Discontinuing Publisher is not in the customers best interest

Question

Discontinuing Publisher is not in the customers best interest

Diane Vessels 5

I hate that Microsoft is discontinuing Publisher. I use it daily. I have purchased a standalone Publisher 2021 but can't get my Microsoft Office 365 to download with it installed. According to Software Mart Australia it should work if I uninstall Office 365, install Publisher 2021 then reinstall Office 365 Their instructions state that Office 365 will automatically drop the 365 version of Publisher. So far that's not working.

I want Publisher and I want it to work. Very frustrating. Does Microsoft even care that many of us use Publisher in our businesses daily?

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Xavier-D 12,595 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Diane Vessels

I’m sorry this has been such a frustrating experience.

The uninstall-and-reinstall sequence provided by the seller does not guarantee that Publisher 2021 and Microsoft 365 will work together. Office installations can conflict when their versions, installation technologies, update channels, or 32-bit/64-bit architectures do not match.

A perpetual copy of Publisher can continue to be installed and used after Publisher’s retirement, although support for Publisher 2021 ends on October 13, 2026. Microsoft 365 subscribers will lose access to the subscription version of Publisher after October 1, 2026.

Since the Publisher license and installer came from Software Mart Australia, please ask the seller to confirm:

The exact Publisher product and license type supplied
Whether it uses Click-to-Run or MSI installation technology
Whether it is 32-bit or 64-bit
Whether that specific edition is compatible with your Microsoft 365 installation

If the two products are incompatible, the most reliable workaround is to keep Publisher 2021 on a separate Windows computer or Windows virtual machine while continuing to use Microsoft 365 on your main installation.

Feel free reply back to this post and update me on this issue, I'll be happy to help.

Xavier-D 12,595 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-13T00:19:53.63+00:00

Hi Diane Vessels

I’m following up to check on the status of this issue.

Have you had an opportunity to review the answer shared earlier?

Any update you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Diane Vessels 5 Reputation points

2026-08-13T00:51:12.3233333+00:00

I ended up just purchasing MS Office 2021 Professional Plus for Windows. 10 & 11. That way I have a stand alone program that Publisher will continue to work in.

I still can't add my Gmail email in the Outlook but can work around that.

Thanks for asking.
Xavier-D 12,595 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-13T23:53:56.8166667+00:00

Hi Diane Vessels

I’m glad you found a standalone Office 2021 solution that allows you to continue using Publisher. I understand you still cannot add your Gmail account to Outlook, but it is good to know you have a workaround for now.

Thank you for the update, and I hope everything continues working well for you.
Stefan Blom 351.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-08-20T20:06:38.0566667+00:00

I ended up just purchasing MS Office 2021 Professional Plus [---]

@Diane Vessels

While I am glad you found a way to continue using Publisher, please note that Professional Plus is a volume license product. If someone sold you Professional Plus and led you to believe that you purchased a consumer product, you should request your money back.

Office Professional 2021 (without the Plus part) is OK, though. It is a valid product for any user (although no longer available via Microsoft).

Answer 2

Adrian Talbot 0

I'm quite disappointed in Microsoft abandoning Publisher. I have multiple documents in our business that use Publisher. It is wrong of them to say Word or Powerpoint will do the same thing. Years of work now scrapped. Publisher is a fantastic product. I can't help wonder if Microsoft are going to give it customers a rebate on their yearly subscriptions since they are reducing the office package. Next I may well well consider switching to an Open Office package rather than renewing with Microsoft.

Xavier-D 12,595 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-21T01:01:12.7333333+00:00

Hello,

I understand your disappointment. When a business has years of documents and workflows built around Publisher, Word or PowerPoint may not provide an equivalent replacement without significant reworking.

Microsoft has not announced a rebate for Microsoft 365 subscriptions following Publisher’s removal. I recommend sharing your concerns through the Microsoft Feedback Portal, including how the retirement affects your business documents and your decision about renewing Microsoft 365.

Thank you for taking the time to share this feedback.