Aggregator Module

Skill Level: 
Intermediate

The Aggregator module is a powerful feed reader that is included in Drupal core. When enabled, the Aggregator module can fetch syndicated content from other websites.

To syndicate content from another website

  1. Obtain the fully-qualified URL of the remote site's syndication page. Common filename extensions for syndication pages are .rss, .xml and .rdf. Most sites that offer syndication will have an obvious link to their syndication page.

Enable Aggregator

  1. On the Administration toolbar, click Modules.
  2. Click the box next to Aggregator to switch it to ON.
    Turn aggregator on
  3. Click Save configuration at the bottom of the left column.

Configure Aggregator

  1. On the Administration toolbar, click Configuration.
  2. In the WEB SERVICES block (bottom of second column), click the Feed aggregator link.
  3. Click the + Add category link.
  4. Enter a Title and Description for the category of RSS Feeds you want to create.
  5. Click Save.
  6. Return to the Feed aggregator page by clicking Feed aggregator in the breadcrumbs.
    Home » Administration » Configuration » Web services » Feed aggregator
  7. Click + Add feed link.
  8. Enter the Title and URL for the syndication page.
  9. Click Save.
  10. Return to the Feed aggregator page by clicking Feed aggregator in the breadcrumbs.
  11. In the OPERATIONS column, click the update items link for your added feed.
Please note two things:
  • With Aggregator, the content is displayed on your site, but not actually imported. The content is not saved on your site and clicking on the titles will take you back to the original content. If you want to permanently import RSS feeds as content, try the Feeds module: http://drupal.org/project/feeds.
  • You will need to set up cron on your site in order to refresh these feeds on a regular basis. You can do this by going to Administration > Configuration > System > Cron. This will run a cron task that is triggered by the first visitor to your site after the specified time.

To enable XML syndication on your site

  1. On the Administration toolbar, click Structure.
  2. Click the Blocks link.
  3. Scroll down to the Disabled section to find Syndicate, and then select Main Content (or the section to syndicate) from the REGION drop-down menu.
  4. Click Save blocks.
Contributed By: 
IIM
Additional Resources: 
Aggregator: publishing syndicated content