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Microsoft Publisher will reach its end of on October 1, 2026, giving you over a year to convert any existing files. Another classic Microsoft app will stop receiving support in the near future. After over three decades, Microsoft Publisher will reach its end of life in October 2026. We've known about the end of support for Publisher for quite a while. Eagle-eyed commenters in our forums saw the news back in June 2024. But Publisher's death has made the news rounds because Microsoft updated a support document with guidance on how to prepare for the end of Publisher support. According to the Wayback Machine, Microsoft updated the support document sometime between February 15 and March 8. Unlike Skype, which will stop working in May of this year, Publisher users have until October 2026 to transition to another app. A support document from Microsoft states: "In October 2026, Microsoft Publisher will reach its end of life. After that time, it will no longer be included in Microsoft 365 and existing on-premises suites will no longer be supported. Microsoft 365 subscribers will no longer be able to open or edit Publisher files in Publisher. Until then, support for Publisher will continue and users can expect the same experience as today." Microsoft explains that the reason Publisher is going away is that much of its functionality is available through other Microsoft applications. Word or PowerPoint are the primary apps that will fill any void left by Publisher. Microsoft recommends those apps for creating ads, flyers, brochures, and other types of media. The most common use cases for Publisher are covered by either Word or PowerPoint, though Designer is also recommended for a couple items. Microsoft's support document lists specific examples. Can I still install Microsoft Publisher? You will still be able to download Microsoft Publisher for a while. Those with a Microsoft 365 subscription will be able to download the app until October 2026. After that date, it will not be possible to download Microsoft Publisher, at least for those with a Microsoft 365 subscription. If you have a perpetual version of Publisher, it will continue to work after October 2026, though the app will no longer be supported. Can I convert Microsoft Publisher files? Microsoft recommends using Word, PowerPoint, or Designer to replace Publisher. (Image credit: Windows Central) Yes, you can convert Microsoft Publisher files to other formats, though you may see some changes in the layouts of documents. You'll need to convert any existing Publisher files to other formats before October 1, 2026 since you will not be able to open Publisher files after that date. Microsoft recommends using a macro if you need to convert a large number of Publisher files. The tech giant shares the following steps for converting Publisher files to the PDF format: Open Publisher file. Go to File > Save as. Choose a location to save the file. Select PDF as the file type and Save. You can then convert a PDF file into a Word document with the following steps shared by Microsoft: Open Word. Go to File > Open. Locate and open the PDF file. Select OK in the dialog box. Converted documents may not be a one-to-one replication of your original Publisher file. If your document has a lot of graphics, you may see significant changes. Will you miss Microsoft Publisher? I'm curious if any of you will miss Microsoft Publisher. I've never met anyone who uses the program, but maybe it's the favorite app of some of you. I suspect it's more commonly used by professionals. Please jump into the comments and share your experience with Publisher. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of February): 874 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Last year, we reported that Microsoft was killing Publisher in October 2026. At the time, Microsoft claimed that this move was to "focus on new benefits" and "provide customers with the tools they need to achieve what matters." Microsoft Publisher is a 35-year-old program (yes, 35), first released in 1991 as part of the Microsoft Office suite. It offers users tools to create various publications such as brochures, newsletters, and business cards. The program is not as popular as its star siblings (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel), and it seems Microsoft is not really interested in it, leading some Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals to call it an "unwanted step-child" in the Office family due to the lack of dedicated support channels for users. In our last report on this, Microsoft said it would share more as it looked into new ways to handle common Publisher tasks in Word, PowerPoint, and Designer. That has now been fulfilled, as Microsoft has updated the original support article. The previous "What you need to do to prepare" section of the article used to have the following message: Now, the section has been replaced with a "How to prepare before October 2026" section that begins by advising users to convert their .pub files to another format, as after October 2026, they won't be able to access or edit these files in the non-Perpetual version of Publisher. The company recommends that you convert your Publisher files to PDF using the following steps: If you have many files to convert, you can use a macro or one of the many online services that can handle the conversion for you. If you want to edit those files after October 2026, you'll need to convert them to PDF first, then convert them to Word: The promised "Recommended alternatives to Microsoft Publisher" section contains this table: I want to create... Recommended App Ads or Flyers Word, PowerPoint or Designer Brochures Word or PowerPoint Banners, Signs, Posters PowerPoint or Designer Certificates Word or PowerPoint Business cards Word or PowerPoint Business invoices, applications, and forms Word Calendars Word or PowerPoint Envelopes Word Labels Word Letterhead Word Newsletter Word Programs, Folded Paper Projects Word Cards (Greeting, Compliment, etc.) Word, PowerPoint or Designer Microsoft still maintains that Publisher will be removed from Microsoft 365 next year. This comes after the company recently confirmed reports that Skype was going away after users dug into the app's code and discovered a hidden message notifying users of the app's shutdown in May this year. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of February): 874 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Microsoft has published some big news for its Office users. Microsoft Publisher, a program for designing brochures, flyers, newsletters, posters, and other print materials, will soon reach its end of life. The company plans to end Publisher support in October 2026 and remove it from the Microsoft 365 subscription afterward. The announcement was quietly published on the official Microsoft Support website. The company says that the reason behind the decision was to "focus on new benefits" and "provide customers with the tools they need to achieve what matters." However, no tools for you if you are a Microsoft Publisher user. The company will kill the software in less than two years. According to the support document, most of the Publisher features for creating professionally branded templates, envelops, and label printing are already available in other Microsoft 365 applications. Therefore, you can use Word or PowerPoint as a replacement for the outgoing app. Microsoft also promises to share more as it is "exploring modern ways to achieve common Publisher scenarios" in Word, PowerPoint, and Designer. Existing Publisher users can continue working with the app until October 2026. In that month, Microsoft will end Office 2021 LTSC support, including Publisher. As for Microsoft 365 users, the company will remove Publisher from their systems once it reaches the end of life. Microsoft decided to announce the end of Publisher in advance so that users could prepare for it and have enough time to plan their migration to other tools, either inside the Microsoft 365 ecosystem or from third parties. Source