I’ve tried several different blog editors, but I haven’t been satisfied with any of them. So, I’ve fallen back to using the standard editor built into WordPress. It’s okay. It lets me upload and insert images, and do some light formatting. My browser has a spell check built into it, which keeps me from looking too dumb.

But I spend most of my day writing books and papers in Microsoft Word, and I’m spoiled by, in particular, AutoCorrect. In fact, AutoCorrect has made me a sloppy typist—I frequently capitalize the first two letters of a word because I hold the Shift key down, but Word fixes it automatically for me. Word also has handy features like “Paste Special” to strip the formatting out of text.

So, when I’m blogging, I really miss using Word, and I waste time dealing with typos.

To blog with Word 2007, first register your blog account by following these steps:

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click New.

   

2. Double-click New blog post.
3. In the Register a Blog Account dialog box, click Register Now to register your blog account with Word.
4. On the New Blog Account dialog, click the Blog list, and select your blog provider. Click Next.
5. Enter your Blog Post URL. Word provides a default that probably only requires you to enter your URL.
6. Then, type your User Name and Password, and select the Remember Password checkbox.

   

7. Click the Picture Options button, and change any settings necessary. For WordPress, you need to select My own server, and then configure your FTP URL, with the path to your images folder, and the corresponding HTTP URL. You’ll be asked for your FTP username and password the first time you publish a picture.

   

8. Click OK.
9. Select the dumb Don’t show this message again checkbox, and then click Yes.
10. Click OK.

Word opens your blog entry. Hammer some drivel in about your life or something you saw at Engadget.

You can format pictures by double-clicking them. Word has some cool options that I probably won’t use much. After double-clicking the picture, hover your cursor over the buttons on the ribbon to preview the effect. Check out the special effects on the next couple of screenshots.

To open an entry you made previously, click the Open Existing button.

To configure categories, click the Insert Category button. Then, scroll up to the top of your post (just below the title) and pick a category. Click it multiple times for multiple categories.

When you’re ready, click Publish. You can also click the little down arrow to publish as a draft.

If you configured an FTP server for your images, you’ll be prompted for a username and password the first time you publish.

Now, as I was writing this entry, Word crashed. But, Word also automatically restarted and restored all of my work, so I can’t complain too much. Also, some of my pictures didn’t get uploaded. Obviously, most of them did. Weird.

So, question to you: How do I add the “Read More” Indicator?