RSS Instructions
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Step 1: Get a reader

Visit Download.com and choose from among the many RSS readers listed there. Many are free or offer free trial periods.

There are two main types of RSS reader, standalone and add-on.

Standalone applications are separate programs that process RSS feeds for you. Awasu, FeedDemon are paid versions and there are many free ones too.
Add-on applications are plug-ins that work within an existing program such as Microsoft Outlook or Internet Explorer or Firefox. NewsGator works with Outlook, Pluck plugs into Internet Explorer and Wizz RSS NewsReader, Sage and NewsFox work with Firefox.

Step 2: Installation of reader

Standalone reader
When you first run a standalone reader, most often you will see a toolbar and three window panes arranged with a left pane and an upper and lower right panes.

The left pane typically displays RSS feeds, or channels, to which you are already subscribed. These can be organized into categories or folders.

The upper-right pane typically shows a list of articles within the channel selected on the left.

The lower-right panel displays the content of the article selected in the pane above.

To change channel groups, just click the drop-down box at the upper left beneath the menus. Sometimes a brief description will appear in the lower right; if so, click the link in the article to load the complete text. Some standalone apps can be configured to send you e-mail every time there's a new article on a topic you're interested in. Most, however, will display a small dialog or pop-up window over the taskbar informing you of the channel, the title, and the URL of the new article.

Add-on reader
Readers that plug into existing applications such as Outlook, Internet Explorer and Firefox typically include a column for channels and a display area for a headline, a brief description, and a URL.

Outlook readers make it easy to organize your channels in convenient folders along with your e-mail. They usually display only the headlines and summaries within the e-mail application; they open an instance of Internet Explorer to display the full articles.

Internet Explorer and Firefox readers, automatically display a selected article within the browser.

Step 3: Add channels and channel groups

Most RSS readers come preloaded with a bunch of channels, but you will want to add your own. Most programs allow you to create new channel groups to organize your channels.

To add a channel, for example, go to the CNET RSS page and click the All Reviews link. Right-click or use CTRL+C to copy the URL from the address bar of your browser. (the page will be full of XML code) Go back to your newsreader, choose the category where you want the new subscription to live (Business, Entertainment, the New York Times), and select New or New Channel from the File menu. In most cases, the URL you copied should automatically be pasted into the URL field in the New Channel wizard. If not, you can cut and paste the URL yourself.

Step 4: Customize

Newsreaders include useful tools for finding articles. A Filter or Search tool will show only articles that contain a keyword you specify. To use it, type a keyword into the Filter/Search bar. For example, if you were looking at a listing of apartments for rent, you might want to enter 1BD to search for one-bedroom apartments. Press Enter, and your newsreader should display only articles containing that keyword. To go back to the full article list, click the drop-down control for the Filter bar and set the keyword to None.

Whenever you find an article you want to save for later, select it, then click the Edit menu. Choose "Copy to news bin," and the article will be saved in a News Bin, which you can access in the left-hand panel.

Some readers include the ability to set a watch, an automatic search through all your incoming feeds for a specific keyword. For example, you could enter "hockey" as a watch. If any article in any feed you subscribe to mentions hockey, the article will be included in the Watch list.

To set a watch, open the File menu, choose New, then select New Watch. Enter a title for it in the dialog box that comes up, then enter a search term in the keyword field. Click Add to put the search term into the keyword list. Click OK, and your watch will be active, and it will appear in the Watch list in the left panel. The Watch panel shows how many articles have come in with each keyword. Click any of your watches to see the articles it has caught.