WLW Code Colorizer: Fast Syntax Highlighting for Windows Live WriterWindows Live Writer (WLW) was a popular desktop blog editor that made composing posts offline and publishing them online easy and efficient. For bloggers who regularly include code snippets — developers, technical writers, and educators — readable, attractive, and correctly formatted code blocks are essential. WLW Code Colorizer is a plugin designed to bring fast syntax highlighting to Windows Live Writer, transforming plain text code into visually distinct, copy-friendly, and publish-ready code blocks. This article explains what WLW Code Colorizer does, why it matters, how to use it, customization options, best practices, and troubleshooting tips.
What WLW Code Colorizer Does
WLW Code Colorizer is a plugin that integrates into Windows Live Writer to provide syntax highlighting for many programming and markup languages. Instead of pasting raw code that appears as plain, monospaced text with no visual distinctions, the plugin automatically parses the code and applies color, font, and structural styling to keywords, strings, comments, numbers, and other language-specific elements.
Key benefits:
- Improves readability of code in blog posts.
- Preserves indentation and formatting for copy/paste.
- Supports multiple languages (commonly: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, C#, Java, PHP, SQL, Python, Ruby, etc.).
- Produces clean HTML/CSS suitable for publishing without breaking site styles.
- Often includes options for line numbers, theme selection, and custom CSS.
Why Syntax Highlighting Matters for Bloggers
- Visual clarity: Highlighting helps readers quickly parse code structure and logic. Syntax-colored keywords stand out, making examples easier to follow.
- Professional presentation: Well-formatted code makes tutorials, how-tos, and technical posts look polished and trustworthy.
- Usability: When code preserves indentation and is selectable as text (not an image), readers can copy and reuse examples directly.
- Accessibility: Proper HTML structure and selectable text improves compatibility with screen readers and other assistive tools compared to embedded screenshots.
Supported Languages and Highlighting Engines
WLW Code Colorizer plugins historically relied on established syntax engines or custom rules. Depending on the plugin version, supported language lists vary, but commonly include:
- Web: HTML, XML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript
- Server: PHP, ASP.NET (C#, VB.NET)
- Desktop and scripting: Java, Python, Ruby, Perl, Bash, PowerShell
- Data/query: SQL, JSON, YAML
- Others: Markdown, Diff, Makefile
Highlighting engines may be simple regex-based parsers or wrappers around libraries such as Highlight.js, Pygments, or custom rule sets optimized for speed inside WLW.
Installation and Setup
- Download the WLW Code Colorizer plugin package compatible with your WLW version. (Plugin packages often come as .wll or installer .msi/.exe.)
- Close Windows Live Writer.
- Run the installer or copy the plugin file into WLW’s plugin directory (typically under Program Files or the user AppData WLW folder).
- Reopen Windows Live Writer. The plugin should appear in the ribbon or under the Insert menu as a “Code” or “Code Colorizer” option.
- Configure default language, theme, and behavior via the plugin’s settings panel if available.
Using WLW Code Colorizer — Step by Step
- Create a new post or edit an existing one in WLW.
- Place the cursor where you want the code block to appear.
- Choose the WLW Code Colorizer plugin from the ribbon or Insert menu.
- Select the language for the snippet (or set to Auto-detect if the plugin supports it).
- Paste or type your code into the plugin’s editor window. Ensure indentation and spacing are preserved.
- Adjust options: enable/disable line numbers, choose a theme (light/dark), set font family and size, toggle copy-button visibility.
- Insert the highlighted code into your post. The plugin will add the corresponding HTML/CSS markup or script references required to show highlighting on your blog.
- Preview in WLW and in your blog’s live preview to confirm styles render correctly with your site theme.
Customization and Theming
Most WLW Code Colorizer plugins offer some level of customization:
- Themes: Light and dark themes with different color palettes (Monokai, Solarized, Default, etc.).
- Fonts: Choose monospaced fonts (Consolas, Menlo, Courier New) and font sizes for readability.
- Line numbers: Toggle on/off and configure starting line number or relative numbering.
- Wrapping: Enable horizontal scrolling or wrap long lines.
- Copy button: Add a quick “Copy” control for readers to copy the snippet to clipboard (may require additional client-side JavaScript on the blog).
- Custom CSS: Export or edit the CSS used for code blocks so it matches your blog’s typography and color scheme.
When editing CSS, ensure specificity prevents your blog’s global styles from overriding highlighted code. It’s common to wrap code blocks in a unique class (e.g., .wlw-codecolorizer) so you can target and protect styles.
Publishing Considerations
- Dependencies: Some colorizer plugins inject external JavaScript or CSS files. Make sure your blog host allows these files or inline the styles if necessary.
- Compatibility: Check how the highlight styles interact with your blog’s theme, responsive layout, and mobile views. Adjust font sizes and wrapping to avoid horizontal scrolling on small screens.
- Performance: Inline CSS or minimal external styles prevent extra HTTP requests. If your blog has many code-heavy posts, consider hosting the CSS/JS locally or bundling with your theme.
- SEO and content: Highlighted code is plain HTML/text in most implementations, so search engines can crawl and index code examples.
Best Practices for Posting Code
- Use short, focused snippets. If a full program is needed, provide a downloadable link or a Gist/Repo.
- Include language labels and brief context explaining what the snippet does.
- Keep indentation consistent (spaces vs tabs) — the colorizer preserves what you paste.
- Show output where relevant: include console output, screenshots, or expected results so readers can verify their runs.
- For long lines, prefer wrapping or show horizontal scrolling with a visible indicator so mobile readers aren’t lost.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
- Colors not appearing on the live site: Ensure the plugin’s CSS/JS files are published with the post and that your blog isn’t stripping unknown tags or scripts.
- Broken formatting: Confirm that the plugin wraps code in
and
tags (or similar) and that your blog’s HTML sanitizer isn’t removing those tags or attributes. - Auto-detection mislabels language: Manually select the correct language when pasting complex mixed-language snippets (e.g., HTML with embedded JavaScript).
- Line numbers misaligned: Check for surrounding CSS (line-height, padding, margin) conflicts; adjust the plugin CSS or add a wrapper class to fix alignment.
- Plugin not showing in WLW: Reinstall, verify your WLW version, and ensure the plugin file is in the correct directory and not blocked by an OS policy.
Alternatives and Complementary Tools
While WLW Code Colorizer adds syntax highlighting directly within Windows Live Writer, other options exist:
- Use an external highlighter (Pygments, Highlight.js, Prism) to generate highlighted HTML, then paste into WLW.
- Host code on GitHub Gists or Pastebin and embed links or iframe snippets.
- Migrate to modern editors/blogging platforms with built-in highlighting (e.g., Visual Studio Code + static site generators like Jekyll/Hugo using Prism or Highlight.js).
Conclusion
WLW Code Colorizer brings fast, attractive syntax highlighting to Windows Live Writer, improving readability and presentation of code in blog posts. It preserves formatting, supports many languages, and offers customization for themes, fonts, and line numbers. For bloggers who frequently publish code, it’s a useful plugin that converts raw snippets into professional-looking, copy-friendly examples. If you publish to a platform that strips scripts or custom tags, generate the final highlighted HTML externally and paste it into WLW to ensure consistent rendering.
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