The NEWSFEED control is a simple-to-use "newsreader" within the Application Designer pages. It offers the possibility to read news feeds (RSS feeds and Atom feeds).

Important:
In order to use the NEWSFEED control, you have to specify a valid RSS or Atom feed URL (for example http://news.cnet.com/2547-1001_3-0-5.xml). If necessary, you also have to specify your proxy server settings (host, port, user name, password).

The following topics are covered below:

• Example

• Typical Problems

• Properties

---

Example

The XML layout definition is:

<rowarea name="Newsfeed Control" width="560">
  <newsfeed infoprop="newsfeedinfoprop" width="550" height="450">
  </newsfeed>
</rowarea>

The Java code of the adapter is:

public class NewsfeedControlExampleAdapter
    extends Adapter
{
    // --------------------------------------------------------------------
    // property access
    // --------------------------------------------------------------------

    // property >newsfeedinfoprop<
    NEWSFEEDInfo m_newsfeedinfoprop=new NEWSFEEDInfo(this);
    public NEWSFEEDInfo getNewsfeedinfoprop()
     { return m_newsfeedinfoprop; }
    public void setNewsfeedinfoprop(NEWSFEEDInfo value)
     { m_newsfeedinfoprop = value; }

    // property >feedURL<
    String m_feedURL="http://www.news.com/2547-1001_3-0-5.xml";
    public String getFeedURL() { return m_feedURL; }
    public void setFeedURL(String value) { m_feedURL = value; }

    // --------------------------------------------------------------------
    // public adapter methods
    // --------------------------------------------------------------------

    public void openRSS()
    {
        // proxy settings only if necessary
        // with host, port, user name and password
        m_newsfeedinfoprop.setProxy(m_phost, m_pport, m_puser, m_ppwd);
        // just a host and a port
        m_newsfeedinfoprop.setProxy(m_phost, m_pport);
        // open the feed
        m_newsfeedinfoprop.showFeed(m_feedURL);
    }

    // --------------------------------------------------------------------
    // standard adapter methods
    // --------------------------------------------------------------------

    /** initialisation - called when creating this instance*/
    public void init()
    {
        openRSS();
    }
}

Typical Problems

The following page appears if the selected news feed cannot be opened.

There are the following typical reasons for this error message:

• The used URL is not valid; check the URL in the adapter code. Try to copy and paste http://www.news.com/2547-1001_3-0-5.xml.

• Make sure whether you have to use a proxy server or not. Use the setProxy(...) method to enable the proxy or the disableProxy() method to disable the proxy.

Properties

Basic
infoprop	Name of the adapter property that represents the control on server side. Return type must be "NEWSFeedInfo". Pay attention: The NEWSFeedInfo Constructor needs a valid Adapter i.e. NEWSFeedInfo m_nfi = new NEWSFeedInfo(this)	Obligatory
height	Height of the control. There are three possibilities to define the height: (A) You do not define a height at all. As consequence the control will be rendered with its default height. If the control is a container control (containing) other controls then the height of the control will follow the height of its content. (B) Pixel sizing: just input a number value (e.g. "20"). (C) Percentage sizing: input a percantage value (e.g. "50%"). Pay attention: percentage sizing will only bring up correct results if the parent element of the control properly defines a height this control can reference. If you specify this control to have a height of 50% then the parent element (e.g. an ITR-row) may itself define a height of "100%". If the parent element does not specify a width then the rendering result may not represent what you expect.	Optional	100 150 200 250 300 250 400 50% 100%
splitstyle	By default the newsfeed control appears within a vsplit control. Headers on the left and content on the right. Set this value to hsplit and the control appears within a hsplit control. Headers on top, content on the bottom.	Optional	vsplit hsplit
comment	Comment without any effect on rendering and behaviour. The comment is shown in the layout editor's tree view.	Optional