Weekly Computer Tip # 255
10 January 2009

Display an RSS feed in Outlook (Outlook 2007)

Happy New Year and welcome to the first tip of 2009, which is inspired by Hilary Jeanes of PurpleLine Consulting (thanks, Hilary!) who asked whether it was possible to see her RSS feeds in Microsoft Outlook.

So what is RSS? Did you ever spot these orange thingies on a website, saying RSS? Well, instead of having to search through lots of web pages for information you want to see, RSS brings them to you in the form of a headline and a brief summary of the article. It stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary or RDF Site Summary (depending on who you believe) but what is clear is that it makes it easy for you to stay on top of what's happening on your favourite websites.

Here's how:

1. Select the Tools, Account Settings command
2. On the RSS Feeds tab, click New.
3. In the New RSS Feed dialog box, type or press CTRL+V to paste the URL of the RSS Feed. (For example, http://feeds.feedburner.com/jumbojoke to brighten up your day.)
4. Click Add.
5. Click OK.

These "feeds" go in an Outlook folder called RSS Feeds. And now for the bonus-tip: simply right-click the feed folder and select Add to Favorite Folders to be able to quickly access it from your favourite Outlook folders in the top part of your Navigation Pane.

Finally, I want to add one New Year resolution to your list: get trained! See http://www.roem.co.uk/course_schedule.php for a list of our current scheduled courses. If you cannot find the course you are looking for, drop me an email or pick up the phone for more information.

Until next week.

PS I’m committed to sharing the best of what I know with others so please don’t keep me a secret. If you enjoyed today’s tip, please forward it to anyone you feel may benefit. Alternatively, feel free to reprint it (with full copyright and subscription information) in your newsletters and message boards.

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