Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Microsoft releases new Windows Live Writer

I've really enjoyed Windows Live Writer, an off-line blog editor that does just about everything I could ever ask.  But just today I was wondering when it was going to be updated.  The version I'm working with has been out for quite a while.  Like everyone else, I want my free apps updated regularly.

As it happened, today Microsoft released version 2.0 of Live Writer.  You can read about it here but below are the improvements from the site.

New Authoring Capabilities

  • Inline spell checking
  • Table editing
  • Ability to add categories
  • Page authoring for WordPress and TypePad
  • Support for excerpts and extended entries
  • Improved hyperlinking and image insertion
  • Paste Special
Integration and Compatibility
  • SharePoint 2007 support
  • New APIs enabling custom extensions by weblog providers
  • Automatic synchronization of local and online edits
  • Integration with Windows Live Gallery
  • Support for Blogger Labels
Plus...
  • New look and feel
  • Available in 6 languages
  • Improved accessibility and keyboard support
  • Many other frequently requested enhancements!

I'm downloading now and will comment later.  You can download it here too.

via Scobleizer

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I downloaded this last week because I read about it here. My last two blog posts were used with this utility. I love it! It interfaces with my blog incredibly well (I use Wordpress). It is a great tool for those moments of inspiration that inevitably come when there is available wi-fi. I am glad you wrote about this Jeff - it's a great tool and I highly recommend it! As more of a tech guy, what was your review after using it?

Jeff said...

Bernie, thanks for taking the tiem to comment! LW is a great tool, especially since its free. I love in the inline spell checking most. They changed some of the controls that will take a little getting used to.

My only issue so far is that I haven't been able to insert videos successfully. I don't know if this is an issue with LW, or with the plug-in.

Great tool though!

Anonymous said...

For embeded video I use a handy little plugin for Wordpress called VPIP (Video playing in place, I think?)It works great for Wordpress - and I think there's a version available for blogger blogs, as well. The plugin is at http://vpip.org/. My guess is this will not work with Livewriter, unless I am smart enough to write the code direct. I am not (hence the plugin).

Jeff said...

A guy named Scott wrote a great plug-in I mentioned earlier. It allows you to paste the video URL right into the body of your entry. The plug-in detects the URL and automatically inserts the player embed and everything. It's awesome.

It just won't work for me since I upgraded to the new version of LW. The plug in is here.

I just emailed him about the problem I'm having and hope to have a fix soon. I think this is blogging-platform independent. Check it out and see if it works for you.