ScottIsAFool: WLW Plugin

Linking Made Simple

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 19:33:00 GMT

Just a quick post really, Kip over at LiveSide.net made a request last night for a plugin for Live Writer. He wanted to be able to paste a link into his blog entry and have the insert link box come up so that he can change the text that appears for the link. At the moment all it will do is make a link, then put the link as the link text. So I made a quick plugin that does just this for him.

Download here.

Feed Me, Master. Feed Me...

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 03:34:05 GMT

The time comes in most situations, where you just have to let go. So, I'm letting go. To what? To the BETA tag attached to the Feed Reader plugin, that's what. So, I have ironed out the bugs that were there (well, most of them...) added in some features that have been suggested, and it's now raring to go.

So I bring you version 1.0 of my Feed Reader plugin. Nothing too much interface wise has changed from previous screenshots and beta, the main thing that has changed has been the option to go to the Feed options from the Insert Feed window:

The download link is slightly different from the beta version, but that's an obvious thing really.

Download: here.

Mr Emoticon

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 04:01:39 GMT

Ok, so today I spent the day at the Microsoft offices, the RedWest campus, which is where most of the Windows Live action takes place in Redmond. The main event for me today was a meeting I had arranged with the Windows Live Writer team. There was basically myself, Spike Washburn and Charles there and we were just sat discussing plugins and how I could improve the plugins that I have made. Towards the end of the talking (before lunch), JJ Allaire came back, he had just flown in. He was pleased that he was able to catch me before the end of the meeting (that was weird); we then went for lunch in the MS cafeteria, joining us was Bonnie, another member of the Live Writer Team. It was at this point that I was introduced as "Mr Emoticon". Mr Emoticon!

We also discussed the program itself and any ideas I had that could improve the program. During the talks they gave me some great ideas for my plugins, in particular the video plugin. I felt the meeting went really well and was incredibly informative, so was great for me.

One of the ideas they gave me for my Video Plugin was to make it so that instead of clicking on the Insert Video link in Writer and then putting the Video link into that, to have it so that you can just paste the video link into the blog and it puts the correct code into the blog post straight away, with no interaction needed from the user. So, this afternoon that's what I did.

So the plugin has been updated to version 1.7.0.9

Download: here.

Public Beta of Feed Reader

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 19:06:47 GMT

OK, with the Feed Reader Plugin having been in a private beta for a week now, couple with me flying out to the States tomorrow afternoon, I have decided to put out a public beta of the plugin to give you all something to play with while I'm away. So we all saw the screenshots for v0.5.0.5 and saw what it could do, so what's new in this build? For a start, many bug fixes and errors! The most significant additions to the plugin are the import/export buttons; with these you can import your feed list from an OPML file, or if you have added feeds into the plugin that you want elsewhere, you can now export your list to an OPML file. Pretty cool, huh .

I expect you'll be wanting to see updated screenshots from this new build... And who am I to disappoint :

(The main options page)

(Select the OPML file you want to import)

(The about window)

Most of the changes that have been made have been in the options and under the hood stuff, so the main window when you click on the Insert From Feed link hasn't really changed, so I won't include a screenshot of that.

Please, please, please though, read the release notes that are in the zip file, it gives you instructions on how to use the plugin, also how to go about submitting suggestions/bugs (please also do that, I love getting the feedback ). For any information about all this, please feel free to email me at wlm[at]scottisafool.co.uk.

Download: here.

Whilst writing this, I was listening to Joe Perry - Twilight.

Insert Video Plugin Gets Clever...

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 18:15:23 GMT

First off, I would like to thank Cynthia at www.wlwplugins.com for the awesome review she gave of my SoapBox/Video plugin. She also put a couple of suggestions on that review for things that would be good to have in the plugin. True to form, I have taken those suggestions on board and put them into the plugin.

The suggestions were simply, have the plugin know what code to put into the blog simply from the link (ie, no radio buttons to select), and have support for Yahoo! Video. So, version 1.6.0.8 comes complete with Yahoo support, and all you now need to do is put the link into the text box and that's it, either preview the video, or just put it straight into your blog .

Screenshots:

(Notice the radio buttons are now gone)

(Just click on preview and you're away)

Download - here.

Whilst writing this, I was listening to Hans Zimmer - Hello Beastie.

PS, Still need some beta testers for my Feed Reader plugin, please email me if you're interested.

Beta Testers Required

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 11:33:54 GMT

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I have been working on a new plugin for Windows Live Writer, but I wouldn't give any details about what it was going to bed. The main reason for this was that I wasn't sure if I would be able to actually write the plugin that I wanted to make! Well, I have managed to write it, but because of the scope of this plugin I have decided not to rely on my own testing of the plugin (even though I know I could) and I am outstretching my arms to the public for some willing beta testers of this new plugin.

But before you sign your life away, I'm guessing you would like to know what this plugin does. Let me introduce you to the Feed Reader Plugin. What this plugin does is allow you to define what RSS feeds you would like to choose from, then displays a list of all the feed items in that feed and then lets you put that feed item into your blog entry.

Sounds good, doesn't it . So now we've heard about it, let's see some screenshots of the beta version (build 0.5.0.5):

The options box that allows you to define what feeds you want available to you.

Where you add a feed to your list.

The insert feed box that lets you select your feed and feed item.

So if you are interested in testing this, and please, if you say you're interested, I do expect feedback (suggestions and bugs), then email wlm[at]scottisafool.co.uk and I will come back to you with the beta build.

Whilst writing this, I was listening to Republica - Nothing's Feeling New.

Da Vinci, I'm Not. Or Am I....?

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 20:49:50 GMT

Ok, so I'll never be a great artist, the height of my drawing ability was being able to draw Garfield. So it's of no surprise that I will never make anything that would go into the Tate Gallery, or any of the other major galleries, and certainly I'll never do anything quite as significant as the Mona Lisa, but I'm not here to tell you about what I can't do; I'm here to tell you about what I have done .

So why the gallery references? Well, there's a site from the good people at Windows Live called Live Gallery, which showcases some of the plugins/bots/etc that people have created for Windows Live products such as Live Messenger, Live.com itself and even Live Spaces. Well, today saw the launch of a new section to this website for Windows Live Writer which means that the plugins that you have all been reading about on here can now have a real home . So head on over to the Live Writer section and take a look specifically here . There does however seem to be an issue that the Live Writer section doesn't always seem to be accessible. But give it a try anyway .

I do also have the other two plugins on their way, they are just pending approval at the moment. I'm just in the process of starting a new plugin for Live Writer, but you will have to wait and find out about it, my lips, for the moment, are sealed .

Whilst writing this, I was listening to Meat Loaf - The Monster Is Loose.

SoapBox Plugin Has Changed...

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 21:28:32 GMT

UPDATE: Please visit my Developer blog for information on version 2.0 of this plugin. Click here.

Update: Version 1.5.0.3 has been released. There was a problem that if you wanted to insert a SoapBox video, you had to click on SoapBox for it to get the correct information. This has been fixed.

Originally, this plugin was meant for MSN's SoapBox, but as normal with me, due to boredom, I wanted to make it support other video uploading websites. So, it is being renamed from Insert SoapBox to Insert Video:

The location for the download will still be the same, as will the filename of the plugin, and you will notice that it has gone to version 1.5.0.2 instead of starting at version 1.0 again (hey, if MSN > WLM can do it, so can I .

So, what are the main changes in this version? Well, it now supports Google Video, YouTube, and MySpace Video. As you can see from the following screenshot, the interface for the plugin has been changed to reflect that:

Like with the previous version, you still have the option of previewing the video before you put it into your blog, the previews all work with all the sites:

Also just like previous versions, all you need is the link, you don't need to mess about trying to get the id of the video clip, the plugin does all that for you:

SoapBox

Google

YouTube

MySpace

So just copy and paste your link as in the images above and put them into the plugin.

Known Issues

- If you click on Google Video, then paste a link in, you have to click on Google Video again to be able to insert it.

- Copying a link from the address bar for MySpace for some reason isn't accepted by the plugin and you will be unable to insert it.

If you find any issues with the plugin, or you have any suggestions, please leave a comment. And if anyone has any suggestions for a Live Writer plugin, please also leave a comment.

Download: here.

Whilst writing this, I was listening to Fatboy Slim - Praise You.

Do You Feel Lucky, Punk...? Well... Do You?

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 15:15:54 GMT

Update: Version 1.0.1 - There was an issue where by if you type your own custom search, then decided to set it to the same as the Link text, the search text didn't change. This has been fixed.

Due to a various degree of boredom, I decided to write another little plugin for Windows Live Writer. This one will allow you to put a link in your blog that utilises Google's I'm feeling lucky button. With the plugin, it works the same way in which the Insert Link works, except for instead of putting the link in, you just put your search query text in.

Please read the ReadMe.txt file in the zip file for instructions and requirements.

Download: here

Whilst writing this, I was listening to Garbage - Parade.

DXL Downloads

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 23:24:40 GMT

Ok, before you all think I've gone mad with this title, I can assure you I haven't and it does make sense ; DXL is actually the Roman Numeral for 540. What's this got to do with anything? Well, I checked my stats tonight, and its first week, my plugin has been downloaded that many times . Now I know that I have released about three newer versions since the original version 1.0, but you have to ask, "does Scøtt really care?". And you would be correct if you answer 'no'.

So I would just like to say a big thank you to all those who have downloaded it, blogged about it, commented on it, and added to the list of emoticons it currently has. Stay tuned for further releases.

Download link: here.

Whilst writing this, I was listening to Garbage - When I grow up.

Plugin Updated to v1.2.3

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 22:43:26 GMT

Only a minor update really, found some more emoticons for you to add to your blog. New with this version are:

Also fixed the spelling mistake with this one: , which has left me looking just like it

I'm sure the first one will please LoveDoctor .

Plugin can be downloaded from the same place as before: Link

Whilst writing this, I was listening to Aerosmith - You See Me Crying.

Talking about Insert Emoticons in Windows Live Writer

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 11:52:18 GMT

How cool is this. Mike Torres, Program Lead for Live Spaces has blogged about my plugin . He also lists it among his favourite Live Writer plugins in this entry http://mike.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!FBABF8E542F5D5DB!7300.entry. Why is this cool? Because I read his blog, I have it subscribed in Thunderbird at work, and here he is, blogging about something that I have done!!

Quote

Insert Emoticons in Windows Live Writer

Are you a fan of Windows Live Writer but miss your little emoticons?

Well, there's a new plug-in to enable emoticon support from within Live Writer. You can read more about it here: Insert Spaces Emoticon - Windows Live Writer Plugins. One of the interesting things to note: the emoticons will work on any blog, not just Windows Live Spaces, thanks to Writer's support for the MetaWeblog API. They're just images at the end of the day.

It works well

Live Writer Plugin - Spaces Emoticons

Sun, 03 Sep 2006 13:28:38 GMT

Update: I have revised this plugin to v1.0.1. To see what changes I have made, please go to the botom of this post.

Update 2: The good people at www.wlwplugins.com have done a review of my plugin, read it here: http://wlwplugins.com/insert-spaces-emoticon.php

Update 3: Thanks to LoveDoctor for pointing out the extra emoticons that exist on the Spaces server. Version 1.1 has now been released, complete with this additional emoticons, and the devil one .

Since Windows Live Writer got released to the public a few weeks ago, I have been using it to publish all the recent blog entries that have been on this Space, and I do like it, really good program. In my opinion, it's the first "Live" product to really have something innovitave, something new. The only trouble is, it lacks any support for the Live Spaces emoticons, you are unable to put them in. It's something that used to bother me about w.bloggar, that, too, didn't have support for them. However, unlike w.bloggar, Live Writer has it's own SDK which allows people to create their own plugins, which meant I could create the plugin I would need that would allow me to insert the Live Spaces emoticons.

So I set about doing it, I downloaded Visual Studio Express, downloaded the SDK, and spent many hours trying to create my plugin. Which, to a certain degree, I did. Unfortunately, there were things that the plugin needed to do that were just beyond my scope of programming (I'll be the first to admit I'm a crap programmer). So I asked Jason for some help and he started guiding me through, giving me guides on what would need to be done; so I carried on, but still I was getting stuck on certain programming aspects. In the end, Jason had a quick fiddle with the code (it's easy when you know how ), and he managed to get a working plugin out the door.

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado, I present the Insert Spaces emoticon plugin for Windows Live Writer:

To use it, download the zip file, and extract the dll file to C:\Program Files\Windows Live Writer\Plugins\. Load up Live Writer, and when you want to insert an emoticon, click on the Insert a Spaces emoticon link on the right:

Then just click on the emoticon you want to use, and click Ok. Job done .

Known Issues:

Clicking on OK without an emoticon causes a Live Writer error (just acknowledge the error and make sure you select an emoticon)
~~When you have inserted your emoticon, you will get a red x (~~) where the emoticon is placed, this is not a problem, when you publish the blog entry, the emoticon will be there. We are looking for a way round this (but it might be a limitation we can't get round).

We will also be looking at improving the order in which the emoticons are displayed. Stay tuned for future releases and announcements here .

Download: here

Update: Version 1.0.1 now includes the full url of the emoticon, so that this plugin can now be used for any type of blog. However, if you are offline, then it will still show the red x as mentioned before.

Whilst writing this, I was listening to Guns N' Roses - November Rain.