Mozilla Extensions

Feed URL Handler

(As of 2007, Firefox 2 has improved, integrated support for feed: URIs. This extension is obsolete, and won't be updated to stay current.)

The de facto standard for simple RSS subscription is the feed: URL scheme, and most desktop aggregators support it to enable one-click subscription (more details); for example, [subscribe].

A lot of people prefer a web-based aggregator, so this is a Firefox extension to handle feed: links and pass them on to any of a number of popular aggregators that run through a web browser (Radio Userland, Bloglines, My Yahoo!, AmphetaDesk and many more).

Installation

  1. Download and install the extension. Casually dismiss the alarmist warning.
  2. Restart Firefox to complete installation.
  3. To configure, select Tools->Extensions, and double-click on the Feed URL Handler.
  4. Select the service that you use to read feeds from the popup menu.

Now, feed: links should work just by clicking.

Removal

Bring up the Extensions window, select ‘Feed URL Handler’, and click on ‘Uninstall’. Restart Firefox to complete uninstallation.

Details

If there are any services missing, let me know; it’s an oversight, rather than intentional omission, and it’s easy to extend with any service that takes a feed URL as a parameter to a GETtable resource. I’ve only tested with Bloglines and My MSN – please tell me if any of the others are broken!

It would be good to add support for LiveJournal syndication.

Joseph Walton, 12th January 2005 [K]