Posting on your blog using Blogger's post editor (or your blog platform's own post editor, if you're not using Blogger) is a common and sensible way to start. I started from there too. But as I discussed in the previous post, it is either a little bit limiting and error prone (in Compose view) or less than efficient (in Edit HTML view).
Using Offline Blogging Tools
That led me to search for and download tools which would help me compose my posts offline and then publish it. My theory is, if the tool runs offline, a wider variety of functions and methods are available to it because it runs on a richer platform - such as Microsoft Windows (Win32), Java, or .NET - which provides more services.
In contrast, online or web-based tools like Blogger's post editor runs in your browser and uses it as its platform or environment. It has limited access to resources outside the browser. As a result, it can only use functions and methods your browser provides. If you think that is limiting, just wait until I tell you that it doesn't even use all of these already limited feature set. For the sake of compatibility, web apps would only use the lowest common denominator of browser features - those features present in commonly used browsers.
Blogging: The Unix Way
The geek in me got excited after the dust settled. Plenty of programs now reside in my hard disk and call my computer home. Lots of programs to play with, so little time. But being a PragmaTechie, the first thing on the list is to find the right tool to get the job done and not to polish and play with those tools.
But determining the right tool means reading all relevant documentation, browsing the Web, searching forums, and testing them all. Unfortunately, I don't have that much time before I have to use the tool. I am also afraid of just using any of those tools without first knowing how to use it properly. Blogging tools directly interface with my blog and if I do something wrong, it might mess up my blog - like delete posts or something. And, if I could, I won’t go back to editing posts in Blogger's online post editor.
My solution was to revert to the Unix way of doing things. In Unix, there are small programs which only does one thing but does it well. If you want something done, you mix and match these little programs and connect them using pipes to achieve your desired results. This is good for flexibility as a simple rearrangement would yield a new, different result. It's just like playing with Lego blocks.
Applying this to Blogging, I could use simple tools while I figure out how to use those all-in-one offerings. I could just use a text editor to do, well, text editing and use a simple HTML editor to add the markups. I would then copy everything to the Blogger post editor for publishing. At least I won’t be doing my editing there. So off to the Net again for some goodies.
Text and HTML Editors
At the end of the day, I had a pretty impressive catch. I got eight text editors to try: Emacs, gVim, Notepad++, PSPad, AkelPad, NoteTab Lite, Notepad2 and Professional Notepad. The first four are oh so great and I will be using them in the future - specially Emacs - once I get around reading that manual. All (except the last, which is a trial version) are free.
As for HTML editors, I got seven of them. I only need a simple one, though, since I don't plan to use it for web design or development. Just simply to add common and custom markups easily to my posts.
The Plan
As stated previously, I decided to try offline blogging clients. My plan is to use a text and an HTML editor for posting to my blog while I am still learning a new blogging client. Once I get comfortable with one, I'll try posting directly with it. I'd then go on to try another one in my list until I can find the best tool for me. Currently, I am still in that process (I just got comfortable with Zoundry Raven and am using it now to edit and post this entry). As I go along, I'll relate to you my adventures (and misadventures) in the wild world of offline post editors and blogging clients.
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Hey nice post. FYI Zoundry Raven has just recently gone to open source. We (Zoundry) are starting to switch our focus to some other projects, and so we are releasing Raven under the GPL. The project is hosted on Google Code. You can find it here:
ReplyDeletehttp://code.google.com/p/zoundryraven/
We're really excited about this and hope that we can attract some talented people to contribute updates to Raven to make it even better.
@ZoundryMan: First of all, thanks for dropping by. I am honored to receive a comment from the creator of Zoundry Raven - one of just a few blogging clients I truly respect.
ReplyDeleteI visited the Zoundry Raven's wiki page in Google Code after reading ZoundryMan's (that would be you :) ) January 5 post in the Zoundry Forums that Zoundry Raven would be released under the GPL in Google Code. Coincidentally, I do plan to study Python and have a definite need for an offline post editor / blogging client. I guess I could now start scratching my own itch.
By releasing the Zoundry Raven code as Open Source, this great software has nowhere to go but up. The good will just be better and you wont regret it. By the way, thanks for Zoundry Raven and more thanks for making it Open Source.
The timing of your evaluation couldn't be better. My wife has just started blogging and I'm looking for a simple editor she can use. As you look at these apps, could you look at the picture functionality? That has been a major source of frustration for her. You put the picture in and have the word wrap set to find that the column is narrower on the blog than in the editor - major problem! If there is anything she wants it is to have a WYSIWYG that is actually a WYSIWYG.
ReplyDelete@anonymous: Thanks for dropping by and I'm glad that you find the idea interesting.
ReplyDeleteI will try to look into the picture functionality of the apps I tested. However, please understand that the upcoming posts are more of first impressions rather than in-depth reviews for the simple reason that I cannot use some of them to their full potential because they wont even connect to my blog! :(
But to keep you from waiting, I'll give you a sneak preview: Ecto, Windows Live Writer, Zoundry Raven, and Qumana are the tools I found very helpful. Your wife might like one of those.
Ecto is probably the best offline blog editor out there but is not free unlike the other three. WLW is perhaps the most feature rich of all free editors as of today. Zoundry Raven comes next to WLW but since it has just been released to the Open Source community, expect great things from it soon. It may overtake WLW in the near future. Qumana is very simple to use and has an uncluttered interface.
Watch out for these four and check often.