Blog Posts with Word 2007

An article by Darin Wagner    No Comments

As of this writing, I will admit that I still don’t know a lot about Microsoft Word 2007. But what I do know is that this version of Word has a built in tool that allows me to connect with my blog and post entries without opening a web browser and logging into my site. WOW!

Finding this feature was an accident. It was while searching for a newsletter template in something formerly known as the Project Gallery when I discovered the option. Once I chose “New blog post”, an Office “wizard” took me through a few simple set-up steps.

The first step was to register my account. This must be done before you can post to your blog.

The second step was to choose my blog provider. I am using WordPress, but other common blogging software is also available for selection such as Blogger and TypePad.

Next, I needed to add my blog URL.

My account information was also required, and I chose to have my username and password remembered to save time.

Once that information was entered, I was ready to write. As you can see in the example below, there is a prompt for entering your title. If you choose, you can also specify a category for the post. The pull-down menu populates with categories that already exist on your blog site, or you can simply type a new category if you choose.

Next came the hard part – the content of the blog entry. Once I was satisfied with my post, I went to the “ribbon” (the new term for the tools at the top of the screen), and selected Blog > Publish as Draft. You can choose to publish immediately, but I always prefer to review and edit a few times before posting.

A success message appeared on the screen, but I was skeptical and wanted to verify that the content actually reached the intended destination. I opened my web browser, loaded my blog, and logged in to manage my posts. There, among the list of entries, was the one I had just submitted through Word.

This new feature had made writing and posting to my blog so easy that I fear I will now post more frequently. Word 2007 is very different from previous versions, but right now I am so infatuated with this new tool that I am willing to look past some of the new things I will have to learn.