Introduction
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is one of the widely used simple technologies to view information up-to-date. SharePoint also provides this functionality out-of-the-box to view the updated information from Lists / Libraries.
In this article I will explore:
- How to enable a RSS feed for a Site Collection
- How to enable a RSS feed for a Site
- Configure RSS feed setting to the List / Library
How to enable RSS feed for Site Collection
To enable the RSS feed available for an entire site collection a Site Collection Administrator permission is required.
This can be enabled at the root site of each site collection.
To navigate to RSS Settings page:
- Click Settings icon > Site Settings
If you are in a sub-site, click “Go to top level Site Settings” under Site Collection Administration page.
![site settings]()
- Click RSS link under “Site Administration”.
![RSS]()
- This will redirect the user to the RSS Settings page (siterss.aspx).
![rss setting]()
- Enable the “Allow RSS feeds in this site collection” check box.
- Click OK to enable the RSS option for the entire site collection.
How to enable the RSS feed for Site
To enable a RSS feed for the site, the user must have Site Owner permission. This can be enabled from any site / sub site.
Navigate to the Site Settings Page then:
- Click the Settings Icon then select Site Settings
- Click RSS link under Site Administration
- In the RSS settings page, enable the “Allow RSS feeds in this site” check box
![allow rss feeds]()
- Click OK to apply the RSS feed for the specific site. This option will enable the RSS Configuration for a list / library for the site.
Configure RSS feed for List / Library
We can manage the following items for a RSS feed for a library / list.
- List RSS
- RSS Channel Information
- Document Options (available only for Library types)
- Columns
- Item Limit
List RSS - Enable RSS to the list
- Select the “Yes” radio button for “Allow RSS for this list?”
- Click OK to enable the RSS feed for the list
![enable]()
RSS Channel Information – Title and Description for the RSS feed
- Enter the following information.
Field |
Description |
Truncate multi-line fields to 256 character? |
Yes – Limit the maximum character should be under 265 for the RSS description No – Show the full text |
Title |
Title for the RSS Feed |
Description |
Description for the RSS Feed |
Image URL |
Image URL Image to be available for RSS feed |
![rss channel]()
- Click OK to apply the RSS Channel settings
Document Options: Configure links and enclosure documents
A library has this additional configuration to apply the settings for links and enclosed documents. A list doesn't have these settings.
- Select “Yes” in “Include file enclosures for items in the feed” to show the enclosed documents in the feed. The default option is No.
- Select “Yes” to “Link RSS items directly to their files?” to have a link in item title to redirect directly to the file. The default option is No.
![link rss item]()
- Click OK to apply the setting to the RSS feed.
Columns – Fields to display in RSS
- Choose the include check box of the respective field to show that field value in RSS.
- Select the number from the “Display Order” dropdown to show the fields the respective order.
![columns]()
- Click OK to apply the Column Settings
Item Limit – Items Configurations
- Enter the number to show ma1ximum number of items in the RSS feed in 1“Maximum item to include” TextBox .
- Enter the number to show how long the items can be visible in the field based on the modified date.
- Click Ok to apply the Item limit settings to the RSS Feed.
![apply item]()
If the RSS feeds are enabled for the site, the user can have the RSS feed button enabled in the ribbon under Library / List Tab. This button redirects the user to the RSS feed page (listfeed.aspx).
![list rss feed]()
Output
Based on our configuration, the output will appear as in the following screenshot.
![output]()
- Clicking on the Title link redirects the user to the display of the file.
- Clicking the “Subscribe to this RSS feed” link to subscribe to the Document Library. To subscribe, the user must have read permission to read the items.