Using RSS feeds with JAWS

RSS feeds (sometimes known as web feeds) are information streams that can provide you with updates on specific websites. Generally speaking, RSS feeds (RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication by the way) are a way of being informed of any new content, without having to continually visit the website itself.

Not every website has an RSS feed, however, it is becoming increasingly common. If the website you are visiting has this capability then JAWS will say "RSS Feed" when the home page of the website downloads. If this is the case you can usually view the feed (and subscribe to it) via the command bar in Internet Explorer. Let's try viewing a feed on the Action site:

1. Open the Action For Blind People home page
2. Listen for JAWS announcing "RSS feeds" when the page loads.
3. Press Alt J to open the available feeds menu and arrow down to the appropriate one. Note that on many sites there may only be the one feed to choose.
4. Press the Enter key to open the feed in the viewer and read the information as you would a normal web page. JAWS will announce any heading levels as normal to aid you with navigation.

If you consider the RSS feed to be useful then there should be an option to subscribe to it. By subscribing, Internet Explorer automatically updates the feed information without you physically having to navigate to the website in the first place. In other words, you can go to your feed list when you open Internet Explorer and simply read the updated feed page. To subscribe to a feed you:

1. Activate the Subscribe hyperlink in the RSS feed that you have chosen.
2. In the Subscribe to this Feed dialog box, type in a new name for the feed (if you think this is necessary).
3. Tab to the Create In combo box and use the drop down to choose a save location. The default location is to store it in the Feeds folder, but if you have a lot of different feeds you may want to consider a range of different folders. In this case, press Tab to move to the New Folder button and complete the options to create a new folder.
4. Once all of the options are complete in the dialog box, press the Tab key to move to the Subscribe button and press the Spacebar to confirm.

Now that the subscription is complete, Internet Explorer will check for feed updates every day (by default). This allows you to read the web feed updates without having to visit the site all the time:

1. You can access the RSS feeds list view window in Internet Explorer directly with Control Shift J. This keystroke is a toggle keystroke, opening and closing the web feeds window. (Alternatively, you can use the keystroke of Alt J to open the feeds menu from the command bar and select the appropriate one from there.)
2. Arrow up and down to select a feed in the list and press the Enter key to open it. Read the web feed as a normal web page, using the virtual cursor and the standard JAWS quick keys.

If you have subscribed to a lot of feeds then you will need to tidy up the list from time to time, getting rid of the feeds you no longer need. To delete feeds from your subscribed list do the following:

1. Open the RSS feeds list with Control Shift J.
2. Arrow down to the web feed you want to remove. Press the Delete key.
3. Focus will move to a message box requesting you to confirm the deletion. After you have done this, the feed will be deleted from your list of subscribed web feeds.
4. Press Control Shift J to close the RSS feeds window.