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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?
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!!
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.
THANK YOU for saying this! I had a similar response -- only people who can't design anything would say that Word and PowerPoint are alternatives.
I am truly disappointed that Microsoft would even consider retiring Publisher. Have you even considered the Desktop Publishers who depend on it for income. I subscribe to Microsoft 365 but mainly for the Publisher app. Early in my Desktop Publishing career (in the 90's) I tried several publisher apps and Microsoft Publisher (the most user friendly) won my loyalty. (1) No other app allows the user to move and place elements exactly where you want them. (2) The powerful simplicity of use for end users is unparalleled. (3) The workspace around the actual document is not found in other Microsoft apps and elements like pictures are difficult to manage and even disappear off the edge of the document. (4) Approximately 85% of my thousands of self-created reusable documents and templates are in Publisher. NO, NO, NO, Word and PowerPoint can't even come close to Publisher for me. And converting all my Publisher docs to some other app is going to be a nightmare. I hope whoever made this decision will reconsider. The learning curve of a new publisher app will require time I can hardly afford. However, I probably need to research other similar publisher apps and that will easily create my books, calendars, booklets, flyers, mailing lists, certificates, etc.
Hello Adaeze,
While I appreciate your response, I also know that Word and PowerPoint do not do what Publisher does. I sometimes use Word, but it is clunky when incorporating pictures and such and the pictures will all of a sudden move and all formatting will take HOURS to get back to the place where you want it. Also, Publisher has much better picture options. You can move things any where and position text boxes anywhere and then move them if you decide to shuffle things around! It is great!
As far as PowerPoint goes, it has way fewer perks and is very limited.
All around, Word is nothing when it comes to creative docs. Publisher is much more user-friendly and, well, just better.
I really hope that Microsoft will actually listen to its users for once and keep a valuable product available to its users!
Thank you!
SaraSandra
We have used Publisher for thousands of documents that have become historical pieces that re-tell our history. We are a church. I do a monthly 12 or more-page publication with everything that happens within our congregation, and it gets mailed out to all. I also do a yearly 18-page annual report and a weekly 12-page bulletin. I use it for thousands of custom posters, booklets, flyers, pamphlets etc.. I have looked at Microsoft Designer, tried it out, tried to use Word and Powerpoint for my publications and am very unhappy with the loss of flexibility. I cannot possibly print all my documents out as a PDF as we do not have the manpower for such a huge task. I constantly harvest pictures, articles, and styles from my previous publications to put in new ones. This option will be taken away if i have to print it as a PDF. Please keep Publisher and support it with updates! Microsoft is really disappointing its customers by phasing it out.
I was told that Microsoft does not monitor this community bulletin board. You can send feedback to Microsoft using the feedback portal at https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/. I am not sure if there is a specific category for Publisher. If there isn't, you can use the Word category. Share this information. Maybe if Microsoft hears from enough of us, they will do better than just advising us to save all our publisher files to pdf and actually improve the functionality of Word. Or better yet keep Publisher. There is also a feedback button in the Help tab in Publisher. Post your comments there.