While Word and PowerPoint continue to expand their capabilities, they are gradually replacing one traditional Microsoft Office program — Microsoft Publisher.
The company has officially announced that Microsoft Publisher will cease to exist in October 2026. This means that the perpetual version of Publisher will lose official support. At the same time, the program will also be removed from Microsoft 365, and subscribers will not be able to access it after that date.
If you’re still using Publisher, Microsoft is giving you a little more time. 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, 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.
On the official support page, Microsoft explains that Word and PowerPoint already perform all the tasks that Publisher used to do. Therefore, there is no longer a need for a separate program.
The company now recommends:
At the same time, Microsoft advises users to convert all .pub files to other formats before the end of support. But the process is quite complicated:
The only problem is that the document layout may change.
If you’ve accumulated a lot of Publisher files over the years, Microsoft recommends creating a macro that automates the conversion process.
According to Wikipedia, Microsoft Publisher was released back in 1991. Its end in 2026 means that the program has been around for 35 years. In the end, many Office users simply preferred Word.
Source: pcworld