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A Quick Take on Windows Live Writer 2011

Oct 5, 10 • blogging • 9 Comments • Read More »

4935456783 c84ff6f439 A Quick Take on Windows Live Writer 2011

I have been using Windows Live Writer for a couple of years now.  It is the best blog writing software out there, and I have used a bunch of them.  The best thing about Windows Live Writer is that you have all the tools to write a good blog post without having to access multiple tools.  Additionally, you can download plugins that will further enhance your blog writing experience if you still need a little more than what Windows Live Writer has.  I use the Flickr4Writer and Zemanta plugins.  Flickr is my favorite place to get images.  The Flickr4Writer makes it extremely easy to insert it into your blog post while giving the photo credits to the photographer. The Zemanta plugin is a great way to get related articles and links.  It does the research for you.

According to Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine Online, “Microsoft announced last week that it plans to transition all users from its Windows Live Spaces blog to WordPress.com blog.”

I guess Microsoft realized that WordPress is just the most awesome blogging platform out there.  TechCrunch Disrupt has a great video showcasing the new Windows Live Writer 2011 if you want to see it in action before downloading it yourself.

The layout in Windows Live Writer 2011 is an improvement from the previous versions.

windows live writer header thumb A Quick Take on Windows Live Writer 2011

You see three tabs (i.e. Home, Insert, and Blog Account).  In the first tab, you will see the basics functions that word-processing softwares have.  You will see the following:

  • Cut, Copy, and Paste
  • Formatting and Style
  • Current blog being accessed
  • Inserting hyperlink, picture, or video

When inserting an image, a fourth tab appeared where I could modify my image before publishing. It made it so much easier to modify having all the image-editing options there.   Another addition to Windows Live Writer is that it uses Bing Maps. Location-based services are the latest craze, so it’s good that they updated Windows Live Writer to handle maps.

I have noticed that there are still a few kinks that they have to work out. I noticed that updating a blog account takes longer than it did before. Currently, I am trying to update my blog’s theme, and five minutes later, it is still running. It just finished and it couldn’t detect the theme.  Another issue is that some of the formatting gets all jumbled even if the HTML is correct.

I wish that there was an blog-writing application like Windows Live Writer for the Mac. It definitely is a great application.



A Quick Take on Windows Live Writer 2011
Written by: Shevonne on October 5, 2010.

Tags: ,

  • Graeme Roberts

    A very useful article! I love Live Writer too, and can never believe that it came from Microsoft.

  • http://www.dcfemella.com dcfemella

    :) Windows Live Writer is based off of Onfolio Writer that was acquired by Microsoft. In a way, it really didn’t come from Microsoft. They just built on top of it. ;)

  • http://www.dcfemella.com dcfemella

    :) Windows Live Writer is based off of Onfolio Writer that was acquired by Microsoft. In a way, it really didn’t come from Microsoft. They just built on top of it. ;)

  • http://www.lehsys.com lehenryjr

    Windows Live Writer is a fantastic offline blogging tool with a WYSIWYG editor. It interfaces with just about any blog service [Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, WordPress, etc.] If you’re a blogger you’ll find this tool incredibly helpful- and it’s free from Microsoft.

    The latest version does better at theme detection.

    Nice post.

    Until next time,
    Larry Henry Jr.

  • http://www.dcfemella.com dcfemella

    I’ve been having a hard time getting it to detect my blogs’ themes. I’ve only been successful one out of five times. One thing I do like is that you can still write and post to your blog, even if it didn’t detect your theme. One thing I didn’t like about the previous version.

  • http://www.lehsys.com lehenryjr

    You SHOULD still be able to use Windows Live Writer with those themes; you just need to make some manual adjustments. I’ve an article that are some options for Windows Live Writer users to try to help them with their theme issues.

    http://www.lehsys.com/2010/02/windows-live-writer-creating-a-custom-template/

    I hope this helps…

    Until next time,
    Larry Henry Jr.

  • http://www.dcfemella.com dcfemella

    Thanks! Checking out your tips now.

  • Jeremy Gilbert

    I have been using Windows
    Live Writer for a couple of years now. It is the best blog writing
    software out there, and I have used a bunch of them. The best thing
    about Windows Live Writer is that you have all the tools to write a good
    blog post without having to access multiple tools.

  • http://www.chicwriter.com dcfemella

    I agree! Windows Live Writer trumps a lot of blog writing softwares out there.