What is RSS?

RSS stands for "Real Simple Syndication", a new format for sharing information on the Web. RSS allows people to monitor Web sites and databases for new information, without having to visit the site or database. People "subscribe" to the RSS feed and use a "feed reader" to monitor for new feeds/updates.

The UWDCC

RSS Feed Readers

There are a variety of Feed Readers available free for both Windows and Macintosh systems. Feed readers may be desktop applications, web-based applications or web browser plug-ins. In addition some web browsers have RSS Feed Readers built into them.

Sites with RSS feeds are indicated by either a blue or orange RSS icon or an orange XML icon . Alternately, some web browsers will automatically detect an RSS Feed and will use the orange icon to indicate that it has detected a RSS Feed.

A listing of different Feed Readers/RSS Aggregators is available in the Wikipedia under Aggregator

How to Subscribe

For Desktop Clients

Subscribing to a web feed is essentially the same for all RSS Feed clients, but does vary slightly. If you have any questions or difficulties subscribing to an RSS Feed you should check the Help section of your RSS Feed Reader for assistance.

1. Open your RSS Feed Reader
2. Go to the page with the RSS Feed that you would like to subscribe to
3. Click on the RSS Icon
4. Copy the URL of the RSS Feed from the address bar of your browser (Windows: Crtl+C, Mac: Apple+C)
5. Go to File and select Add Feed or New Feed
6. Paste the address into the Feed Location box (Windows: Crtl+V, Mac: Apple+V)

For Web Browsers

1. Click on the icon.
2. Click on Subscribe or Add Bookmark

For Web-based applications

Please see the website of your RSS Feed Reader for directions.