RSS Feed Node
Updated: 27 Mar 2024
The RSS Feed node combs data from an RSS feed from the Internet.
RSS Feed Node
Method #
This node searches for data from an RSS feed from the Internet, and generates a table of all the data it finds. This requires an Internet connection to function properly. RSS feeds are commonly used to access data feeds from websites or to comb posts from social media sites - e.g. all posts from an Instagram hashtag. Notch downloads the RSS feed and its associated images in the background, periodically. Once downloaded the feed’s contents may be used by other nodes. For example, the text elements of the RSS feed may be accessed using the RSS Text Selector, displayed using Text nodes or Image Plane nodes; or the images may be accessed as tiles on a single image by connecting the RSS Reed node to an Image Tile File Loader node. Notch’s JavaScript API is also capable of accessing the RSS feed’s data for additional processing.
In order to download image data a valid cache directory must be set via the Cache Directory parameter. The macros %TEMPDIR% and %NOTCHDIR% may be used with the Cache Directory parameter. %TEMPDIR% resolves to the Windows Temporary Internet Files directory. %NOTCHDIR% resolves to the Documents\Notch directory.
Without a valid cache directory set the node will be hashed out in red, and won’t function.
RSS feeds may contain a large number of images and take some time to download. Progress of the current download is shown as a percentage via the “Update Progress” parameter. The feed is downloaded in the background while the version that was last completely downloaded is used by nodes for processing. Press the “Update Now” button in order to force the RSS feed to start an immediate update.
Parameters
These properties control the core behaviours of the node.
Parameter Details URL URL used to find the RSS feed.
Cache Directory The directory used to cache image data from the RSS feed.
Backup Data Text containing RSS feed XML data which will be used instead of live data if there is no connection possible to the live feed.
Text Change Rate How often a new line of text is added to the feed.
Update Feed Rate (Minutes) How often the RSS feed is checked for new entries.
Display Mode What data from the RSS feed will be output.
- Titles : only the RSS feed titles are displayed.
- Titles And Times : both the title and the time it was updated.
- Descriptions : the description from the RSS feed is output.
- Times : the time the RSS Feed is sent is output.
- Titles And Description : the title is displayed above the description.
- Titles : Times And Description, all the RSS feed data is displayed.
Choose Entry Mode What order new entries from the RSS Feed are output in.
- Sequential : new entries are added in the order they appear on the feed.
- Random : new entries are added randomly from the feed.
- Coming Next In Time : the new entry is only displayed once it has been received.
- Random - Bias To Most Recent : same as random but with a bias towards the most recent updates from the feed.
Update Progress Read-only. A progress indicator when updating the feed.
Update Now.. Button to refresh the feed immediately.
Inputs
These properties control the core behaviours of the node.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| URL | URL used to find the RSS feed. |
| Cache Directory | The directory used to cache image data from the RSS feed. |
| Backup Data | Text containing RSS feed XML data which will be used instead of live data if there is no connection possible to the live feed. |
| Text Change Rate | How often a new line of text is added to the feed. |
| Update Feed Rate (Minutes) | How often the RSS feed is checked for new entries. |
| Display Mode | What data from the RSS feed will be output.
|
| Choose Entry Mode | What order new entries from the RSS Feed are output in.
|
| Update Progress | Read-only. A progress indicator when updating the feed. |
| Update Now.. | Button to refresh the feed immediately. |
| Name | Description | Typical Input |
|---|---|---|
| Time Source Node | Use a time code to specify an individual element from the RSS feed. | Clock Time Modifier |
