Using RSS Feeds in Microsoft Outlook 2010

Adding RSS Feeds to Outlook

To add a new RSS feed from a site to your Outlook 2010 RSS Feeds folder, you will first have to determine the appropriate URL for the site or for the specific feed from the site (as many sites have more than one RSS feed). Typically, RSS feeds are indicated by an RSS feed icon on the page.

To add a new RSS feed to Outlook 2010, do the following:

1. Right-click the RSS Feeds folder in the Navigation pane, and then select Add A New RSS Feed, as shown in Figure 16-1.

   

   Figure 16-1 Right-click the RSS Feeds folder to begin adding a new feed.

2. The New RSS Feed dialog box is displayed, as shown in Figure 16-2. This is the location to type (or paste) the URL of the RSS feed that you want to add. In this example, the URL for the MSDN Web site RSS feed is used. Click Add to add the URL of the new RSS feed.

   

   Figure 16-2 Enter the URL of the new RSS feed that you want to add.

3. You are then asked to confirm whether to add this URL as a new RSS feed and warned that you should add RSS feeds only from sources that you trust, as shown in Figure 16-3. Clicking Yes adds the RSS feed using default values.

   

   Figure 16-3 A verification is requested, with an Advanced option for additional control over the RSS feed.

4. Click Advanced to access further control over the RSS feed. Once the site is accessed, the RSS Feed Options dialog box is displayed, as shown in Figure 16-4, enabling you to change the following aspects of the RSS feed:

   • General The General area displays the name of the feed (as shown in Outlook 2010), the Channel Name, the Location (the URL entered to access the RSS feed), and the Description provided by the RSS feed source. The Feed Name box lets you change the name of the feed displayed in the Outlook 2010 RSS Feeds folder.

   • Delivery Location The Delivery Location area displays the location within the Outlook 2010 mailbox as well as the path on the drive and the file name of the Outlook 2010 data file storing the folder. Clicking the Change Folder button in this area opens the New RSS Feed Delivery Location dialog box, which lets you create a new folder or select a new Outlook 2010 data file to store the RSS feeds in.

   • Downloads The Downloads area includes two options specifying how Outlook 2010 deals with downloading RSS information (both are not selected by default): The Automatically Download Enclosures For This Feed option enables the automatic downloading of attachments connected to articles in this feed. The Download The Full Article As An .html Attachment To Each Item option instructs Outlook 2010 to handle the articles in this RSS feed automatically by downloading the complete articles as .html attachments.

   • Update Limit The Update This Feed With The Publisher’s Recommendation check box in the Update Limit area (selected by default) sets the timing of updates to the RSS feed to be controlled by the publisher, using the update time specified by the source of the RSS feed.

   

   Figure 16-4 The RSS Feed Options dialog box lets you set the name, location, and update limit as well as control what is downloaded in the RSS feed.

5. After you have completed setting the options in the RSS Feed Options dialog box, click OK to return to the confirmation dialog box shown in Figure 16-3. Click Yes to confirm the addition of the RSS feed.