When will Grazr let you create OPML Outlines?
The other day I posted about Grazr now hosting your OPML, I’ll also note they are now sporting theme’s - they are really on the ball with design and functionality, things are smooth and slick, but I’ve course I’ve always got some feedback.
Feedback
Why can I upload an OPML URL or an RSS URL in the Create a Widget page, but I can’t do this in My Files page?
When I create a widget from the Create a Widget page, why don’t I then have the option to save it in the My Files area?
Once I’ve uploaded an OPML file and it is now hosted as a Grazr OPML URL, what happens if I want to update this file?
ie. just say I upload an OPML file of some feeds, now this OPML file has become an OPML URL, but then just say I want to add a new feed to my new OPML URL, how do I do this?
Turning my OPML file into an OPML URL is great as it gives it visibility and people can do stuff with it (subscribe to it in their own OPML as an include or subscribe to it in an RSS Reader or email reader).
But I find I can’t use the full advantage of having a dynamic OPML URL, ie. to add and delete feeds, at the moment once I have created it, it becomes static, I can’t alter it.
I feel sooner or later we will be able to create OPML outlines within Grazr.
Maybe even wiki like feature’s as communal outlines, and even a social network.
At the moment I’m creating OPML Outlines with OPML Workstation (BTW they have wiki-based outlines).
Also check out OPML Workstation’s new feature, letting you add the page you are on to one of your outlines, via a bookmarklet.
NOTE: this is what I want for my draft blog posts, at the moment I have a “Press It” bookmarklet, but I don’t get to choose the draft post I want to add the link to.
What are other’s doing?
FeedVault
- more based on a Reading List type of OPML (all nodes or items are feeds)
- doesn’t generate and host an OPML URL, but others are welcome to download your OPML file
- they send reminders for you to reload your OPML file as you may have made changes and you want these to apply to FeedVault.
My answer is why doesn’t FeedVault subscribe to your OPML URL, this is of course if you have an OPML URL, if you have an OPML file, then it can’t subscribe to it.
Anyway, this way when you update your OPML URL, it will let FeedVault know about it, just like BlogBridge and FeedBlitz.
Share Your OPML (SYO)
- the OPML URL I uploaded was from my Technorati Favourites OPML, it says so in my “Manage You OPML Files” area.
Since then the feeds in my Technorati Favourites OPML have changed, but SYO doesn’t know about it. By comparing the feeds in My SYO with my Technorati Favourites, you will see the differences (once again my SYO is based on an older version of my Technorati Favourites).
- I find this limiting and static
-BTW SYO has some other cool features
Feedshow
- this is just adding one feature that SYO doesn’t have, actually sharing your OPML.
Just enter a user page from SYO, here’s mine: http://share.opml.org/viewsharedfeeds/?user_id=29, and FeedShow will create an OPML URL, see the result.
BTW, the Feedshow OPML Builder allows you to create an OPML URL and host it to, this is my initial ask from Grazr.
The only thing with the Feedshow OPML Builder is that you can’t go back to edit your OPML, as you don’t have a user space, making it a once only affair, now Grazr does have a user space…
Also the Feedshow OPML Builder is restricted to feeds, and we all know OPML can be made up of text, links, other OPML’s, etc…not just feeds.
Nifty idea
I want to whip up a Reading List OPML, but don’t want to go to the trouble of using an outliner, and don’t want to register with an RSS Reader just to build a Reading List.
Solution - create it with the Feedshow OPML Builder, this will generate an OPML URL, download this file to my PC, then upload it to Grazr so I can show if off in a widget.
Another option to Feedshow OPML Builder is the OPML Generator, and the delicious reading list form (a bit more long winded).
Ideally this is what I want from Grazr, to be able to whip up a quick OPML, which generates an OPML URL and a widget, and then be able to go back an edit your OPML.
Related:
Dynamic newsmastering with OPML
OPML clones and pinging
[ADDED 23/03/07: OPML Manager is an alternative to OPML Workstation, from what I seem to remember in the past you could only create one outline per account…there are others]
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Keep the feedback coming, John. Your wish list looks just like our current development list. I don’t see anything here that we aren’t working on currently, which means we are finally catching up with you. We may even have a few things coming that you haven’t thought of first. That would be a real accomplishment.
I am confused, however, by the question: “Why can I upload an OPML URL or an RSS URL in the Create a Widget page, but I can’t do this in My Files page?” There is an Upload File button on the My Files page, so I think we may be using different meanings for the word “upload.”
Comment by Adam Green — March 22, 2007 @ 1:23 pm
I have a feeling I am using an older/different version of grazr but I plugged in a Blogbridge reading list as the opml file. Whenever I update the blogbridge list it is automatcially updated in the grazr display on either spittoon or spittoonextra.
Comment by Andrew — March 22, 2007 @ 4:44 pm
Adam,
The “My Files” page only allows you to upload an OPML “file”, not an OPML “URL”.
This means if I have my Technorati Favourites OPML “URL”, I would have to save it to my PC, so it is a OPML “file”, in order to upload it to Grazr.
I’m excited about what’s coming next.
Andrew,
I’m not quite sure how this is happening, in the “My Files” section you are uploading an OPML “file” which is static.
Unless you are not talking about the “My Files” section, you may be talking about bypassing the “My Files” section and “Creating a Widget”, you don’t need to register to create a widget, and your OPML will stay the same, it won’t become a Grazr OPML.
When you “Create a widget” your OPML changes will be dynamic.
But if you were to upload your OPML “file” and get it hosted by Grazr, and then create a widget, any changes you make to your original OPML won’t reflect in your widget, as your widget is now based on a new Grazr hosted OPML.
Comment by Johnt — March 23, 2007 @ 12:54 am
Hi John
here’s an example of a delicious doo dah wotsit thingy in grazr:
http://grazr.com/read/psychemedia/deliRolls.opml
I use opmlmanager.com to create opml files that provide navigation in the stringle environment:
http://ouseful.open.ac.uk/stringle/stringleProfileSelect.php
Comment by Tony Hirst — March 23, 2007 @ 1:17 am
Turning my OPML file into an OPML URL is great as it gives it visibility and people can do stuff with it (subscribe to it in their own OPML as an include or subscribe to it in an RSS Reader or email reader).
But I find I can’t use the full advantage of having a dynamic OPML URL, ie. to add and delete feeds, at the moment once I have created it, it becomes static, I can’t alter it.
Delicious2Opml Converter with optional deliSearch Tool
“With Grazr now hosting OPML files (that you have to upload as a file from your desktop) the cut, paste and save as OPML route followed by the delicious2OPML utility maybe useful at last
“Firstly, I’ve added a couple of heuristics that will try to identify RSS and OPML feeds that have been bookmarked to delicious, and add them to the generated OPML file using an appropriate outline type.
“Secondly, I’ve added the option to add a GrazrScript deliSearch form to the generated OPML. This form provides an interface to a deliSearch pipe on Yahoo that will search over the domains listed in the feed generated from the supplied delicious username/tag combination.”
Comment by Tony Hirst — March 23, 2007 @ 1:24 am
John:
I misunderstood. You are right. You can upload a file from your computer to your account on grazr.com, but you can’t upload a file from a server on the Internet to your account. That will be available soon. Probably within a month or less.
The more important improvement will be adding bookmarks to feed or OPML URLs to your account. That means you will be able to add the URL for your bloglines subscription list, for example, to your Grazr.com account. When your subscriptions at bloglines change, the new version of the subscription list will be available on Grazr.com.
Comment by Adam Green — March 23, 2007 @ 1:44 am
Tony,
I like how you are using Grazr as an interface for your deliRolls.
If I include all my del.icio.us tags this is an OPML where I can browse all my del.icio.us feeds by tags, excellent.
This is where OPML Utils would go even further…I notice each of my del.icio.us feeds in deliRolls is showing the 30 latest bookmarks, but what about if I want to see all my bookmarks. Does RSS have a limit to how many items can be included, could you set it to all items ever?
Otherwise the idea of OPML Utils was that every del.icio.us tag would have an OPML, then my whole del.icio.us account would be a mother OPML.
This way I could browse my whole del.icio.us account in a widget.
Another thing…
With your del.icio.us Reading List hack form, it creates an OPML for feeds you have bookmarked (instead of bookmarking the usual HTML links).
Will these OPML’s work in Grazr?
If I used different del.icio.us tags to organise different feeds, I’d have have an OPML for each tag, would I have an OPML for my whole account…if I did I could put this in Grazr, where all the tags are OPML includes.
—-
RECAP of OPML for del.icio.us tags, and OPML for whole account
If you bookmark feeds it will be lots of Reading Lists (tags) within the one mother Reading List.
The other eg is…
If you bookmark normal HTML links, it will again be smaller OPML’s (tags) within a bigger OPML…this is browsing your whole account from a widget.
Or…
If you bookmark normal HTML links but each tag just has an RSS feed and doesn’t have an OPML (just as it is now), will you be able to see every bookmark in each tag, does RSS have a limit in how many items can be in a feed.
This eg would not be smaller OPML’s within a mother OPML, it would just be feeds within an OPML.
Comment by Johnt — March 23, 2007 @ 6:37 am
Adam,
Bookmarking feeds, bookmarking OPML.
Is this like a del.icio.us where the items you bookmark are not HTML pages, but feed pages or OPML URL’s?
If I bookmark feeds will Grazr generate an OPML URL (who needs an RSS Reader after all).
I can do this with the del.icio.us Reading List hack cited in this post.
But the del.icio.us hack limits this to one tag, if I organise all my feeds (bookmarks) into tags, I can’t generate a mother OPML Reading List.
Another thing I can’t do with the del.icio.us hack is, if I bookmark OPML URL’s, then use the hack to generate a root OPML from that tag.
—
If I add my Bloglines OPML URL, can I bypass Grazr hosting it, so when I make changes it will reflect…this is what happens now when you make a widget, only you can’t save these in your “My Files” area. You can only save Grazr OPML’s in your “My Files” area.
Comment by Johnt — March 23, 2007 @ 6:46 am
True, but you if you have a gmail account you can sign up for multiple opml files on opmlmanager with email addresses like my.email+opmlFile1@gmail.com, my.email+opmlFile2@gmail.com, etc
Comment by Tony Hirst — March 23, 2007 @ 9:46 am
Are you actually asking here for an opml file of your tags? that is, an opml file that points to feeds for each tag? ie a tag based delicious browser?
er the 30 item limit; not sure if thats a delicious thing; i’;ll try an check when i get a chance;
“With your del.icio.us Reading List hack form, it creates an OPML for feeds you have bookmarked (instead of bookmarking the usual HTML links). Will these OPML’s work in Grazr?”
I don’t know - have you tried it? You probably know some of the OPML stuff I’bve built in the past better than i know it myself..
Comment by Tony Hirst — March 23, 2007 @ 10:45 am
Tony,
In regards to OPML Utils, you said:
“Are you actually asking here for an opml file of your tags? that is, an opml file that points to feeds for each tag? ie a tag based delicious browser?”
What I’m saying is that if all of your del.icio.us tags had an OPML this would be an OPML Link List (all nodes are HTML links).
So if I put my del.icio.us tag OPML in Grazr I could see all my bookmarks for that tag, of course if I click on one it would launch to the native site as you can’t read this in Grazr unlike Bitty.
So, all my del.icio.us tags would have an OPML (ie. each being an OPML Link List), and my del.icio.us account would also have a general OPML. If I put this general OPML into Grazr what you would get it a mother OPML Link List, where all the tags are OPML includes.
….all I’ve said so far has nothing to do with feeds.
Comment by Johnt — March 24, 2007 @ 11:37 pm