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?

I too want to formally protest the planned phasing out of Publisher. I have been using Publisher for 18+ years at the church where I work. I use it for bulletins, sermon notes, flyers, postcards, posters, prayer lists, quarterly reports and documents, banners, announcements, and countless other things. I use Publisher for almost EVERYTHING I do. It is my 'go to' program. Your suggestion of using Word and Adobe/PDFs will not work for me. While I can use Word for basic documents, everything else is better accomplished via Publisher. I can't even begin to count how many Publisher files I have saved in our church's server - legal documents, historical documents, and our files of almost 20 years of work. Many other churches that I communicate with also use Publisher. It is a very useful program!

I would like to request that Publisher stay a part of Microsoft's programs. No changes, no updates are needed - just keep the program viable.

Respectfully,

Donna K. McMichen

Church Secretary

FBC Lithia Springs

I use Word.

I use PowerPoint.

I use Publisher.

I can tell you straight now that there is NO WAY we can do in either Word or PowerPoint what we can do with Publisher. No chance! In fact, many times we have to go into Publisher to design something, then import that into Word!

We have around 5 books that we have designed and published all using Publisher because they are very heavy graphics (Kindergarden/1st grade curriculum books). We tried to move one of our books to Word and it failed big time!! We are now considering moving all of our Word to Google Docs, Excel to Google Sheets and Publisher to Adobe because of this change.

Microsoft, you're about to loose a lot of customers over this.

There is also a feedback icon on the help tab in publisher. As you said there is no publisher subject tab onnthe feedback page and I used word subject tab to voice my dissatisfaction with the decision to kill publisher. I also asked for a reply. So we'll see if that happens. Everyone posting on this unmonitired community page needs to use the feedback option yo let Microsoft know this is a poor decision.

You can send feedback to Microsoft using the feedback portal at https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/. There is not a specific category for Publisher. So, use the Word category. Ever one needs to give feedback to Microsoft. I am told Microsoft does not monitor here.

Sorry, but I've just tried converting a Publisher application to Word and it fails hopelessly. I have produced bookmarks for years in Publisher, printing 6 to an A$ sheet. I can set a page size of 4.95cm by 21cm, put text and artwork in and then ask Publisher to print multiple pages per sheet. I don't have to tell it how many to a sheet it, it can work that out and tell me how many will fit.

I tried a similar approach in Word and tripped over a raft of defaults that are geared to printing text on standard page sizes. It struggled to deal with a borderless printing request and failed in the end. In addition although I told it to print 6 copies per page, it refused to do so, printing just one on the left hand side with an arbitrary border at the bottom in spite of apparently being borderless.

As other respondents have indicated, you have a long way to go before providing a viable alternative. I've just looked at Designer, and besides being online only, it looks like something produced for Kindergarten and completely fails to have facilities to replace functions of Publisher. With the headlong, uncoordinated, rush to renewables for electricity, working offline is something we might have to get used to.

Most applications have now hit the point of diminishing returns in terms of adding features. AI so far is more of a hinderance than a help - it keeps on popping up when not required. Perhaps Publisher could just be left as is and still made available. I have noticed that it no longer appears in the 365 apps. I need to replace an "old" computer in order to migrate to Windows 11, but that means I will loose Publisher if I do so. Since it is not being discontinued until 2026, could you please reinstate it in 365 until the discontinued date.