Going Live on Windows Live Writer

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In the previous post, we talked about using Windows Live Writer for bloggers who use blogger. Admittedly, I missed some functionality; there is a button that provides for blockquotes.

Heh. See, this is why someone who intends to perform a user acceptance test should have a checklist of testing criteria -- shout out to developers and testers who work with the V-model everyday. You rock, guys!

In this post, we'll be talking about getting Windows Live Writer to work on your PC. Do note that right now I'm typing this offline (so there won't be any actual screenshots, only screenshots from the software's functions), so if there are any errors, please leave a comment and I'll update this post right away.

Okay, enough pasakalye. (See, this wasn't a cri de coeur, was it?)

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To install Windows Live Writer, you have to go to the Windows Live website (http://www.live.com) and navigate from there, or you can go directly to the Windows Live Writer install page(http://get.live.com/writer/overview).  The download takes quite a while on dial-up, so I recommend you visit your favorite Wi/Fi cafe to do the downloading and installation. See, I recommend that you perform the installation while jacked-in, not offline; you'll get full features that way.

(Or, you could just go to Davao for the free Wi/Fi. Bleh. I envy the Davao bloggers.)

Once the download and installation is done, start Windows Live Writer. There will be a form that will ask you to fill out details. It will resemble something like this:

Fill in the Username and Password fields with your Blogger login. Windows Live Writer will then attempt to detect your blog and the blogging software that you use. I didn't use my Gmail address, just my Blogger login without the "@gmail.com", but I've been told that it just might be necessary to use the Gmail address (if it's different from your Blogger login).

If Windows Live Writer does not detect your software automatically, you will be brought to a series of forms that will ask you what kind of software you are using (choose "Blogger", of course), and a field that has text that looks like this:

http://www.blogger.com/feeds/<feed-id>/posts/full

That "feed-id" is a number; to get it for your blog, all you have to do is go to your Blogger dashboard and click "Settings" on your blog. The number that appears after the text "blogID=" is the "feed-id" you should fill out for your blog.

You should be all done after the requisite "OK" button clicks.

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I'd recommend that you allow Windows Live Writer to download your blog's template, so that you will be able to use the "Web Layout" and "Web Preview" functionalities, and thus be able to get a feel for how it will look after the post is published.

Also, Windows Live Writer can support multiple blogs' templates and publication, so you can maintain all your blogs and write posts for each of them using this single software. All you have to do is go to the "Weblog" menu and click on the "Add Weblog Account" command to go through the steps (which are similar to that of startup).

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Later, all; sorry if I'm in a hurry -- I'm off to get coffee out.

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