A feed, also known as RSS feed, XML feed, syndicated content, or web feed, is frequently updated content published by a website. It is usually used for news and blog websites, but can also be used for distributing other types of digital content, including pictures, audio, or video. Feeds can also be used to deliver audio content (usually in MP3 format) which you can listen to on your computer or MP3 player. This is referred to as podcasting.

When you first view a website, Internet Explorer will search for feeds. If feeds are available, the Feeds button will change color and a sound will play.

When you visit a webpage, the Feeds button will change color, letting you know that feeds are available. Click the Feeds button, and then click the feed you want to see. If the website offers Web Slices as well, you'll see the Web Slice button. To get content automatically, you should subscribe to a feed.

To subscribe to a feed, follow these steps:

1. Go to the webpage that has the feed to which you want to subscribe.
2. Click the Feeds button  to discover feeds on the webpage. If the site also has Web Slices, you'll see the Web Slice button instead.
3. Click a feed (if more than one is available). If only one feed is available, you will go directly to that page.
4. Click Subscribe to this feed.
5. Type a name for the feed and select the folder to create the feed in.
6. Click Subscribe.

To add a feed to the Favorites bar, subscribe to the feed, and click the Add to Favorites Bar check box in the Subscribe to this Feed dialog box. If you've already subscribed to the feed, you can click the Add to Favorites Bar button  to add the feed to the Favorites bar.

A feed can have the same content as a webpage, but it's often formatted differently. When you subscribe, Internet Explorer automatically checks the website and downloads new content so you can see what is new since you last visited the feed.

You can receive content automatically by subscribing to a web feed. When you subscribe to a web feed, you set the interval at which Internet Explorer will check the website for updates. Once you've set an interval, Internet Explorer will automatically download the most up-to-date web feed list. Click Related Topics to learn how to subscribe to a web feed.

No, it's usually free to subscribe to a feed.

You view feeds on the Feeds tab in the Favorites Center. To view your feeds, click the Favorites button, and then click Feeds.

Yes, Internet Explorer provides the Common Feed List to other programs. This allows you to subscribe to feeds with Internet Explorer and read them in other programs, such as e-mail clients.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and is used to describe the technology used in creating feeds.

The most common formats are RSS and Atom. Feed formats are constantly being updated with new versions. Internet Explorer supports RSS 0.91, 1.0, and 2.0, and ATOM .3, 1.0. All web feed formats are based on XML (Extensible Markup Language), a text-based computer language used to describe and distribute structured data and documents.