i can't use publisher even though i have a perpetual license

susan schwartz 0 Reputation points
2026-11-08T20:12:07.53+00:00

I have publisher installed on my machine with a perpetual office 2013 license. It tells me that it is unlicensed. it will not take the license when i type it in. i understand that publisher is no longer supported but am i unable to continue to use it at all? and if i should be able to, how do I do that?

at the very least, i would like to save my files to other formats.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Subscription, account, billing | For home | Windows

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  1. Rukshan edirisinghe 2,365 Reputation points
    2026-11-09T06:11:44.2233333+00:00

    Hi @susan schwartz

    Good news first: you can keep using it. Microsoft's Publisher retirement FAQ says that with a perpetual (one-time purchase) version, support ends but you can still install and use the app. Only Microsoft 365 subscribers lose Publisher. So this is an activation problem, not the retirement.

    The script errors happen because the path you used is the 32-bit folder (Program Files (x86)), and you have 64-bit Office.

    1. Find the real location. In Command Prompt (as administrator), run: dir /s /b "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OSPP.VBS". For 64-bit Office 2013 it's normally C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\OSPP.VBS.
    2. Use that path with the same commands: /dstatus first to see the license state, then /inpkey: with your key, then /act.
    3. If no OSPP.VBS exists at all, your copy is probably the Click-to-Run edition. Open Publisher (or Word), go to File > Account, and sign in with the Microsoft account the key was originally redeemed on. That's how those versions activate.

    Once it's activated, it's worth saving a copy of each publication as a PDF (File > Save As > PDF), as Microsoft suggests. You can open those PDFs in Word later if you need to edit them.

    Important: your comment above shows your full product key. Please edit it out, because anyone could use it.

    Is the key on your Microsoft account (account.microsoft.com/services), or do you only have it on the card or email?

    If Publisher activates or your files are saved, please consider accepting it as the answer. If the commands still fail, let me know what /dstatus shows and I'll be happy to keep helping.

    Reference:

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