Why is Publisher being phased out, and what is Microsoft replacing it with? Will Microsoft 365 be cheaper since they are phasing out the program?

Anonymous

As a senior and a person who has ADHD, I don't like change, I don't like to have to upgrade and purchase programs that were included and continue to pay higher prices for fewer services. I use Publisher a lot. We make camping calendars, calendars for family birthdays, workers' schedules, etc. Soon, there will be nothing in Microsoft to fulfill this. I make camping meal plans, and prep and supplies. and no, word and its things suck. Not even close to being user-friendly for seniors, if you learned to use Word before, the updates are not as user-friendly. Great for kids learning it now, sucks for seniors. I make banners, posters, cards, signs, etc. What will I use now? I had a chat with Mohammad for 20 minutes, and he kept telling me Microsoft has a plan, just wait for it. I did mention that once you state you are phasing things out, you already have a plan and might as well explain it. No large company or corporation says they are phasing something out if they haven't come up with a plan already! When he suggested I wait, I was not impressed at all. Wait for what? Wait to hear we waited too long to be a voice the company needed to hear from us sooner? Not a happy Granny!

The person I spoke with said that the company and higher-ups need to hear from us. If you like Publisher, let them know. I am trying!!

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Anonymous

2025-06-12T19:26:47+00:00

This decision makes me very angry and now I feel I cannot trust Microsoft in the future.

If one day I think to maybe move to Office 365, I will always remember the Publisher case and will say NEVER NEVER AGAIN.

With Office 265, Microsoft can daily add/remove/change functionnalities or products.

One day Microsoft can suddenly decide to stop one product and WE ARE DEAD !!!

Now I know Microsoft does not care about its loyal customers so I have to seriously consider alternatives as open office, libre office, canva, etc
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Anonymous

Carol,

I too have decades of files I don’t want to lose artwork from. Not happy with the solutions Microsoft has offered thus far. I hope they hear from enoughnof us to swaybthem to keep Publisher as it so much more versatile than anything else they present as an alternative. Word is grossly lacking in functionality. But here's an alternative I found to the tedious task of saving files to pdf as a last resort.

I downloaded the zip file from this response I got and posted below. I used the excel file macro to convert my publisher files to PDF. Seems to be ok and my AVG security program found no issues with it. It took me only several hours on two days to convert decades of my Publisher files to PDF. I would go to a folder, right click on the first file and copy the Location from Properties window and paste into the Folder to scan cell at B2. click on Export to PDF and click OK at the prompt. <br><br>It did stop a few times and I just hit end, went to the folder I was converting and found where it did not leave a pdf in front of the pub file. It seems to stop in large folders so you might want to move files so you are doing 50 or 60 at a time. It will not copy mail merge files like address labels and it stopped on some greeting card type files for some reason. The only thing I could find was there was text in the Alt text tab if you clicked on format picture command. But even with the glitches It was a breeze to copy. I know zero about creating a macro but this worked well for me. Those files it didn't export, I just opened and did the export function in Publisher. Some of them however open with errors but will open in Microsofts browser. Hope it helps you and if it does, Pass it along.<br><br>Diane<br><br>Hi Diane Scott2q,
LamarThompson1 has replied to the question Why is Publisher being phased out, and what is Microsoft replacing it with? Will Microsoft 365 be cheaper since they are phasing out the program? that you are following in Microsoft Support Community.
Go to the site below to get an Excel or Access file to bulk export Publisher files to PDF. I have used it, and it works great. You will need to put in the folder containing the Publisher files. Will have to do this for each folder.<br><br>Bulk-export Microsoft Publisher documents to PDF - VBA - SS64.com<br><br>Or just click here to download the zip file containing the above macro in both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access forms. You may need to unblock and enable macros. This link is found at the bottom of the above page.<br><br>I hope everyone is clicking the feedback button in Publisher and telling Microsoft to not remove Publisher. When you do use the "Word" category to post your comment to not remove Publisher.

I downloaded the zip file from this response I got and posted below. I used the excel file macro to convert my publisher files to PDF. Seems to be ok and my AVG security program found no issues with it. It took me only several hours on two days to convert decades of my Publisher files to PDF. I would go to a folder, right click on the first file and copy the Location from Properties window and paste into the Folder to scan cell at B2. click on Export to PDF and click OK at the prompt. It did stop a few times and I just hit end, went to the folder I was converting and found where it did not leave a pdf in front of the pub file. It seems to stop in large folders so you might want to move files so you are doing 50 or 60 at a time. It will not copy mail merge files like address labels and it stopped on some greeting card type files for some reason. The only thing I could find was there was text in the Alt text tab if you clicked on format picture command. But even with the glitches It was a breeze to copy. I know zero about creating a macro but this worked well for me. Those files it didn't export, I just opened and did the export function in Publisher. Some of them however open with errors but will open in Microsofts browser. Hope it helps you and if it does, Pass it along. Diane Hi Diane Scott2q,

LamarThompson1 has replied to the question Why is Publisher being phased out, and what is Microsoft replacing it with? Will Microsoft 365 be cheaper since they are phasing out the program? that you are following in Microsoft Support Community.

Go to the site below to get an Excel or Access file to bulk export Publisher files to PDF. I have used it, and it works great. You will need to put in the folder containing the Publisher files. Will have to do this for each folder. Bulk-export Microsoft Publisher documents to PDF - VBA - SS64.com Or just click here to download the zip file containing the above macro in both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access forms. You may need to unblock and enable macros. This link is found at the bottom of the above page. I hope everyone is clicking the feedback button in Publisher and telling Microsoft to not remove Publisher. When you do use the "Word" category to post your comment to not remove Publisher.

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Anonymous

Donna,<br><br>I downloaded the zip file from this response I got and posted below. I used the excel file macro to convert my publisher files to PDF. Seems to be ok and my AVG security program found no issues with it. It took me only several hours on two days to convert decades of my Publisher files to PDF. I would go to a folder, right click on the first file and copy the Location from Properties window and paste into the Folder to scan cell at B2. click on Export to PDF and click OK at the prompt. It did stop a few times and I just hit end, went to the folder I was converting and found where it did not leave a pdf in front of the pub file. It seems to stop in large folders so you might want to move files so you are doing 50 or 60 at a time. It will not copy mail merge files like address labels and it stopped on some greeting card type files for some reason. The only thing I could find was there was text in the Alt text tab if you clicked on format picture command. But even with the glitches It was a breeze to copy. I know zero about creating a macro but this worked well for me. Those files it didn't export, I just opened and did the export function in Publisher. Hope it helps you and if it does, Pass it along.<br><br><br><br>Diane <br><br><br><br><br><br>Hi Diane Scott2q,
LamarThompson1 has replied to the question Why is Publisher being phased out, and what is Microsoft replacing it with? Will Microsoft 365 be cheaper since they are phasing out the program? that you are following in Microsoft Support Community.
Go to the site below to get an Excel or Access file to bulk export Publisher files to PDF. I have used it, and it works great. You will need to put in the folder containing the Publisher files. Will have to do this for each folder.<br><br><br><br>Bulk-export Microsoft Publisher documents to PDF - VBA - SS64.com<br><br><br><br>Or just click here to download the zip file containing the above macro in both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access forms. You may need to unblock and enable macros. This link is found at the bottom of the above page.<br><br><br><br>I hope everyone is clicking the feedback button in Publisher and telling Microsoft to not remove Publisher. When you do use the "Word" category to post your comment to not remove Publisher.

Donna, I downloaded the zip file from this response I got and posted below. I used the excel file macro to convert my publisher files to PDF. Seems to be ok and my AVG security program found no issues with it. It took me only several hours on two days to convert decades of my Publisher files to PDF. I would go to a folder, right click on the first file and copy the Location from Properties window and paste into the Folder to scan cell at B2. click on Export to PDF and click OK at the prompt. It did stop a few times and I just hit end, went to the folder I was converting and found where it did not leave a pdf in front of the pub file. It seems to stop in large folders so you might want to move files so you are doing 50 or 60 at a time. It will not copy mail merge files like address labels and it stopped on some greeting card type files for some reason. The only thing I could find was there was text in the Alt text tab if you clicked on format picture command. But even with the glitches It was a breeze to copy. I know zero about creating a macro but this worked well for me. Those files it didn't export, I just opened and did the export function in Publisher. Hope it helps you and if it does, Pass it along. Diane Hi Diane Scott2q,

Go to the site below to get an Excel or Access file to bulk export Publisher files to PDF. I have used it, and it works great. You will need to put in the folder containing the Publisher files. Will have to do this for each folder. Bulk-export Microsoft Publisher documents to PDF - VBA - SS64.com Or just click here to download the zip file containing the above macro in both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access forms. You may need to unblock and enable macros. This link is found at the bottom of the above page. I hope everyone is clicking the feedback button in Publisher and telling Microsoft to not remove Publisher. When you do use the "Word" category to post your comment to not remove Publisher.

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Anonymous

2025-06-07T18:13:40+00:00

Thanks for the quick reply. The folder I am exporting is rather large and a smaller one I did first ran without issue. I will move the several cards I still need to expert to a new folder and see if that works. Again, I do so appreciate your willingness to help.
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Anonymous

2025-06-07T18:05:19+00:00

Diane, sorry I did not write the macro and am myself a novice at writing macros. I did a search and found the macro. I have written some macros, but not on that level. If you have a large number in one folder, maybe spilt then up into smaller folders. I had a bunch of folders with only around 50 files in each and had no trouble. Try that and see if it works without errors. Another way is to move the completed PUB files into a separate folder and the macro want see them and will skip over the PDF files That way you will have the PUB files and the PDF files in separate folders. Hope that helps.
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