Real old farts blog in Emacs. The fact that he still uses Windows leads me to believe he's just unaware of the alternatives.

hehe. Emacs: The editor for real men.

Actually back in those days I tended to use an editor called "TheDraw". I used it to make a lot of ANSI art for the BBS I ran back then, and it was my weapon of choice for text editing, including batch programming and C.. and ...(Snicker) ...Pascal.

Seriously, there's a number of reasons for me to be using Windows/ Word, not least of which I support Windows enviroments for a living. Second, my Palm has an editor I use frequently for remote blog posts that generates word files. I have several half-finished posts at any time in my palm... and can whip them over to the desktop to finish them as the mood or inspiration strikes.

Beisdes that, a couple places I submit to only take Word formatted files. So... It's the multi-platform thing that's got me using Word for blogging at the moment. I've got word fairly heavily macroed now to push things along.

What annoys me is that nobody has written a macro to inteface the word editor directly to the WP API, like someone did the Blogger API some years ago. It's the one thing I miss about Blogger.

One “trick” that I’ve adopted in the last year and a half or so that has really helped: Getting a second monitor. It’s much easier to compose a post on one monitor with the various pages that one wishes to link and/or quote in another.

I've heard that having two screens increases productivity in all facets of work. Frequently I'll have Bernard's problem in my regular work. I want data from one file, but can't copy it. Or I can't copy it quickly (I'm a hard core data user and most people pass me data is really crappy format). So I tab back and forth. All the while losing my place, making sure I've got the right column, and then tabbing back and making sure I'm once again in the right colum, place, etc.

I use an older, 'expanded clipboard' program called "Ditto" that allows multiple clips. When necessary, I can copy all the various parts of a piece I might want to write about while on the source page. Then I can paste them in order on my 'write post' screen. This saves masses of back-and-forthing.

use two browsers. I use IE to write (and sometimes crosspost) the posts. I use Firefox for looking up the material

Why not just two windows of the same browser?

I have been using Scribefire for years and find that it simplifies a great deal of what Bernard is finding problematic.

I've tried Scribefire and other non-integrated editing systems several times -- including this morning after seeing your reminder -- and always wind up coming back to the WordPress editor. The fact that Scribefire doesn't insert the title tag into links and doesn't have an obvious way to flip back and forth between WYSIWYG and raw HTML are non-starters for me.

use two browsers. I use IE to write (and sometimes crosspost) the posts. I use Firefox for looking up the material

Save links using Instapaper (instapaper.com) Great website, better than saving links in bookmarks.

Keep a text file with certain elements you use again and again.

But not for Bit. He's an old fart, set in his ways and unwilling to change.

Real old farts blog in Emacs. The fact that he still uses Windows leads me to believe he's just unaware of the alternatives.

There are specifically designed blog editors out there that probably do a better job than Word.

But not for Bit. He's an old fart, set in his ways and unwilling to change.

Oh, and GIT OFFA HIS LAWN!

And a third, if like me, you tend to run backups and other software while doing your blogging, or you're drawing from more than one source.

Virtual Desktops are almost as good as multiple monitors, course Windows still hasn't gotten around to implementing them. A clipboard manager like Glipper or Klipper can also help, copy the URL, headline and text in one shot, then paste them one at a time into your post.

I tend to use Word a lot as a blog editor.

There are specifically designed blog editors out there that probably do a better job than Word.

Bernard, I strongly advise you, if you've not do so already, to install the MCE plugin to your blog. This will allow a far greater range of macrobuttons than the stock editor.... one of which is "paste as text". Another handy button I use often is a 'paste from word" button, since I tend to use Word a lot as a blog editor. I've found using word macros... some of which I've developed for blogging purposes... and the auto spell checking... to be very time-saving. The import from word button completes that process.

Dave: Quite so. Blogging is, among other things, a way to organize and aggregate the various things I'm reading into something more useful.