Cancellation of MS Publisher

Question

Subject: A heartfelt plea to preserve Microsoft Publisher

Dear Microsoft Team,

I’m writing as a long‑time and deeply appreciative user of Microsoft Publisher to ask you to reconsider the decision to discontinue it, or at the very least to ensure that it remains usable for those of us who depend on it every day.

I have been using Publisher for over thirty years. I first learned desktop publishing on Aldus PageMaker — yes, Aldus, before Adobe — but Publisher quickly became my daily tool because it is faster, more intuitive, and perfectly suited to 99% of the work I do. Over the decades I’ve built up a huge library of editable resources, templates, and materials that I still rely on.

This isn’t just personal preference. I serve in the Diocese of [Moderator note: personal info removed], and Publisher is woven into the life of the communities I support. I use it constantly in parish ministry, diocesan communications, and in several local schools. It allows me to produce newsletters, orders of service, posters, prayer cards, event materials, and countless small but important pieces that help people feel welcomed, informed, and connected. Publisher’s simplicity and flexibility make it ideal for churches, charities, and schools — places where budgets are tight, volunteers are involved, and tools need to be accessible rather than complex.

I know that software evolves, and I understand that not every product can be supported forever. But I also know that a public outcry recently persuaded Adobe not to cancel Animator. I hope Microsoft might show the same consideration for the many faithful customers who have relied on Publisher for decades.

Even if active development must end, I ask you to please keep Publisher usable — just as you did with Microsoft Money — or provide a viewer so that we can at least open and access the resources we have created over a lifetime of work. Losing access to these files would be a genuine hardship for many individuals and organisations who depend on them.

Publisher has served communities like mine extraordinarily well. I hope it can continue to do so.

With sincere thanks for your consideration.

Answer 1

Hi @Stephen Latham,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.  

Thank you sincerely for taking the time to share such a thoughtful and heartfelt message about Microsoft Publisher. It’s clear how deeply this tool has been integrated into your ministry and daily work over the past thirty years, and how meaningful it has been not only for you but for the many communities you support. Your long‑standing dedication, the history you’ve built with Publisher, and the impact it enables in your parish, schools, and local organisations are truly remarkable. I genuinely appreciate the care, clarity, and sincerity in everything you’ve expressed.

Please be assured that your voice is heard. Feedback like yours is incredibly valuable to Microsoft, and it plays an important role in helping Microsoft's product team understand how this product support real people and real communities. While I’m not able to influence product roadmap decisions myself, I wholeheartedly encourage you to share your message through our official feedback channel, where it will be reviewed directly by the product teams who consider customer input with great attention and respect.

You can send your feedback here: Go to Microsoft 365 Feedback Hub > Send Feedback > Describe your proposal in detail.

 

 

Once you've submitted your feedback, feel free to share the link here in the comments. I’d be more than happy to upvote it to help raise visibility. And if you run into any issues submitting feedback, just let me know and I’ll gladly submit one on your behalf.

In the meantime, even as you advocate for Publisher’s future, it’s a good idea to begin protecting your existing work:

• Review and prioritise your .PUB files across OneDrive, SharePoint, and local drives, especially the documents you regularly update.
• Save PDF versions of important files to preserve layout fidelity for printing and sharing.
• Create editable alternatives where possible - for example, exporting to PDF and opening in Word for future edits, or rebuilding key templates in Word or PowerPoint for long‑term use.

As community moderators, we kindly ask for your understanding that our access to internal development details is limited. Our primary role is to guide users toward the appropriate resources and support channels. While we may not have influence product design decisions and have limited access to internal development details, we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.

 

Additionally, as other users have raised similar concerns and may not be aware of where to share their feedback, I hope this response helps clarify the situation and suggests a potential next step. Highlighting this information can make it more visible to others in the community who may be facing the same issue, making it easier for them to find guidance and contribute their feedback as well. 

Thank you again for your time and for raising this important usability concern. 

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