RSS Readers: Thunderbird

Creating a RSS account

Before you can subscribe to any RSS feeds, you first need to create an RSS account. To do so:

1. Go to the "File" menu and select "New -> Account".

2. In the dialog box that pops up, select "RSS

News & Blogs" and click "Next"

3. Enter an account name (“News & Blogs” is the

default), click "Next", and finally "Finish"

This new account will now appear in the folders

pane in the main Thunderbird window. Look for it
underneath your email account.

Subscribing to an RSS Feed

To subscribe to a RSS feed, you’ll first need to copy its URL as described below.

In your browser

1. Go to the blog or other web page which has a feed to which you would like to
subscribe. Look for one of these symbols (or something similar) or a link that says
RSS or XML.

2. In Internet Explorer, right click on the icon or link and select “copy shortcut.”
In Firefox, right click on the icon or link and select “copy link location.” This will copy
the URL to your clip board.
Now, go back into Thunderbird

1. Click on the “News & Blogs” in the

folders pane on the left.

2. Then click on the "Manage

Subscriptions" link in the main
window.

3. Once you've brought up the "RSS Subscriptions" dialog box, click the "Add" button, then paste
(CTRL V) the URL for the feed into the box, and click "OK"

After the feed is verified, it will then appear in the "RSS Subscriptions" dialog box and in the folders
pane on the left.
Viewing RSS Feeds
Viewing your RSS feeds in Thunderbird is very similar to reading your email messages.

Under the “News & Blog” folder, you will see listed the feeds to which
you have subscribed. Notice that if there are any new posts from the
feed, the feed name appears in bold. The number of new posts will
appear in parentheses after the name.

1. To view the posts for a feed, click on the feed name. The posts
will be displayed in the main window, similar to an email message.

2. If you wish to delete the post, do so as you would an email

message. Posts are saved unless you delete them.

Unsubscribing from an RSS Feed

1. To unsubscribe from a feed, click on the account name (“News & Blogs”) in the folders pane, then
click on the "Manage Subscriptions" link in the main window. So far, this is the same process as adding
a feed.

2. Click the plus sign next to the feed you wish

to delete. Select the feed below and click the
“Remove” button. You may see a message
asking you if you’re sure that you want to
unsubscribe from the feed. If so, click “Yes”

Note that unsubscribing to a feed will not affect

previously downloaded posts. You will,
however, receive no new posts, Therefore, the
folder for the feed will remain in the folders
pane unless you delete it.

Prepared by Bonnie Shucha

UW Law Library
February 2008