investigating Adding an RSS feed from my own site into an activity page on my own site

I'm working with the Ningja skin...

I have noticed that after installing the Feeds module, an RSS button appears next to Group discussions. So I got the full feed URL for one of these and now I want put this into a profile-independent network activities page, if that is possible. I expect not.

I probably have to attach the RSS feed display to the network profile page, which is already crowded with other kinds of content.

As a first step I watched the video here...

www.jamroom.net/the-jamroom-network/documentation/modules/277/feed-reader-and-rss-feeder

This went well but skipped the essential detail of how to open up the CSS code page and find the place to add the template code generated by the module. Where is that page?

Looking below the video we can find a screenshot of CSS code showing where to place the template code for the RSS, but I cannot see where to find the equivalent page of CSS code on my own site.

I really don't like the idea of having to operate on the guts of my system directly just to display an RSS feed on a page in my site.

I wonder if a "display RSS" button could be added to the widget system on Pages, to take care of the CSS work?

Getting the template code generated by the RSS feeds module is easy enough, but using that code is not.

Still, where is that page of CSS for inserting the RSS feed template? Others might want to know too...

Thanks


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)
updated by @researchcooperative: 05/14/15 03:41:19PM

Read on down that page (below the video) and it tells you how to do this (nothing to do with css). You just put {jrFeed_list name="your_feed_name"} wherever you want it to appear.


--
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Education, learning resources, TEL, AR/VR/MR, CC licensed content, panoramas, interactive narrative, sectional modules (like jrDocs), lunch at Uni of Bristol. Get in touch if you share my current interests or can suggest better :)

Hmmm... I tried adding it as html code on this page:

http://publishsciencenet.jamroomhosting.com/activities

and this clearly does not work. The template code is just reproduced as a line of text.

The instructions page says to put it here:

/skins/(YOUR SKIN)/jrAudio_item_rss.tpl

but when I go to my skin control page, I don't see any way to do this:

http://publishsciencenet.jamroomhosting.com/core/skin_admin/templates/skin=jrNingja

The instructions are assuming knowledge I don't have...

Sorry.


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)
updated by @researchcooperative: 04/02/15 03:58:23PM

Which page? The code you can put on any page you like. You could create a new page by adding a file to:

/skins/YOUR SKIN/somepage.tpl

and that will show up at:
your-site.com/somepage

You could put it there.

This doc also deals with RSS feeds and is pretty step-by-step

"HowTo: Form Designer + Aparna = Custom Page Module with RSS feed"
https://www.jamroom.net/the-jamroom-network/documentation/howto/2463/howto-form-designer-aparna-custom-page-module-with-rss-feed

Do you NEED it to be an rss feed? because you can get anything from your sites datastores directly using the {jrCore_list.....} function.

"{jrCore_list}"
https://www.jamroom.net/the-jamroom-network/documentation/development/89/jrcore-list



These two courses are cover he basics of jamroom:

"Start your own online community"
https://www.udemy.com/start-your-own-online-community

"Developers Guide to Customizing Jamroom"
https://www.udemy.com/developers-guide-to-customizing-jamroom/

--edit--
The first course is free, the second one, there is a 100% off coupon here:
https://www.jamroom.net/backstage/forum/resources/3112/100-off-coupon-for-developers-guide-to-customizing-jamroom-udemycom-course
updated by @michael: 04/03/15 12:55:58AM

Dear Michael,

I will look at the links you suggest. Thanks.

Here is the instruction that gives me jitters... a screenshot that appears to be from somewhere deep in the system code. If it is necessary to go there, it would be good to make the route more obvious...

Thanks.


screenshot of the template alterations needed to show the RSS feed.
- See more at: http://www.jamroom.net/the-jamroom-network/documentation/modules/277/feed-reader-and-rss-feeder%20#sthash.I76hFqSs.78DD0k0w.dpuf


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)

Nope. Looked at both ways indicated, rss feeds and jrCore_list, and it would take me year of Sundays to get comfortable with either (speaking subjectively).

In Ning, in places where we might want to add the feed, like beneath a group discussion panel, we could just paste in the URL, add a title, and that was that. Two steps, no back end, no code. The feed would appear on the page, as a source of information related to the theme of the group concerned.

Jamroom is sort of half-way towards the kind of generic meta-design framework that allows network designers to concentrate on the network layout and functions, without needing to deal with code. I think Jamroom is inherently more powerful, in itself, and as an open source project, but 99% of people who might have a social purpose and idea for a social network will not have the time or skill to learn the coding system.

For a specialist in jrCode, it is very simple I am sure, and therein lies my hope... that I can afford to pay someone to customise the system after it is clear (to me):

(a) what kind of general structure is needed and can be made, and
(b) that users of the network do not also face a steep learning curve (from a ground zero base of coding experience) in order to enjoy the network functions.

Even on my current Ning network, the slightest increase in steps required to set up a profile page, or find and use forums, can have a huge impact on the rate at which new members join the network. The old Ning system itself is not fully optimised, but is better than other social networks that I have seen. Unfortunately, Mode Media, as they now call themselves, have dropped the ball with development of Ning 3.

I am like a referree standing in a field, hardly knowing the rules of the original game, and now the game has changed, and I am still in the field, and I am expected to blow the whistle to start the next game.

I feel a little exposed out here.

However, it's my own choice to be in the field.

I am trying to reinvent the game (of scientific communication). I can see the goal, but getting players to head in that direction has been eluding me already for about 14 years...

Thanks, P.

(postscript... now looking at the course movies, this will take a Saturday)


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)
updated by @researchcooperative: 04/03/15 07:36:46AM

Rss is more for bringing feeds in from other sites. Use jrCore_list for displaying things from your site.

jrCore_list is the first thing to learn:
https://www.jamroom.net/the-jamroom-network/documentation/development/89/jrcore-list
It's not complicated although it can do a lot once you start using search parameters and custom templates with it.

This will list all the audio files on the site:
This will list all the audio files from the profile:
This will list up to 10 audio files from the profile:

To get that list to appear on your site you need to add the code to a template, which you can do under the templates tab in your skin or each module depending on which template you wnat to add it to.

It will help if you spend a little time to learn some basic css, html and jQuery. But even without that you can customize a lot.

Try something out, see what results you get, then try it out again and get better results. If you break something you can just restore the template (button in the ACP) and try it again.


--
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Education, learning resources, TEL, AR/VR/MR, CC licensed content, panoramas, interactive narrative, sectional modules (like jrDocs), lunch at Uni of Bristol. Get in touch if you share my current interests or can suggest better :)

Thanks. I'll go to the basic course videos next, then explore/push buttons from there.


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)

Ok, so now I have watched the entire video course,

https://www.udemy.com/start-your-own-online-community

and there is a section there that is evidently trying to introduce RSS feeds for new users. However, again, at the critical point, there is a gap in the explanation.

Now, let us say I am adding an RSS feed from another site to my site. I watch the video. I have carefuly noted how the feed name becomes part of the template code that is generated by the RSS feed module.

Then our guide says "I've already put that code into the top template of the Elastic Skin". Then updates the skin, resets the caches, and shows a page where the feed is now displayed under a tag cloud.

Great, but how do I find the "top" template of my skin? I might not know what to do when I get there, but it won't be easy to learn if I cannot find it.

When I look at my Ningja skin, and go to the template list, I do not see anything called "top". When I do a search on the support forums here, the phrase "top template" does not show up.

What is the top template?

Of course, if I quit my job and start learning CSS and HTML and Smarty and do the full course I might at some stage learn what the top template is, but maybe I do not need to do all that just to install an RSS feed. It must be simple to do, and the video was attempting to make it simple, but... but... sorry. I am stuck.

I understand that I was just watching an intro video that is not attempting to be a guide to the template system... but there may be a better way to make a bridge between the simple introduction, and the nuts and bolts explanation needed to show us how to actually do the thing.

This could be a statement like... "Here it gets a little complicated, so please see Part X of Video Y or Section w of Documentation z for details".


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)
updated by @researchcooperative: 04/06/15 07:04:13AM

index.tpl is the template that will show when none other is defined. This is not jamroom specific, its the way web servers work.

index.php
index.html

are other names that indicate the top. Sorry, I did not understand that that was the question.

I have run into he same thing you are experiencing when building my site- I finally hired it out and had it made for my site but it required many changes and was a real pain in the a** for everyone involved
I think the edits/files could be made into a module by someone that knows how ( not me yet)
But I create pages on my site called "Oilfield News-then I send the pages using RSS to a slider on the home page you can see here http://drillingahead.com/

The slider is located in the Panel named "Featured Oilfield News"
A quick workaround in your case is to copy the rss link from the page on your site you want to display- then go to RSSInclude.com and enter the feed into any of the output boxes there- edit it there for appearance then select the javascript option to embed in your site
I have used this for several years and continue to use it..its dependable

If you want to send me your rss feed url and the page and a link to the page I will make a quick script for you to embed it anywhere you want on your site- just to give you an idea of how it works...
updated by @derrickhand300: 04/07/15 04:28:08AM

@derrickhand300 Thanks very much. Here is the test RSS feed from my own network:

http://researchcooperative.org/activity/log/list?fmt=rss

I visited rssinclude.com - not impossibly expensive. A quick test would be good. Thanks.


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)

Here are a couple quick examples- but there are many boxes and options there
Just add any of these to a widget or template and they would work

Keep in mind you can also use as many different feeds a you want in the same box so the box would pull the latest content from each feed and display it together

Myself- I think its better to display the latest members searately in its own box so you do not have the blank space below...then feeds that have more content -display them together in same size box

Hope this helps.



Use something like this separate for your newest members feed


updated by @derrickhand300: 04/07/15 07:32:06AM

Let me know if you figure out how to get a rss feed off a jamroom page...I would like to know how you did it
Thanks

To get:
http://researchcooperative.org/activity/log/list?fmt=rss

coming out in a jamroom template:
* ACP -> LISTING -> FEED READER -> CREATE UPDATE
Feed Name: researchcooperative
Feed URL: http://researchcooperative.org/activity/log/list?fmt=rss

Then put:
in whichever template you want to put it and the feed will show.

eg, I created a template at:
my-site.com/junk (/skins/(MY SKIN)/junk.tpl) and put this code in it:

The result was:
updated by @michael: 04/08/15 02:19:58AM

If you're using the Site Builder system, then change the steps to:
* open the CODE tab of the widget
* past in:
* save, and drag it to where you want it.

@derrickhand300

I tried that in a widget on one of my pages, using the code window. Saved, and nothing happened on the front end (blank). Then looked for a guide to html and inserting scripts into text boxes, and tried putting html around the script but that did not work also. Maybe I had the wrong guide.

How exactly should this be added to a widget?

Thanks


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)

@michael That worked! Followed the instruction for adding the feed code to my widget. Two hiccups:

1. The code (sharp bracket pair) option in the widget Editor might work only as a code viewing window. Entering the code {jrFeed_list name="researchcooperative"} there did not work.

When I used the Code menu tab in Widget, and entered the {jrFeed_list name="researchcooperative"} there, it did work. Yay!

2. You used the template name researchcooperative... is this because template names must be continuous script (with underscores for spacing)?

Thanks


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)
updated by @researchcooperative: 04/08/15 05:16:37AM

QUOTE: eg, I created a template at:
my-site.com/junk (/skins/(MY SKIN)/junk.tpl) and put this code in it...END QUOTE

When I go to my site, /skins/jrNingja, I get a forbidden access sign. When I go to the skin in ACP and look at the page of Skin templates, there is no option to create a new template. It seems that we can only modify existing templates.

How did you make a new template at that particular URL?

Thanks


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)
updated by @researchcooperative: 04/08/15 05:24:55AM

At this time the only way to create a new template is by using a text editor, something like crimson editor if your using windows will work best, and then uploading the new file to your server using and FTP program like Filezilla.
Do not use windows word, it will add hidden characters to your code that will cause your page to not work or produce errors.

Hope this helps!



--

Douglas Hackney
Jamroom Team - Designer/Developer/Support
FAQ-Docs-Help Videos

Thanks @douglas,

That seems a long way around to do what @michael was suggesting. The JR ACP offers easy access to tools for working on existing templates inside JR... why is there nothing obvious built in for creating new templates?

To create a template at my-site.com/junk (/skins/(MY SKIN)/junk.tpl) (for example) do we need to go outside the server and then somehow ftp into the server?

I am just asking on behalf of others who may follow this thread... personally I will not have time for this kind of effort.

Best regards.


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)