12.30.06
Testing Windows Live Writer
I am testing out Windows Live Writer, a free Microsoft tool for posting entries to blogs. Instead of logging onto the blog itself, and then going through the normal editing process, Windows Live Writer is a client that you download to your computer. You create your posting in WLW and then upload it to your blog. Since all of my blogs (including this one) use WordPress, WLW fits nicely with it, as it is preconfigured to work with it (and many other) blogging packages and sites.
The nice thing about WLW is that it is WYSIWYG all the way. It will do all your html formatting behind the scenes, but upload the html file just as if you had edited it directly in your blog. I’ll post more about it here as I put it through its paces (it is currently in beta), but if you are interested in trying it out, go to the Microsoft site.
Other things are also easy to do. For example, numbering, bullets, and block quotes are done with WYSIWYG simplicity just by choosing tools from the toolbar. If you are used to MS Word and other Microsoft software, this couldn’t be easier, and sure beats trying to make things look right by entering your own tags.
Best of all, the software is free and will continue to be so.
Kudos to Microsoft on this one.
