RSS Hub Help

Welcome to RSS Hub
How To Use RSS Hub
RSS Hub Features
Tips for Using RSS Hub

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RSS Hub is powered by Ilium Software NewsBreak. NewsBreak and Ilium Software are registered trademarks of Ilium Software, Inc. Microsoft, Microsoft Live Search, Windows, and ActiveSync are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Third-party product and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Welcome to RSS Hub

RSS Hub delivers breaking news headlines and podcasts to your Windows Mobile Device by monitoring Internet news sources and downloading the most current news updates and podcasts. You can choose from thousands of news sources, ranging from well-known publishers like Reuters and Yahoo! News to special-interest sources like Gizmodo and PocketPCThoughts.com. RSS Hub not only provides basic news, it can automatically refresh its information on a regular basis, scan the headlines for keywords and alert you about the news that interests you most.

How To Use RSS Hub

Channels, Headlines and Summaries
Creating New Channels
Channel List
Headline List
Summary View

Channels, Headlines and Summaries

A Channel, sometimes referred to as a feed, is a news source on the internet. Channels are usually associated with a web site and the channel provides a summary of what has changed recently on the site. For sites like Yahoo News, the channels provide a list of the most recent headlines. For other sites, like Woot.com, it includes both news items and an audio file (commonly referred to as a podcast). Each channel has a web address, also known as a URL.

Every channel contains a list of items that are updated from time to time. The items are usually short descriptions of news stories or short commentaries about the news. Each item usually contains a Headline, which is displayed in RSS Hub’s Headline List. Next there is a Summary, which provides the content of the news story ranging from a few sentences to the entire story depending on the source. The item also provides a link to the complete news story on the source web site.

Some items will also have an enclosure. Enclosures are files linked to the news item. The most common form of enclosure is an audio file, commonly referred to as a podcast, although enclosures might be videos, images, or any other file type.

For each channel you can tell RSS Hub how often the channel and associated podcasts should be refreshed. For example, the default refresh period is one hour. When RSS Hub refreshes channels, it will only download data for a channel if it has been longer than the refresh period since the channel was last downloaded. Keep in mind that some sources have a refresh limit. If an attempt to set a high refresh rate fails, it is likely that the channel has one of these limits in place.

RSS Hub supports channels that are in these formats: RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0 and Atom. Formats compatible with these formats (RSS 0.9, 0.91, 0.92, for example) are also supported.

Creating New Channels

To create a new channel, select Channel->New from the Menu soft key to start the New Channel Wizard. You can choose one of these four options:

- Choose from a list of known channels. Choose this option to pick channels from a provided list of popular news sources.
- Search online for Channels. Choose this option to search for a channel using Microsoft Live Search or the online database at www.Syndic8.com.
- Import from a file or URL (OPML). Choose this option to import channels from a .opml file that resides on your Pocket PC or on the Internet.
- I know the Channel's URL (RSS). Choose this option to enter the exact URL for the channel. This URL should be a link to a feed in a syndication format such as RSS or ATOM.

Choose from a List of Channels

When viewing a list of channels that you can add to RSS Hub, you can choose any of the channels in the list by checking its box. Sometimes channels are grouped under a category. You can check the box for the category to choose all the channels it contains. On the Pocket PC you can expand or collapse a category of channels by tapping on the category.

When you tap the Finish button, all the channels that are checked are added to your list of channels. If a channel is listed under a category, the channel will be added to a category of that name in your list. If you don't currently have a category of that name, RSS Hub will create one. If the channel is not under a category, it is added to the category you had selected prior to creating the new channel. If you don’t like the category the channel is in, you can change it after the channel is added.

Import Channels

You can import channels from a file on your Windows Mobile Device or from a list of channels on the Internet. In either case, the file must be in .opml format, a popular format for exporting and importing channel information. For example, you could export channel information from a news reader application on your Windows PC and copy the file to your Windows Mobile Device for importing.

- Import from file on Pocket PC. Choose this option to import from a file on you Pocket PC. The file must be in the My Documents folder or on a storage card. When you tap the Next button, RSS Hub will show you a list of .opml files on your Pocket PC to choose from. After you have chosen a file, you will see the list of channels from the file.
- Import from the Internet. Choose this option to import from a channel list on the internet. When you tap the Next button, you'll be able to enter the url of the list or choose one of the popular internet sites to import from.

Import from a URL

You may import channels from a list on the Internet by entering the URL of a channel list. You may also choose from a list of popular sites that provide channel lists. If you tap on a site in the list, the url of that site's list will be entered for you.

Please keep in mind that the URL must point to a file that contains channel data in .opml format. If you simply enter the URL for a web site it will probably contain HTML rather than channel data.

When you tap the Next button, RSS Hub will connect to the Internet and download the channel list. If the information is downloaded successfully, you'll see a list of channels to choose from.

Searching for Channels Online

Using Microsoft Live Search or the Syndic8.com database, you can search for channels about topics that you are interested in.

Microsoft Live Search is a comprehensive search engine from Microsoft with links to thousands of channels and news sources. Syndic8.com is a community-driven effort to gather syndicated news channels. You can choose which source you would like RSS Hub to search.

After you've entered and confirmed what you want to search for, RSS Hub will connect to the Internet and submit your search query. Up to 100 matches will be gathered and you’ll see a list of channels to choose from. Searches match text in any text field for a channel in the databases, including the channels' titles, descriptions, URLs and possibly other fields. You may end up with more matches than you want, so it pays to be specific when entering search criteria. Here are some tips on searching:

- The text you enter is matched literally, and it will match text within words as well as complete words. For example, if you search for "pda", you will get matches on the word "update", which contains "pda" and is very common in channels. To limit the search to just the word "pda", put a space before or after the word (or both).
- If you enter two or more words, the search will match that exact sequence of words, rather than matching each word anywhere in the channel.
- If you want to find out if there are any channels at a certain web site, enter the site’s URL as the search string. For example, "www.cnet.com". This will match the URL of any channel on that site.

Enter a Channel URL

If you know the complete URL for a channel, you can enter it directly. You can also enter a name for the channel or you can use Download Default Name button to download the channel name from the source. When you tap the DownLoad Default Name button, RSS Hub will connect to the Internet and attempt to download the channel data using the URL you have entered. The channel’s name is entered if it is found, but if the download is not successful no channel name is entered.

When you complete the process the channel is added to your list of channels. The channel is added to whichever category you were viewing when you created the new channel. You can change the channel’s category after the channel is added.

Channel List

The Channel List is the first thing you see when you start RSS Hub. This list shows all the channels you have added. In addition to the channel name, each channel has an icon on the left and the count of headlines for the channel on the right. Select a channel in the list to see the headlines for that channel.

The channel icon shows the state of the channel. If the channel icon has an orange background with a white image on it, the channel is updated or ready to update. If the channel icon has a white background with an orange image on it, the channel is currently updating.

The headline count shows both the number of new headlines and the total number of headlines for the channel. For example, the headline count would be 5/20 if there are 5 new headlines and 20 total headlines in the channel. Please notice that if you have turned on keyword filtering for the channel, the count of new headlines will include only new headlines matching keywords.

The current category name is shown in the upper left. Tap the category name to drop down a menu to pick a different category. Only channels from the current category are displayed.

You can select Channel->New from the Menu soft key to start the New Channel Wizard to add new channels.

If you choose Updated from the View sub-menu of the Menu soft key, the channel list will only include channels that contain unread headlines.

More about the Channel List:

- You can filter which channels are displayed by selecting View from the Menu soft key. Select Updated to only display those channels with unread headlines. Select All to show all the channels you've added to RSS Hub.
- You can manually refresh your channels by clicking the Refresh soft key.
- Set all the headlines for a particular channel as Read or Unread by selecting Mark as Read or Mark as Unread from the from the Menu soft key.
- Set all the channels in RSS Hub as Read or Unread by selecting Mark all as Read or Mark all as Unread from the from the Menu soft key.
- From the Options menu you can adjust RSS Hub's settings for Auto Update, Notify Options, Data Storage locations, or Keywords.
- The current category name is shown in the upper left. Tap the category name to drop down a menu to pick a different category. Only channels from the current category are displayed.
- Select the Categories menu to add, delete, or change categories.

Headline List

When you tap on a channel in the When you tap on a channel in the Channel List, the Headline List for that channel is displayed. Each item in the list tells you:

- The headline text
- The headline’s status
- An icon to show if the headline has an audio or video podcast associated with it
- An icon to show if the headline contains any of your Keywords
- The date and time that the Headline was posted

To see a summary of a headline, select the headline from the list and the headline summary will be displayed in Summary View.

You can tell the status and type of podcast by the associated button. Audio podcasts have a music note on their button while Video podcasts have a film cell.

You can tell the status of the enclosure by the button as well. A green circle with a downward pointing arrow indicates a podcast that is ready to download. A red circle with a white x indicates a podcast in the process of downloading. A blue circle on the button with a white arrow indicates a podcast that is ready to play.

When a headline first arrives, its status is new and Unread. The headline text for unread headlines is shown in bold, and the icon is a blue newspaper (if no keywords match the content of the headline.)

For headlines without an audio or video podcast attached to them, this status changes to Read as soon as you view the summary for that headline. For headlines that have an audio or video podcast attached to them, the headline remains Unread until you listen or view the podcast or manually mark the channel as read. The text for geadlines that are Read are in plain text and the icon is a gray newspaper (for headlines with no matching keywords.)

If a headline matches a keyword, the headline’s icon will be the icon for that keyword whether the headline is Read or Unread. If more than one keyword matches, the icon of the keyword closest to the top of your keyword list is used.

You can filter the Headline List to only display Unread headlines or to only display headlines with matching keywords or both. Select New Headlines Only from the View sub-menu of the Menu soft key to display only Unread headlines. Select Keyword Matches Only from the the View sub-menu of the Menu soft key to display only those headlines with matching keywords.

To refresh the Headline List manually, select Refresh from the Menu soft key.

Mark individual channels or the entire list as Read or Unread using the options available from the Menu soft key.

Switch between channels by pressing left or right on the 5-way pad. To return to the Channel List view, select the Channels soft key.

Summary View

When you tap on a headline in the Headline List, the summary for that headline is displayed. The Summary View shows the channel’s title, the headline status icon, the headline text, the item summary text and, if there is an enclosure or podcast associated with the headline, an icon for that enclosure.

The Summary View will usually contain a link to the complete story, labeled Read More Online..., and you can select this link on your mobile device to go to the complete story on the channel’s web site in Pocket Internet Explorer.

If the headline has an enclosure or podcast attached to it a button will appear on the screen. The button reflects the type of enclosure that is attached. Audio podcasts display a small music note on the button. Video enclosures show a strip of film on the button. Images display a small picture on the button. Other type of enclosures display a small paperclip on the enclosure.

You can tell the status of the enclosure by the button as well. A green circle with a downward pointing arrow indicates a podcast that is ready to download. A red circle with a white x indicates a podcast in the process of downloading. A blue circle on the button with a white arrow indicates a podcast that is ready to play.

If the item matches a keyword, the name of the keyword and its icon are shown at the bottom of the Summary View. If the item matches more than one keyword, only the keyword closest to the top of the keyword list is shown. RSS Hub looks for keyword matches in both the headline text and the summary text of the item.

From the Menu soft key you can set the Fit to Screen option, choose the Text Size and turn ClearType on or off.

From the Podcast sub-menu of the Menu soft key you can download, play, cancel, or delete podcasts. You can also choose Save Podcast to save a copy of a downloaded enclosure to the main memory or storage card of your device.

You can send a link to the headline by selecting the Send Link via Email item in the Menu soft key.

Switch to the Summary View for the next or previous headline by selecting Next Headline or Previous Headline from the Menu soft key or by clicking left or right on the 5-way pad. Return to the Headline List by selecting the Headlines soft key.

RSS Hub Features

Categories
Keywords
Auto Update
Notifications
Exporting Channels

Categories

RSS Hub allows you to organize your channels into categories. To view all the channels in a category, tap the category button in the tool bar at the upper left in the Channel List view and select the category you want to see from the drop down menu.

To add categories or delete existing categories, Select the Categories menu.

If you want to change the category for a certain channel, tap and hold on the channel and choose Change Category from the popup menu.

Keywords

You can supply a list of keywords to search for in the headlines and summaries that are downloaded for each channel. Select Options->Keyword. In the Keywords window you can add keywords and arrange them in priority order. You can assign an icon for each keyword.

Whenever new channels headlines and summaries are downloaded, RSS Hub will scan them for matches to the keywords in your list. If any keywords match, the headline is flagged with the icon for that keyword. If more than one keyword matches, the matching keyword closest to the top of the keyword list is used.

Advanced User Option: Custom Keyword Icons
You can now use your own custom icons with RSS Hub in addition to the ones that come with the product. For each icon, create a bitmap file (.bmp extension) that is 16 pixels wide by 16 pixels high (32 x 32 for hi-res Pocket PC devices and 22 x 22 for hi-res Smartphone devices). The icon should have a white background and all white areas of the image will be transparent. You can name your icon anything except for the names of the existing keyword icons. Each bitmap file should be placed in the Images folder which is located in the RSS Hub installation folder on your device. You can use the Explore feature of ActiveSync on your Windows PC to copy the files to your device.

Auto Update

You can have RSS Hub automatically update your channels on a regular basis. To set up options for auto update select Options->Update in the Channel List view.

In the Auto Update window, you can choose one of these options:

- No auto updating. If you choose this option, RSS Hub will not try to update your channels automatically. Whenever you want to update your channels, you must do it manually using the Refresh soft key or menu pick.
- When ActiveSync available. This option will only update your channels when your Windows Mobile device is connected to your PC via ActiveSync.
- Auto update when network is available. If you choose this option, RSS Hub will only try to update your channels when your Windows Mobile Device is connected to the Internet. That is, it will wait until the auto update period expires and then, when you are connected, it will update. If you are not connected at that time, it will wait until the next time a connection is made and then try to update.
- Automatically connect to update. If you choose this option, RSS Hub will initiate a connection to the Internet to update your channels whenever the auto update period expires. Please note that this option will only work properly if your Windows Mobile Device is configured with an Internet connection that can be established without any manual intervention. Connecting automatically may result in higher connection charges.

You can also choose the auto update period. The time you enter for Don't update more than once every will determine the amount of time RSS Hub will wait between updates.

RSS Hub uses both the auto update period you set here and the refresh period for each channel to determine when refreshes occur. When the auto update period expires and a network connection is available or can be made, RSS Hub checks each channel to see if it is time for that channel to be refreshed. A refresh for each channel will be initiated only if the refresh period for that channel has expired. Please note that Auto Update works best if you don’t close RSS Hub with a third party task manager or the Memory control panel. RSS Hub will be automatically launched when the time for an auto update arrives, but this works most reliably if you simply leave it running in the background (the normal state for applications on a Windows Mobile Device).

Note that depending on how you connect to the Internet with RSS Hub, connection charges from your phone carrier may apply.

Notifications

If you are using Auto Update to update your channels, you can also have RSS Hub notify you when new headlines arrive. To set this up, select Notify Options from the Options sub-menu of the Menu soft key in the Channel List.

In the Notify Options window, you can choose one of these options:

- No notifications. With this option there will be no notifications.
- Notify when new items are received. If you choose this option, you will be notified when a channel refresh results in new items being received for a channel.
- Notify when items matching keywords are received. If you choose this option, you will be notified only when new items are received and at least one of the new items matches one of your keywords.

You can customize the RSS Hub notifications by choosing Settings from the Start menu, tapping Sounds & Notifications, choosing the Notifications tab and selecting RSS Hub: New Items Received from the Select an event drop down list. You can then choose if want to play a sound, which sound to play, if you want a message displayed and if you want the light to be flashed (or perhaps other options, such as vibrate, depending on the capabilities of your Pocket PC).

Please note that the notification will occur only if RSS Hub is not currently showing on your Window Mobile Device's screen when new items are received.

Exporting Channels

You can export your channels to a .opml file by choosing Export from the Menu soft key (On a Windows Mobile 5.0 device, select Options then Export from the Menu soft key). You may want to export your channels in order to import them into an application on your Windows PC, or simply to make a backup copy of them.

After choosing the Export menu selection, enter a name for the file to export to and the channels will be exported.

Only channel data for the category you are viewing when you choose to export are exported.

You can import this data back into RSS Hub using the Import from File option when adding channels.

Tips for Using RSS Hub

- Use the New Channel Wizard's Import from a URL or Search Online option to find new channels you are interested in.
- Use Keywords to have RSS Hub identify just the news items you really want to know about. Filter by keyword in Summary View so only keyword matches will be shown. Set your Notify Options to notify you only when keyword matches are found.
- Use Auto Update to make sure your channels get refreshed frequently enough to keep you up to date.
- When your Pocket PC is in its cradle, it is capable of connecting to the Internet through your Windows PC's Internet connection. Use this capability to load up RSS Hub with new headlines so that you can take the headlines with you wherever you go. Auto Update works great with this passthrough connection.
- Look for channels that contain summaries that tell you what the story is about. Some channels have no summaries or very little summary for each channel item. If the summaries are complete enough, you can often learn all you want to know about a story without reading the actual article (which requires an internet connection). This also makes it easier to decide if you want to read the complete story.
- When you see an orange and white button labeled "XML" or "RSS" on a web site, this usually indicates that there is a channel available. Enter the URL the button links to into RSS Hub to access the channel.
- You can see the progress of the update in the status dialog box while viewing the list of channels. On the Pocket PC, you can see the status of an update by tapping the animated image in the upper right corner.
- A progress bar underneath a channel name in the Channel List lets you identify which channel is downloading a podcast and see the progress of that download.
- On your Pocket PC access many of RSS Hub's functions from the tap + hold menus.
- When downloading a podcast, the progress for that podcasts is shown at the bottom of the window for the associated Summary View and the channel's Headline List. In the Channel List view, the progress bar appears behind channel name.