Getting Started with Windows Live Writer

After I read the post on the WordPress.com blog about Windows Live Writer, I decided to test out the program and post my thoughts on it.  I plan to post a comparison of Office Word 2007 and Windows Live Writer and how good they are at blogging after I have finished testing Writer.

Note: Windows Live Writer is beta software.  This means that the software is not technically done yet and is likely to change in the future.  This also means that the software may be unstable or not work correctly in certain circumstances.

Installation

To download a copy of Windows Live Writer, go to the “Windows Live Writer Beta” page and click the orange “Download” button.  Save the 5.5 MB file to your computer and then run it.  A small window will appear in the bottom right corner of your computer monitor asking you to agree to the license agreement.  Read the license agreement, and and if you like it, click the “Accept” button.

The installer will then prepare to install and give you a choice of whether to set MSN as your Internet Explorer homepage.  Check the check box if you want MSN as your homepage.  After you click next, Windows Live Writer will install.  This should only take a minute or two.

Configuration

After the installer finishes, Windows Live Writer will open up.  A window to add a blog account will automatically appear.  It will prompt you to select a weblog type.  If you plan to use WordPress.com, select “Another weblog service” as shown below and then click the “Next” button.

Now, type in your blog’s homepage web address and your WordPress.com username and password.  If you want to double-check to see if you typed in the correct web address, click the “View Weblog” link.  When you are done, click the “Next” button.

The program will now retrieve information about your blog.  This should only take a minute or two.  A new blog post will automatically open up.

First Thoughts

The interface looks really, really nice, and is, for the most part, fairly intuitive.  There are just a few minor usability issues that I will explain in more detail in my comparison of Word and Writer.

I hope that this tutorial is helpful for those interested in finding out about using Windows Live Writer for blogging. I plan to post the same sorts of tutorials that I posted for Microsoft Word.  Have fun blogging!