PSA: Windows Live Writer

For the last two weeks, I’ve been using a super-cool blogging tool, one that’s good enough to share. The biggest hang-up I have with Blogger is formatting. M & I are hardcore Blogger loyalists (thus far), and I’m impressed with their continual improvements and efforts to make the system more user-friendly. But I’m a little nit-picky when it comes to things like pictures, and spacing, etc. I’ve had many a post where I fuss with it and fuss with it, and finally just throw my hands up in aggravation before posting. It does not look the way my little OCD heart desires, but what am I going to do.

So my mom, who is always looking out for me in good-mom fashion, told me about Windows Live Writer, which was boasted about on another blog she reads, and I thought I’d give it a try. I’m hooked.

Here’s what you can do with WLW:

• compose all your blogs offline
• preview the post before publishing
• set the publish date and time
• select categories from a big checklist that also contains “add” and “find” features
• drag and drop photos
• FORMAT those photos easy-peasy
• crop, add borders, resize, and rotate the photos
• insert videos, tables, tags, etc.
• set it up to auto-save your drafts as often as every minute
• switch easily between blogs, if you’re a triple-blogging maniac such as myself
• automatic spell-check
• all that usual good text tool/formatting stuff like bold, underline, italicize, hyperlink, and strike-through

WLW snatches your blog’s login and style info, which you can also update easily if need be, so while you’re drafting, it’s like you’re “in” the blog. Pretty cool. You can use it with several different services, Blogger obviously included. You don’t have to have a Live account. You do have to have a PC, but well, if you have a Mac, maybe you have a cool blog-editing software already.

Want to be my WLW pal? You know you do. Download it for free here.