composition:builder allows you to display information from XML- and RSS sources from any location, i.e. locally stored on your Mac, on a network server or the internet.

Due to system internal changes regarding security in the macOS operating system, composition:builder is no longer able to access http-based sources.

Because of this, it is required to use a small background application which downloads the desired XML/RSS file, stores it locally on your Mac and then allows compositon:builder to access the file without any restrictions.

This also comes with a benefit: in case the internet connection is lost, or the XML/RSS feed is not available, there is still a local copy of the last downloaded version of the XML/RSS file on your Mac.

Accessing RSS and XML Sources

1. Download the required ToolsOnAir Get RSS Script.

2. Extract the downloaded file.

3. Double click the ToolsOnAir Get RSS Script. A Terminal window will appear, as seen below. The Terminal window may look slightly different on your system. 

4. Enter or paste the URL of the RSS feed and press the enter key when you're done.

   Open

   

5. Enter the polling interval and press the enter key when you're done. Example: entering a polling interval of 10 seconds downloads a new copy of the file every 10 seconds.

   Open

   

    

6. The script should begin doing it's work. It downloads the specified RSS and saves it to the directory ~/Documents/CompositionBuilder (where "~" is your home directory). The script will run infinitely, even when the network connection is lost. Once the connection is re-established, the script will continue to download the RSS file. This way, the last copy of the downloaded RSS file can always be accessed – if it has been downloaded at least once.

7. Press control + C to stop the script. You can safely quit the Terminal application afterwards.

Usage in Composition Builder

1. Add a RSS/XML-based component to your composition (for example the Flipping Text (from XML with XPath) component) and select it.

2. Go to the Inspector and find the XML File property at the very bottom.

3. Click on the "…" button.

4. Select the RSS/XML file which was or is being downloaded by the script (the script may still be running while you use the component).

5. Run the composition. Make sure to sync the update interval of the component to the polling interval of the script.

Issues & Questions

• Question: the script doesn't download the specified file

• Answer: double check if the specified URL is accessible. To do that just open the URL in a web browser and see if it is a valid RSS or XML file. Usually, if a web browser displays the content of the URL properly, the script will also download it properly.

• Question: the script downloads the URL but throws errors.

• Answer: if the script was previously working, but begins to throw errors it may be the case that there are connection issues. Also a very low polling interval may result in a temporary or permanent ban of the computer which accesses the URL of the RSS/XML file.

• Question: the script doesn't accept my polling interval.

• Answer: polling intervals below 1 second are not allowed. Use reasonable intervals which seem best for your environment.

• Question: can the script be launched automatically?

• Answer: this script is not able to do this. Please contact us if you need a tailor-made version of the script which can be loaded automatically with the system startup.

• Question: the script doesn't accept my URL.

• Answer: make sure the URL is properly formatted (like http://www.foobarurlhere.com/latestfeed.rss).

• Question: there is no "CompositionBuilder" folder in my Documents.

• Answer: this means the script couldn't download your specified URL. Check for errors in the Terminal window and send us a screenshot so we can help.

• Question: I have a specific question/issue/improvement.

• Answer: contact us and we'll be glad to help.