.edu or otheraccepted domain on your website. This can be useful when you want to display the most recent newsfrom a particular source without needing to manually update your website.The list of accepted domains include: vt.edu, hokiesports.com, rss.support.apple.com, tumblr.com,twitter.com, youtube.com, wordpress.com, www.us-cert.gov, flickr.com, newsrss.bbc.co.uk, crl.edu,blogspot.com, carilion.com, delicious.com, digg.com, facebook.com, feedburner.com, andinformaworld.com.To view the complete updated list, seehttp://www.ahnrit.vt.edu/TechSupport/ensemble/online-tutorial/039-vce-feed-reader/039-vce-feed-reader.htmlNote: RSS and Atom feeds allow you to easily and automatically display content that has been postedon another website, such as calendar events, news articles, or blog posts. RSS and Atom are twodifferent feed formats that accomplish this same goal. VTNews feeds are in the RSS format.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 1

Step 1: Create the Feed Reader ItemTo create the feed reader item, right-click on the folder in which you wish to create the item and selectNew Item -> Ext Feed Reader.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 2

Step 2: Feed InformationNext to Type, select whether the feed is an RSS, Atom, or a VT Calendar feed (from calendars.vt.edu).Next, enter the Feed URL if you are using an RSS or Atom feed or the Calendar ID if you are using afeed from VT Calendar. An example Calendar ID is "cals." The Feed URL should have either an.atom, .rss, or .xml extension.Add the Channel Title. This is what you are creating a feed of, such as the CALS Calendar, or VirginiaCooperative Extension News and will display the feed on your page.Next, add the Channel Link. this can be a link to an archive page of the items, such as a link to theactual CALS Calendar, or a link to the Extension news archive on VTNews.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 3

Step 3: Item Titles and DescriptionsNext, select whether you want to display the Item Titles. This will usually be the title of the itemsincluded in the feed, so you'll almost always want to keep this set at Yes.Next, select whether you wish to display the Item Description. This will show a brief description of theitem under the item title. This may be useful in giving users information about each item in the feed, butmay soon take up a lot of space, especially if you’re going to add the Feed to a sidebar.If you want to show an Item Description, but want to limit it's length to a specific number of characters,enter the limit into the Limit Item Description field. If you don't want to limit the length of ItemDescriptions, leave the value at -1.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 4

Step 4: Select Date FormatSelect whether you want to display each item's date along with the item, and what format you wish todisplay the date in if you do. If you do not wish to display a date, leave the selection at None.Possible date formats include:None (no date displayed)yyyy-mm-dd (2009-01-15)mm/dd/yyyy (01/15/2009)Mon dd (Jan 15)Mon dd, yyyy (Jan 15, 2009)Month yyyy (January 2009)mm.dd.yyyy (01.15.2009)How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 5

Step 5: Select Time FormatNext, select whether you want to display the item's publish time next to each item, and if so, displaywhat format you want the time in. This may be more useful if you are displaying VT Calendar items inyour feed, or are including a feed that publishes several new items a day. If you do not wish to displaya time, leave the selection at None.Possible time formats include:None (no time displayed)Thh:mmTZD (T13:30-05:00)H:mm AM (1:30 PM)hh:mm (13:30)How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 6

Step 6: Advanced OptionsChoose a cache refresh rate, if desired. If the feed you are including updates several times a day, youmay wish to select a faster refresh rate. Otherwise, we recommend you leave the value at 1 day(meaning, the feed will update on your page once daily).Next, select the maximum number of items to display on your page. The default setting is 3, but youcan display as many as 30 items. 5 and 10 items are also standard numbers of items to display on thepage. The number of items you wish to display will depend on where on the page you are displayingthe feed (in the body or in the sidebar), whether you are displaying the items with a description, etc.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 7

Step 7: Display FormatFinally, select the Display Format for the feed on your page. There are three choices:Default lists the Item Tile, then Item Date and Time, and then Item Description (if date, time, anddescription are enabled)List, Date First lists the Item Date and Time, then Item Title, and then Item Description (if date, time,and description are enabled)Tabluar displays the item in a table, with the Item Date and Time (if enabled) displayed in the leftcolumn, and the Item Title followed by the Item Description (if enabled) in the right column.Note: Even if both the Item Date and Item Time is set to None, the left column will display in Tabularmode (it will just be empty). Also, it is recommended that you do not select Tabular if you wish todisplay the feed in a sidebar of a page.Once you are finished, click Save.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 8

Step 8: Launch Content BrowserCreate or Edit the page or brief you wish to insert the feed reader item on.Once you are editing the General Content item or Brief, select the Insert CMS Template button orchoose the Insert -> Insert CMS Template menu item in the EditLive field.See Also:How do I create a page?How do I create a brief?How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 9

Step 9: Select the Feed Reader ItemUse the Content Browser to find the Ext Feed Reader item you wish to include. Once you find it, clickon it. On the following page, there is only one template under "Select a Template," so just click Openor Select.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 10

Feed Reader Item inserted into EditLive fieldWhen you initially insert the Feed Reader item into the EditLive field, it will display "script" and"noscript." This is normal.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 11

Step 10: Preview the ItemIf you inserted the Ext Feed Reader item into an Ext Brief item, insert it into the body field or sidebar ofa Ext General Content page.Next, preview the General Content page the Ext Feed Reader item is on by right-clicking it andselecting Preview -> P - General Content.This is an example Feed Reader item displaying items from the CALS VT Calendar. It is set to theList, Date First format, with the Date and Time turned on and description turned off. Each item has theDate and Time of the event above the item. It then lists the event title, which links back to that event'spage in the VT Calendar system. The Feed Reader title (in this case, "CALS Calendar Events," linksback to the CALS VT Calendar page.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 12

Step 11: Move Item into Publishable StateRemember to move items into a publishable state. Move any items in the Quick Edit state back into thePublic state by right-clicking them and selecting Workflow -> Return to Public.Any items, including the feed reader item, that are in the Draft state need to be moved to a publishablestate. To do this, right-click on those items and select Workflow -> Send to Pending.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 13

Example Page 1In this example, the page is display a feed from the CALS News feed from VT News. It is beingdisplayed in the List, Date First format, with the date, time, and description fields turned on.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 14

Example Page 2In this example, the page is displaying a feed from the CALS News feed from VT News. It is beingdisplayed in the Tabular format, with the date, time, and description fields turned on.Note: It is not recommended that you insert an Ext Feed Reader item displaying in the Tabular formatinto the sidebar of a page.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 15

Example Page 3In this example, the page is again displaying a feed from the CALS News feed from VT News. It isbeing displayed in the Default format, with the date field turned on, but the time and description fieldsturned off.How do I add RSS, Atom, or VT Calendar feeds to my website? - 16