Navigating the UI
The user interface (UI) of RSSpace has been designed to fit the aesthetic of Jetbrains Space as much as it can. This page covers the currently available features of the interface.
Accessing the interface
There are two ways to access the user interface of the application. They are essentially both the same (with a few design differences), but they give you more flexibility on how you wish to manage RSSpace.
Through the top-level page
When RSSpace is added to your Space organization, it enables what we call a "Top-level page". What that does is it creates a new tab that you can pin to your side navigation in order to access the user interface quickly (and in a bigger window than the homepage extension tab).
In order to enable it, simply click on the three horizontal dots you can see below your control area in the top-left corner of your Space organization and enabling the RSSpace Dashboard toggle switch. Here's a little GIF to guide you:
Once that's done, you can access the RSSpace Dashboard from your side navigation bar.
Through the homepage extension tab
If you'd rather hide the colorful RSSpace logo from your navigation bar, you can also access the extension homepage through the Extensions page of your Space organization. To do so, simply follow the same instructions as the top-level page, but for the Extensions tab. Once that's done, you should be able to access the currently installed Space applications by clicking the newly enabled tab:
You probably know this already, but you should then click the RSSpace application to access the homepage of the application:
It is probably more convenient for you to pin the RSSpace Dashboard tab! But if you just occasionally want to manage your subscriptions, customization options and bookmarks, this option is better to avoid cluttering your interface.
Navigation
You can navigate between different sections of the application by clicking the tabs at the top.
Feeds
The "Feeds" tab lets you access all your currently followed RSS feeds. You can add new ones or delete existing ones.
Following a feed
To follow a new feed, simply press the blue "New feed" button at the top right of the interface. It will open the following modal:
You can then input your RSS feed URL. It will be validated, and if everything is in order, it'll automatically be added to your feeds grid!
You can also enable slow mode for this specific subscription by ticking the corresponding checkbox in the settings section. If you're not sure what that does, hover over the question mark next to it or read about it here!
Slow feeds will be displayed with a clock icon next to their name:
Deleting a feed
Deleting a feed is as easy as following a new one. Simply hover over a feed card, and click the "Delete RSS feed" button that appears at the top right corner:
A confirmation modal will then appear to make sure you didn't click the button by mistake. If you validate it, the feed will be removed from your grid.
Settings
The settings section allows you to tweak the user interface. For now there are few options available (theme, UI elements, tabs) but I am adding more customization options with each update.
Theme
The theme of the application can be changed independently from the global Space theme.
Please note: it seems like there is a bug with the "Auto" mode, where even in dark mode, Space will communicate that light mode is on. In that case, you should either set your Space theme to "Dark" (and not "Auto"), or you should set the RSSpace theme to "Dark".
The theme options are the same as the ones you can find in Space:
UI elements & Tabs
Under the "Theme" section, you can find a section titled "UI elements", followed by another one called "Tabs". They allow you to toggle elements across the UI:
Below is a list of all the currently customizable UI elements and tabs:
Show statistics in the Feeds tab
Toggles the statistics area (subscriptions and scans) that can be found in the bottom left part of the Feeds tab.
Tabs - Customization
Toggles the Customization tab in the top bar.
Tabs - Bookmarks
Toggles the Bookmarks tab in the top bar.
Unlike the Theme options, it is necessary to press the "Save" button to make sure your settings persist. The tab bar will not be updated unless you press it.
Customization
The customization tab lets you choose the pieces of information you want to see on your RSS feed notifications. Additionally, it allows you to set individual themes and special options for specific elements. Funky!
Preview
On the right part of the Customization tab, you can see a live preview of what your RSS notifications look like. With a default configuration, it will look like this:
Parameters
The checkboxes on the left will let you customize this appearance, by adding, removing or customizing specific items:
Below are the currently available customization options:
Outline
Groups both "Feed name" and "Icon".
Feed name
Show the name of the RSS feed at the top of the notification.
Icon
Show an icon of your choice next to the feed name.
Title
Displays the title of the RSS feed item above the content preview.
Clickable title
Only available if "Title" is checked. Makes the title blue and clickable.
Content preview
Lets you read a snippet of the RSS item's content. Its maximum length will eventually be customizable.
Image preview
Only available if "Content preview" is checked. Shows a preview of the metadata image linked to the RSS feed's link on the right.
Buttons
Groups both "Read more button" and "Bookmark button".
Read more button
Displays a blue button opening a tab to the RSS feed item's link.
Bookmark button
Displays an outlined button to save the RSS item's link in your RSSpace bookmarks.
Date
Shows the publication date of the item at the bottom of the notification.
Theme
Changes the global theme of the notification, changing the icon and left border color.
Below is the list of customizable theming per toggleable element:
Icon
Changes the icon that is displayed next to the feed name.
A lot. There's an icon picker.
Content preview length
Changes the maximum length of the content preview.
Raw (no limit)
Short (100 characters)
Medium (200 characters)
Long (300 characters)
Read more button theme
Changes the color of the "Read more" button.
Primary
Regular
Danger
Secondary
Bookmark button theme
Changes the color of the "Bookmark" button.
Primary
Regular
Danger
Secondary
Date format
Changes the format of the footer date.
Short (11/20/22, 11:35 PM)
Medium (Nov 20, 2022, 11:35:34 PM)
Long (November 20, 2022 at 11:35:34 PM GMT+1)
Simply press the "Save" button to save your configuration, and all your next RSS notifications should follow your custom layout!
Bookmarks
Since version 1.1.0 of RSSpace, you can save specific RSS items in your bookmarks. To do so, simply click the "Bookmark" button on any notification (make sure not to disable that button!):
The chatbot will then tell you that the bookmark has been saved. You can now access it in the Bookmarks tab:
This tab contains all your saved bookmarks. You simply have to click the title of the item to open a new tab in your browser directly at the link of the RSS item! A real time saver.
You can delete a bookmark by clicking the "X" icon at the right. In order to make sure you didn't make a mistake, you will be prompted to confirm the deletion of the item.
If you don't want to see the modal every time you're deleting a bookmark, simply press the "X" icon while pressing Shift on your keyboard! It will skip the verification process.
Reporting a bug
Since version 1.1.0 of RSSpace, you can report bugs directly from the user interface of the application. To do so, simply click the "Bug report" button in the footer of the application:
You will then access the bug report form:
Simply fill in the required information, press send, and you're good to go! Thank you for your service.
What's next?
I will keep adding more customization options and useful RSS-related features to help you supercharge your experience.
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