Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026

Rollback_Jockey · Friday at 3:05 PM

Not supported is one thing, complete removal is another, what is their long term intention?

PurSpyk!! · Friday at 6:37 PM

Rollback_Jockey said:
Not supported is one thing, complete removal is another, what is their long term intention?

Knowing MS, it will be one thing today, and then something totally different in a week. Then some bright spark will rerelease Publisher under a new name and off less functionality. Publisher although dated and never really updated still offers tools that a home user or small office might find useful. There is really no need to remove this.

Rollback_Jockey · Friday at 8:47 PM

I have documents i easily authored in Publisher that i couldn't achieve in Word so it's a big deal for me.

antspants · Friday at 9:02 PM

Rollback_Jockey said:
Not supported is one thing, complete removal is another, what is their long term intention?

I can’t completely remember from when I looked into it but I believe Publisher, for the time being, can be bought independently. So I assume, once owned, you can use it like any software.. Just no updates or support.

Wynona · Friday at 9:13 PM

Rollback_Jockey said:
I have documents i easily authored in Publisher that i couldn't achieve in Word so it's a big deal for me.

Ditto! I still have newsletter files that I created with publisher in the early 2000s. It's ridiculous to just take it away unless they put something back to replace it. They said the other apps like word and PowerPoint have what publisher had, so I will start looking at that. It still irks Me that I will have to hunt for what I need when I get ready to do something. Boo Microsoft.

Wynona · Friday at 9:14 PM

antspants said:
I can’t completely remember from when I looked into it but I believe Publisher, for the time being, can be bought independently. So I assume, once owned, you can use it like any software.. Just no updates or support.

I don't think so. The announcement said that we will no longer be able to open anything we did in publisher after October 2026.

bn40400 · Friday at 9:59 PM

From my understanding, it seems it will only affect the Microsoft 365 Suite subscribers. I'm using a purchased MS Office 2021 Professional, so I would imagine it would not affect those who have Publisher included in previous office versions prior to 365 - there would just be no support. Aside from that, there are other alternative programs that can import publisher files, with a familiar format. An example of one is Libre Office Draw.

Wynona · Friday at 10:36 PM

bn40400 said:
From my understanding, it seems it will only affect the Microsoft 365 Suite subscribers. I'm using a purchased MS Office 2021 Professional, so I would imagine it would not affect those who have Publisher included in previous office versions prior to 365 - there would just be no support. Aside from that, there are other alternative programs that can import publisher files, with a familiar format. An example of one is Libre Office Draw.

Depends on what you mean by " Would not affect those who have publisher included in previous office versions".

What I am reading is that:

"After that time, it will no longer be included in Microsoft 365 and existing on-premises suites will no longer be supported."

What that tells me is that there will no longer be any Updates, Including security updates, to existing on premises suites. in my opinion if there are no security updates then the program is totally unsafe to use.

antspants · Friday at 10:41 PM

antspants said:
I can’t completely remember from when I looked into it but I believe Publisher, for the time being, can be bought independently. So I assume, once owned, you can use it like any software.. Just no updates or support.

If you’re still using Publisher, Microsoft is giving you a little more time. (10/2026) You can continue to use the program as part of Microsoft 365 or purchase a standalone version until 2026. Even after support ends in October 2026, the perpetual version of Publisher will continue to work, and you’ll be able to open and edit .pub files.

However, as mentioned, there is a caveat: Microsoft will no longer release updates for Publisher. If a vulnerability is discovered in the program, the company will not fix it. Nor will new features be added.

As in the link @Brink posted.

Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026 - Microsoft Support

support.microsoft.com

antspants · Friday at 10:48 PM

Wynona said:
if there are no security updates then the program is totally unsafe to use.

I’m with you on that, Wynona. I don’t think it’s safe to use unsupported software either. It makes me wonder when members are asking how to install versions of Office like 2010
Somoene was asking earlier this week for help to install Office 97 (I think it was 97)

Wynona · Friday at 10:51 PM

antspants said:
If you’re still using Publisher, Microsoft is giving you a little more time. (10/2026) You can continue to use the program as part of Microsoft 365 or purchase a standalone version until 2026. Even after support ends in October 2026, the perpetual version of Publisher will continue to work, and you’ll be able to open and edit .pub files.

However, as mentioned, there is a caveat: Microsoft will no longer release updates for Publisher. If a vulnerability is discovered in the program, the company will not fix it. Nor will new features be added.

As in the link @Brink posted.

Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026 - Microsoft Support

support.microsoft.com

Thanks for the further clarification. There are definitely caveats, Such as no updates, especially security updates. The one plus I see is that Microsoft has given us approximately one year and 8 months heads up on this issue. Should be plenty of time to find another app that might be even better than publisher.

bn40400 · Friday at 11:03 PM

@Wynona I agree with that sentiment, if security remains an issue, I agree not to use the software. However, if an individual uses Publisher as "your average general home user", they could still use the software - they would have to be conscientious of security vulnerabilities should one be discovered or currently exist. I know on my PC, I still use software that lost support over the years, as I deem those programs to still be useful to me. I'm not all that concerned that someone is "out in the wild" and is peaking through the tall grass ready to pounce on my PC. Just have to be security minded when receiving/ opening attachments, downloading random files from shady/ random websites, etc. Granted, I do understand that not all PC users are security minded - and MS Office has been and still targeted today, which is however why I recommended looking for alternatives such as Libre Office, Only Office, etc. Would I still use Publisher after it is no longer supported? I sure would, but I usually use other Office Suites because I prefer those more simply because they just work great. MS Office for me is something I usually only use just for special cases such as compatibility/ formatting etc. for work documents, or for my personal woodworking business. I however would not recommend a major business with multiple enterprises to use it, but for general users it should be okay. Cheers

Wynona · Friday at 11:10 PM

bn40400 said:
@Wynona I agree with that sentiment, if security remains an issue, I agree not to use the software. However, if an individual uses Publisher as "your average general home user", they could still use the software - they would have to be conscientious of security vulnerabilities should one be discovered or currently exist.

And therein lies the crux of the matter. Those who generally visit these forums are much more security savvy than your average bear. We take care of each other and ourselves quite adequately.

I have a friend who knows little to nothing about Windows but just plugs right along and does her thing. She's not one bit security savvy, and if a Vulnerability should arise, she would be in deep doo doo.

My friend is one of a few gazillion who are in the same vulnerable position she is. When I try to educate her on security she just tells me that she just doesn't understand all that and she'll just keep on doing what she is. Because so far she hasn't gotten into trouble.

bn40400 · Friday at 11:39 PM

@Wynona Agreed.....I have a few friends that are like that, but for those individuals I would normally recommend some other option(s). Granted, yes we are and the folks that come visit this forum are a little more PC minded, I was basing my sentiment on for those who may need to rely on it for drawing up "quick" documents, such as maybe in publisher, the need to print up a quick calendar or something of that nature. For more larger scale work or for those that are not tech savvy, yes I would recommend some other alternative for that matter.

PurSpyk!! · 2025-03-08T00:29:35-0500

Whats even more annoying about the removal, is they are also removing Skype and the 60 free minutes you get every moth, and then on top of that the annual price is increasing by quite a bit because of AI crap. Value is really going down.

PurSpyk!! · 2025-03-08T00:31:59-0500

antspants said:
If you’re still using Publisher, Microsoft is giving you a little more time. (10/2026) You can continue to use the program as part of Microsoft 365 or purchase a standalone version until 2026. Even after support ends in October 2026, the perpetual version of Publisher will continue to work, and you’ll be able to open and edit .pub files.

However, as mentioned, there is a caveat: Microsoft will no longer release updates for Publisher. If a vulnerability is discovered in the program, the company will not fix it. Nor will new features be added.

As in the link @Brink posted.

Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026 - Microsoft Support

support.microsoft.com

Even the current version of Publisher has not seen updates for years, so I don't see why this must be removed.

Stigg · 2025-03-08T01:55:50-0500

This is part of the email I just received from Microsoft about Publisher.

Beginning October 01, 2026, Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported as part of Microsoft 365. Many common Publisher scenarios are available in other Microsoft 365 apps, including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Designer.

Action Recommended: Before October 01, 2026, convert your existing Publisher files to PDF or Word format. After this date, you will no longer be able to open or edit these files with Microsoft Publisher.

Rollback_Jockey · 2025-03-08T10:05:42-0500

PurSpyk!! said:
Even the current version of Publisher has not seen updates for years, so I don't see why this must be removed.

Maybe you should check further

Edwin · 2025-03-08T10:23:42-0500

Use Microsoft Designer

Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026

Well-known member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computer

Like a rolling drone.

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Active member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computers

Like a rolling drone.

My Computers

Like a rolling drone.

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Active member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computers

Active member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computer

♦ ♦

My Computers

Similar threads