How to Use the Sage RSS Reader for Firefox

Sage RSS reader is an extremely easy-to-use program that allows you to subscribe to, read and organize RSS feeds from your favorite websites. Made specifically for Firefox users, the program is quite elegant in its simplicity, since it removes all the extra features that are so rarely used in other RSS readers. Chances are if you've made the switch to Firefox, then you'll appreciate the streamlined simplicity of this "lightweight" RSS reader.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Reading Your RSS Feeds

1. Install the Sage program. You can do this by visiting the download page on the official Sage website (see Resources below).

2. Open the Sage program. There are actually several different ways that you can do this. The easiest way is to click "Tools" in the menu bar--Sage should be the first option at the top. You can also look under "View" on your menu bar, click "Sidebar" and then "Sage." Yet another option is to use the keyboard shortcut of "Alt-Z."

3. Learn how to navigate the sidebar. The sidebar is separated into three different sections. The top section is a tool section where you can search, refresh or change your basic options. The middle section is a list of the RSS feeds you subscribe to currently. The bottom section will show all of the current headers for the feed that you select for reading.

4. Click on the title of the feed in the middle sidebar panel that you wish to read. The current headers for that particular feed should then appear in the lower sidebar section. In the browser window, summaries of these headers will appear, along with links to the stories on the actual website.

5. Go to the website to read the whole story, article or post. You can do this by clicking the header for the post in the bottom section of the sidebar, or you can click on the title of the article directly in the browser window.

Adding RSS Feeds to Sage

6. Locate a website that interests you and that has an RSS feed option. Be sure you're using your Firefox browser to view the website.

7. Locate the RSS feed tag on the website page.

8. Click and drag the RSS feed tag to the upper window of your Sage reader sidebar, where the titles for your subscribed feeds are listed.

9. Visit the new RSS feed, which should simply be listed as RSS 2.0. Though you're now subscribed to the RSS feed, Sage does not automatically recognize the title of the feed when you drag it into the window until you visit it for the first time. Visiting the feed will automatically change the title for you in your subscription window.

10. Search for feeds on the page by clicking the search feature in tool bar in the top section of the sidebar. The search feature is shown as a little magnifying glass icon. When you visit a website, clicking this will find all the available RSS feeds from that particular site.

11. Select the feed you wish to add from the search window.

12. Click the "Add Feed" button. The title of that feed should now show up in your list.

Tips & Warnings

• For easy access to your Sage reader, add it to your toolbar. You can customize your toolbar by clicking "View" under the "Toolbar" options, followed by "Toolbars" and then "Customize." Finally, drag the Sage icon to the toolbar.
• You can easily remove feeds by simply selecting the title and pressing your "Delete" key.
• Sage is designed only for the Firefox browser, so you'll be unable to use the program if you use Internet Explorer or any other browser.

Resources

• Download Sage from the official website