Feed the masses csvs - get updated csvs automatic

This article is about a feature of VG which enables you to automatically get information about new and updated csvs. You basically do not have to do anything besides having your box on.

The feature is called RSS and it is an abbrevation for Really Simple Syndication. Which basically is a way to gather information from the internet into an easier, more readable and direct way.

RSS is sometimes referred to as Web Feeds, and what basically goes on is that the server(s) you subscribe to with RSS automatically updates a piece of information which your Internet Browser (yes it is RSS enabled) or your RSS program picks up and serves to you when you see fit, and without all the jazz and hazzel of you having to go to the website and click through a few pages to get the information.

RSS is most often free of charge, and in this case it is totally free, nobody will charge you anything.

So, back to business. If you want to subscribe to the RSS feed from VG then you have to have access to the site. And if you do, then you should click the link called RSS link.

Click: RSS link

The next which happends is that your browser changes to the webpage shown below and there you can see the way IE presents VG's RSS feed. On this page you click Subscribe to this feed. Which makes IE remember that you have a feed you have subscribed too and that IE should check for updated news ever now and then (you can change the schedule later).

Click: Subscribe to this feed

You will then be presented with a small dialog box which enables you to put your RSS feed subscribtions into different folders. Default is choosen in the example.

Click: Subscribe

You've now subscribed and the web page changes slightly. There are 3 things of interest besides that you now can see the last 50 updates to csvs on the VG site.

The first thing is the Star in the upper left corner, it is where you can re-find the RSS feeds you've subscribed too - so, it is like your RSS favorites.

The second thing of interest is the green arror pointing to the right, alongside the attachment marker next to the text retreive. Both are clickable links which enables you to save the csv in question to your harddrive.

The last thing of interest is the possibility to change the settings (properties) of the VG feed.

Click: Retrieve to download the csv

If you click 'View feed properties' then you will be presented with a dialog like shown below. There you can change the frequency of how often IE check wether there has arrived new stuff on VG - default is every 30mins. DO NOT SET IT LOWER, it is simply unnessary.

You can also configure IE to automatically download the attached files, in this case the csv file itself. DO NOT CHOOSE TO DOWNLOAD ALL ATTACHMENTS, IT WILL KILL THE SERVER. And that will force the prople at VG to either remove the RSS feed or something nasty.

Click: OK

That is all, VG information and csvs directly to you, without all the other stuff and need to browse around.