Microsoft Office’s (now Microsoft 365) most popular tools include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Most of us barely use anything more than that (Outlook has a more enterprise angle), and Microsoft is retiring one of its least used apps, aka Microsoft Publisher, in October 2026.
In an email received by Windows Latest, Microsoft has warned that it’s ending support for Publisher in 2026. In addition, Microsoft provided us with a link to its official support portal, along with the steps you can take to migrate your data and some alternatives. The company wants you to convert .pub (Publisher) files into .pdf or .docx.
Recently, when we installed the free version of Office, which is part of an experiment, we noticed Publisher was still shipped along with other Microsoft apps. However, this will not be the case anymore in near future.
After the retirement date, all Microsoft 365 subscribers won’t be able to access their files in the app.
Microsoft plans to kill the support for this app on October 1st, when the Office LTSC 2021 reaches the end of support. The intent behind this action is to diminish interest in the app and the myriad of options available in other office apps like Word and PowerPoint.
For example, if you want to create ads or flyers, you can use templates available in Word, PowerPoint, or Designer. Microsoft has an elaborate table on what apps contain which kind of templates, so you won’t miss anything.
Even if you don’t want to purchase Microsoft 365, there are always free tools like Canva that have a variety of office and business-focused templates (free and paid). You’ll get much better UI and ease of access, although it needs the internet to work.
So what can you do?
Firstly, you can take a proactive step to convert the files into PDF if you need them later on.
It’s helpful that you have some custom templates that you frequently use. You can use the Export option to convert the files into PDF. You can even use a Macro to convert files in bulk–another official suggestion by Microsoft.
Here is everything you can do to convert Publisher (.pub) to PDF or other potential formats:
| Format | Conversion Method | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open in Microsoft Publisher → Save As → Choose PDF | Best for preserving layout | |
| Word (.DOCX) | Open in Microsoft Publisher → Save As → Choose Word Document | May lose formatting, but text remains editable |
| Image (JPG, PNG) | Open in Publisher → Export as an image | Good for sharing visually but not editable |
| Online Converters | Upload .PUB file to an online converter | May have limitations or require payment |
The end of support for Microsoft Publisher announcement comes after the company confirmed it’s killing off Skype.
In our decade-long and even more usage of Microsoft Office, we’ve never used Publisher, but we understand that some users do use it. Share your experience in the comments, and let us know whether you’ll miss the app.
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