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Hello, What software will people be using and why when Publisher is phased out in October 2026? Thank you.
I know there's InDesign and Canva. Also, will Publisher files be able to be converted ?
A desktop publishing application from Microsoft that focuses on page layout and graphic design.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Lorraine,
That piece of information only means that Microsoft won't retire Publisher prematurely.
Also, remember that if you have Office 2021 Professional or some older perpetual license that does include Publisher, you will be able to continue using Publisher even after the retirement date.
I had a similar problem. I then created a new folder in 'Program Files (x86)' (called it Publisher 2002 in my case) and installed my old 2002 version of Publisher to that folder. I then registered the copy with only the licence number, ie no name, no email, no phone, etc.
I can open all of my 365 Publisher files and modify them, create new ones from the template I have created, save and export to PDF. I write monthly newsletters for a not-for-profit organisation and do my own Christmas Cards, etc.
Word does not cut it, cannot export from 365 Pub to Word and it is impossible to correct layouts, photo placements, etc.
Best of luck.
Diane
This has left me in a real fix. I'm an amateur tabletop game designer, and I've put a lot of effort over the past few years into building assets for one of my game designs in Publisher. I can't really afford to pay for 365 and InDesign/Affinity/etc... I've tried Scribus which has a pretty horrible UX.
As far as I can see, none of these has a satisfactory way of converting/importing Publisher files. The export options for Publisher are clearly inadequate - Word is text-only, PDF loses all of the needed editability, and I don't see any other options. When I opened the .pub files in Scribus, it was clear it would be faster to just re-write the whole thing rather than try to correct all the formatting mess.
I'm now stuck with the prospect of having to spend weeks, maybe months, completely re-building all the asset files from scratch.
Sophia - we have used the excellent Publisher product and have 10 years worth of file copies of our monthly local magazine stored as Publisher files. What can we do?? Thank you ABC magazine team
I'm wondering now if they just wanted to create a fire storm and last minute seemingly relent and offer to keep it for lots of bucks as stand alone. Or they just don't care, maybe they are run by AI and human connection/empathy is lost. I just found a survey in my Junk Mail from MS Rewards wanting feedback, dated March 7, available only for a limited time. So, yeah, the survey isn't open any more, can't share my opinion.