Getting Started
Setting up a blog
When you first launch MarsEdit, it will ask you for details about your blog. If you ever want to add another blog, just choose the menu item.
After you enter the name of your blog and the URL of its home page, MarsEdit will usually be able to figure out the rest of the settings it needs.
If MarsEdit doesn’t auto-detect the settings, refer to the Manual Configuration page for simple instructions on configuring popular blog systems.
Downloading and browsing recent posts
If MarsEdit detected your blog settings, your most recent posts will be downloaded automatically. To manually download recent posts, click the Refresh button in the toolbar.
Note: MarsEdit asks for your blog password, which is stored
securely in the system keychain. For most blogs, the username and password are the same as you use to login to your blog from a browser. But some blog systems require a different password:
- On WordPress.com and Tumblr blogs, if you have enabled two-factor authentication, you may need to use a special password called an "application-specific password." See the security section of your account on these services for more information about creating an application-specific password for use in MarsEdit.
- On Movable Type and TypePad blogs, the username and password for MarsEdit is different, and is called the "web services password." You can find this password in your Movable Type user settings on the web.
When MarsEdit finishes downloading, the titles of your recent posts will appear in the table at the top of the main window. Select an item to see a preview of the full post in the bottom half of the window.
What to do if there’s an error
Refresh failures might be due to problems with your network connection, or because of a configuration problem in the blog's settings.
The error message should include information from the blog about the cause of the failure, though these messages are not always helpful.
- Double-check that you have the correct settings for your blog. The System Name, System API, API Endpoint URL, and Blog ID fields must be correctly configured.
- If you’re still having trouble, feel free to contact us for assistance. We’ll be glad to help get you up and running!