The primary way to enter information into a Drupal site is to use the CMS itself using a web browser. This usually requires a stable connection to the Internet, but you can also use offline publishing tools (most often used for weblogs) to send content to the CMS.

These instructions are for the tools in general, and each have their different quirks.

1. Make sure the BlogAPI module is enabled on your site. You may have to ask your administrator to do this. For administrators, see the instructions for configuring the BlogAPI module below.
2. Determine the XML-RPC interface for your site. For Drupal, this is the main URL of the site plus xmlrpc.php. For example, if your site is at http://www.yourdomain.com/ then its XML-RPC interface is http://www.yourdomain.com/xmlrpc.php The URL doesn't point to a standard web page but rather a script on your site, so it may look differently than what you expect if you loaded it in a regular web browser.
3. Find the setting in your favorite offline publishing tool to input the interface's URL.

Configuring the BlogAPI module (for administrators)

1. Enable the 'blogapi' module through administer » modules.
2. Click administer » settings » blogapi
3. Make sure the "Movabletype" is selected.
4. Select which content types to allow people to post to using your offline editor. The list will only include those modules that you have enabled.
5. Click "Save configuration".

Settings for specific tools:

Windows Live Writer for Windows XP 

Windows Live Writer works out of the box with Drupal. Just enter your Drupal user id, URL and password and you will be able to update and create new blog posts. You cannot create other types of Drupal content unfortunately.

MarsEdit for Mac OS X

1. add a new account in MarsEdit
• To do this, make sure you see the "Weblogs" drawer on MarsEdit. You may need to click the "Weblogs" button on the toolbar.
• Click the plus (+) sign at the bottom of the list of weblogs.
• Type in your weblog's title, as well as the URL of the site.
• MarsEdit will try to determined the settings for the site. If it cannot determine the settings, you will have to input them manually.
2. Right click the blog you just created.
3. Change the setting for "Software" to "Movable Type", as "Drupal", it turns out, is not the best setting for working with the system.
4. If you are going to use a different content type than 'blog', change the "Blog ID" setting to the content type. For example, if you're going to be writing and editing book pages, use "book" (without quotes) as the ID.
5. Click "OK" and refresh the blog.

(These instructions are based on Bryght developer James Walker's instructions.)

ecto for Mac OS X

1. On the main window of ecto, click the "Accounts" button on the toolbar.
2. Click "Add" and type in the URL of your site.
3. ecto uses "Movable Type" as its default API. This is the correct setting for publishing to Drupal-based sites.
4. Type in the URL of your site, plus xmlrpc.php. Using Urban Vancouver as the example, the URL would be http://www.urbanvancouver.com/xmlrpc.php
5. Type in your username and password.
6. Click "Next".
7. Type in a name for the account. This will show up in your list of weblogs that you use ecto to post.
8. Click "Next" at the "Default settings" screen. These settings do not affect how content is posted to a Drupal-based site.
9. Click "Finish"

If you're allowed to post to more than one content type, each content type will be listed as a blog in the listing on the left. Make sure you have the right content type selected when publishing.

To post content from ecto:

1. Click the "New" button.
2. Type in a title.
3. Click on the main content box and type your content. You can click the "A" button on the toolbar for a rich-text editing interface much like what the browser-based interface uses. Click the "<>" to work in HTML mode.
4. Click "Post" to publish your content. If you want to set something aside in draft mode, click "Save". If you click "Save", if will not appear on the site until you click "Post".
   • If you are editing the post, make sure to click "Post" and send as an "edit". If you save as a new post, the original remain and a new post will be created.

At the top are generic instructions that should apply to all offline blogging tools, though they may differ slightly in how to configure the software. Did we miss your favourite offline blogging tool? Post in the end-users forum what we've missed and we will update this page accordingly.

Qumana for Windows

You need to add a "publisher" (which is Qumana's term for a blog)to publish content from Qumana.

1. On the "Drop content here window" of Qumana, right click and select "Configure" and then "Publishers..."
• If you're in the "Qumana Editor" part of the program, click the "Posting" menu, then "Configure", then "Configure Publishers"
2. Click the "New" button.
3. Type in the URL of your site and click on "Next". Do not include the trailing slash e.g. http://www.yourdomain.com
4. Qumana will try to locate the best options. If you don't see a username/password prompt, use the following settings:
• Server: Movable Type API
• Host: www.yourdomain.com
• EndPoint: /xmlrpc.php
• Port: 80
• Click "Next"
5. Type in your username and password and click on "Next"
6. You need to select the content type (one of "blog", "book", "page" or "story" depending on what content types are enabled by the site admin). For blogs, this will be "blog". Page, Book and Story are less commonly used. Ask your site admin if you don't know which content type to use. Click to select the appropriate content type (e.g. "Your Site:blog") and then click on "Next".
7. If Qumana automatically configured your settings, you will need to change the API to "MovableType API".
• From the Drop pad (you may be able to skip the first step as the list of blogs may already be available):
  1. Right-click the Drop pad, then choose "Configure", then choose "Publishers".
  2. Select the blog you just created. Click the "Edit" button.
  3. Drop down the "Server" list, and choose "MovableType API" and click the "Next" several times until you see the "Finish" available.
  4. Click the "Finish" button.
• From the Qumana Editor:
  1. Click the "Posting" menu, then "Configure", then "Configure Publishers"
  2. Select the blog you just created. Click the "Edit" button.
  3. Drop down the "Server" list, and choose "MovableType API" and click the "Next" several times until you see the "Finish" available.
  4. Click the "Finish" button.

To post content from Qumana:

Note there's more than one way to do this. The following is just the most common.

1. Right click on the "Drop Content Here" window and select "New Post..."
2. Type in a title.
3. Click on the main content box and type your content. Use the Qumana toolbar for a rich-text editing interface much like what the browser-based interface uses.
4. Next to "Post Blog" select the Publisher for your blog e.g. "Your Site:blog"
5. Click "Post Blog" to publish your content. If you want to set something aside in draft mode, click "File"->Save to File.... If you click "Save", if will not appear on the site until you click "Post Blog".