Windows Live Writer Beta 2 Now Available

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I am using Live Writer Beta2 to write and manage my blog entries. Windows Live Writer Beta 2 is now available for download . I am using it right now. It has a much more polished user interface now as well as a bunch of fixes and new features. This release incorporates a ton of feedback from discussion forums and blogs. Here are some of the new features you'll find in Beta 2:

New Authoring Capabilities

  • Inline spell checking
  • Table editing
  • Ability to add categories
  • Page authoring for WordPress and TypePad
  • Support for excerpts and extended entries
  • Improved hyperlinking and image insertion
  • Paste Special

Integration and Compatibility

  • SharePoint 2007 support
  • New APIs enabling custom extensions by weblog providers
  • Automatic synchronization of local and online edits
  • Integration with Windows Live Gallery
  • Support for Blogger Labels

Plus...

  • New look and feel
  • Available in 6 languages
  • Improved accessibility and keyboard support
  • Many other frequently requested enhancements!

Did you know that with Windows Live Writer, you can:

Layout pictures in the body of a blog entry - Ability to create blog entries and include the pictures within the body of your blog entry rather than at the bottom.   You can also align text around a picture to give it more of a magazine look and feel
Spell check your blog entries while you type them - Have you ever posted a blog entry and then later realized that you had a spelling mistake in it?   Never again since Live Writer has built in spell check which highlights potential spelling mistakes as you type.
Write blog entries when you are offline and post them later - Taking a trip?   You can create blog entries while you are offline and then post them when you get back online.  Use your time online for other things... write blog entries when you are offline!
Back-date blog posts – With Live Writer you can write a blog entry and set the date of posting for any date in the past.   You no longer need to worry about when you post an entry.
Easily add table formatting to your blog entries - Easily insert tables into your blog entries and leave the HTML formatting to us.  Live Writer makes creating tables simple.
Insert Maps in your blog entries - want to show the location of a place that you are writing about or even what it looks like?   Inserting a map from Virtual Earth is simple.  Just click on the "Insert Map" and choose the map that you want to talk about.
Maintain font consistency and easily change fonts - Live Writer allows you to choose your fonts by number (ie 10, 11, 12, etc) and it also automatically assumes the default font of the blog that you are publishing to.   So you won’t have to worry about making sure that when you are cutting and pasting text, the font is consistent.   Writer does that work for you. Add tags to your blog entries - you can add tags into your blog entry so that your entries are picked up by Technorati and other blog search engines
Plug-in support - Want new cool features that were developed by Live Writer enthusiasts?   Just click here to see all of the plug-ins available ranging from Snagit Screen Capture to Event Finders