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This is my very first post written with Windows Live Writer–wow, what a great tool for bloggers! So easy to download and hook up to your blog…it’s been on my online to-do list for a while now! Next thing to mark off: upgrading to Firefox 2.0.
I learn all these helpful things over at MInTheGap. Wednesday Tech Help is a new feature at his site if you want to pop over there tomorrow and see his latest. He posted in September about Windows Live Writer sharing how it was created for working with Live Spaces, but that other bloghosts like Word Press, Blogger, Typepad, etc will work with it as well.
So this morning, I’m playing with this great new tool! Blogging this way couldn’t be faster, and I thought it was quick anyway at Word Press (which is why I switched from Bravenet…too many long la-bor-i-ous steps to get to a blank journal page!).
Inserting maps and pictures is just a click away…no wait whatsoever as it uploads…it goes directly into your post. Then the fun begins! You can click on options, sizes, shadow the background as I did in the above picture. You choose where to place it, whether to text wrap it or not. And it all happens instantly! I just love cool time-savers and this is one that blogging moms must have!
You can change your text color/make custom colors, spell check, write and save your drafts while offline, and publish to your blog directly from Windows Live Writer. And there’s a button in the top toolbar to the left of “Publish”. Drop it down and with a click of a button you can quickly preview what your post will look like when published to your blog. With this same button you can view the HTML code, etc.
Take it from me, and go download Windows Live Writer today!
I’m glad to see you like the tool! Thanks for the link!
Wow! Sounds great. I’m in the process of building a website right now, so when I switch everything over, I’ll have to give it a try.
So I was just over there looking when I realized I have no idea what they mean by “uploading pictures …” and the options they were talking about. Have you used it with pictures you have taken yourself? Was it intuitive how to get the picture from your computer into the program?
I’m also considering putting this idea on the back burner until our new computer arrives. Shouldn’t be long (I don’t know if you knew that I am currently using an ME operating system, so I am always a little nervous about adding or changing anything).
Rebecca, it’s as simple as clicking on a link that says “insert picture”…up pops your “My Pictures” from your computer and you click on the pic you want, click open and ta-da, it’s on your blog for you to resize (again buttons for any options you could want are right there, self-explanatory) etc. Pics on the web or that you’ve scanned into your computer…you can use anything. All they mean by “uploading” is bringing it from your computer’s hard drive to the Live Writer blog.
I’m not sure what you mean by “ME operating system” :O) I’m not a techie by any means so if I could figure out how to use this anyone could.
That sounds awesome, Mary!
Yesterday I figured out a “hack” way to do pictures. That will work for me for now.
Our computer is so old and limited that my hero and I are both afraid to download anything new onto it, in fear that it will make everything else not work. We are just waiting for a new one to arrive, however, and then I will definitely be trying Windows Live Writer.
And that’s okay that you don’t know what ME is. If you did, you’d be laughing at me. =D
Happy for you, getting a new computer! I understand the fear of downloads and old pc’s…we never had a brand new pc till this year!
I have read this post and went about to reexplore the software installation. It proved to be quite tedious, because I had to install something called .NET, and it took me over an hour :). But I went all the way through with it, and can confirm Your opinion about the tool – although it does not want to accept my blogger-template… for some reason.
Mamry, privately now :): You wrote that You mailed me about my web page, but somehow I did not receive this e-mail. Could You, please, remail it to me?
Hugs
Thanks for sharing that, I didn’t have to install anything .NET…hm, in fact, for me the whole process couldn’t have been slicker. But am glad you like the tool, I love it and won’t be going back to normal blogging except for the ones I have drafted in WordPress already! :O)
I will resend the email! :O)
The big trick is making sure to get the image on the web onto your computer so that you can import it into WLW. There’s a couple good reasons for this.
1. As Ann found, if you go back in my archive some pictures are no longer available– the “hotlinked” (the term used for linking to pictures on someone else’s website) pictures no longer are available. If you save them and upload them to your server, they will always be available.
2. Secondly, you have better control over sizing the image and the shadowing.
So, to get the image that you’re looking at onto your hard drive, use your right mouse button on the image and select “Save image as…” Choose a location that you know (My Pictures or whatever) and save it. Then you should be able to insert the picture in WLW and tweak it like Mary is saying!
Let me know if you have any troubles– MInTheGap -at- MInTheGap -dot- com