Adding RSS feeds to your site:  (ABC7 Chicago News for this example)

1. Log into your site with a manager level account.
2. Go to ‘Site Setup’ and click on ‘Zope Management Interface’ (ZMI).
3. Select ‘sin_tool’

Note about Sin Tool – Sin Tool is a text file that maps RSS feeds to your site.  There are 2 main sections to Sin Tool, the channels and the maps.  These sections are easy to identify within the config of Sin Tool, because you will see [channels] and [maps] in the config itself and those mark the different sections.  The channel section defines the list, tells how often to refresh the list, and of course the URL for the list.  The map section simply gives a friendly name to the feed.   The order of the items listed under [channels] and [maps] does not matter.

4. In the Config window of Sin Tool, add a line under [channels] for your new feed.  Remember the order of the items under [channels] doesn’t matter.
5. Type your new config line following the example of the other items listed in the list, but the basic structure is this:

1. {internal_name}={time_to_refresh}:{full URL of feed}

2. abc7news=1h:http://abclocal.go.com/wls/xml?id=5747391&param1=mrss

Note about the link – Remember to get the actual URL of the feed itself and not the URL to the homepage of the site.  RSS feeds usually will end with .rss .xml .atom or something that shows it is an RSS feed.  Since this is a news site, updating every 1h makes sense, but if it is a book list that updates once per week, then updated every hour is silly.  Other conventions are 1d=1 day, 1w = 1week, 2h = 2 hours; or any other number in front of the letter. 3d, 2w, 4h…

6. Scroll down to the [maps] section of the Config window in Sin Tool.
7. Add a new line with the following information:

1. {Friendly Name of the List}={internal_name}

2. ABC7 Chicago=abc7news

8. Click on ‘Set Config’.

At this point you have defined the list, but it will not be called by Plinkit until you reference it on a page.  Now we make a link within Plinkit to this newly created list.  You do not need to be logged in as a manager level account for the next steps.

Adding linked text from within a page.  (Like the good reads area)

1. Edit the page where you wish to insert the link.  This can be any page on your site.
2. Type the text as you want to show it, and then highlight it and select the ‘Create External Link’ (globe) button.
3. The link should be:

1. resources/sinList?synmap={Friendly Name of the List}

2. resources/sinList?synmap=ABC7 Chicago

4. You can preview the link to make sure it works, and save your changes.

Adding a Feed as a Portlet on the side of your site. (manager level account needed)

1. Go to ‘Site Setup’ and click on ‘Zope Management Interface’
2. Go to the folder where you want your portlet to appear, if you want it on the homepage, then just stay in the root of the ZMI.
3. Click on the ‘Properties’ tab at the top of the screen.
4. You will see a section for Left Slots and Right Slots, and the order of these items in the list is the order in which they will show on your site.
5. In whichever window you wish to have your RSS feed appear, add a line and type the following (remember not to leave any blank lines in this box):

1. context/sin_tool/macros/{Friendly Name of the List}

2. context/sin_tool/macros/ABC7 Chicago

6. Click ‘Save Changes’
7. Be sure to check the page to make sure it is working.  If the page doesn’t load after the change, go back into the ZMI and remove the line until it can be resolved.  Call your regional Plinkit representative for more information.
1. You can add the following to the END of any URL in your address bar of your Plinkit site to see if the portlet view is working:
1. /macros/ABC7 Chicago