Windows Live Writer Review

While geared for Windows Live Spaces users, Live Writer also works with blogs like WordPress, Movable Type, LiveJournal and Blogger. I have never been fond of using blogging tools and always stuck with the WordPress admin panel.Once downloaded and installed, It was easily able to tell I had a WordPress setup and I logged in and downloaded the weblog style. If you use Internet Explorer, there is the option of installing a toolbar that adds blogging functionality, and that is convenient.

When you start Windows Live Writer up for the first time, it will show you a new, blank post ready in WYSIWYG format within your blog style. Live Writer has the basic features you need of any blogging utility from WYSIWYG tools and spell check to inserting maps from Windows Live Local. The post Properties bar is at the bottom so you can add keywords to the post, adjust the time stamp and add URLs to send trackbacks to. On the top right of the window you can select which categories to organize the post into and Windows Live Writer was able to find out which categories this blog had.

Exploring the preferences menu exposes even more features that make Windows Live Writer an awesome tool. You can click on the drop-down arrow for the Publish button and post the draft you are working on to your blog. That way, you can continue blogging from any computer and not risk losing the post if saved locally on your computer. If that is not a big problem for you, you can switch the viewing mode to Web Preview before posting to see what it looks like on your blog. You can also have Windows Live Writer automatically save drafts at intervals of your choice, automatically check spelling before publishing and ping servers you tell it to when posts are published.

Windows Live Write is a beta, so do not get too upset when you find some things are just plain hassles, such as not being able to work on two post at the same time; You’ll have to open another window. Perhaps one of these days, they will fix some of the annoyances. I am sure when you download the product, you’ll notice some of them.

Windows Live Writer has the features and capabilities of a program you would expect to see bundled in the next version of MS Office. Windows Live Writer really creates a well-rounded blogging experience and if you are big on blogging, like me, then this might be a good program to try out.

Windows Live Writer is Free and can be downloaded here.