Why would anyone want to do this…

Because it can be done, some people like to use Word, some people like to blog, and some people may like to do both at the same time. If you like the formatting options of Word, the simplicity this offers, and the ability to keep your blog post organized as Word documents then this tip may be for you!

The following Blog programs/communities are the standard out of the box blogs Microsoft offers providers for:

WordPress – http://www.wordpress.com
Windows Live Spaces – http://spaces.live.com
Community Server – http://www.communityserver.com
Blogger – http://www.blogger.com
TypePad – http://www.typepad.com

Lani’s blog, Bullseye HR Blog are WordPress blogs, and so is mine for that matter. So my demo will be with the WordPress provider but please be aware the more complicated your post (pictures, advanced formatting) the more likely Word will not be able to post. The blog programs (not owned by M$) are continuously changing and Microsoft does not seem to be in a hurry to keep up.

You can start off two different ways, the first is to write your post in a Word document or you can cut to the chase and start the “blog editor”. Either way you will have to open the blog editor. To open the Publishing section, click on the Office Button and go to Publish.

• You will get a prompt to register your blog account. This is creating the connection to your blog in Word.
  
• Select the type of blog you have. If you have a blog not listed choose other.
  
• On the New Account enter in your WordPress account information. URL, User Name, and Password. This screen also contains information about dealing with images. For now I chose “Do Not Upload”
  
• If it worked you will receive a success message, if not you will get a very unhelpful message telling you something is wrong.
  

The Word interface will now be a little different. The Office Ribbon will have changed, you will have less option and very specific to blogging. Also the page layout is now a little different too. There is a predefined area for a blog title, and an area for the main blog body.

The Ribbon now has two tabs; Blog Post and Insert.

Blog Post gives you the option to:

• Publish
  
• Go to your blog page
  
• Insert a Category
  
• Open an Existing Blog Article
  
• Manage Accounts
  
• Basic Page formatting
  

The Insert tab is your basic everyday Insert menu.

Publishing!

If you created a very basic post (no images, tables, or other fancy dress) publishing should be very easy. You click publish and you now have a blog post. I tried several times to insert images, save to a draft folder, and add a table but I got back a very standard and unhelpful error message. While I did not try any other providers I think it may be have something to do with the WordPress provider and may work with other ones.

Good luck and happy blogging.