I am a blog editor convert. If you aren't sure what a blog editor is, it's a graphical editor that makes it easy for you to write, save drafts and post blog entries. Have you ever been typing a blog entry and had the browser crash? Argh! Many of the blog editors have autosave so that you don't have to worry about that.
They also make including links, adding graphics, block quotes, etc very easy with a visual preview. Have you ever hand coded an HTML table for tabular data display? I hate doing that. With a blog editor, it's a couple of button clicks and then you just enter your data.
I've used several to see how they perform. I narrowed it down to two editors: Windows Live Writer and Zoundry Raven.
Windows Live Writer
Windows Live Writer (WLW) is a free offering from Microsoft. I'm not an MS basher. I think MS tends to write very usable software. WLW is a very good looking, very functional tool.
WLW has a graphical UI and follows along with most other MS GUI tools. It has plenty of features
Zoundry Raven
Even though WLW is a good tool, I have settled on Zoundry Raven. I've used the support forums and I have to say I am very happy with them. The tool itself fits the way I work. It's easy to configure and run.
Some of the better features are:
- A true WYSIWYG editor. When I post a blog entry, it looks on my blog exactly like it does on the editor.
- Multiple blog support. I write about 15 blogs now. I can easily select the blog I am working on, post to multiple blogs at once and view previously published blog entries at any time.
- Great trackback, ping and tag support. Global and blog configurations make these painless.
- It can run from a USB drive. Go on the road and take your blog editors (and your blog posts) on the road with you.
Depending on how you write and what you're looking for in an editor, I would recommend either of these editors. Both are free so you won't lose anything more than a little time by trying either (or both).
