Blogging for some is a passion and for some is a source of income. There are some people who do Blogging just because they like writing, and some people do it for just for earning some money with it. Whatever the purpose may be, here’s a tool that can help you Blog, even when not online. The article is saved in local Computer, and then when online, at the push of one button, the article is published online – on the Blog. Looks cool, right. Well, there’s more to this useful tool then this.
Windows Live writer is Microsoft’s free offering for Bloggers. It’s a tool that comes with the package of Windows Live Essentials. Windows Live Essentials is a complete package consisting of many free programs like Windows Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Mail, Messenger, iMesh, family safety, Bing bar, etc. It can be said that Windows Live Essentials is a freeware, with a whole lot of bunch of free softwares, just for Windows user. See, now there’s a reason to feel special as a Windows user. Thanks to Windows Live Essentials.
How to configure Windows Live Writer
Firstly, download Windows Live Essentials. When installing Windows Live Essentials, if you select “recommended” option, then Live Writer will be installed, and if you select the “custom” option, then you will need to check mark the box next to Windows Live Writer. Click “Next” and install it (Install other programs if you wish to, else uncheck them).
Step1
Windows Live Writer now needs to be configured, as we are just starting it for the first time. This is the first screen that opens when starting Live writer. Click on Next.
Step2
Now select the appropriate option. If you have a WordPress Blog then select WordPress, and if you have a Blogger Blog, then select Other Services.Click on Next.
Step3
In the previous step, “WordPress” was selected, and therefore in this step, you will need to enter the URL (website address), username and password of your Blog. Click on Next.
Step4
Well, the process is over, and setting up Windows Live Writer is this easy. It will take some time to analyze the blog, and it will also ask you to download some of the theme files, so that you get a feel that you’re writing live on the blog, and not on the local PC. One problem here is that it publishes a temporary post on the Blog, so afterwards don’t forget to delete it. That’s done. Now your Blog is configured and you’re ready to rock and roll.
How to Use Windows Live Writer for Blogging
Well, its really easy and it doesn’t need any tutorial, but here’s a short explanation of some of its features and how to use it effectively for the purpose of Blogging.
Its said that a picture is worth a thousand words, therefore, please take a look at below image. (Click on it to enlarge)
Learning this program is very easy. Just start writing, and if the need arises, then use the buttons provided in the Home and Insert ribbons. Here are some shortcuts keys for Windows Live Writer which can come in handy.
Create a new Post – Ctrl + N
Save to local machine – Ctrl + S
Post draft to Blog – Ctrl + Shift + D
Publish post – Ctrl + Shift + P
Bold – Ctrl + B
Italics – Ctrl + I
Underline – Ctrl + U
Strikethrough – Ctrl + H
Spelling check – F7
Insert Hyperlink – Ctrl + K
Bullet list – Ctrl + Shift + L
Find – Ctrl + F
H3 Heading – Ctrl + Left + Alt + 3
Show/hide ribbon – Ctrl + F1
Print – Ctrl + P
(These are only some shortcut keys, there are many more)
Finally, after writing, select the category, add tags, and click on Publish, to publish this post on the Blog, or click on Post draft to Blog, to post this as a draft on your Blog. Or just press the handy Ctrl + S, to save it as a draft in your local machine.
There’s also “word count” button, so that freelancers who are earning money by writing an article can check how many words does the article have. Align center, left, right, blockquote, change text color, etc. All this features makes this program very useful. There are also three views – Edit, Preview and Source. “Edit view” is WYSIWYG editor, you can write here and the article will be published as it is. “Preview view” will display a preview of how your article will look like when published on Blog, and “Source view” will display the HTML code for your article.
So what do you think about this freeware. Is it going to change the way you Blog, or is it going to come handy in some conditions when you are not connected to the internet. Simply keep on writing Posts, and saving it locally by pressing Ctrl + S, and when the internet connection is back, click on “Publish”. For people who are not much tech savvy, they will really find this program as useful. One doesn’t need to delve in coding or write ol for ordered list, and ul for unordered list. Just press the required button, and your job is done. No coding knowledge required. Also the user interface is so clean, that you won’t even need to search for anything. All the important buttons will be displayed on the home ribbon.
So go ahead try out this awesome Blogging software from Microsoft.
Micki says
Hi, I’ve had to uninstall WLW, and re-install because it all of the sudden stopped working ( as in posting) for both my self hosted WP blog and a free blogger blog.
Both sites worked fine until the week of July 21st. So I deleted my WP account from WLW, now when I try to add it (doing it just like you showed) I get the error message that it can’t find the url.
I’ve left messages at all the forums, and looks like several people have the same issues. So frustrating….