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TodayPlus for the Pocket PC Forums => General => Topic started by: PDA_Guy on January 07, 2004, 01:47:35 PM

Title: RSS Question
Post by: PDA_Guy on January 07, 2004, 01:47:35 PM
This may be slightly off-topic, but it's driving me crazy!.  I use another RSS reader, PocketFeed in addition to TP.  I have this RSS feed in TP:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/rss/newsonline_world_edition/front_page/rss091.xml

When I view it in TP, it pulls up the low-graphics version, which is what I want.  When I use the same xml entry in PocketFeed, it pulls up the hi-graphics version.  I have the same issue with some other feeds that I'd like to read in low-graphics format.

What makes this more mysterious is that when I look at the RSS1.txt file for this entry, everything points to the "hi" graphics version, but it nicely finds the "lo" graphics version anyway.

My question is, how does TP manage to parse this feed to find the low-graphics version?  What's the trick?
Title: RSS Question
Post by: MadTxn on January 07, 2004, 02:39:22 PM
Maybe it's the "User Agent"
Title: RSS Question
Post by: PDA_Guy on January 07, 2004, 02:51:45 PM
Quote from: MadTxnMaybe it's the "User Agent"

Can you elaborate?  I'd like to find out if the PocketFeed developers can do the same thing.  Does TP send a "User Agent" parameter that identifies it as a device requiring low graphics?
Title: RSS Question
Post by: Eitel on January 07, 2004, 03:24:18 PM
It looks like it's a browser user agent.  Same as here.  If you try to come to this forums on a PDA, you will always be sent to the mobile verion of it.  I have a file on the forums folder that will redirect any browser that meets the criteria to the mobile version.
Title: RSS Question
Post by: PDA_Guy on January 07, 2004, 03:42:08 PM
I looked at the rss1.txt.1.html file for this feed.  I see entries like this:

font face="Arial" size="2"><a href="/2/hi/default.stm">Graphics version</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="/2/shared/bsp/hi/change_edition/html/change-edition.stm?http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/3374979.stm">Change to UK Edition</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/low/default.stm">BBC Sport Home</a></font>

<hr>

If it's in this file, doesn't that mean that it's getting set at the point that TP downloads the RSS info, before the browser connects to the site?  Looks to me like TP is somehow feeding a parameter that sets a low graphics version?
Title: RSS Question
Post by: Eitel on January 07, 2004, 04:08:53 PM
TD is getting the information from the RSS feed.  Normally, the RSS feed will have a link to the web page where that info is located.  If that web page has a a browser redirection script, when you go to it in PIE, you will get redirected to the other version, in this case, a mobile version.
Title: RSS Question
Post by: PDA_Guy on January 07, 2004, 04:44:46 PM
That makes sense, except I'm using the same XML page in both cases.  In one case, I go to the Hi graphics pages and in the other, I go to the Low graphics pages.  It's the same browser in both cases.  I think there must be some other factor.
Title: RSS Question
Post by: pli7 on January 07, 2004, 04:49:45 PM
With PocketFeed you're browsing your web pages while you're online.

With TodayPlus, you have the option of browsing web pages online or offline.  Did you do your browsing while offline with T+?
Title: RSS Question
Post by: PDA_Guy on January 07, 2004, 05:05:59 PM
I'm using online browser access in both cases.  I connect using Wi-Fi, so I prefer using online browsing.