How-To: Several new Web services let you quickly convert your RSS feeds to PDF for easy archiving, annotation and redistribution of information. Here's how (and why).At first blush, converting an RSS feed to PDF can seem like a dubious proposition. After all, why would you want to take something as fleeting and transitory as breaking news and permanently hard-code it into a file?
But there are several uses for RSS to PDF conversion that can help users redistribute, archive and take feed information offline:
- Redistribution: Share a round-up of the day's news with co-workers. PDF documents can be e-mailed to those who don't use RSS.
- Easy Integration: Supplement an existing PDF document with a resource list of links.
- Annotation: Share comments about sites and news by annotating the feed URLs with text and audio inside the PDF.
- Archiving: Create printable copies of your news feeds.
- News Reading: Turn Adobe Reader into an RSS feed reader and avoid downloading a newsreader application.
- Offline Reading: Take news with you when you're on the go, either by printing a PDF or copying it to your handheld devices.
Want to convert PDFs to audio formats? Click here to read more.
If converting from RSS to PDF strikes you as an effective way to manage your information, several new sites offer the capability. Rss2pdf.com, which launched July 29, was first out of the gate.
Several sites with similar capabilities, such as rss2pdf.org, launched soon after.
To convert an RSS feed to a PDF file, visit rss2pdf.com and paste a feed URL in the text box.
You can choose whether to include images in the PDF and specify whether you're converting from RSS or OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language).
OPML is a common file format for exchanging RSS feeds between RSS aggregators.
Converting from an OPML file allows you, in effect, to turn Adobe Reader into a newsreader for all your feeds.
RSS feeds can be more than just text. For example, Flickr's RSS feeds can be used to create custom contact sheets of images in a PDF.
Can't find your PDF buttons in Word and other applications? Click here to read more.
Rss2pdf.com and its competitors aren't the only conversion utilities out there.
Adobe's own Acrobat 7, available since January 2005, offers the very same ability.
To convert feeds to PDF in Acrobat 7, choose View > Tracker. Then, choose Services > Subscribe.
In the dialogue box, enter an RSS feed and press OK. The tracker will then show the news feed in the left-hand column.
The list updates automatically whenever the site you're tracking posts more news.
In addition, on Windows, an icon will appear in your system tray notifying you that the site you are tracking has updated.
To convert the feed to a PDF, right-click on the feed title and select Convert to PDF. The process is similar on a Mac.
Acrobat 7 is a great tool for RSS to PDF conversion. But for users who don't have the scratch to spare for Acrobat, the free Web conversion services are great resources.
/ 3 
