Using the built-in blog entry tools in BlogEngine.net works just fine, but I have come to like Windows Live Writer better. It just seems to make things just a little bit easier. Here are some very simple instructions on how to get Windows Live Writer working for BlogEngine.net.
After you have downloaded Windows Live Writer, you will find it the Windows Live menu. The first time you open it you will be presented with the dialog below prompting you to configure it. Click the Next button.
Next you’ll be asked to specify which blog service you use. As you can see, Live Writer is automatically configured for Windows Live Spaces and SharePoint blogs. For BlogEngine.NET, you will want to select the “Other blog service” and click the Next button.
Now, you will need to provide your account information for your blog.
After clicking the Next button, Windows Live Writer will go out and ensure it can connect to your blog and make all the settings needed to post to the blog.
It takes about a minute for Windows Live Writer to configure itself. Once it has you will be asked to provide a nickname for the blog. This is used within Windows Live Writer to distinguish between the different blogs you have setup.
One other option you are given on the is screen is to send notifications of blog updates to your Windows Live profile. This is another way of advertising your blog.
Clicking the Finish button will take you to the application and you can now create blog entries.
One of the great features of using Windows Live Writer is that it picks up your theme and shows you exactly how the post will look like.
The only issue I have found so far is that the “Set publish date” feature doesn’t seem to work. If you need to specifically set the publish date, do so in the BlogEngine.net interface after having BlogEngine.net publish the entry.
UPDATE: Received a twit from Brandon Turner (one of the Windows Live Writer developers) that the publish date problem should be fixed in BlogEngine.NET 1.5.
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