To use Blogger, you must be online. Every time we teach this class, someone asks, “Can I create the blog post when I’m offline?” No. Blogger is a web-based system. However, there is this nifty little free program called Microsoft Live Writer that works with Blogger. It allows you to create posts offline and simply upload them the next time you have a connection. Even when you are online, you may find you prefer to use Live Writer because of it’s many features. It’s almost always faster to create a blog post offline than it is to work online.
With Live Writer you can Create Tables
Using Windows Live Writer is similar to using Word. For example, there is an insert Table button in Live Writer so you can easily create a visual list like the table below. To do this using Blogger, you would need to know how to write HTML. In Live Writer, you just click on the Insert Table command and specify how many columns! If you need to change the column widths, you just drag the edges. If you need to add or delete a row or column, use the Table Layout commands.
Example Table columnar text:
| Month | States Visited | Miles Driven |
| April, 2013 | Florida | 862 |
| May, 2013 | Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Colorado | 2,257 |
| June, 2013 | Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota | 863 |
Use a Table to position pictures:
|
Column 1 |
Column 2 |
Column 3 |
More Reasons to Use Live Writer
- With Live Writer you Always have a Backup. Since Live Writer composes your posts on your computer instead of in the Cloud, you have an automatic backup of all your blog posts, including the pictures.
- Live Writer will Upload your PIctures and Resize them. No need to resize your pictures first. When a picture is inserted into your blog post using Live Writer, what you see is what you get. A large image will initially display very large, but you can set the size either by entering the number of pixels you want, or by dragging the edges of the picture. When you click the ‘Publish’ button, Live Writer takes care of uploading the picture to the proper place for your blog.
- Live Writer can Publish the Same Post to Multiple Blogs. I have a personal blog, and a business blog. Sometimes I have the same thing to say in both of them. I write the post using Live Writer and post first to the personal blog, then I change the setting in Live Writer to direct it to the business blog. All I have to do is click ‘Publish’ again! I usually make a few edits before re-publishing but it is oh-so much easier than a bunch of copy and paste operations.
- Plugins. There are features that can be added to Live Writer by installing plugins. Like inserting pictures directly from your Picasa Web Albums, or
If you’re a Geeks on Tour member, you can watch the video: Using Live Writer to Write Posts Offline. It was recorded using an earlier version of Live Writer (it’s up to version 2012 now), so the screens look different, but the functions are the same.
