Rivendell has the ability to manage multiple RSS audio feeds, including
capabilities for posting and expiring audio automatically as well as updating
associated cast metadata.  


CREATING AND POPULATING RSS FEEDS
--------------------------------
Setting up a new RSS feed is a matter of accomplishing the following steps:

1) Create and configure the feed in RDAdmin

2) Schedule the audio posts by means of one or more Upload Events in RDCatch.

3) Manage the metadata in RDCastManager.

We'll cover each of these steps in turn.


1) Creating RSS Feeds
Base parameters for each RSS feed are configured in RDAdmin->ManageFeeds.  The
'CHANNEL VALUES' section shows metadata values that will be common to the feed
as a whole (as opposed to specific podcasts within it).  The other parameters
are used as follows:

       Key Name - A unique name, eight-characters or less in length, used to
                  identify the feed within Rivendell.

 Audio Base URL - This is the URL of the directory from which the audio files
                  can be downloaded.  The URL listed should be world-readable
                  by 'anonymous' users.

Audio Purge URL - This is the URL of the directory that the system will use
                  when deleting expired audio from the system (e.g. by means
                  of an FTP 'DELETE' command).  Often, this will be the same
                  as the 'Audio Base URL' above.  The specified 'Username' 
                  and 'Password' should grant sufficient rights to allow 
                  contents in the directory to be deleted.  Currently
                  supported protocols are 'file:', 'ftp:' and 'smb:'.

Max. Shelf Life - Sets the maximum period (in days) that a piece of audio 
                  can be set in RDCastManager to remain in the feed until 
                  purged.  If set to 'None', then no limit is enforced.  This
                  value also establishes the default expiration date for each
                  cast (with 'Off' resulting in no expiration date being set
                  --i.e. the cast remains TFN).

Enable AutoPost - If enabled, each new cast in the feed will become 'visible'
                  immediately following upload, using the default metadata as
                  configured in the channel values.  If not enabled, then all
                  new casts are placed on hold pending the customization of
                  the metadata for the particular cast in RDCastManager.   

XML Data Fields - The various 'XML' fields contain customizable templates that 
Rivendell uses to construct the actual XML code that goes into the RSS file.
The following variables are automatically substituted on-the-fly when the XML
is rendered by the 'rdfeed.xml' script:

CHANNEL PARAMETERS (from CHANNEL PARAMETERS)
-- VARIABLE --  -- Meaning -------------------
----------------------------------------------
%TITLE%         Channel Title
%CATEGORY%      Channel Category
%LINK%          Channel Link
%COPYRIGHT%     Channel Copyright Notice
%WEBMASTER%     Channel Webmaster Address
%DESCRIPTION%   Channel Description
%BUILD_DATE%    Last Build Date
%PUBLISH_DATE%  Date of feed creation
%GENERATOR%     Name and Version of RSS Generator


ITEM PARAMETERS (from individual cast record in RDCastManager)
-- VARIABLE -------  -- Meaning -----------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
%ITEM_TITLE%         Item Title
%ITEM_CATEGORY%      ITem Category
%ITEM_DESCRIPTION%   Item Description
%ITEM_LINK%          Item Link
%ITEM_AUTHOR%        Item Author
%ITEM_SOURCE_TEXT%   Item Third-Party Source - Human Readable
%ITEM_SOURCE_URL%    Item Third-Party Source - URL Link
%ITEM_COMMENTS%      Item Comments
%ITEM_AUDIO_URL%     Item Audio Download URL
%ITEM_AUDIO_LENGTH%  Item Audio File Length in bytes
%ITEM_AUDIO_TIME%    Item Audio Playout Time in MM:SS format
%ITEM_PUBLISH_DATE%  Date of cast creation
%ITEM_GUID%          Globally Unique ID String


2) Posting Audio
Once the RSS feed(s) are set up, individual podcasts can be added by
scheduling one or more Upload events in RDCatch.  To associate a given upload
to a particular feed, simply select the desired feed in the 'RSS Feed' 
control of the Edit Upload dialog, being sure that it gets uploaded to the
location specified in the 'Audio Base URL' for the feed.  RDCatch will
automatically add the audio to the feed's XML file after the upload.


3) Editing Podcast Metadata
The metadata for individual podcasts (including the cast's expiration date and
posting status) can be edited by means of the RDCastManager module.  Operation
of the module should be largely self-explanatory.


POSTING THE RSS FEED FILE
-------------------------
The RSS file for each feed is generated dynamically by the RDFeed
script.  The specific location of the script is determined by the value
given in the '--libexecdir=' parameter to './configure' (see the
'INSTALL' file for more details) and will also be influenced by the specific
configuration used by the web server.  A typical link would looks as 
follows:

   http://www.example.com/rd-bin/rdfeed.xml?TEST

This link would serve the RSS file for the feed with the Key Name 'TEST'.
