Declaring retrieve and display variables for RSS connections

Every script that defines an RSS connection must start with a declaration of the variables that are used to specify how to retrieve and display items in the RSS feed. Use the <declareRSS> tag to define the variables.

About this task

Note: If you customize the RSS connection to include personalization fields, you must declare the personalization fields separately with the <declarePF> tag.

The system automatically populates the <declareRSS> tag with values that you enter in the Retrieve and Display Options window or with the script editor. If you create the script in a separate text editor, configure the <declareRSS> tag manually.

The <declareRSS> tag appears in the RSS script before the <scriptBody> tag. Declare variables for the connection as follows.

Procedure

  1. Open the script editor. Click RSS edit options to edit the Summary or Detailed display format. You can also click Preview in the Content Connector and select the RSS Display Format tab.
  2. In the <declareRSS> tag, enter values for the following variables.

    source=“< The path to the XML file that creates the feed>" Populated by default with the path that is specified in the RSS feed field in the Content Connector. (Required)

    Example: source="http://example.com/news/feed.atom"

    feedName="<Name to identify the feed>" Used as a prefix for fields in the header. The default value is rss. (Required)

    Example: feedName="rss"

    sendMin="< minimum number of items that must be present to send the message>"

    Example: sendMin="3"

    dateRange="<the amount of time to look back in the RSS feed for items to retrieve>" Enter quantity as a number and a single character to specify unit of time as H (hours), D (days), W (weeks), or M (months).

    Example: dateRange="6W"

    maxRows="<maximum number of row that display in the message>" The default value is 5. (Required)

    Example: maxRows="5"

    Using the sample variables, the completed declaration appears as follows.

    <declareRSS source="http://example.com/news/feed.atom" feedName="rss" sendMin="3" dateRange="6W" maxRows="5"/>

    Note: Do not leave a space between the final variable (in this example, maxRows="5") and the closing tag for <declareRSS>. Adding an extra space causes an error.
  3. Click Update Preview to see the results of your changes.
  4. Click Save as Custom to save your changes.
    In the Content Connector, the Custom option is enabled.