I received a notification pop up today about Publisher no longer being supported from October 2026

Question

I received a notification pop up today about Publisher no longer being supported from October 2026

Di8546 25

Just wondering where and to whom I should send the bill to at Microsoft for the time it will take me over the next four weeks to convert thousands of files manually, so they won't be stuffed up. The files include images, and need to be editable. Word and pdf format are not acceptable alternatives.

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Liora 1,630 Independent Advisor

Dear @Di8546,

I hope you’re having a good day.

I can certainly understand your frustration. If your organization maintains thousands of editable Publisher files, the retirement of Publisher is not a minor inconvenience, and it's understandable to be concerned about the time and effort required to migrate those files.

Microsoft has published official guidance regarding Publisher's retirement in October 2026. The current recommendations are to convert Publisher files to PDF for preservation, convert content to Word if future editing is required, or use third-party conversion tools where appropriate.

I think the core of your concern is that Microsoft's current guidance is aimed at general migration scenarios, whereas your situation involves a large archive of editable Publisher documents. To my knowledge, Microsoft has not published a dedicated migration path or large-scale conversion solution specifically for organizations managing thousands of editable .pub files.

You are certainly not alone in raising these concerns. Other long-time Publisher users have also expressed worries about losing Publisher-specific workflows and the lack of a direct replacement for existing .pub content.

For that reason, I would encourage you to submit feedback directly to Microsoft and clearly describe the scale of the impact, including the number of affected files, the effort required to migrate them, and the requirement to preserve editability. Feedback tied to real business impact tends to be more valuable and actionable than general dissatisfaction alone.

You can submit feedback through Microsoft's Feedback Portal

Screenshot 2026-09-01 at 12.37.40

Before creating a new feedback item, it may also be worth searching for existing Publisher retirement discussions and voting on similar suggestions, as this helps Microsoft gauge how broadly a concern affects its customer base. Several Publisher users have already raised concerns regarding the retirement decision and the challenges of migrating existing .pub content.

While I cannot predict future product decisions, I hope Microsoft continues to improve its migration guidance, tooling, and support options for Publisher customers before the October 2026 retirement date.

Kind regards.

Di8546 25 Reputation points

2026-09-01T06:23:51.0566667+00:00

Thank you for your reply Liora. I have now submitted feedback to Microsoft's portal.
Liora 1,630 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-01T07:15:53.87+00:00

Thank you for the update. I'm glad to hear you've submitted your feedback.

I hope Microsoft takes feedback such as yours into account and continues to improve the migration experience for Publisher users.
Patrick Marchese 0 Reputation points

2026-09-05T18:36:59.5033333+00:00

Hi Liora,
Your situation is exactly why this should be treated as an archive-migration project rather than a manual file-conversion exercise.

Begin by inventorying the collection and separating documents needed only for reference from active templates and publications that must remain editable. Before processing the complete archive, test a representative group that includes simple files, multi-page publications, text-heavy documents and complex graphical layouts.

For documents requiring continued editing, direct conversion from Publisher to IDML can preserve substantially more usable layout structure for Adobe InDesign or Affinity than converting through PDF and Word. Publisher-to-Canva workflows are another option for templates that need collaborative online editing. Local processing is also available when the documents cannot be uploaded to a cloud service.

Disclosure: I am the co-founder of Markzware, which develops OmniMarkz, MarkzPortal and DesignMarkz for Publisher inventory and conversion workflows. We would be glad to assess a representative sample before you consider processing thousands of files.
Liora 1,630 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-06T12:53:21.3366667+00:00

Hi Patrick,

Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective and additional information.

I agree that for organizations with large numbers of Publisher files, treating this as an archive and migration project rather than attempting ad-hoc manual conversions is a sensible approach. I'm sure many readers facing similar challenges will appreciate the suggestions regarding inventorying documents, categorizing files by business need, and validating conversion results against representative samples before committing to a larger migration effort.

Thank you as well for being transparent about your affiliation with Markzware and the tools you mentioned. That disclosure is appreciated and helps readers evaluate the information in the appropriate context.

Given the upcoming Publisher retirement, it's helpful for the community to hear about different approaches and tools that may assist with large-scale migration scenarios where preserving editability is an important requirement.

Kind regards.

1 additional answer

Your answer

Di8546 25 Reputation points

2026-09-01T06:23:51.0566667+00:00

Thank you for your reply Liora. I have now submitted feedback to Microsoft's portal.
Liora 1,630 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-01T07:15:53.87+00:00

Thank you for the update. I'm glad to hear you've submitted your feedback.

I hope Microsoft takes feedback such as yours into account and continues to improve the migration experience for Publisher users.
Patrick Marchese 0 Reputation points

2026-09-05T18:36:59.5033333+00:00

Hi Liora,
Your situation is exactly why this should be treated as an archive-migration project rather than a manual file-conversion exercise.

Begin by inventorying the collection and separating documents needed only for reference from active templates and publications that must remain editable. Before processing the complete archive, test a representative group that includes simple files, multi-page publications, text-heavy documents and complex graphical layouts.

For documents requiring continued editing, direct conversion from Publisher to IDML can preserve substantially more usable layout structure for Adobe InDesign or Affinity than converting through PDF and Word. Publisher-to-Canva workflows are another option for templates that need collaborative online editing. Local processing is also available when the documents cannot be uploaded to a cloud service.

Disclosure: I am the co-founder of Markzware, which develops OmniMarkz, MarkzPortal and DesignMarkz for Publisher inventory and conversion workflows. We would be glad to assess a representative sample before you consider processing thousands of files.
Liora 1,630 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-06T12:53:21.3366667+00:00

Hi Patrick,

Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective and additional information.

I agree that for organizations with large numbers of Publisher files, treating this as an archive and migration project rather than attempting ad-hoc manual conversions is a sensible approach. I'm sure many readers facing similar challenges will appreciate the suggestions regarding inventorying documents, categorizing files by business need, and validating conversion results against representative samples before committing to a larger migration effort.

Thank you as well for being transparent about your affiliation with Markzware and the tools you mentioned. That disclosure is appreciated and helps readers evaluate the information in the appropriate context.

Given the upcoming Publisher retirement, it's helpful for the community to hear about different approaches and tools that may assist with large-scale migration scenarios where preserving editability is an important requirement.

Kind regards.

Answer 1

Stefan Blom 351.1K MVP Volunteer Moderator

You can keep using Publisher even after October 2026 if you get a one-time purchase license which includes that app. Office Professional 2021 would be one example, but note that you can't purchase it from Microsoft, so you need to be careful so that you get a valid license.

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