# RSSOwl - Frequently asked questions

http://www.rssowl.org en-en 2003-2006 RSSOwl Development Team

# RSSOwl @ SourceForge.net

http://sourceforge.net/sflogo.php?group_id=86683&type=1 http://www.rssowl.org

# Is there any tutorial available?

Please select "Tutorial" from the "Help" menu or press "F1" on Windows.

# I am not sure if I use the newest RSSOwl Version

Perform an update check at "Help" > "Check for update"<br /><br /> By default RSSOwl automatically checks for a new version after startup.<br /> This setting may be changed at "Tools" > "Preferences" > "General" > "Check for Updates after startup"

# Where do I find RSS / RDF / Atom Newsfeeds?

<ol> <li>Use the Newsfeed search engine to search by keywords ("Tools" > "Search for Newsfeeds")</li> <li>Use the Discover Newsfeed search engine to search on a website ("Tools" > "Discover Newsfeeds on Website")</li> <li>Search at Newsfeed search sites and archives such as: <ul> <li>http://www.newsisfree.com</li> <li>http://www.weblogs.com/</li> <li>http://www.rss-verzeichnis.de/</li> </ul> </li> </ol>

# How do I import an OPML file into RSSOwl?

Please choose "File" > "Import From OPML..." and enter the file into the dialog. RSSOwl will create a new category filled with all newsfeeds from the OPML.

# Updating from previous Versions

Updating an existing RSSOwl is very easy!<br /><br /> All settings and favorites should be stored in your user-home directory in a folder called ".rssowl" that is independant from RSSOwl's installation folder.<br /><br /> On Windows ".rssowl" should be located in "/Documents and Settings/user.name/.rssowl". On Linux / Solaris take a look at "~/.rssowl", from the console by typing "cd ~/.rssowl". On Mac the folder is located in "~/Library/Preferences/rssowl".<br /><br /> In the case you are able to locate that folder simply copy the new RSSOwl into the same folder of the old RSSOwl, overwriting it.<br /><br /> In the case you are not able to locate that folder simply run the old RSSOwl, goto "Preferences" and perform "Export Settings". That export also includes your favorites. In the new RSSOwl goto "Preferences" and select "Import Settings". That's it :).

# What are the requirements to use the Internal Browser?

Requirements on Windows: Internet Explorer 5 and above<br /> Requirements on Linux: Mozilla 1.4 GTK2 and above<br /> Requirements on Mac: Panther OS X.3, Safari based<br /><br /> Please read the topic "What do I need to run the Internal Browser on Linux?" in this FAQ how to enable Mozilla as internal browser for RSSOwl on Linux.<br /><br /> The Internal browser is currently not supported on Solaris.<br /><br /> The default browser is executed automatically if the internal browser is not installed. The browser will open outside of RSSOwl.<br /><br /> If you want to use any other browser than the default, please goto "Tools" > "Preferences" > "Browser" and enter the path to the executable of your browser. RSSOwl will pass the URL as argument to the executable.

# What do I need to run the Internal Browser on Linux?

For a very detailed answer, please refer to the official <a href="http://www.eclipse.org/swt/faq.php#browserlinux">Eclipse FAQ</a><br /><br /> A supported version of Mozilla must be installed (1.4 GTK2 or above 1.4).<br /><br /> Set the environment variable MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME to your Mozilla installation folder. e.g. setenv MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME /usr/lib/mozilla<br /><br /> Set the environmnent variable LD_LIBRARY_PATH to include MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME. e.g. setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH ${MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME}:${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}<br /><br /> On Mandrake 9.1, use:<br /><br /> export MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME=/usr/lib/mozilla<br /> export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:${MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME}:${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}<br /><br /> RSSOwl can now use the Browser widget.<br /><br /> If the Browser is still not working, please refer to the official <a href="http://www.eclipse.org/swt/faq.php#browserlinux">Eclipse FAQ</a>

# How is it possible to quickly close tabs?

Simply double-click on the tab to have it closed.<br /><br /> The other close-operations are performed when having Ctrl / Command or the Shift Key pressed while double-clicking:<br /><br /> Double-click with pressed Ctrl / Command Key: Perform "Close Others"<br /> Double-click with pressed Shift Key: Perform "Close All Except Feeds"

# How is it possible to hide the splashscreen on startup?

To hide the splash-screen that shows up on startup of RSSOwl, pass -showSplash false to the rssowl.exe on Windows and -Dnet.sourceforge.rssowl.noSplash on other operating systems to the java.exe call.

# Windows: Howto disable click sounds of internal browser?

Disabling the click sound when using the internal browser is possible from within the control panel. Goto sounds and find "Start Navigation" and "Complete Navigation" and set the sound to "none".

# I am using a slow modem connection. Any Tips?

When you are using a slow modem connection you should modify some settings in "Connection" preferences. Decrease the number of maximum parallel connections and increase the connection timeout.

# Which newsfeed formats are supported?

RSSOwl is supporting RSS versions 0.91, 0.92 and 2.0, RDF version 1.0, Atom Syndication Format 0.3 / 1.0 and OPML.

# I miss the possibility to print newstext

The graphic library that RSSOwl uses supports printing only on Windows and Mac. As SWT is developed to new versions, printing will be possible in the future and then activated in RSSOwl on Linux. <br /><br /> Until then, please use the export feature to print PDF or RTF documents with your favorite reader.

# The language I chose is not displayed correctly

Please make sure that the font that is selected in "Tools" > "Preferences" > "General" > "Fonts" supports the special characters of the selected language. In the case of Japanese or Chinese please select a Unicode Font, for example Arial Unicode MS.

# How does RSSOwl indicate unread news are available?

Any unread news are displayed with a bold font-style in the list of news-headers. In addition, any favorite containing unread news will indicate this by having a blue-colored lens (instead of a white one) left to its title in the tree and a bold font style. All parent categories of that favorite will change to an icon with a small letter filled folder and bold font style too. This allows to easily see which categories contain favorites with unread news. Additionaly if RSSOwl is minimized to tray, the icon changes to an Owl overdrawn by a green arrow.

# Is it possible to load a newsfeed on startup?

There are several ways to have RSSOwl open newsfeeds on startup: <br /><br /> 1.) Right-click on any favorite and select "Open on startup" in the properties dialog. Any favorites with this option selected will open after startup automatically. <br /><br /> 2.) Select "Re-Open last opened feeds on startup" in "Tools > Preferences > General". This will automatically reopen the feeds that where opened after exit on startup. <br /><br /> 3.) The application is accepting one argument. If the parameter is a valid URL or an existing local file, RSSOwl will open it as newsfeed. For example: <br /><br /> "java -jar rssowl.jar http://www.myrss.com/rss.xml" <br /><br /> If you use a script to start RSSOwl, please edit it and add the parameter.

# Is it possible to open the news of an entire category in one tab?

Rightclick on a category and select "Aggregate Favorites". You may also perform a fulltext search on all favorites of the category and sub-categories using "Search".

# Is it possible to update feeds automatically in a certain period?

Right-click on a favorite and select an update interval in "Auto Reload" of the properties dialog. You may also select to update the feed on startup of RSSOwl.

# Is it possible to use RSSOwl on a different PC and keep my settings?

All settings and favorites are saved in the "user.xml". Usually this file is stored in your home directory in ".rssowl/". <br /><br /> The easiest way is to export the settings and import them in RSSOwl on your other computer ("Tools" > "Preferences" > "Export Settings", "Import Settings").

# Is it possible to read the news after going offline?

One way is described in "What does "Save As" do?". You may also use each newsfeed offline that you have opened while being online. RSSOwl saves each opened newsfeed in memory.

# Is it possible to use a proxy server with RSSOwl?

Please goto "Tools" > "Preferences" > "Connection" and enter host, port and if required username and password of your proxy server. The proxy server is now used for every Newsfeed you open. <br /><br /> See topic "Is it possible to disable the usage of a proxy for some favorites?" how to disable the usage of the proxy for certain favorites.

# Is it possible to disable the usage of a proxy for some favorites?

Yes. Just rightclick on a category or favorite in the tree displayed on the left side and select "Properties" > "Use proxy". Click once to remove the check mark. If you (de-)check the "Use proxy" setting in a category all favorites in all subcategories are affected. <br /><br /> To disable use of the proxy for a Blogroll, simply rightclick on one of the categorys that holds the Blogroll and (de-)check the "Use Proxy" setting in "Proxy".

# Is it possible to read Newsfeeds from a source that needs authentification?

If RSSOwl attempts to open a newsfeed from a site that is protected with a username and password it opens a dialog for you to authenticate. After a successfull authentification the newsfeed is displayed.

# What is the meaning of "Aggregate Favorites"

The "Aggregate Favorites" feature appears in the popupmenu on the tree holding the favorites after right-click on any category. RSSOwl will aggregate all news from all sub-categorys of the selected category into one tab. You may also search in the list of aggregated news. An export to PDF, RTF or HTML is possible too.

# What does "Save As" do?

If you have an opened RSS newsfeed in the tabfolder you may save the entire newsfeed to a local XML file. You may open the file later with "Open File" in "Quickview" or just by adding a favorite with the path to the file.

# I get an error after I try to open a XML. What could be the problem?

Several things may go wrong when trying to open a XML: <br /><br /> - Please make sure that the URL / Path you entered leads to an existing file<br /> - Please make sure that the file is a valid and wellformed RSS, RDF or Atom XML document<br />

# An icon of one favorite has changed to a lens with a red cross in it

If RSSOwl was unable to load the favorite, the icon changes to indicate that you should check the URL / Path you entered. When the favorite was loaded successfully, the icon changes back to the normal lens again.

# How to specify the path RSSOwl should use to store the profile

In order to tell RSSOwl in which directory to store settings (profile) you have to execute RSSOwl like this:<br /> "javaw -Duser.home=[Path to Dir] -Djava.library.path=. -jar rssowl.jar"<br /><br /> The [Path to Dir] must point to an existing directory. Windows user are able to use the "-profile [Path to Dir]" parameter to the "rssowl.exe".

# What are Blogrolls?

A Blogroll is a file that stores RSS / RDF / Atom newsfeeds. The file may be accessed from RSSOwl with entering the path into the new Blogroll. After successfull loading of the Blogroll it displays the favorites (and categorys if existing) in the tree on the left side. Blogrolls allow sharing of favorites with other people.

# How do I create Blogrolls that other may subscribe to?

Just rightclick on a category in the tree on the left side and choose "Export" > "To OPML File" and select a path where to save the file. The file will contain all subcategories and favorites of the selected category. Place the file for example on a webserver and give the URL to your friends. They will be able to subscribe to that file and see the favorites in RSSOwl.

# What are "empty news"?

An empty news is a news with no description. Select "Open empty news in browser automatically" in "Tools" > "Preferences" > "General" to open the URL of the news directly when selecting it.

# What are "Newsfeed infos"?

Newsfeed infos are informations about the newsfeed. Those may be language, description, image, link to the newspage, and so on. They show up as expandable box on top of the list of news headlines when displaying a feed.

# What does "Reload" do?

RSSOwl will reload the selected newsfeed from the URL / Path (Ctrl+R).

# How do I manage my favorites?

Just rightclick on an element in the tree on the left side and use the popup menue. You may also use the "File" > "New" menu. All elements of the favorites tree support Drag and Drop. That allows an easy management of favorites and categories.

# What is the difference between creating a new category or a new subcategory?

Creating a subcategory will create a new category as a child of the selected one.<br /> Creating a category will create a new category on the same level of the selected one.

# What arguments are accepted by rssowl.exe?

To specify the Java Virtul Machine that should be used to execute RSSOwl, use the optional parameter "-vm=". For example "rssowl -vm=C:/j2sdk_1_4_1". The exe will then look into the folder "bin" searching for the "javaw.exe". <br /><br /> To set the path RSSOwl should use to store its profile, use the -profile [directory] argument. The [directory] must point to an existing directory. <br /><br /> To hide the splash-screen that shows up on startup of RSSOwl, pass -showSplash false to the executable. <br /><br /> To let RSSOwl open a newsfeed on startup, simply append the location. For example "rssowl http://www.myrss.com/rss.xml".

# I found a bug. What should I do?

http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=86683&atid=580502 Please visit the RSSOwl bugtracker @ SourceForge and post your bug

# I miss a feature that would be cool to have

http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=86683&atid=580505 Please visit the RSSOwl Feature Request database: http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=86683&atid=580505

# I would like to translate RSSOwl to a new language

We are always interested for new translations. Feel free to contact us: bpasero@rssowl.org

# How do I get in contact with the RSSOwl development team?

http://sourceforge.net/forum/?group_id=86683 Please visit our forum at: http://sourceforge.net/forum/?group_id=86683 <br /><br /> A public mailing list is available at: http://lists.sourceforge.net/mailman/listinfo/rssowl-users <br /><br /> We are also present in IRC at #rssowl in irc.freenode.net<br /><br /> You may also contact us via eMail: bpasero@rssowl.org

# Is there any public mailinglist available for RSSOwl users?

http://lists.sourceforge.net/mailman/listinfo/rssowl-users Please visit http://lists.sourceforge.net/mailman/listinfo/rssowl-users

# I have a question that is not answered in this FAQ. What can I do?

http://sourceforge.net/forum/?group_id=86683 Please visit the RSSOwl forum: http://sourceforge.net/forum/?group_id=86683 or the public mailing-list: http://lists.sourceforge.net/mailman/listinfo/rssowl-users <br /><br /> Feel free to post any questions.