RSS Aggregator > Support > Getting started

When you first install the Aggregator you will start monitoring just two feeds:

The RSS Aggregator feed. This wil keep you up-to-date with new versions of the Aggregator together with any ideas and suggestions for exploiting RSS and the Aggregator that we think will interest you.
The international news feed from the BBC.

The Aggregator will start bringing you news from these feeds as soon as you start running it. If you want, you can experiment with the different options by resetting these channels (right click on the channel description in the left hand pane of the main window). That will force the Aggregator to repeat all the latest alerts.

The default Aggregator settings will allow most people to start using the Aggregator straightaway. Some people, however, will encounter access control restrictions imposed by their firewalls (equipment or software that protects your PC from unauthorised access from the Internet) and proxy servers (equipment that routes data from your browser to and from the Internet). If you have access problems you will see the icon next to each channel shown in the main window change to a red 'Stop'. If you hover your mouse over each channel you will see more detail of the problem the Aggregator encountered.

If you run a firewall program such as ZoneAlarm you will normally be asked whether you want to allow the Aggregator to access the Internet. It is quite safe to allow access.

If the default settings do not allow requests to pass through the proxy server, you might have to update the settings (via the 'Poxy server' tab in the Options window). In particular if you do not normally use Internet Explorer as your browser you should copy your browser's proxy server settings to the Aggregator.

Having got the Aggregator running and having familiarised yourself with the way the Aggregator works, we suggest you track down some feeds. Click here for some suggestions for finding feeds that will interest you. If you find a feed that includes enclosures (also known as Podcasts) you should consider updating the general settings in the Aggregator's options window to allow you to download and run the enclosures.

You might also want to create one or more weather feeds. The Aggregator has support for the Weather Channel's feed built in. All you have to do is decide which locations you want to monitor (you can specify any US zip code or one of thousands of cities worldwide). The Aggregator's help text provides more information about adding your locations to the Aggregator.

As you start building your feeds you will start to build patterns of use for the Aggregator. After a while we suggest you review all the options available in the Aggregator to make sure it fits best with the way you work. If something strikes you as missing or could be implemented better let us know. We cannot guarantee to incorporate all suggestions but we'll be happy to do what we can.

Don't forget to include the settings file - by default: C:\Program Files\CITA\RSSA\Settings.rssa - in your backup procedure. If it helps, you can place the settings file somewhere else; click here for more details of how to do that.

You might want to spread the word! Let friends and colleagues know about RSS. The more people you know that use it, the better your chance of finding out about feeds that allow you to make the most of the technology. If you are in business, if you work for an organisation or if you are a member of a club or volunteer group, why not consider how it might benefit from using RSS. We'd be happy to help you or your organisation:

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