Monday's Mac Gadget
by John F. Braun

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Need to Create an RSS Feed? Check Out FeedForAll!

November 7th, 2005

FeedForAll Mac 1.5.1.2 ($39.95 Trialware)
NotePage, Inc.

RSS, which many agree stands for Real Simple Syndication, is a standard which allows one to distribute news and other information using a simple text file with a standard format. For a number of years, it was used to distribute mainly textual information, until the advent of RSS 2.0, which added support for enclosures. One result of this addition is the current Podcasting phenomenon. Since an RSS file is simply a text file, one could use a text editor, but this can get rather tedious. If only there was software specifically made to create RSS files...

FeedForAll Mac is an RSS file creator which helps you create an RSS file that is compatible with a number of applications, from news aggregation to Podcast feed definitions. For those who want to dig into the nuts and bolts of RSS, you can use the Download Feed feature to download an existing feed file and examine the pieces. FeedForAll organizes the elements of a feed into both required elements, which you must provide, and optional elements, which can add to the usefulness of your feed file.

FeedForAll Mac Feed Definition Screen

Once you define the feed, you'll probably want to add some items to the feed. This is accomplished in the Items section of the program, where you can define each individual item, which begins with simple text, but can also a pointer to an optional enclosure file. For the purposes of Podcasting, the enclosure is of course an MP3 or AAC audio file. Before downloading an RSS file, you may want to first examine the sample.xml file that comes with the program.

Whereas some may want full control over their RSS file, others may want to get up and running quickly. Fortunately, FeedForAll Mac has a Feed Creation Wizard which will guide you through the steps required to create a Standard RSS Feed, a Standard Podcast Feed, or a Podcast with support for iTunes feed. The wizard will then guide you through each step of defining your feed file, offering helpful hints along the way to help you understand what each part of the feed does.

Once you are done defining your feed file, FeedForAll Mac even offers the option of uploading the feed using either standard FTP, or FTPS which provides a secure channel for uploading your feed.

So start spreading the news, or launching your own Podcast, and give FeedForAll Mac a try today.

Have any other gadgets that you'd like to share? Just send an e-mail to John and he'll give it a try.

Monday's Mac Gadget is here to help you with those cool things that we all just have to have on our Macs. Shareware, Freeware, Postcardware, Emailware, and even commercial apps, Monday's Mac Gadget is here to help you find and use the best of these programs.

John is a software engineer who works in the corporate R&D group of a Fortune 500 company, focusing on all aspects of communications technology. He has several degrees that claim he knows what he's doing when it comes to computers. After watching co-workers reinstall Windows, search for device drivers, and experience other horrors during the day, he's glad that he comes home to a Mac (compatible) computer. Have any comments, suggestions, or favorite Gadgets? Drop John a line at

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