Anonymous Access for Lists

Tired of this message: “Cannot retrieve the URL specified in the XML Link“? Having trouble pulling RSS feed into a XML Web Part, RSS Viewer or Content Query Web Part from a SharePoint list? Look no farther. Here are few simple steps to end your frustration and make it happen.

First thing, enable anonymous access for the web application by accessing Central Administration >> Application Management and under Application Security section click on “Authentication providers” link.

Once inside the Authentication providers settings, click on the Zone your list is exposed and make sure “Enable anonymous access” check box under Anonymous Access is checked and hit Save button.

Now, we need to enable anonymous access for the site where the list is hosted. So, go to Site Actions >> Site Settings >> Modify All Site Settings.

Under “Users and Permissions” section click on “Advanced permissions” link.

On the toolbar click on Settings and Anonymous Access. Next choose “Lists and libraries” and click OK.

Next, go to the list that needs anonymous access and click on the Settings >> List Settings.

Inside the list settings under “Permissions and Management” section click on the “Permissions for this list” link.

Click to expand the Settings menu and then click Anonymous Access.

Choose the permission for the anonymous users, for this example I used the “View Items” choice. Better give them less rights than too much. You can just come back later and adjust the settings if needed.

Now that you solved the RSS feed security issue you might want to customize the way your content is displayed. Check out the previous article on how to Apply a Style to the XML Viewer Web Part.