RSS: An Information Revolution
Published: November 10, 2005
By Sandi Hardmeier
This article discusses RSS as it applies to Internet Explorer 7 Beta 1 and Build 5231. As you will see, the appearance, abilities and behavior of the features discussed changed markedly between the two released builds. We can expect the browser to continue to improve, and features perfected, as the beta process continues.
Many of us have come across the little orange buttons that indicate an RSS feed is available on a site. If we rest our mouse cursor over that button, it changes to a hand indicating that the button is a hyperlink.
RSS feeds are commonly indicated by an orange RSS or XML button.
Although some sites provide information about what RSS is and how to access it when they offer RSS on their sites, many do not. If we do the logical thing and click on the button when using Internet Explorer 6 or earlier, and we do not have an RSS reader or a plug-in such as Pluck installed, all we will see is code.
Internet Explorer 6 and older is not able to display RSS.
People that I have spoken to when confronted by such a mess of code simply assume that the site or their computer is broken. This misunderstanding is a pity because RSS is a very efficient and easy way to stay up to date with new content on our favorite sites.
What is RSS? How does it work? And what can we do to access the service if we are unable to update to Internet Explorer 7 (currently in beta)?
The letters RSS stand for “Really Simple Syndication”, “Rich Site Summary” or “RDF Site Summary” depending on the version of RSS being discussed. It has actually been around in various forms since 1999, which was around the time that Netscape experimented with an early version of the protocol before eventually dropping it. Its use has only become widespread over the last few years
Web site owners publish RSS content by crafting a specially coded file (called a “feed”) that is registered with a special type of web service called an Aggregator. Registering with an Aggregator is not essential but it is by far the best way for a feed host to attract as many readers as possible.
Aggregators are specially designed programs that monitor the myriad RSS feeds available via the Internet and provide a centralized subscription facility. Internet surfers can use an Aggregator to select and subscribe to their choice of feed, read the latest content, and be automatically notified when new content is added. There are various types of Aggregator available today – stand alone programs, plug-ins for our Web browser or online services accessed via a Web page.
Although an Aggregator is the quickest and easiest way to find and take advantage of RSS it is not an essential part of the experience. If we come across an RSS feed while surfing the Web it is possible to view and subscribe to that feed simply by clicking on the orange feed button if we have an RSS Reader, or a Web browser with RSS abilities, installed on our PC.
The beauty of RSS is that it allows us to review a brief summary of each article that is available on a subscribed feed. Then if we wish to know more we can view the full page. Time consuming, content rich sites can be quickly and easily checked for new content, and bandwidth munching graphics and multimedia can be avoided until we choose to view a particular article, which those of us with limited bandwidth allowances are quick to appreciate. Below is an example of RSS feeds that are linked to pages of text containing an entire article.
RSS Feeds make it easy to scan feeds quickly, using minimal bandwidth.
Detecting a feed using Internet Explorer 7
Internet Explorer’s RSS ability is not designed to replace full service Aggregators or Readers. Rather, Internet Explorer 7 concentrates on making it easy for the casual surfer to find and view RSS feeds on a web page by introducing a new feature called Web Feed Discovery. When a user navigates to a site that includes a feed, the RSS icon will light up on the toolbar. We then use the menu item that appears under the RSS button to view the feed, or we can locate and click on the RSS button on the page itself.
RSS buttons – Internet Explorer 7 Beta 1.
RSS buttons – Internet Explorer 7 Build 5231.
The Web feed buttons to the left have a small starburst (aka glimmer). The glimmer indicates that the detected feed is one that we have not encountered before. The icons to the right, without a glimmer, indicate that the feed is one that we have encountered before
If a page has multiple feeds, the icon’s menu will have a separate entry for each feed. In addition, if the page has new and old feeds, the icon’s menu will indicate this.
IE7 displays a menu list when a page has multiple feeds.
Subscribing to a feed
As at Beta 1, it was not possible to subscribe to a feed in the classic sense. Instead, we added a feed to our Favorites list. If so desired, we could set a synchronization schedule just like we did for any other favorite. A new folder, logically named “Web Feeds” was automatically added to our favorites list when we upgrade to Internet Explorer 7 especially for this purpose. Also, Internet Explorer added its own content to a displayed feed which includes a brief explanation of RSS and a link that opened the Add Favorite window when clicked.
Internet Explorer 7 Beta 1 made it easy for a user to add a feed to their Favorites.
Build 5231 of Internet Explorer changes and extends RSS functionality. The Add to Favorites pane has been removed, and replaced with a task pane containing various new controls. Note that the Sort by: Title and Sort by: Date options can sort the RSS entries in ascending or descending order simply by clicking on either option multiple times. The Add to Favorites option has been removed, and we now click on a button on the Internet Explorer Toolbar to subscribe to a feed.
Internet Explorer 7 Build 5231 includes a new RSS task pane.
Another change in Build 5231 is that subscribed feeds appear as a separate list in the new combined History, Favorites and Feeds Explorer Pane.
RSS feeds are now listed separately in the Explorer Pane.
Synchronizing (updating) a feed using Build 5231
Once subscribed, we can choose to refresh (synchronize) our RSS feed subscriptions according to a set schedule. Simply right click on a feed in the Explorer Pane then select Properties to access the refresh options for a particular feed. If a refresh detects new content on an RSS page the corresponding entry in the Explorer Pane will turn bold to notify us that there is new content awaiting our attentions.
RSS Feeds can be refreshed automatically.
Controlling RSS detection and behavior — Beta 1
Web feed behavior in Internet Explorer is controlled via a dialogue box. When using Beta 1 click on Tools then Internet Options then navigate to the Content tab and click on the Feeds button marked with a 
in the screenshot. A dialogue box will open that allows us to turn Web Feed Discovery on and off, enable or disable sound notification, and control what happens when we click on a feed link.
Web Discovery settings are managed via the Content Tab.
Controlling RSS detection and behavior – Build 5231
The settings window has been changed for Build 5231 and can be accessed by clicking on the new Tools button on the Internet Explorer Toolbar.
Internet Options are accessed via a new button on the Internet Explorer Toolbar.
As you can see, the ability to disable or enable feed detection has been removed from the new dialogue box as has the option to automatically add a feed to your favorites, and has been replaced with an option to control the new automatic synchronizing feature.
Build 5231 includes a redesigned Web Feeds Settings window.
Customizing Web feed appearance
The appearance of a Web feed can be customized in the featured builds of Internet Explorer, which will be good news for those who find the default font and color scheme hard to read and a bit washed out. First, from within Internet Explorer, click on Tools, then Internet Options, and then the Accessibility button. Turn on the Formatting options Ignore colors specified on Web pages and Ignore font styles specified on Web pages. Then, click on Tools, then Internet Options, then the Colors button. By turning off Use Windows Colors and adjusting the Background and Text color options we can control the background color and the color of the feed summary text. By adjusting the Visited Links color we can change the color of the article title.
After clicking on the Fonts button, we can change the font type used on feed pages by using the Web page font option.
Of course, we can also adjust the display size of the page as a whole by using the Text Size setting accessed via the View menu option.
What if I don’t have IE7?
It is possible to add RSS abilities to older versions of Internet Explorer by taking advantage of one of the third party plug-ins available on the net. There are several available, including Pluck, Lektora, My RSS Toolbar and Feed Scout, all of which are mentioned in Wikipedia’s comprehensive list of News Aggregators. All have advantages and disadvantages. I recommend that you look at each one closely, and seek feedback from current and past users, before deciding on a particular program. You may also find RSS Readers on Windows Marketplace.
