Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If you need help solving a problem you're having while using FeedForAll Mac, look below for a solution. If you can't find what you're looking for, try searching help using the box above, or click the link at the bottom of the page to go to the FeedForAll Support website (you need to be connected to the Internet).

What do the symbols in the shortcuts under the menus mean?

Where can I find a list of all the keyboard shortcuts?

Where can I find the RSS 2.0 specifications?

What is the difference between the Link field and the URL field on the Images tab?

I just uploaded my feed, why doesn't it show on my website?

How can I copy an item from one feed to another?

I have two podcasts with different format audio files. Do I have to retype everything into the second podcast?

How can I make "sub-feeds" that only contain some of the items that are in my main feed?

What is smart date?

Should I save my file as an .rss or .xml? What is the difference?

I would like to add two informational fields using a namespace: one for the channel and one for each item of the channel (ie a private id used to join other items in db). How can I do that? Do I have to write a DTD file? and how?

Question: What do the symbols in the shortcuts under the menus mean?

Answer: The symbols in the menus tell you which modifiers to use in the keystrokes for shortcuts.
They are: Command ⌘, Option ⌥, Shift ⇧, Control ⌃, and Return ↩.

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Question: Where can I find a list of all the keyboard shortcuts?

Answer: A list of all the keyboard shortcuts are located here in an easy viewable chart.
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Question: Where can I find the RSS 2.0 specifications?

Answer: RSS 2.0 specifications are located on the Harvard Law Website at http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss.
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Question: What is the difference between the Link field and the URL field on the Images tab?

Answer: The Link field is the web address of a webpage that has information that relates to this feed. In most cases the Link field should be the same as the Link field on the Feeds tab. The URL field is the web address of the image file itself.
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Question: I just uploaded my feed, why doesn't it show on my website?

Answer: The Feed Path is the path on the FTP server in relation to the folder you are placed into, by default, when you log onto the FTP server. This is not a URL (i.e. not http://www.myserver.com/). If your web pages reside in the folder that you are place in when you log onto the FTP server, then this field should be left blank. Otherwise, it may look something like 'public_html/'. There are also two things to take notice of. First, on FTP servers the path separator is a forward slash '/' not a backslash like on Windows computers. Second, you shouldn't start the path with a slash '/' unless you are sure you know the full path to the destination folder from the root of the FTP server's directory.
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Question: How can I copy an item from one feed to another?

Answer: FeedForAll Mac has an import feature. With this you can quickly and easily import items from any valid feed into the feed you are currently working with. Step-by-step instructions can be found in the "Import Tutorial".
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Question: I have two podcasts with different format audio files. Do I have to retype everything into the second podcast?

Answer: No you don't. Using FeedForAll Mac's import feature, you can copy the item or items from the first feed into the second. Then you only have to make the few changes that make the podcasts different. Step-by-step instructions can be found in the "Import Tutorial".
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Question: How can I make "sub-feeds" that only contain some of the items that are in my main feed?

Answer: Using FeedForAll Mac's import feature, you can copy the newly added items into each feed. Step-by-step instructions can be found in the "Import Tutorial".
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Question: What is smart date?

Answer: The button next to the Pub Date field with the calendar and wand is a Smart Date button. It's default behavior is to insert the current date and time into the Pub Date field. However it can be a whole lot smarter than that. The Smart Date button can be programmed to automatically advance the Pub Date to the next date and time that you want your published date to be. For example if you put out a newsletter every Monday at 9:00 AM, you could program the Smart Date button to automatically advance the Pub Date to the next Monday at 9:00 AM. This is very useful for people who want to be able to create/update their feed beforehand, but not let it be published until the normal publish date and time. The Smart Date button can be programmed to set the Pub Date to things like:

The Smart Date button is simple to setup: From the menu choose FeedForAll -> Preferences. Then choose the Current Feed and the Smart Date tabs. From the drop-down lists, simply choose the date and time option you want. You can also set a default Smart Date behavior for all feeds by choosing the All Feeds and Smart Date tabs.
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Question: Should I save my file as an .rss or .xml? What is the difference?

Answer: FeedForAll Mac supports reading both extensions. However, .xml is more widely used, and probably a better choice. Programs that can read XML files (i.e. browsers) will automatically know what to do with the .xml extension, but probably won't recognize the .rss extension. Therefore FeedForAll Mac only allows saving the file with the .xml extension.
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Question: I would like to add two informational fields using a namespace: one for the channel and one for each item of the channel (ie a private id used to join other items in db). How can I do that? Do I have to write a DTD file? and how?

Answer:
First a note to those who aren't very familiar with RSS and namespaces:

The RSS specification allows you to create and use your own custom elements (tags) in any RSS feed, by declaring your own namespace. Doing this is 100% in line with the RSS specification and the feed will validate. However, you should have a specific and well-planned reason to do so. No RSS readers, or other RSS processing applications will be able to use your custom info for any purpose. Adding elements (tags) would typically only be used in an in-house solution where the writing application and the reading application have prior knowledge of the new tags.

Now, here's how you can do it:

First you will want to create a namespace declaration for your new custom namespace. In FFA, go to the Feeds tab, and then to the Extensions tab. Click the + (plus symbol) button to bring up the Edit XML Namespace screen. Enter a name for your namespace (typically a short abbreviation), and a DTD URL. The DTD URL must be a valid URL, but it doesn't really matter what webpage it points to. It must be unique from all the other namespace DTD URLs, but a valid DTD document at that location, is not required. The RSS specification does not require a valid DTD document to exist, for the namespace declaration to be valid. What is important is that the namespace name and DTD url be unique.

After you accept your changes, a new tab will appear under the Extensions tab for the feed, image, and all your items. Because the new namespace is not recognized as a "well supported" namespace by FFA, you will be required to enter raw XML in your new namespace tabs, with the data you wish to use. At this point you can pretty much make up the tag names you want to use (prefixed with your namespace name and a colon). Just make sure you use valid XML syntax (ie. close the tags you open, etc.)

For example, if I wanted to create a new namespace for our in-house use here, I might to something like this:

Namespace Name: ffa
Namespace DTD URL: http://www.FeedForAll.com/ffa-dtd/

Sample XML in new ffa extension tab:
<ffa:BirthDate>02/02/1992</ffa:BirthDate>


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Although we would love to be able to answer every possible question here, we can't. There is a wealth of information on the FeedForAll website and in the Forum. If you are still having difficulty finding a solution please feel free to contact a FeedForAll Mac representative.