Blogging with Office 2007

Since I started blogging, I have been searching for a nice client based application that will allow me to write a blog without having to log into my blog web site and type everything in the WordPress interface. Since I use a Mac at home, I have found a couple of utilities that work really well. But, there are situations that I have to use Windows, mainly when I am at work or traveling for work. Yes, I know I shouldn’t be blogging from work but I do get an hour lunch, thank you very much.

Well, I have found two utilities from Microsoft that will allow you to compose your blog and then submit it to your blog site, I am actually using one now, Office 2007. This version of Office 2007 is actually a 60 day trial version that everyone can download from Microsoft’s site. I would actually encourage you to download and try it out on your test machine (If you have one); it’s a new experience, if you are familiar will previous versions of Office.

The other utility is called Windows Live Writer. It’s still in beta so if you decide to download to try it, you may run into some bugs while using it. My next blog will be tested with that utility.

For now, I want to give you a brief rundown of Office 2007′s blog option. When you open Office, you can select New in which you are then given an option for a New Blank Document or a New Blog Post. There are other options, of course, but to try out this function I selected the latter. Immediately a new blank page opens that looks like a regular Word document and then a separate pop-up window that allows you to enter your blog site information: blogging provider (Windows Live Spaces, Blogger, Typepad, WordPress and others), your site URL, and login credentials. After that it was all pretty simple, like composing a standard Word document. When I was done, I selected Publish and Office 2007 did the rest.

I was impressed.