Microsoft to permanently close Publisher office app – its files will no longer open, but they can be saved for now

One of Microsoft’s oldest office tools, Publisher, will be permanently closed in October 2026. The app, released in 1991, lasted 34 years, but now its support is ending. This applies to both the version included in Microsoft 365 and the “perpetual” license, which will remain functional, but without updates and security patches.

Image source: Pixabay, PCWorld

As PCWorld reports, citing Microsoft, the Publisher desktop publishing features have now been completely replaced by Word and PowerPoint. The support page states that users are encouraged to switch to these applications for creating business cards, letterheads, and other templates. “Word and PowerPoint do everything Publisher can do,” the company explains.

However, Microsoft is offering a smooth transition – the app will be available to download and use through Microsoft 365 until October 2026. There will also be an option to buy a “perpetual” version, which will continue to work after that date, but without support or updates.

To save Publisher files, it is recommended to convert existing .pub files to other formats before the legacy application reaches the end of support. The process involves saving files as PDFs, then opening them in Word or PowerPoint to convert them to those programs’ formats. The company warns that layouts may change slightly. To be on the safe side, it is suggested to create a macro, especially if the user has accumulated a lot of files over the years.

Recall that Microsoft Publisher was released in 1991 and later included in Office 365 (now Microsoft 365). As Wikipedia notes, many users, however, preferred Word to solve the necessary tasks that Publisher could perform. By and large, this became one of the reasons for its gradual departure from the market.