No Issue - Publisher

Question

No Issue - Publisher

Angie Knox 5

Can you leave Publisher without supporting it? My company uses Publisher in putting out our newletter.

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4 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Yes. Publisher can continue to be left installed and used only until its support end dates.

Microsoft 365 version: Publisher remains usable with current functionality until October 1, 2026. After that, Microsoft 365 subscribers will no longer be able to access, open, or edit Publisher files in Publisher.
Perpetual version: If the company has a perpetual version of Publisher, it can still be installed and used beyond October 2026, but support ends on October 13, 2026.
For a company that uses Publisher for newsletters, the recommended preparation is to convert existing .pub files before October 1, 2026:
1. Open the Publisher file.
2. Go to File > Save as.
3. Choose a save location.
4. Select PDF as the file type and save.
If editing is still needed later, one supported path is:
1. Convert the Publisher file to PDF.
2. In Word, go to File > Open and open the PDF.
3. Select OK to convert it to a Word document.
4. Expect some layout differences, especially in graphics-heavy newsletters.
For large numbers of newsletter files, bulk conversion can be automated with a PowerShell script.
Many common Publisher scenarios are already available in Word and PowerPoint.

Answer 2

Microsoft no longer sells Publisher as a standalone product on its primary storefront, but you should be able to purchase the Microsoft Office Professional 2021 suite, which is a one-time purchase that includes Publisher alongside the core apps like Word and Excel. You can still find legitimate retail keys from authorized third-party sellers and established tech retailers like CDW or My Choice Software, where prices for the full suite often range between $200 and $400 depending on the specific licensing terms. Some specialized software vendors like Digital License and FastSoftwares still list individual keys for Publisher 2021 specifically, often at a lower price point around $50 to $100, though you should verify their current stock and activation guarantees before buying. Be careful with extremely low-priced "lifetime" deals on unfamiliar sites, as these are often volume licenses not intended for individual resale and may be deactivated by Microsoft later.

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hth

Marcin

Answer 3

Stefan Blom 351.3K MVP Volunteer Moderator

You can use an older one-time purchase license which includes Publisher. Office Professional 2021 would be an option. Note that Microsoft no longer sells that version (rather recently they did sell that version, though). If you purchase Office Professional 2021 privately, be very careful so that you get a valid license.

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Answer 4

If you've got a lot of old .pub files to convert before Publisher stops working, we ran into the same issue and ended up writing a PowerShell script that batch-converts them to PDF automatically, unattended. Used it ourselves on 2,500+ files with only one failure (a file that was already corrupt). It's free, no sign-up: https://fleecehaven.org/3757/3757/. Fair warning — Publisher's automation interface isn't fully consistent across versions, so it may need small tweaks depending on your exact Publisher build; the page covers the troubleshooting steps we had to go through ourselves.