Microsoft Publisher

Question

Microsoft Publisher

Steven Melhuish 0

I use Microsoft Publisher all the time, I cannot understand why Microsoft have taken the stance of removing it from Microsoft 365, It was an absolutely brilliant program and I wondered if anyone else missed it. I used to produce flyers for work and social media projects, I am lost without it. Please Microsoft bring it back.

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Hi Steven,

I can see why you miss Publisher. When someone at work needs a flyer, it’s nice to be able to open a program you know and get straight to designing it. Having to figure out how to do that same job in another app is frustrating.

In its retirement notice, Microsoft says it’s focusing on new features and points out that Word and PowerPoint can handle many of the projects people created in Publisher. I can understand why that explanation feels disappointing when Publisher already did exactly what you needed.

If you’d like Microsoft to bring Publisher back, you can send that request from Word or PowerPoint on Windows under Help > Feedback. I’d tell them just what you shared here about relying on Publisher for both work flyers and social media. If there’s one thing you especially miss about designing in it, that’s worth mentioning too. How to send feedback to Microsoft

In the meantime, if you have a flyer to get out the door, I’d try PowerPoint, as the forum’s AI suggested. You can move text boxes and pictures around the page freely, so that part may feel familiar.

Answer 2

Microsoft Publisher was removed from Microsoft 365 on or shortly after October 1, 2026, and Microsoft has not announced that it will be brought back.^1^

What you can use now

For the projects described, Microsoft recommends:

Flyers and advertisements: Word or PowerPoint
Social-media graphics, posters, banners, and signs: PowerPoint
Brochures: Word or PowerPoint
Newsletters and folded-paper projects: Word

PowerPoint will generally be the closer Microsoft 365 replacement for freely positioning text boxes, photographs, shapes, and other design elements. Create the page there, then export the finished design as a PDF for printing or as an image for social media.

What happens to existing Publisher files

The available options depend on the Publisher licence:

Microsoft 365 version: It can no longer be downloaded, installed, or used to open and edit .pub files after retirement.
Perpetual version: If you already own a perpetual Publisher licence, Microsoft says it can still be installed and used. However, support for Publisher 2021 ended on October 13, 2026, so continued use is unsupported and will not receive ongoing fixes.^1^

If Publisher remains accessible through an owned perpetual version:

Search the PC, OneDrive, and SharePoint for *.pub.
Open each important publication.
Select File > Save As.
Select PDF, then save it.
Keep both the original .pub file and exported PDF.

To edit a converted document in Word, open Word and select File > Open, then open the PDF. Word converts it into an editable document, but graphics-heavy layouts may differ from the Publisher original.^1^

If Microsoft 365 Publisher is already unavailable, evaluate a compatible third-party desktop-publishing application. Microsoft specifically identifies Affinity as one possibility that may import native Publisher files, but third-party compatibility and conversion quality can vary and Microsoft does not support those tools.

Converting many files

This option requires a working, licensed installation of Publisher. Microsoft provides a sample PowerShell conversion script for bulk PDF export. Test it on copies of a few files before processing the full archive.^1^

For example, after downloading the script, this converts Publisher files in a specified folder and its subfolders:

.\Convert-PubFileToPDF.ps1 `
  -Filter "C:\Documents\*.pub" `
  -Recurse

The script reports failed conversions and does not overwrite an existing output file with the same name.

Send the request to Microsoft

This Q&A forum cannot change the product decision. In a Microsoft application that offers feedback, select Help > Feedback. Alternatively, use the Microsoft Feedback portal to submit a request or upvote an existing Publisher-related request; the portal also lets users track official responses.^2^

Submitting or upvoting feedback records customer demand, but it does not guarantee that Microsoft will reverse Publisher’s retirement.

References