Windows Live Writer

Windows Live Writer was a Microsoft desktop blogging application distributed through the Windows Live family of consumer internet and productivity services. It was designed to let users compose, format, preview, and publish blog posts from Windows rather than working exclusively inside a web-based blogging dashboard. The application combined a visual, WYSIWYG-style editor with tools for inserting and editing images, publishing photographs and maps, checking spelling, managing links, assigning categories or labels, and synchronizing local drafts with content already stored on a supported blog service. The product originated from Onfolio Writer, which Microsoft obtained through its acquisition of Onfolio. Microsoft subsequently developed the application as Windows Live Writer and used it to support a broad range of blogging destinations. Compatibility included Windows Live Spaces, SharePoint blogs, Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, WordPress, Telligent Community, PBlogs.gr, JournalHome, BlogEngine and other services that implemented relevant blogging APIs or discovery mechanisms. Its support for the MetaWeblog and Movable Type APIs, together with Really Simple Discovery, helped it work across a fragmented blogging ecosystem. The Provider Customization API also allowed blogging services to add specialized behavior and controls to the standard Writer experience; WordPress, TypePad, and Windows Live Spaces used this capability for service-specific integration. The application developed through several Windows Live and Windows Essentials releases. Windows Live Writer 2008, released in November 2007, added or improved features such as inline spell checking, table editing, categories, WordPress and TypePad page authoring, excerpts, extended entries, hyperlinking, image insertion, and a specialized paste function. It also improved SharePoint integration, synchronization between local and online edits, Windows Live Gallery integration, Blogger labels, and extension support for blog providers. The 2009 edition became part of Windows Live Essentials, while the 2011 edition adopted the Ribbon interface used by other Microsoft desktop applications. Windows Live Writer 2012 was released in August 2012 within Windows Essentials 2012. It was the final major version of both the Writer application and the Windows Essentials product family. Microsoft ended support for Windows Essentials 2012, including Windows Live Writer, on January 10, 2017. After that date, the software no longer received feature updates, bug fixes, or security updates, and Microsoft no longer offered it for download. The original application is therefore defunct, although its underlying concept and code lineage continued through Open Live Writer, a free and open-source fork released on GitHub in December 2015. At its peak, Windows Live Writer was localized into 48 languages and served as a notable bridge between traditional desktop publishing workflows and the expanding web-blogging platform market.

Windows Live Writer emerged from Onfolio Writer, a desktop blogging product associated with Onfolio, which Microsoft acquired. Microsoft developed the software into a broader blogging client under the Windows Live brand. Its purpose was to make blog publishing feel more like working in a desktop word processor: users could write posts offline, apply formatting, insert photographs and maps, preview content using a blog's design, and then publish to a remote service. The application was significant because blogging platforms differed widely in their interfaces and technical capabilities. Writer supported Windows Live Spaces and SharePoint blogs as well as third-party services including Blogger, LiveJournal, TypePad, WordPress, Telligent Community, PBlogs.gr, JournalHome, BlogEngine, and other systems compatible with recognized blogging APIs or Really Simple Discovery. Support for the MetaWeblog and Movable Type APIs gave the application a common publishing foundation. Microsoft also created the Provider Customization API, enabling individual blog providers to expose additional commands and service-specific functionality. Windows Live Spaces, WordPress, and TypePad used this extensibility model. The 2008 edition, released on November 6, 2007, expanded the application beyond basic post composition. It included inline spell checking, table editing, categories, page authoring for WordPress and TypePad, excerpts and extended entries, improved hyperlink and image workflows, and a new Paste Special function. The release also strengthened SharePoint 2007 integration, added mechanisms for provider extensions, synchronized local and online edits, connected with Windows Live Gallery, and supported Blogger labels. On December 15, 2008, Writer 2009 was released within Windows Live Essentials. This positioned the application alongside other Microsoft desktop services and helped maintain it as part of a larger consumer software bundle. Writer 2011 followed on September 30, 2010, adopting the Ribbon interface that Microsoft had introduced across many of its desktop products. On August 7, 2012, Microsoft released Writer 2012 as part of Windows Essentials 2012. That version was the final major release of the application and the suite. The product's later history was shaped by the industry's movement toward browser-based publishing and the gradual retirement of Windows Essentials. Open Live Writer, a free and open-source fork, was released on GitHub on December 9, 2015, before Microsoft formally ended support for the original product. Windows Essentials 2012, including Windows Live Writer, reached end of support on January 10, 2017. Microsoft discontinued the application, stopped providing updates and security fixes, and no longer made it available for download. The original Windows Live Writer brand is therefore defunct, while Open Live Writer represents its continuing open-source successor lineage.

1. 2017Product support ended

   Windows Essentials 2012 and Windows Live Writer reached end of support on January 10, 2017.

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2. 2015Open Live Writer fork released

   Open Live Writer was released as a free and open-source fork on GitHub.

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3. 2012Final major release

   Windows Live Writer 2012 was released as part of Windows Essentials 2012 and became the product's last major version.

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4. 2010Ribbon interface introduced

   Windows Live Writer 2011 adopted Microsoft's Ribbon user-interface design.

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5. 2008Writer 2009 included in Windows Live Essentials

   Windows Live Writer 2009 became part of Microsoft's Windows Live Essentials desktop software suite.

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6. 2007Windows Live Writer 2008 released

   The 2008 release added substantial editing, publishing, synchronization, SharePoint, Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, and extension capabilities.

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A cross-platform blogging client for Windows users who wanted rich desktop composition, media insertion, local drafting, and direct publishing to multiple blogging services.

• Windows Live Writer 2008Desktop blogging software2007

  The 2008 generation expanded Writer's authoring and publishing functions with inline spell checking, table editing, categories, page authoring for WordPress and TypePad, excerpts, extended entries, improved image and hyperlink insertion, and Paste Special. It also improved SharePoint support, synchronization between local and online edits, Blogger labels, Windows Live Gallery integration, and provider-specific extension APIs.

• Windows Live Writer 2009Desktop blogging software2008

  Writer 2009 continued the desktop blogging workflow and was distributed as part of Windows Live Essentials. It provided a unified Microsoft suite context for composing and publishing posts to Windows Live and third-party blogging services.

• Windows Live Writer 2011Desktop blogging software2010

  The 2011 edition updated the application's visual design with Microsoft's Ribbon interface. It retained Writer's core role as a Windows desktop client for rich blog composition, media insertion, previewing, and direct publication.

• Windows Live Writer 2012Desktop blogging software2012

  Released within Windows Essentials 2012, Writer 2012 was the final major version of Windows Live Writer. It represented the last Microsoft-branded release before the Windows Essentials suite and its applications reached end of support.

• Open Live WriterOpen-source blogging software2015

  Open Live Writer is a free and open-source fork of Windows Live Writer released on GitHub. It is not an active Windows Live product, but it continues the original application's desktop blogging-client lineage outside Microsoft's discontinued Windows Essentials distribution.

• 2017Microsoft ended Windows Live Writer supportStrategy

  Windows Live Writer was distributed as part of Windows Essentials 2012, whose desktop application suite was being retired.

  What changed. Microsoft ended support for Windows Essentials 2012 and Windows Live Writer on January 10, 2017, ending new features, bug fixes, and security updates and removing the software from Microsoft's download availability.

  Aftermath. The original Windows Live Writer product became defunct, with Open Live Writer remaining as its open-source fork.

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• 2015Open-source continuation through a forkStrategy

  Windows Live Writer's development had effectively reached its final major release with the 2012 edition, while the desktop blogging market was increasingly moving toward web-based publishing.

  What changed. A free and open-source fork named Open Live Writer was released on GitHub, preserving the desktop publishing model independently of Microsoft's Windows Essentials distribution.

  Aftermath. The fork provided a continuation path for users after the original Microsoft application was discontinued.

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• 2017Windows Essentials 2012 and Windows Live Writer reached end of support

  Microsoft ended support for Windows Essentials 2012 and its applications, including Windows Live Writer, on January 10, 2017. The application stopped receiving updates and was removed from Microsoft's download availability.

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• 2015Open Live Writer fork released as open-source software

  An open-source fork of Windows Live Writer, Open Live Writer, was released on GitHub, preserving and extending the desktop blogging-client concept after Microsoft's original product had entered its final support period.

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• 2012Windows Live Writer 2012 became the final major release

  Microsoft released Windows Live Writer 2012 as part of Windows Essentials 2012. The edition became the last major update for the application and its surrounding desktop suite.

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• 2010Windows Live Writer 2011 introduced the Ribbon interface

  The 2011 release updated the desktop application with Microsoft's Ribbon-style user interface and continued its integration within the Windows Live Essentials product family.

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• 2008Windows Live Writer 2009 joined Windows Live Essentials

  The 2009 edition was released as part of the Windows Live Essentials suite, consolidating Writer with Microsoft's broader collection of desktop internet and communication applications.

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• 2007Windows Live Writer 2008 released with expanded editing and blogging features

  Microsoft released the 2008 edition with inline spell checking, table editing, categories, expanded WordPress and TypePad authoring, improved media and hyperlink tools, stronger SharePoint integration, synchronization features, and provider extension APIs.

  Product launchProduct generation
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1. Windows Live Writer