FAQ - Client Software

A downloadable client offers the same functionality as the web client at http://www.livejournal.com/update.bml. However, most downloadable clients offer more than the basic posting functionality, sometimes extending even beyond the options listed on the web client. Not every client will have these capabilities; you can usually read the client's journal for specific details about what it's capable of.

Downloadable clients are available at http://www.livejournal.com/download/. To find a client for your platform, select your platform from the list shown. Many clients run directly on the operating system that powers your computer (like Windows, MacOS, or Unix), but some run inside an application or will only run if you are able to use a particular programming language. These are listed separately. After you click on your desired platform, you'll be taken to a page that shows all the clients currently available for that platform. Here you will also find a brief description of the client and the client's journal.

You can download the client of your choice from that client's journal and/or its User Info page. Downloading a client will not automatically create a journal for you; you must already have a LiveJournal account in order to use a client.

If you experience problems with your client connecting to LiveJournal, you can open a Support request under the Clients category at http://www.livejournal.com/support/.

If you would like to request a new feature for your favorite client, you will need to direct inquiries to the client's journal, because decisions concerning what will be added to the client's functionality are up to the developer. The LiveJournal community for client development and technical discussion is lj_clients.


FURTHER READING

How do I create an account? How do I get started?
http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=104

The lj_clients community
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=lj_clients

There are several reasons why your client may lock up when you try to log in. The most common cause for this is a proxy. This means you don't have a direct connection to the Internet and the client does not know how to contact the server.They are commonly used by businesses or on other networks. If you were able to successfully connect from your current computer in the past, it is possible that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has changed its proxy settings recently. You will need to contact your ISP for more information.

If you know that you are not accessing the internet through a proxy, you may be experiencing problems with a firewall. If you use a firewall, make sure that you have listed the client under the programs that are allowed to access the Internet. You may have to read your firewall's documentation to learn how to do this. Even if you haven't installed a firewall yourself, some operating systems come with a pre-installed firewall.

If this doesn't help, you should check if to see if LiveJournal.com is actually down. Try going to http://www.livejournal.com/ in your web browser, or see http://status.livejournal.org/. At peak load times you may receive the "Cannot contact server" error because of the high number of users attempting to contact the servers.

The Visions and Semagic Clients for Windows most commonly experience this problem. Information about editing your proxy settings to allow either of these clients access to the Internet is available at http://www.livejournal.com/users/howto/23617.html.

If you've tried all of the solutions above and you're still having problems then file a Support Request under the Clients category. You can do so at http://www.livejournal.com/support/.


FURTHER READING

Why am I having problems accessing pages on LiveJournal? What is "read-only" mode?
http://www.livejournal.com/support/faqbrowse.bml?faqid=116

The HowTo Journal
http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=howto