Publisher alternative in 2026

LemP Wish I could help but I don't know about how to install the 2016 for your use until 2026 and the 2024. I bought a new 2024 as well and did so thinkng it had Publisher included and have not tried to install yet. I understand this change to mean that even our currently working Publisher software will not be useable/accessable after 2026.

Late to the party ...

I just installed Office 2024 and discovered that Publisher is no longer included.

I do have a copy of Office 2016, which does included Publisher.

Can I install Publisher 2016 now that Office 2024 is already installed or do I have to uninstall Office 2024, installed Publisher 2016 (but none of the other 2016 apps) and then reinstall Office 2024?

I can't believe Microsoft is discontinuing Publisher and would like to hear from them why they are doing this.

Canva is not as user friendly, especially for newsletters and annual reports, Affinity Publisher takes up a lot of space on the pc and Word definitely is not user friendly for designing newsletters or similar. MS Designer does not have the functionality of Publisher. There is of course, InDesign but that costly and probably a steep learning curve.

What's going on Microsoft????? I hope you will listen to your customers, like me who has beeen using Publisher for 25 years.

May I suggest if you create something very similar to Publisher that you include the bleed option (when converted to a pdf) so printers aren't screaming because a document is sent with no bleed marks.

Many thanks.

Hello

Thanks for bringing up the issue of 'MS Publisher in 2026' again. I have also been waiting for a clear answer from Microsoft about this for months.

I work in education, where MS Publisher can play an important role, precisely because it 'gives priority' to images over text (in MS Word the opposite happens and the text cursor is the 'boss'). It is just as fantastic a tool because its interface fits perfectly with Word, Powerpoint and Excel, without too many detailed functions (as is the case with Adobe Indesign)

The two main questions I have:

1. What about the thousands of Publisher files that we use daily in our educational practice?
2. Which software will take over the specific functions (basic pages, alignment help, booklet format, ...)?

My suggestion would be: integrate both the file format and the unique Publisher functions into Powerpoint, because Powerpoint is most closely related to Publisher in terms of working method and interface.

What I regret is that within the current Office 365 environment no online version of Publisher was offered. What really annoys me is that Publisher files are even labeled as 'unsafe' by the Office 365 environment.

Furthermore, I notice that Microsoft is trying very hard to compete with Canva via their MS Designer. That looks promising, but can not possibly be considered a decent replacement for Publisher. If only because Designer does not have Publisher compatibility, nor the possibility to download the source file (only PDF or photo format is possible).

AI may be the future, but I really hope that Microsoft also really listens to a large group of its users, who may not be looking for AI-driven cloud software, but all the more for solid, stable offline software. I myself am slowly starting to look at Linux and LibreOffice and I am sure that many Microsoft users are doing the same, with the end of Windows 10 support in sight. Maybe I underestimate the AI ​​potential? However, data mining via the cloud environment also makes me shudder. Perhaps unjustified? Time will tell.

Anyways: Microsoft, please do not make the mistake of throwing the fantastic functionality of an app like Publisher completely in the trashcan.

Hi David, I also have been using and owned Publisher for my Notecards and art business for many years. I have almost 500 files completed or in the works. The other options MS is suggesting - Word etc do not do what I need them to do. Publisher has been wonderful but I just read on the MS site that once the cut off of 2026 arrives we cannot create new publisher files even if we own a stand alone copy. Do you know if that is true?

Thanks,

Lynn