Why won't Microsoft reconsider MS Publisher from being discontinued

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Why won't Microsoft reconsider MS Publisher from being discontinued

Tom Green 55

I'm reading a ton of comments and fears and anxiety about the elimination of all of us Publisher users from being able to continue our lives in peace. This is a nightmare. Microsoft should be ashamed. I might end up buying Publisher 2021, as I still to this day use the discontinued fabulous MS Works as a personal very easy to use database program. It was never broken, but MS for Dummies somehow got dumb and quit supporting it. Can I do the same with Publisher, even if I have to buy 2 copies, one for my laptop and one for my desktop?

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Answer 1

Microsoft has not publicly indicated plans to reconsider the discontinuation of MS Publisher. Software developers often make decisions to phase out products based on various factors, including market demand and the strategic direction of their offerings. If you are considering purchasing Publisher 2021, it's important to ensure that the version you buy is compatible with your devices. You can typically install it on multiple devices, but you should check the licensing terms to confirm how many installations are allowed with your purchase.

If you decide to buy two copies for your laptop and desktop, make sure to obtain the appropriate product keys and licenses for each installation to avoid any issues.

References:

Answer 2

Tom Green 55

This is fast becoming a nightmare for thousands of Publisher users. I ran my retail business using Publisher to make all kinds of documents, price tags, flyers, ROP advertisements, etc. etc. etc.

I use it for my non-profit Gila Valley Arts Council producing dozens of various documents every year for over 25 years.

This is my worst nightmare.

Destroying lives should not be allowed by software gurus.

John Thurlow 5 Reputation points

2026-02-15T18:10:59.23+00:00

Well said. This decision has HUGE consequences. RECONSIDER MS

Answer 3

Tom Green 55

I can only see MS Publisher 2021 being the best solution to so many users that wish to be able to open their huge collections of .pub documents. I just spoke to a colleague in another city that is in the same boat as I am and has relied on Publisher for over 20 years only to be faced with extinction of all of his hard work and dedication to Microsoft. This is a betrayal of trust, make no mistake. It's a horrible thing for Microsoft to have not come up with a better solution or endgame so as not to leave us all in oblivion, despair, regret and anger.

John Thurlow 5 Reputation points

2026-02-15T18:11:43.5933333+00:00

RIGHT ON!

Answer 4

WordWizzard 945

That's the risk you take when you buy web-based subscription software. Here today, gone tomorrow. You reduce the chance of that happening, if you purchase software that has a perpetual license and installs on your machine.

You might try using Affinity Publisher as a Microsoft Publisher replacement. It's free, and installs on your Mac or PC.

https://www.affinity.studio/page-layout-software

There are a number of YouTube videos that will help you get up to speed.

You can use Affinity to import and edit your Publisher files, if you first convert them to PDF. But you may get better results, if you convert the Publisher files directly to Affinity using a 3rd party tool:

https://markzware.com/markzportal/converting-microsoft-publisher-to-affinity-publisher/

Colleen Owens 20 Reputation points

2026-02-10T15:26:00.5366667+00:00

Markzware wants $7 per page to convert.....I have hundreds of documents with thousands of pages. We are a non-profit and this is not anything we could afford. Instead my time is going to be spend converting the documents one at a time for the most important. And starting from scratch for any we need in the future. Microsoft slowly forced companies to go with web-based subscriptions making it near impossible to get perpetual licenses. Then they pull the rug. Affinity Publisher is not user friendly.
WordWizzard 945 Reputation points

2026-02-11T08:56:07.11+00:00

I understand your frustration. Neither I, nor anyone here on this forum, knows why Microsoft does what it does.

Microsoft doesn't force folks to use subscriptions. But they do aggressively push it. They still offer Office software with a perpetual license that installs on your machine. One includes Outlook, and the other doesn't. See

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/p/office-home-2024/cfq7ttc0pqvj

and

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/p/office-home-business-2024/cfq7ttc0pbm7

As an alternative to Microsoft Office, there is LibreOffice

https://www.libreoffice.org/

and FreeOffice

https://www.freeoffice.com/en/

Both are free and install on your machine.

Affinity successfully imported PDFs that I have given it without the need for the Markzware's converter. So, you won't need the converter for every Publisher file you have. I only suggest it as a fallback in cases where the PDF import was less than satisfactorily.

Additionally, you won't need to convert all your Publisher files to PDF at once. Just convert the ones you need when the time arrives. If you google, you'll find a number of free Publisher-to-PDF converters online that are free. I would not be surprised if in the future Affinity imports Publisher files directly, since they may pick up a lot of new users who once used Publisher.

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Why won't Microsoft reconsider MS Publisher from being discontinued

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