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
2025-04-13T17:55:25+00:00

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!!

Microsoft 365 and Office | Publisher | Other

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-06-08T16:12:16+00:00
    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.

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-06-08T19:28:56+00:00

    I just want to note to Microsoft that Word and PowerPoint are NOT replacements for Publisher - they are both very different beasts and do not replicate the ease and functionality of Publisher. Publisher is a far easier and more versatile program particularly when it comes to layout (which Word still has many issues with). I'm a long time computer user, I use more powerful programs such as InDesign and Illustrator for various things, but Publisher fills a niche - I use it for newsletters and simple layout work - it's fast and simple. Much of my work these days is on a volunteer basis for non-profits and I like to set up systems that volunteers can easily learn to use. In terms of newsletters and such (which have a mix of text of graphics that can flow and be independently moved - unlike Word) and also for layout work to real world scales, Publisher works just fine and it quite easy to learn.

    While Word can be used for layout, it was never designed to do that and has some significant issues in terms of ease of graphic placement. And I'm very unclear on how PowerPoint can be said to be a replacement for Publisher. Publisher is a DTP program, Word and PowerPoint are not (does nobody at Microsoft understand what a DTP program is and why that type of specific functionality is useful?).

    I do echo a comment that I hope Microsoft will lower the price on Microsoft 365 if they strip it of Publisher - they are removing a highly useful program from that suite. I do have a fallback on my computer since Publisher 2003 works just fine on Windows 11 (credit to MS for writing their own software to Windows standards). It can read current Publisher files just fine - so that's a fallback for me if needed.

    While I would encourage Microsoft to reconsider this bad decision and stop the fiction that Word and PowerPoint are replacements for Publisher, another option MS could consider, which Adobe did a few years ago, it to release MS Publisher as a free offering - obviously with the understanding that there will be no future updates. Adobe did this several years ago with their CS2 suite. It didn't last long since I think it was Window 10 (or maybe 8) that broke CS2 (Adobe doesn't write software to exacting MS Windows standards) - but still, the concept is there. Older software can be useful. Simply make it available as a free download with no license restrictions. People will still be annoyed at the loss of support, but it would be a nice gesture to those of us that find Publisher a valuable piece of software.

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-06-10T18:34:19+00:00

    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.

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-06-10T18:58:11+00:00

    I agree 100%! We're a church in the exact same boat. I use Publisher daily for soooo many tasks. Almost 20 years of documents, bulletins, reports, posters, & announcements that I update & reuse. Countless documents! I really want MS to keep Publisher viable. No need to update or change - just keep it going.

    Donna Mc

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  5. Anonymous
    2025-06-10T19:03:31+00:00

    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.

    EndFragment

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