This quick tutorial details how to configure Windows Live Writer to publish content to a CommunityServer Blog.

The following documentation is using Windows Live Writer v14.0.8050.1202 and CommunityServer 2008.5 SP1 (Build: 31106.3070)

1. Copy the URL of your Blog

CommunityServer supports multiple-blogs allowing each Blog to be either individually themed or be organized by content. For example, a dedicated Blog for all content about a specific subject or state location. A blog can be authored by a single user or multiple authors contributing to that single blog.

Copy the URL of the Blog to which you want to publish to clipboard. This demonstration uses CommunityServer News Blog as its example.

Here we’re copied our Blog URL to clipboard.

2. Start Windows Live Writer – Add a blog account

Start Windows Live Writer. Click the Blogs Menu, Add Blog Account. Paste the URL of your selected CommunityServer Blog into the Web address of your blog:

Enter your Username. Enter your password. Hit the checkbox to have Windows Live Writer store your password. Click Next.

Note: Configuring multiple Blog Accounts into Windows Live Writer means that your are almost guaranteed to accidentally post to the wrong Blog. One work-around option could be to uncheck “Remember my password” from one or more accounts to thereby double-check that you’re posting to the blog you think you’re posting to.

3. Select the Blog Service

Select “Other blog service” and click Next.

4. Configure for CommunityServer

Select CommunityServer from the Type of Blog Engine list.

Insert your site root URL into the Remote posting URL for your Blog. This replaces the string <your site> with your site URL.

5. Enter a Blog nickname

This identifies this specific Blog within Windows Live Writer. Enter your Blog nickname and click Next.

The current active Blog nickname is displayed on the right hand side of Windows Live Writer.

6. Create a Temporary Post

You can optionally allow Windows Live Writer to create a test post on your Blog. This is automatically deleted on success. Click Yes to create a temporary test post or No.

7. Theme Download

Windows Live Writer will attempt to download your default Blog theme. This means that your WLW post will render exactly as you live Blog. Theme download currently fails for CommunityServer. Works for BlogEngine.NET.

8. Additional Resources

Windows Live Writer offers a number of additional Plug-Ins which provide more functions inside WLW. We use and recommend the following:

• Insert CommunityServer Gallery Plug-in. Allows insert from the media gallery or the upload of an object to CommunityServer.
• Add Digg button to post. This can help your blog post get noticed on the Digg.com network.
• Check out all the other supported Plug-Ins.

9. No Forum Post Support!

Telligent CommunityServer doesn’t yet support Windows Live Writer post publishing to Forums. This is technically not that different from Blog publishing requiring some minor technical enhancement and perhaps the willingness to add the feature. Telligent still doesn’t seem to understand or appreciate the number of sites for whom Forum posting is more popular than Blog Posting. If we can any progress we’ll let you know on this blog.

Nick Harrington
team Ambay Software

Windows Live Writer Windows Live Writer