Can I configure Outlook to download/update changed items in an RSS feed?

Question

When using RSS in Outlook 2007, is it possible to get it to download updated items?

I just ran a test with an RSS feed I control. It downloaded everything, then I updated one of the items in the feed. Even though the RSS feed source changed, Outlook never re-downloaded or updated the item.

How can I get it to do this?

Answer 1

Outlook will update changed items, under certain conditions (I tried this with an Atom feed). With some experimentation I found that the item in Outlook will be updated if

1. The updated_at field of the entry is changed, and
2. The title field of the entry is changed, OR the summary field is changed.

In the feed I generate, I added the date of last modification to the end of the summary field, and Outlook now picks up the changes. The modified entry is chaned and bumped to the top of the list... it is however not flagged as Unread. I am not sure how to achieve that.

Answer 2

For my feeds (Outlook '07), they get updated when I click on Send/Receive. I just checked the synch setting (right-click on one of your RSS feed folders, select Properties, then the Synchronization tab) and it states "When you want to synchronize this folder, choose Send/receive from the tools menu."

My feeds also get updated when Outlook automatically checks for new mail (every 5 minutes).