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RSS Feed

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“There are two types of Internet users. Those who use RSS feeds, and those who don't.”

It's true. Once you grasp how useful RSS feeds are, it changes the way you keep updated online.

What is RSS?
RSS is an easy way to be notified of new events. Often used by news websites, it provides a method of delivering event notifications in an organised and non-intrusive manner. (An alternative would be email but imagine getting 100 email messages a day each containing a news headline!). With RSS, you subscribe to a website, blog or web application such as CampControl and the events are sent to your RSS reader (note both IE7 and Outlook are RSS readers) for your review when you have time. What's more is that you can subscribe to many RSS feed enabled websites (that you find interesting) and not be overwhelmed by the information coming at you. For this reason, RSS Feed Readers are called aggregators as they colate information coming from possibly many sources.

The icon used to denote an RSS enabled website is: . You can see it above in your browser toolbar. If it's greyed out it means the website you're visiting is not RSS enabled.

Put another way, RSS is just a signal that comes from a favourite blog or site, telling your computer that it has been updated. If you have an RSS reader (and they're free and easy, and two of the easiest live on the web so you don't even have to install anything), whenever a blog is updated, it shows up in your reader and you can catch up on the news. If there's nothing new, it doesn't show up and you don't have to waste time surfing around.

RSS solves a problem for people who regularly use the web. It allows you to easily stay informed by retrieving the latest content from the sites you are interested in. You save time by not needing to visit each site individually. You ensure your privacy, by not needing to join each site's email newsletter. [quote from http://www.whatisrss.com]

By the way, RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication' (also called 'Rich Site Summary'). We put this at the end of the section as the name is not helpful in understanding what it does (and makes it sound too complicated to use!).

Which Feed Reader should I use?
The choice is up to you. Most popular browsers have an RSS Reader integrated and, as mentioned above, Outlook has one too. Google and Yahoo also have available. There are many free readers/aggregators available for download, simply enter 'RSS Feed Reader' in Google (or click http://www.google.com/search?q=RSS+Feed+Reader). Windows 7 (and Vista) have an integrated Feed Reader on the desktop. They come standard on BlackBerries and iPhones too.

For detailed information on using IE as your feed reader, see http://www.ie-vista.com/rss.html.

Using online feed readers have the advantage of being accessible from any computer you're using. In contrast, if you're using a local feed reader you're confined to reading your RSS Feeds on that computer.

Using RSS in CampControl
A number of events occur in CampControl, e.g. an order is placed, an order is purchased, a task is assigned to you, a sample shipment is on it's way to you, etc. Using email to stay abreast of these events can become overwhelming. RSS is ideal for this purpose.

Due to the highly customised nature of feeds in CampControl, each user has a unique feed providing only information the user is interested in. To configure your notifications, see Notification Preferences.

To set up your CampControl account to provide RSS Feeds:

Go to Admin -> Edit Profile -> Change Notifications. On this page, the RSS icon will be coloured (see note box above).
If you wish to use your browser as the aggregator, click the RSS icon and then 'Subscribe to this feed' (see 'Which Feed Reader should I use' above).
Select 'RSS Event Feed' as your preferred method of notification.
Check/tick the notifications you're interested in and, optionally, if you don't want to be informed about all locations you're designated to, select the locations that you're interested in.
Click 'Save' at the end of the page.