Problem: when trying to connect to your blog, Windows Live Writer returns the message:
An error occurred while attempting to connect to your weblog: Invalid Server Response – The response to the blogger.getUsersBlogs method received from the weblog server was invalid. You must correct this error before proceeding.
Solution: there are two steps to solve this problem. The second one might be optional.
1. In your .htaccess file add the following lines:
2. If this doesn’t solve the problem, contact your hosting company and ask them if mod_security is blocking access to xmlrpc.php — and if so, if they can set it to allow access to that file.
(on that note, I’m writing this from within the webeditor of WordPress as Windows Live Writer’s category list rolls of the screen….)
Hat Tip: Worst Episode Ever via Michael Fraser
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Thanks to a plugin (download link at the end of this post) for GreatNews you can now Blog This to Windows Live Writer from within GreatNews.
Installation and setup is quite simple. Extract the downloaded file. Cut and paste the file named, depending on your system settings, either LiveWriterPlugin.dll or LiveWriterPlugin to the Plugins folder in the folder where GreatNews is installed. (If during installation of GreatNews you went with all default the plugin folder is at C:\Program Files\CurioStudio\GreatNews\Plugins).
Now open GreatNews and goto Tools 
Options Features.
Make sure the Blog This box is checked.
Click Configure Blog Tools New.
Give a name to the new tool (how about Windows Live Writer? <smile>).
Now from the dropdown menu Type select GreatNews LiveWriter Plugin 1.0.
Save Close. Hit OK until you’re back in GreatNews.
Now when you see an item in a feed you want to blog about, click on Blog This and select Windows Live Writer (or whichever name you gave the new blogging tool). Voila!
Show Me
This is a short video screencast of configuring GreatNews with GreatNews LiveWriter plugin to enable blogging with Windows Live Writer from within GreatNews.
Download page for GreatNews Blog This with Windows Live Writer plugin.
Hat Tip: Arun’s Blog.
Your comments, feedback, input and tips are appreciated!
FeedDemon, my preferred RSS reader, comes with a Send To option which enables it to do a Blog This.
Unfortunately the current release doesn’t send any of the part of the post to Windows Live Writer.
Nothing is lost though as there is a small plugin (5 KiloByte), the author calls it a proxy, which can perform some magic and kickstart WIndows Live Writer with the post title, post content, link and all. (download link at the end of this post).
Installation is as simple as extracting the files and putting them wherever you want on your computer. Start FeedDemon and click on one of the Send To icons (marked in red on this screenshot).
Browse through the entailing menu’s: Blog this News Item Configure Blog Publishing Tools.
In the next window click on Add and in the following window give a name to the tool you’re adding. I would suggest Windows Live Writer or just Live Writer.
Click the Browse button. Don’t browse to Windows Live Writer but browse to one of the two files you just extracted. Depending on your computer’s setting it is either FeedDemonToLiveWriter.exe or just FeedDemonToLiveWriter. Click it, and keep hitting the OK buttons until you’re all done.
Now when you see something in your FeedDemon feeds that you want to blog about, click on Send To, Blog this News Item and from the list of blog publishing tools select the one you just added (remember: you gave it a name).
For a moment a small, black window flashes up. This is the plugin, the proxy, doing its job of sending the post information to Windows Live Writer. Seconds later Windows Live Writer starts with the post of your choice.
Show Me
This is a short video screencast of configuring FeedDemon with FeedDemonToLiveWriter to enable blogging with WIndows Live Writer from within FeedDemon.
Your comments, feedback, input and tips are appreciated!
The uptake of Windows Live Writer can be seen not only by the number of plugins that spring up for itself but also by the plugins that make it usable in other applications.
The Firefox extension Blog It with Windows Live Writer was one of the first to enable the Blog This functionality Internet Explorer users with the Windows Live Toolbar can enjoy out of the box.
And now comes Blog This for RSS Bandit.
RSS Bandit is a popular feed reader (what are feeds?) which by default can Blog This with w.bloggar (a desktop blogging client) and post to del.icio.us.
Installation is simple albeit manual. Extract the file, highlight the files, then copy and paste them into the RSS Bandit plugins folder: not into the Windows Live Writer plugin folder.
Start RSS Bandit. See something you would like to write about? Right-click on the headline and choose BlogThis using Windows Live Writer.
Windows Live Writer launches with the Select Destination Weblog window where you select which blog to post to. Once selected it takes a moment or two and then there is your screen with the text from the feed’s post:
It is not possible to highlight part of the post and have only that ported to Windows Live Writer: the whole post as it appears in RSS Bandit is included.
For RSS Bandit users an invaluable, time saving plugin.
Download page for Windows Live Writer Blog This for RSS Bandit plugin.
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Box.net to Live Writer is an amazingly smart as well as an amazingly well thought out plugin for Windows Live Writer.
Box.net to Live Writer inserts files stored on Box.net into your Windows Live Writer post.
The plugin comes with its own installer/uninstaller.
Once the plugin is installed, configuration is simple. You provide your Box.net login information. If you leave the Auto login unchecked then you’ll each time be presented with a Box.net login screen, displayed via the plugin:
Otherwise the plugin will automatically and transparently login for you.
So, after hitting Insert Box.net File… from the insert menu dropdown or from the sidebar, and after (automatic) login), you’re presented with a Box.net browser screen. On the left is your folder 
tree. Top-right details for the selected file will be shown while bottom-left the link details as the plugin will use them are shown.
It is this screen that best shows how well thought out this plugin is. Right-click on a file to get more options: Rename, Delete, Download, Share.
Unless a file is set to Share you cannot make it publicly available… It is brilliant to add that option in the plugin interface itself so that you don’t need to go back and forth between Box.net and Windows Live Writer. You can also right-click on folders to get more options:
Again, a brilliant idea to make it possible to upload to Box.net right from within the plugin interface.
Finally, when a (shared) file is selected the file’s details are shown top-left, the link details bottom-right.
Files can have a display text (the text that will become your link to the file), the URL of the file (already filled in by plugin), a title (shown when you hover over a link), target, and you can opt to show the file icon.
There is also an Image tab on the insert options but to be honest, This option is only available for those with a premium Box.net account. Not a choice from the plugin maker, obviously, but one to do with Box.net.
What is Box.net?
Box.net offers offsite storage. 1GB of free storage to be exact. Larger packages (5GB or 15GB) are 5 to 10 dollar a month.
With Box.net you can post files to your blog(s), share files with others, offer files to the public, etc.
To me Box.net has been that missing link between offline/online and between the places where I work on the computer. Just as I keep my links on del.icio.us, I keep my work files on Box.net.
A must-have plugin for Windows Live Writer users with a Box.net account — and for those without one, the best excuse reason to try one.
Download page for Box.net to Windows Live Writer plugin.
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