Category: Blogging
February 15, 2008
Setting up Word 2007 for Blogging using the MetaWebLog API
In the past I’ve used Blogjet and Windows Live Writer (WLW) as blogging software clients. I prefer using blogging software clients rather than writing an article from scratch as I’m no HTML expert and once they’re setup they are fairly easy to use. They also seem to give you more control and flexibity when it comes to performing advanced functions such as picture manipulation and formatting. If you want to look at potential blogging clients you could make use of then take a look at this review and comparison of 10 different blogging clients.
Microsoft Word 2007 now allows you to use it as a blogging client and I’m looking at using it more frequently as it allows you to do fancy stuff such as tables, clipart, shapes, smartart and charts. For a good comparison of Word 2007’s blogging features with those of Windows Live Writer read this blog entry. Other useful Word 2007 blogging resources and links from Microsoft are:-
I’m also an avid user of Microsoft OneNote 2007 and you can now blog from OneNote using its integration with Word 2007. To blog a OneNote entry all you have to do is right hand click and choose the Blog This option which will then drop the entry directly into Word ready for publishing to your blog.
Word 2007 allows you to blog on the following platforms and services: -
If you don’t use any of the above blogging services then you make use of the Metaweblog or Atom API which is what I’ve had to do since I run both my blogs using ExpressionEngine. When I first started using Blogjet I penned a blog entry on Setting up Blogjet for ExpressionEngine as there are a few tricks involved especially with setting up the ftp connection to upload images. Setting up Microsoft Word 2007 for blogging is also a process of trial and error and I’ve written this entry to outline how I finally managed to setup Word 2007 for use with ExpressionEngine via the MetaWebLog API. The main steps involved are outlined below, including the setup of picture options which allow the upload of images to your ftp server.
Step 1 - Register a blog account
Open Microsoft Word 2007, click on the Office Button, then choose Publish > Blog
If you haven’t already setup a blog you will be given the option to register a blog account and will need to click on the Register Now button. In the instance where you’ve already registered a blog account Word will go directly to Step 2.
Step 2 - Manage Your Blog Accounts
Once you have reached the Manage Your Blog Accounts screen select New to setup a new blog.
Choose other for your blog provider
Choose the MetaWebLog API and enter the blog post URL. Within ExpressionEngine the Blog Post URL can be found in the modules section under the MetaWebLog API. You should also specify the username and password used to gain access to your blog.
Following completion of your new account information and successful communication with your blog (including acceptance of your username and password) the following message should be presented to you: -
Step 3 - Manage Picture Options
Should you wish to add pictures, tables, clipart, shapes, smartart and charts to your blog entries within Word then you will need to setup the Picture Options in a manner that will allow the files to uploaded to an ftp server. The first step is to click the Picture Options button seen in the New Account screen shot above and then select my own server as illustrated below.
After selecting your own server you will need to specify the details of your Upload URL and Source URL as outlined in the example below (note that certain information has been blanked out for security reasons)
Having completed these steps you will now be ready to publish your blog entries using Word. Note that at the point of publishing pictures you will be asked to specify a username and password for the ftp server.
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Categories: Authoring, Blogging, ExpressionEngine
December 1, 2005
New Personal Business/Blog Card by Street Cards
I recently ordered some new business/blog cards from a site called Street Cards.
There are loads of sites online that design business cards but this is one of the few I know that does blog cards.
I chose one of the standard designs under their web category as I just need something to give out to people I meet that mentions my web site and contact details. Here’s what my new business card looks like:
From the Front
From the Back
Let me know what you think!!
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Categories: Authoring, Blogging
August 15, 2005
Yahoo Health - Blog for Hope
This is an interesting project being undertaken by Yahoo Health and the American Cancer Society.
According to the Blog for Hope:
Yahoo! and the American Cancer Society are breaking new ground in an effort to connect individuals in the fight against cancer. In a 30-day Blog for Hope event on Yahoo! Health, celebrities from every walk of public life will share the triumphs, insights, and personal stories of how cancer has affected their lives. Join these bloggers and millions of blog readers around the world as we unite to raise awareness and bring an end to cancer
Featured celebrities
Featured celebrities include: -
- Chris Cannon
- Deepak Chopra
- Senator Hillary Clinton
- Sam Donaldson
- Fran Drescher
- Jill Eikenberry
- Peggy Fleming
- Tom Green
- Mary Hart
- J.A. Jance
- Sue Myrick
- Deborah Pryce
It’s good to see such well know personalities using blogs to communicate with their audience, I hope they’re actually the ones authoring the posts! The blog certainly seems to be attracting a lot of comments, pity it doesn’t have an RSS feed.
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Categories: Blogging, Yahoo
August 4, 2005
RichardByrom.com gets a facelift
I’ve decided to turn RichardByrom.com into a dedicated blog.
There are a couple of reasons why I am doing this:
- I want to update the site more regularly and a blog is the ideal way for me to do this.
- The existing site was my first effort at web design and although the front end looked quite good the back end maintenance was quite difficult. The site now uses Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and this makes it much easier to make across the board changes. In addition to this membership maintenance will be much easier through the blog so I’ll shortly be starting a new mailing list. I will also be using the forum to manage all file downloads and uploads to this site.
- I had started a blog called WebDesignBlog.net but haven’t been updating it. My intention with this site was to write about useful stuff I’ve learnt in designing and maintaining my own sites. I’m going to take this site down and maintain any useful information relating to Web Design on this site.
- I’ve now got OracleAppsBlog working the way I want it to so I’m going to use this site as a model for RichardByrom.com.
What services and software are used to run this site now?
- ExpressionEngine is my blogging software – it’s a really great Content Management System (CMS)
- I’m hosting this site with pMachineHosting – pmachine is the software company that makes ExpressionEngine and I’ve decided to use them to host this site as they’ve done a good job hosting the OracleAppsBlog.
What sort of content can you now expect to see on this site?
- Thoughts and opinions related to Information Technology (especially IT news), Consulting, Speaking, Authoring and Writing.
- My personal thoughts and views on topics of interest to me.
- The odd post on events in Zimbabwe – being a former Zimbabwean I’m obviously interested in the direction the country is going (which seems to be rapidly down hill at the moment).
- Posts on events in the UK and Europe – now that I live in the UK I’ll be posting on what’s going on in the UK, Europe and even our local community and my church.
- Load’s of photos – I take a lot of pictures, so here’s my flickr stream which I will be integrating into the blog at some point.
- Tips and Tricks on how to use the ExpressionEngine blogging software as well as general tutorials on blogging concepts and how to blog.
- My personal contact details, del.icio.us links, blogroll, calendar, skype details and CV/Resume all of which I will be integrated into the site in the coming weeks.
- Articles on Web Site Design
I hope you enjoy the new site. I haven’t planned the transition particularly well so please be patient with me whilst I bring new features online and make it look pretty again. Admittedly, it looks rather bare right now but I plan to focus on delivering fresh and interesting content so in a month or so it will probably look in much better shape. One of my first priorities will be to get all the RSS feeds working properly and also ensure that all the downloads are easily accessible via the forum.
As always I value your feedback so contact me if you have any suggestions, comments or problems.
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Categories: News, Blogging
