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RSS Overview

RSS Parser and
Generator Overview

RSS Generator Instructions

Wrap-up

Contact Info.

RSS Generator Instructions

Before you begin to use this tool, you must be a member of a content group. To establish or request membership to a content group contact portal-feedback@psu.edu. Include the following information:

• The name of your organization
• Reason why you need access
• List of users within your organization who need access to create content

Getting Started

Starting RSS Generator

To start the tool, open your Web browser to https://portal.psu.edu/rssgen/. A dialog box appears. Enter your Penn State Access Account userid and password.

NOTE: If you receive a "not authorized" error message, please contact portal-feedback@psu.edu.

Group Selection

Once you successfully authenticate, the group selection screen appears. The list box contains all of the groups of which you are a member. If you receive an error message that you are not authorized for any groups, contact portal-feedback@psu.edu. Otherwise, select the group for which you want to create/edit channels and click the <Submit> button.

Channel Selection

After you select a group, the channel displays. This list contains all of the channels that you are permitted to modify.

NOTE: There are no controls in the RSS Generator tool to prevent more than one person from editing a channel at the same time.

After you select the channel, click the <Submit> button.

RSS Form

Once you submit your selection, the RSS form displays. The section below outlines each field and what you should enter in each field.

1. Filename
   

   Enter the filename under which you want to store the channel. NOTE: This file name must be unique to the Portal. You can only enter the file name when you add a channel; make sure that the file name is correct before you submit the channel.

2. Title
   

   Enter the title of your channel. It displays as the first item inside the channel.

3. Title Link URL
   

   Enter the hyperlink associated with the title you specified in the Title field.

4. Description
   

   Enter the description of your RSS channel. This description is not displayed in the channel, but is required so that your channel properly displays in the Portal.

5. Image Source URL
   

   Enter the hyperlink location of the image logo for your organization. You must specify the full URL. When a channel is incorporated into the Portal, the image is copied from your server to the Portal server. This occurs because the RSS Parser assumes that all images are local to the Portal server.

6. Image Link URL
   

   Enter the hyperlink that is associated with the image. Make this link the same value as the title link URL.

7. Image Title
   

   Enter the text for the <ALT> tag text in the <IMG SRC> tag. The <ALT> displays when a user places the mouse, in most browsers, over the image. We recommend that you give the Image Title and title attribute the same name.

8. Image Width (optional)
   

   Enter the width in pixels of the image specified for the Image Source URL. This attribute is optional; however, if you know the value, it helps to expedite the download process for your channel.

9. Image Height (optional)
   

   Enter the height in pixels of the image specified for the Image Source URL. This attribute is optional; however, if you know the value, it helps to expedite the download process for your channel.

10. Copyright Organization
    

    Enter the name of your organization. This information specifies the channel copyright.

11. Managing Editor E-mail Address
    

    Enter the e-mail address of the managing editor for the channel. This must be specified because the RSS parser automatically adds this e-mail address to the bottom of your channel. This e-mail address is provided so that people can contact someone in your organization if they happen to experience problems with your channel. Please note that the Portal Team is not responsible for the channel(s) you create.

12. Webmaster E-mail Address (optional)
    

    Enter the e-mail address of your Webmaster. This is used as a comment inside of the generated RSS and will not display in the channel.

13. Publication Date (optional)
    

    Enter the RSS channel publish date. This optional attribute is only used as a comment inside of the generated RSS and will not display in the channel.

14. Last Update Date (optional)
    

    Enter the last update date for the RSS channel.

15. RSS Items
    

    Enter the he RSS items that allow you to specify your content. There is a maximum of fifteen (15) items defined by the RSS specification. For each item, you must specify a title and a link to the page on your Web server that joins content with the title. As an option, you may also specify a description, which displays next to the item. Try to keep the size of your description to a minimum as longer descriptions take up Portal "real estate." After you enter your channel, click the <Submit button>.

Your Portal channel is now created! Please see the Wrap-up section for some final details.