Logo Rob Buckley – Freelance Journalist and Editor

Review: Red Sweater’s MarsEdit 3.01

Review: Red Sweater’s MarsEdit 3.01

Even the most advanced blog’s web browser interface suffers from problems: you need Internet access to use it; it doesn’t have the responsiveness or features of desktop software; and it doesn’t have a true WYSIWYG editing system.

MarsEdit 3.0 is one of the best desktop tools around for filling these gaps. It can download posts from most blog systems, including Blogger, WordPress and Movable Type. You can then compose and edit posts using the new built-in, syntax-highlighting HTML or rich-text editors, see what they’ll look like using a preview function based on your blog’s template, then upload them when you’re ready.

If you want to include pictures from your iPhoto, Aperture or Lightroom libraries, your hard drive or Flickr, MarsEdit lets you add them to an entry, resize them and upload to them your blog as well. You can also use templates for blog entries and presets for photo uploads to speed up operations.

The competition between MarsEdit and ecto, its nearest competitor, is a close-run thing – their featuresets are now nearly identical. Despite its new features, MarsEdit is still faster. Its rich text editor is (slightly) less buggy and more accurate. Its support for WordPress’s custom and slug fields is better. However, it lacks ecto’s Amazon integration, its interface makes functions harder to find, and its image-uploader is a lot clunkier and less feature-packed.

However, both tools are great tools for the serious blogger, so your choice will probably be determined by personal preference.

Interested in commissioning a similar article? Please contact me to discuss details. Alternatively, return to the main gallery or search for another article: