Cybergrass RSS Syndication ReadMe File

In this Downloads area for RSS, there are some sample HTML
files to assist you in implementing our feeds on your web-
site.  The sample files are (1) with a description for the
content and (2) only the heading for the content.  It is
your choice.  We have sample files for our Events Calendar
and the Front Page News.

The sample HTML files contain a single line javascript that
will query the feeds from our site and render them for use
on your web site.  The file javascript looks very compex
but this readme file should help you understand what the
script is all about.

The script is all a long single line of text but is broken
down here to help you understand what all the code is about.

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="javascript"
SRC="http://www.cybergrass.com/magpie/index.php?
url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cybergrass.com%2Fcalendarrss10.php&
showtitle=1&
showimg=0&
showinput=0&
maxitems=0&
showdescs=1&
titletrim=0&
titlemax=0&
desctrim=150&
descmax=0&
tabwidth=240px&
linktarget=_top&
cssurl=&
dotransition=1&
bordercol=%23ffffff&
headbgcol=%23bbffbb&
headtxtcol=%23000088&
titlebgcol=%23eeeeff&
titletxtcol=%23000088&
itembgcol=%23eeffee&
itemtxtcol=%23007800&
mode=javascript&debug=html&
ctl=0">
</SCRIPT>

SRC= 	is the location of our generator for your web page.
	we keep the code on our server for your convenience.
	We will share the code with you if you would rather
	run it on your server.

url=	This is the URL for the actual RSS/XML Feed on our
	site.

showtitle=	This determines if you want to see the title
	for the content of the entry.  This is NOT the title
	of the entire feed.  Choices are 0 or 1 or nothing.

showimg=0	This is for our logo image for the feed.  We
	do not currently require an image.  By default, this
	setting is off (0).

showinput=0	We don't have an option for input so this
	value will have no function.  It should always be 0

maxitems=0	This can be any value however our feeds limit
	the maximum number of items that may be displayed. 0
	means to show all items (typically 15) but if you only
	want 5 or so, then set this valua appropriately.

showdescs=1	This tag is to toggle descriptions for the
	items.  If you only want the headline or event name,
	set this to 0 or set it to 1 to include a partial
	description.

titletrim=0	This tag determines whether or not to trim the
	item title to limit the number of text characters in
	the title.  0 means to show all of each title.  any
	other value sets the number of characters to trim the
	title to.

titlemax=0	This tag when used with titletrim=1 will limit
	the title to the number of characters indicated.  0 is
	to show all of each title.

desctrim=150	This tag is similar to the titletrim tag in that
	it limits how much of the text will be displayed in the
	description.  Generally you want just enough so that the
	reader can determine if they want to read the article or
	not.  Cybergrass also limits how much text is available
	so values greater than our limits will have no effect.

descmax=0&
	Maximum description size

tabwidth=240px	This tag sets the width of the news box in pixels.
	You may adjust this value so that the feed fits your page
	properly.

linktarget=_top	This is the location of a new window or a frame
	that the clicked-on item will display in.  The default is
	a new window on top of the existing page.  Setting this
	to null or nothing (empty) will result in the content
	replacing your page so this is generally not desireable.

cssurl=	This is the location of a CSS style sheet that defines
	the actual look on your web site.  A sample style sheet
	is located in the Downloads/RSS area for you to play with.
	You should locate your own style sheet on your own web
	server and then point this location to it.  If this is
	empty, then the defaults using these javascript tags will
	be used.  If it has a valid value and the HTML is properly
	configured to link to a CSS file, then the CSS file will
	be used.  The choice is again all yours.

dotransition=1	This tag cannot be modified and is fixed in our
	script.  It has no value to you.

bordercol=%23ffffff	If your news box has a border, this will
	be the default color.  Colors use the #rrggbb format.

headbgcol=%23bbffbb	Background color for headings of the news
	block.

headtxtcol=%23000088	Text color for heading text

titlebgcol=%23eeeeff	Title background color for the title of
	items

titletxtcol=%23000088	Text color for the item titles.

itembgcol=%23eeffee	Background color for the description part
	of items.  If descriptions are not shown, this has no
	function.

itemtxtcol=%23007800	The color for the text of an item's text
	description.

mode=javascript		These two items have no user function and
debug=html
	will not alter the state of your display.


As noted above, you may also use a CSS style sheet.  In order
to take advantage of this feature and to better tailor the feeds
to your own site, the HTML file will need to have some minor
edits made.  You will also want to look at our simple style
sheet and edit it to suit your own requirements.

Here is an example of how to use the style sheet:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//w3C//DTD w3c::extensions to HTML//EN" "html.dtd">
<HTML> 
  <HEAD> 
    <TITLE>Some title if you want one</TITLE>
    <LINK href="/Your_Path_To_Your_Stylesheet.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> 
  </HEAD> 
  <BODY>
    <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="javascript"
         ...javascript...>
    </SCRIPT>
  </BODY>
</HTML>

The <LINK ....> line points to where you've included your own stylesheet
on your server.

The stylesheet is very simple.  Here is a sample that you may play with
until you get the look that you want.  There are only 6 styles that are
necessary.  Be sure to set both the link and the cssurl settings in the
script so that both know about what you're trying to do.

Here is our sample style sheet, rss.css that you'll also find in our
downloads area.

.rssbox {font: 8pt arial, geneva, sans-serif; width: 240px; color=#008800; border: solid thin; border-color:navy;}
.rssboxhead {font: 10pt/11pt arial, geneva, sans-serif;color="#ccffcc"; background: #eeeeff;}
.rssboxitem {font: 8pt/10pt arial, geneva, sans-serif;background: #eeffee;}
.rssboxtitle {font: 8pt/10pt arial, geneva, sans-serif;background: #ddddff;font-weight: bold;}
.rssboxtitlelink {font: 9pt/11pt arial, geneva, sans-serif; color=#0000ee; font-weight: bold;}
.rssboxheadlink {font: 10pt/12pt arial, geneva, sans-serif; color=#0000ee; background: #eeeeff; font-weight: bold;}


This should be all you need to get the feeds displayed on your website.
Feel free to set any options that you choose.  If you remove either the
top level title or the bottom link to our site, your ability to view the
feeds will be disabled.

Enjoy!
Cybergrass