Blogging with Windows Live Writer

Telligent Community enables users to blog using Windows Live Writer. The following steps walk you through the process of configuring Live Writer with Telligent Community.

Notes about setup (including SSO)

There are two ways of logging in with Windows Live Writer, depending on how your community is set up. (You might have to consult your community administrator to determine which method works best for your community.)

Windows Live Writer requires you to authenticate using a username and password, which works fine when Telligent Community handles the authentication and can validate your password. However, this does not work when using SSO (single sign on). In SSO, a third party tells Telligent Community it has validated the user. This is fine for most Web use, but in the case of Live Writer, it means you may need to use metablog2.ashx and the API key; this allows Telligent to set up a secret between itself and the user which can be used in place of a password.

Set up Windows Live Writer to work with Telligent Community

Note: The following procedure does not assume you're using SSO. If you are using it, please refer to the previous note about setting up authentication.

To blog from Live Writer, you need:

• Pre-existing ability to access your community's network remotely, such as through a secured Web connection (https://) or VPN;
• The remote name and metablog server for your site.

1. Open Windows Live Writer.

2. From the Blogs menu, select Add blog account.

   A blog service dialog window displays.

3. Select Other blog service.

4. Click Next. The Add a blog account dialog window displays.

5. Identify your blog's Web address within the community. Test this address by navigating to your blog.

6. Enter the blog address in the Web address of your blog text box of the Add a blog account dialog box.

7. Enter your username for the site in the Username text field.

8. Click the Remember my password check box if desired. Click Next. The Select blog type dialog box appears.

9. From the Type of blog that you are using drop-down list, select Community Server.

10. In the Remote posting URL for your blog text box, make the following change:

    • Configuring with Telligent Community using default authentication - In the Remote posting URL for your blog text box, change the following URL:  http://<hostname>/blogs/metablog/ashx to http://<hostname>/b/metablog.ashx. Ensure that you replace<hostname> with your host site URL, for example http://www.telligent.com/b/metablog.ashx.

11. Click Next. 

12. Enter a name for your blog in the next dialog box and click Finish. The Live Writer window appears. 

13. Type a title in the Title field and an entry in the editor window.

14. Click Publish.

    Your blog entry will appear in your Telligent Community blog.

If updating the blog theme (Blog Account > Update Theme) in Live Writer, you will be prompted about publishing a temporary post while Live Writer updates the theme. If you select Yes in this dialog, a temporary (non-working) link will be published in the Activity List widget.

Related information

Add tags to posts with Windows Live Writer