Magic RSS PHP Script Installation and Setup

These instructions are quite easy. Do not make them difficult! All you have to do is upload three files, create a directory, and set some parameters. It should take you less than one minute using a standard FTP program.

If you are not computer-savvy and just want to add a line of Javascript to your web page, skip this part and go here

A. Installing software on your server

1. Upload the two files magicrss.php and codelock.php into your web root directory (that's the main directory for your web files, and where your Home Page usually is.)
2. Set the permissions on magicrss.php and codelock.php to 544:
   
   (check boxes: Owner: Read, eXecute; Group: Read, Other: Read) (see also advanced notes below)
3. If you are using Magic RSS for Blogs, the two files to be uploaded and set up are magicrssforblogs.php and codelock2.php.
4. Set the permissions on this new subdirectory rsscache to 777 (All boxes checked)

B. Testing

1. Upload the file rss_test.shtml to ANY directory on your server.
2. Using your browser, navigate to the file rss_test.shtml on your server.
3. If you can see some news headlines from Yahoo!, congratulations! Magic RSS is set up and ready to go on your server.

C. Insert some Magic RSS HTML into one of your web pages.

Your web page MUST be able to process Server Side Includes (SSI). Usually, any web page that ends with .shtml will work. Your server may also work with pages that end with .sht, or even .htm or .html. You can find this out by experimenting, or ask your system administrator. However, as we said, .shtml will most likely work.

To test, you can use this code:

Formatting: you can use the code anywhere - in a table cell, for example. The output should follow the formatting of your web page. We also provide style tags so that you can do additional formatting, if you like. See the Configuration page for details.

NOTES:

• Your web root directory is the directory that your home page is in. This is usually the page for your domain name http://www.your_domain.com with no extra directories. Place our two files in that same directory.

• Most FTP and uploading programs let you set the permissions, or properties, for your files and directories. If not, you can telnet in, go to the directory where you have the files, and then type CHMOD 544 codelock.php [enter], then CHMOD 544 magicrss.php [enter] and then CHMOD 777 rsscache [enter]. Alternatively, ask your system administrator to set the permissions for you.

ADVANCED NOTES

You can actually place the Magic RSS files in any directory on your server. Just make sure that the INCLUDE statement in your HTML points to the magicrss.php file wherever it is. For convenience, we recommend the web root directory.

Some servers may require different permissions. If you get error messages when testing your configuration, we suggest that you start clicking additional boxes. 777 (all boxes checked) will definitely work but some people are concerned about the perceived security risks of having such settings on a file on the server.