The Windows RSS Platform was updated for Internet Explorer 8. This page provides a brief overview of new features.

Overviews

Subscribing to Content with Web Slices

Today, many Web sites provide content updates through Really Simple Syndication (RSS) news feeds. This requires a Web site to duplicate some content as a special XML file, called a feed, that a news reader application can download and check for updates. In contrast, a Web Slice enables users to subscribe to content directly within a Web page; a separate feed file is not required. Users monitor content changes and view the updated portion of the Web page directly from the Favorites bar (the improved Links toolbar) of Internet Explorer.

Web Slice Format Specification - Version 0.9

A Web Slice allows users to subscribe to a portion of a Web page. The Web Slice format consists of the minimum HTML annotations necessary to enable the publication and consumption of a mutable item on a Web page. Web publishers can use this format in conjunction with properties from hAtom Microformat  to make portions of a Web page subscribe-able.

Web Slice Icon Guidelines

Guidelines for using the Web Slice icon in content.

New Features

• Authenticated Feeds
• Effective ID

Authenticated Feeds

In Internet Explorer 8, the Windows RSS Platform can now perform authentication without user interaction. Username and password can be set in the Properties dialog box of the feed.

The following authentication methods are now supported in addition to NTLM and Kerberos:

• HTTP Authentication: BASIC authentication over Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), and DIGEST protocols.
• Cookies: Cookie-based authorization requires the user to navigate to the Web site to get a cookie first, and again each time the cookie expires.

When the Windows RSS Platform makes the HTTP request to download a feed, the server might respond with an HTTP 401 code to indicate both that authentication is required and which authentication schemes are supported. The Windows RSS Platform will then make another request with the appropriate authentication protocol. If authentication fails again, the download is interrupted and an error is returned.

Effective ID

The Windows RSS Platform uses a hash algorithm to produce a unique ID that can be used to identify feed items. Ultimately, the same item will have the same key even when downloaded to two different computers. This EffectiveId can be used to synchronize the item's read and unread states between computers, or to compare items from the Common Feed List with those in other feed storage mechanisms.

The following properties and methods are new for Internet Explorer 8.

Methods/Properties

Answers to Web Slice Tutorial Exercises

This page contains suggested answers to exercise questions.

ClearCredentials

Clears the user name and password used to authenticate the feed.

EffectiveId

Retrieves the effective ID for this item.

GetItemByEffectiveId

Retrieves a feed item referenced by its effective ID.

LastItemDownloadTime

Gets the most recent download time for all feed items.

LESSON 1: Adding Web Slices to a Web page

This tutorial explains how to add Web Slices to Web pages.

LESSON 2: Adding visible content to your Web Slice

This tutorial explains how to add Web Slice content that appears in the preview window on the Favorites bar.

LESSON 3: Setting an expiration time

This tutorial explains how to add an expiration time to a Web Slice.

LESSON 4: Setting a time-to-live (TTL) value

This tutorial explains how to limit the frequency of Web Slice updates.

LESSON 5: Getting Web Slice content from an RSS feed source

This tutorial explains how to create an alternate feed source for a Web Slice.

LESSON 6: Using a custom button to install a Web Slice

This tutorial explains how to create a customized user experience for your site.

Password

Gets the password used to authenticate the feed.

SetCredentials

Sets the user name and password used to authenticate the feed.

Username

Retrieves the user name used to authenticate the feed.