Frequently Asked Questions

Why do some videos work in Snarfer and others don't?

Snarfster — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:41:58 +0000

Due to security issues we only allow approved sites to use embed tag and have the video show directly within Snarfer's preview window when scrolling down the message list (without opening the specific message). With each release the developer team adds other video sites we discover to the allow list so their videos work in preview pane.

TIP - If you double-click on a message with the non-working video and view the original message the video will work. This is because your now viewing message in it's web form and not it's feed form.

How can I help spread the word about Snarfer?

Snarfster — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:10:29 +0000

That's easy. We've put together a few buttons (one with transparent background) you can add to your site or blog.

Cut n' Paste the code snipets below each image to easily add.

Code:

<a href="http://www.snarfware.com"><img src="http://www.snarfware.com/images/logo.gif" border="0" alt="Snarfer - Free RSS Reader" /></a> Snarfer Free RSS Reader

Code:

<a href="http://www.snarfware.com"><img src="http://www.snarfware.com/images/download_snarfer_med.gif" border="0" alt="Snarfer - Free RSS Reader" /></a> Snarfer Free RSS Reader

Code:

<a href="http://www.snarfware.com"><img src="http://www.snarfware.com/images/snarfer_banner_320x240.jpg" border="0" alt="Snarfer - Free RSS Reader" /></a> Snarfer Free RSS Reader

Code:

<a href="http://www.snarfware.com"><img src="http://www.snarfware.com/images/download_snarfer_med_trans.gif" border="0" alt="Snarfer - Free RSS Reader" /></a> Snarfer Free RSS Reader

Code:

<a href="http://www.snarfware.com"><img src="http://www.snarfware.com/images/get_snarfer.gif" border="0" alt="Snarfer - Free RSS Reader" /></a> Snarfer Free RSS Reader

Code:

<a href="http://www.snarfware.com"><img src="http://www.snarfware.com/images/snarfer_banner_200x150.jpg" border="0" alt="Snarfer - Free RSS Reader" /></a> Snarfer Free RSS Reader

Code:

<a href="http://www.snarfware.com"><img src="http://www.snarfware.com/images/get_snarfer_2.gif" border="0" alt="Snarfer - Free RSS Reader" /></a> Snarfer Free RSS Reader

Code:

<a href="http://www.snarfware.com"><img src="http://www.snarfware.com/images/get_snarfer_2a.gif" border="0" alt="Snarfer - Free RSS Reader" /></a> Snarfer Free RSS Reader

How do I write my own plugins?

Snarfster — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:58:32 +0000

New SnarferWiki has been started to help anyone interested in writing plugins for Snarfer. Click HERE to view our new plugin wiki. This is just the beginning so please be patient.

Want your feed promoted on Snarfer?

Snarfster — Sat, 24 May 2008 13:14:39 +0000

Would you like to see your RSS feed featured in Feed of the week, in our Add More Feeds to Snarfer forum, or included with the optional feeds offered during install? Snarfer users are always looking for great feeds so why not offer yours?

Click HERE to send us a note.

Tell us what you'll trade us to have your feed featured. We love cash but giving us a big plug on your feed and a link may just do the trick. Don't be shy we'll consider all offers.

Team Snarfer

Why are all my Snarfware feeds showing the same messages?

Snarfster — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 21:12:04 +0000

[this message ONLY applies to users who installed Snarfer prior to 21:00 GMT October 28th, 2007]

Due to an unintended server update compounded by me going stupid (temporally I hope) our forum feeds were overwritten thereby giving ALL Snarfware feeds the same address which means they all have the same messages.

Luckily it's easy to get all your Snarfer feeds working properly again .....

HERE

Snarfware Support

DELETE

Snarfware

Again I apologize for roaching your Snarfer feeds.

- Snarfster

How can I recover my OPML (feed) list so I can reinstall?

Snarfster — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 15:08:37 +0000

FIRST TRY ... for all versions

File

Export to

OPML (feeds)

The following solution assumes you can't start Snarfer to recover feeds. This is a basic recovery tool and should be fairly easy for any user to use. OPMLRecover is used to try and export your feedlist so that you may uninstall/reinstall Snarfer afterwhich you can import your orig. feedlist.

for versions 0.1.0 to 0.8.0

http://www.snarfware.com/downloads/opmlrecover.exe

for version 0.9.0 and up

http://www.snarfware.com/downloads/opmlrecover2.exe

Why do I get "A Runtime Error has occurred" error?

Snarfster — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 21:09:03 +0000

This is an Internet Explorer issue. Microsoft suggests the following fix ....

Turn off script debugging

1. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.

2. In the Internet Options dialog box, click Advanced.

3. Click to select the Disable script debugging check boxes.

4. Click to clear the Display a notification about every script error check box.

5. Click OK.

What are the five stars at the top of each message?

Snarfster — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:52:44 +0000

We've added the Outbrain RSS message rating system that allows users to simply click on star to rate a message (no signup, webpages, etc. are required, just click).

Outbrain's focus is to combine the collective intelligence of like-minded RSS/blog readers and save each outbrainer time by floating the best posts and flagging the worst. No need for you to read something that 100 people like you thought was a waste of time. Please note that if you leave a message and go back your vote might now show up for an hour or so.

Snarfer uses an advanced plugin architecture that allows plugins to be uninstalled via View - Options - Plugins dialog box.

What's the sponsor tab all about?

Snarfster — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 13:21:46 +0000

Since Snarfer's humble beginning in 2004 we've worked very hard to keep Snarfer free for everyone wanting a fantastic RSS reader. Our Snarfware team has only one job, the full-time active development of Snarfer. The hard work has paid off by making Snarfer the world's most popular free RSS reader.

But (and you know there's a but) like everyone else we have bills to pay so we've had to search out income opportunities. During our long search we ruled out ideas like banner ads, RSS ads placed in message results, and others in favor of a single sponsorship tab. This was the least intrusive, non-interfering method that provided value-added functions for users who use it yet didn't mess with users who didn't. A win-win for everyone.

We've currently teamed up with Pageflakes to provide free value-added functions that some (we realize not all) users will take advantage of. Like Snarfer, Pageflakes is free and can be customized to your tastes from hundreds of flakes.

So what do you have to lose? Just click on signup link in the upper right corner of the sponsored tab to start customizing Pageflakes.

Read Pageflakes FAQ

Enjoy!

PS .... The sponsor tab (if used or not) cannot be removed from this version. You can block the site in your firewall if you really feel the need to prevent the page from loading.

PSS .... The sponsor tab doesn't slow down Snarfer (maybe a little for those poor souls still using dial-up). Feeds start downloading the instant Snarfer starts. Users can begin reading them as quick as you can click on a feed or folder to bring up messages.

How do I fix a corrupt (or corrupting) database?

Snarfster — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 18:36:18 +0000

-- we believe this issue was fixed in version 0.9.0 --

If you experience a corrupt (or corrupting) database that our autorecover is unable to repair we can offer only one fix at this time ...

1) Go to File > Export to > OPML and export your current feed list to an OPML file (save this file)
2) Make sure Snarfer is closed by right-clicking on icon and choose Exit
3) Uninstall Snarfer
4) Reinstall Snarfer from website (so that your sure you have most current version)
5) Go to File > Import from > OPML and import your old feed list your saved OPML file

The bad news is you'll lose older messages but your feed list will be saved and will re-populate with current messages.

Also READ this post for more data.

Official Snarfware RSS Feeds - Important Notice

Snarfster — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 15:50:27 +0000

This OPML file contains the complete and official Snarfer feeds to keep you up to date on all things Snarfer. After all this time we've cleaned up, added, and modified our feeds and it is highly recommended ALL users update.

In the near future many new features will be added to Snarfer using plugins installed directly from our feeds and we will inform users about these new features via our feeds.

BEFORE adding this OPML we suggest you delete the Snarfware folder from the folder tree first to avoid creating duplicate feeds (after moving any non-snarfware feeds that you may have added to the Snarfware folder) then add this OPML file to reset your Snarfware feeds. You won't lose anything and Snarfer will re-populate the new feeds with all our messages so you won't miss anything.

AFTER you've deleted the Snarfware folder click HERE to add the Snarfware feeds.

How do I use Firefox instead IE?

Snarfster — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:57:04 +0000

Open the View|Options menu, select the Reading tab, and change the Open article links setting to In a new window. That will cause all links to open in a new browser window (which should be Firefox if that's your default browser).

In Firefox, go to the Tools menu and select Options. In the Options dialog select the first tab, General. There should be a Default Browser section with a checkbox: Firefox should check to to see if it is the default browser when starting. Make sure that is checked. Also click on the Check Now button next to it.

That should get Firefox working as your default browser. However, to double check go to the Windows Start menu, select the Run dialog and enter a url there, e.g. http://www.snarfware.com/ . If that starts up in Firefox then your settings are correct. If it starts up Internet Explorer then something is still not right.

How do I control the numbers of messages kept (and db size)?

Snarfster — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 13:50:07 +0000

Right-click on any feed and select Properties. Go to the last tab, Updating. From here you can set Keep old messages which controls how many messages this feed will store in the database.

To set global defaults for all your feeds (ones that are set to Use default) click on the Set Defaults button. Setting this will trim the database to the last X messages.

Please note that the trimming of messages will occur when Snarfer refreshes.

Does Snarfer support any keyboard shortcuts?

j4_james — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:36:35 +0000

I'm sorry, I didn't notice your question until now. The FAQ area isn't meant for posting questions so I usually don't look here.

Anyway, to answer your question, there is an option in Snarfer to clean up old messages automatically. Right click on the feed and select the Properties menu (Eigenschaften if you have the German language pack) to get to the Feed properties dialog. Select the last tab on that dialog, Updating (or Aktualisierung). The last option on that tab, Keep old messages, sets how many messages Snarfer will accumulate in that feed before it starts deleting them.

If you want the settings to be the same for all your feeds, just leave that value as Use default (or Standard verwenden) and click on the Set Defaults (Standard) button to change the default values.

Does Snarfer support any keyboard shortcuts?

pierro — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 12:39:08 +0000

maybee my question about: cleaning up all old messages :
ending somewere . . . and this option is dont exist:
i guess, i change to "Great News"

Does Snarfer support any keyboard shortcuts?

pierro — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 03:43:26 +0000

howdy; my name is pierro and im from germany - thats why
my english is all others than good; my german is better, anyway.
can i use a option in Snafer for cleaning up all old messenges
automaticly . . . . i know: i can deleted messenges when i
selected , but auomaticly ? like in the nice rss_reader "great news" ?
there it is posible; i can cleaning up the "reader_input" for exemple:
all messenges older than 10 days . .
puhh- i hoe you understand my badly english

Notice for users of ESET NOD32 antivirus program

Snarfster — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 13:31:24 +0000

We've posted a build that fixes this issue 0.7.1 (other users don't need to update)

http://www.snarfware.com/downloads/snarfer.exe

Notice for users of ESET NOD32 antivirus program

Snarfster — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 13:46:12 +0000

We have found an error that occurs when the ESET NOD32 antivirus program is running on a machine running Snarfer that causes Snarfer to fail reading feeds. We are working on a solution which will be released soon.

If you have this issue please let us know ...
http://www.snarfware.com/contact.htm

Sorry for any inconvenience,
Snarfster

Does Snarfer support any keyboard shortcuts?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 11:12:46 +0000

Snarfer supports the following keyboard shortcuts. Snarfer also makes extensive use of context sensitive right-click menus depending on position of cursor (when placed over a folder, feed, message, or tab).

Window Pane Controls

Preview Tab Controls

Refreshing Feeds

F5 = Refresh selected feed (refreshing all feeds requires using right-click menu when cursor is placed over root folder labeled 'Message Folders')

Reading Messages

Marking Messages Read/Unread

Managing Messages and Folders

Managing Feeds

Alt-Enter = View properties for the selected feed

ChiefSnarfer

Where do I download language packs for Snarfer?

Snarfster — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 14:46:11 +0000

Language Page

Snarfer Training Video - eBay Search

Snarfster — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 15:39:55 +0000

This short flash video shows users how to quickly set up an eBay search.

Please note that Snarfer makes use of many right-button mouse commands. When in doubt always click your right mouse button when cursor is over a folder or specific message to see extened comands.

Watch the eBay flash video

How do I mark articles as read or unread?

ChiefSnarfer — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 21:36:49 +0000

Right click on feed and select Mark All Read or Mark All Unread. You can also right click directly on the article and select Mark as Read or Mark as Unread.

How can I email and share articles with someone else?

ChiefSnarfer — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 21:31:42 +0000

To email an article to someone else select the article and then right click the mouse. Snarfer presents a context menu. Select the "Email This" option.

How do I access the Craiglist and eBay search features?

ChiefSnarfer — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 21:21:06 +0000

There are two ways to access the new search features:

1) Click on File|New on the Snarfer menu and then select Craigslist Search or eBay Search. The Search Wizard will start.

or

2) Click on the tool bar icon beside the <Search Here> input prompt. You will be presented with 4 search icons: Craigslist, Ebay, Local and Web. Select the one you want. Type your search in the input box and hit enter. The Search Wizard starts.

Follow the prompts on the Wizard. Once you have completed the Wizard your search will be active. A search feed will be created in the folder tree. Your search is an ongoing search. New results for the search will automatically be returned every time the feed updates.

New Snarfware Feeds

Snarfster — Mon, 22 May 2006 21:09:25 +0000

Snarfware has changed some and added more feeds for Snarfer support. Please delete any Snarfware feeds and/or folders before installing the new ones to ensure you don't miss any important news.

This OPML file contains one or more feeds from the publisher. Click on the link below to open a dialog box that will allow selection of which of these feeds to add to Snarfer.

Some users may see an [Open - Save - Cancel] dialog box, choose the Open option. To have Snarfer open the OPML dialog box automatically in the future uncheck the [Always ask before opening this type of file].

ADD Snarfware

How can I control the time delay to mark a news article read

Snarfster — Wed, 17 May 2006 15:20:38 +0000

Under the view menu you can control this setting via the Reading tab.

How can I control when a feed updates or when older news art

Snarfster — Wed, 17 May 2006 15:20:19 +0000

Right click on feed and select properties. The updating tab controls these settings by feed.

Can I create user folders in Snarfer to store news articles?

Snarfster — Wed, 17 May 2006 15:20:00 +0000

Yes. Click on the "+" sign on the tool bar and select folder. Once you create a folder you can then cut, copy and paste (or drag and drop) news articles for filing.

Why would I want to search RSS with Snarfer?

Snarfster — Wed, 17 May 2006 15:19:43 +0000

When you create an RSS search in Snarfer you are creating an automatic persistent search. This means that the Snarfer is always searching the keywords you specified. When it finds a match it returns the results. This means that you no longer have to initiate searches on a frequent basis. Snarfer is always searching for you!

How does Snarfer search RSS?

Snarfster — Wed, 17 May 2006 15:19:18 +0000

Snarfer drives a number of popular RSS search engines. When you create a RSS search (click on the "+" sign on the tool bar) the current list of RSS search engines are displayed.

How can I change font and font size?

Snarfster — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 14:23:28 +0000

Disclaimer: changing the registry can cause your system to become unstable, so this is at your own risk.

To change the default font used in the message view and the preview window, use your registry editor to open the key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Snarfware\Snarfer. Add the string value "FontFamily" to set the name of the font you'd like, and the string value "FontSize" to specify the size of the font, in points. The size can be a floating point number.

You'll need restart Snarfer for these changes to take effect.

How can I set the mark-as-read time setting?

Snarfster — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 14:22:50 +0000

Disclaimer: changing the registry can cause your system to become unstable, so this is at your own risk.

As a temporary solution you can set the mark-as-read delay through the registry. Use you registry editor to open the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Snarfware\Snarfer.

Add the DWORD value "MarkReadDelay" with the time in milliseconds that you would like Snarfer to wait before marking an entry as read. If you set it to 0, entries will never be automatically marked as read. The default value is 4000 (4 seconds).

You'll need restart Snarfer for this change to take effect.

Does Snarfer contain any Spyware or Mailware?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 14:00:24 +0000

NO! Snarfer does NOT have any Spyware or Malware embedded in it. When you install Snarfer look for the Security Warning message to pop up which will identify Snarfware LLC as the publisher. If Snarfware LLC is not displayed as the publisher then you are not installing Snarfer!

ChiefSnarfer

How much does Snarfer cost?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 14:00:02 +0000

Snarfer is FREE!

ChiefSnarfer

How do I contact Snarfware?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 13:59:39 +0000

Just click HERE

ChiefSnarfer

How do I give feedback, feature requests and ask questions?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 13:59:19 +0000

We have provided a discussion forum for this purpose as well as to encourage discussion in the Snarfer community.

ChiefSnarfer

How do I share my feeds with others?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 13:58:42 +0000

You can export them to OPML format and then Snarfer will email them to someone else. Once received they can be imported into Snarfer.

ChiefSnarfer

How can I force a Snarfer to refresh the feed I am reading?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 13:58:13 +0000

You can force a refresh of a feed by selecting the feed in the left pane and then right clicking on it. Select Refresh from the menu.

ChiefSnarfer

How often does Snarfer update its feeds?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 13:57:47 +0000

Snarfer default is to update feeds once every hour.

ChiefSnarfer

Can I add more feeds to Snarfer?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 13:57:26 +0000

Of course! You can add any RSS feed that you want into Snarfer. Select File | New | Feed from the menu.

ChiefSnarfer

What is OPML?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 13:56:59 +0000

OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) is an XML format for outlines. Originally developed by Radio UserLand as a native file format for an outliner application it has since been adopted for other uses, the most common being to exchange lists of RSS feeds between RSS aggregators.

ChiefSnarfer

How big is the Snarfer Download?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 13:56:27 +0000

Under 250K (that's very small!)

ChiefSnarfer

What is RSS?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 13:55:52 +0000

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a lightweight XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content.

What is Snarfer?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 13:55:22 +0000

Snarfer allows users to Subscribe, Read and Manage RSS feeds and content. A Snarfer is a new type of creature on the Internet. Snarfers are hungry little creatures that crave information! They consume a steady stream of information feeds and store it for their users. Snarfer gets "smart" by accumulating information from many different places and then gives users the ability to read and manage it.

ChiefSnarfer

Who is Snarfware?

ChiefSnarfer — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 12:37:44 +0000

Snarfware, LLC is located here on Earth with a mission of delivering fast, powerful, efficient and easy to use products for the RSS marketplace. Snarfware"s Snarfer is best way to read and manage RSS feeds and content and is designed to allow users to be fully functional with RSS seconds after downloading it. The company is privately held and was founded in December, 2004. Snarfware funds itself through an unobtrusive online advertising model. Snarfer is FREE and was announced Q4 2005.

ChiefSnarfer