Blogger API support for Mozilla Composer, version 0.1.1

I reworked my original code into an overlay to Mozilla Composer. While the functionality is still as primitive as it used to be, this allows me to package it as xpi (cross platform installer) file. If you use a recent version of Mozilla you should be able to install the package just by clicking on the link below. Alternatively, if you want to look at the code, simply right-click on download and save the file. You should be able to unpack the archive with any jar or zip utility.

install download

How to use it

When you open up Mozilla's Composer window, you should find a menu item called "Publish to Weblog" in the File menu (it's possible that you have to restart Mozilla after installation). Activating this menu item should bring up a simple dialog window. The values you have to enter depend on which weblog tool you are using, please refer to the documentation to find out. To give it a quick try you can use the following settings:

This should result in your stuff to appear on pippi.antville.org.

Notes and Caveats

Currently, you can't retrieve existing postings from your weblog via Blogger API. This means that you have to save your page locally (which is actually a good idea especially for longer pieces because you get a backup copy on your local machine). In order to know whether a page is being posted for the first time or being updated, Composer will add a meta tag to the HTML head of the page the first time it's saved.

<meta name="BloggerAPIStoryID" content="22663">

Some additional caveats:

1. Password saving is not yet implemented, you'll have to enter your password each time you publish. Remember, it's 0.1.
2. The publish flag is always set to true, that means everything you write will be published immediately.

About Bloggenmoz

This project was created by Hannes Wallnöfer.

I have a weblog at henso.com (sorry, mostly in german). You can reach me by email at hannes at helma dot at.

The reason for the funny Bloggenmoz name is that all other combinations of the words "Blogger" and "Mozilla" seem to be occupied by someone else. I'm starting to like it though. It has something swedisch about it, like you can buy at IKEA or some such ;-)

BTW, this site is running on Antville, our kick-ass software for weblog hosting. Check it out!

Welcome to Bloggenmoz!

This site was created to document my attempts to add support for the Blogger API directly to Mozilla Composer. What this means is that people should be able to post to their weblogs directly from the HTML editor that comes with Mozilla. I've started coding over the weekend and already have a functional prototype. Here's a screenshot:

(Click here if the popup script doesn't work)

You can get my current code from the download page. You'll also find installation instructions as well as some notes and caveats. Please remember that this code is experimental!

This project was inspired by Mike Lee's MozBlog, a Mozilla extension that is embedded in the browser window and allows for quick posting of smaller texts (think bookmarklet). In contrast, Blogger API support in Composer would be ideal for writing longer texts, something that is very unconvenient with browser-based solutions.

There's more to come soon - stay tuned and let me know what you think!