Simple RSS Portlet - Configuration and Installation
No configuration is required, however you must rename the binary portlet WAR so that it doesn't contain a version at the end of the name. ie it should be simple-rss-portlet.war not simple-rss-portlet-1.0.2.war, for example. Then, simply drop the WAR into Tomcat and register it via the Portlet Manager. The WAR is preconfigured with the Pluto invoker, you can just drop it in and go.
This will allow users to add the portlet to their layout and configure it as they please. If you want to setup pre configured portlet instances with set URLs, read on and we'll go through how to register it as a portlet publishing type and to setup each portlet.
Registering the portlet as a publishing type
If you want to pre-configure instances of the portlet, you need to register it as a pre-configured portlet publishing type. Registering the portlet in this manner will create a new option in the initial portlet type screen of the portlet administration wizard and will pre-configure some of the settings of the portlet.
To do this, first create a new directory in the uPortal source tree at{{uportal-war/src/main/resources/org/jasig/portal/channels/rss}}. Copy the file from docs/cpd/SimpleRSSPortlet.cpd in the portlet into this new directory. You will need to execute an ant deploy-war to update uPortal.
Next, import the portlet's channel type definition into your portal. From the uPortal base directory:
ant crn-import -Ddir=/path/to/simple-rss-portlet/docs/type -Dpattern=rss.channel-type
Configuring multiple instances of the portlet
After you have registered the portlet as a publishing type, in the Portlet Manager, you should see something similar to the screenshot below. Note the new type.
1. Select the RSS Feed type and follow through the screens as per you would for any other portlet. If you want to disable user's from editing the RSS feed URL that you set, uncheck the Edit mode checkbox. Be sure to always set Disable Dynamic Title to FALSE so you can set custom portlet titles.
2. This portlet supports the CONFIG PortletMode, so you will eventually be presented with a screen similar to the screenshot below. This is where we configure this specific instance of the portlet to point to the different RSS feeds.
3. Save the settings and you are now ready to drop the portlet onto your layout.
Deploying the portlet in Sakai
The RSS portlet also works in Sakai, with a minor modification. Sakai currently requires Tomcat 5.5 so is bound to jstl-1.1.2. However, the portlet deploys jstl-1.2 because uPortal is bound to Tomcat 6. So just downgrade the jstl-1.2 jar in the portlet's WEB-INF/lib to the 1.1.2 version.
It doesn't look like the CSS is coming through properly either. That will be addressed in a later release.