how to fix publisher when it will not start

Question

I get the message "Publisher could not start because of a security policy set by your organisation"

Answer 1

Thank you for contact me, Tamara. I spent 2 hours on the Microsoft helpdesk last night - the person tried all sorts but Publisher still won't open. They said they'd send me instructions to reset everything but they haven't arrived.

Answer 2

Hello @EL STE, 

Good day! I hope you are doing well. 

May I ask if the account you log in to Publisher is a work/school account (provided by your organization) or a personal account (gmail, hotmail, yahoo,…)? This information will help me find the most suitable solution for your case. 

The error message “Publisher could not start because of a security policy set by your organization” typically appears when Microsoft Publisher has been intentionally blocked by an admin policy. If you're using Publisher with a work/school account, please follow these steps: 

• Find your Microsoft 365 admin: If you don't know who the global admin is in your organization, you can find guidance here: How can I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support    
• Ask your admin to sign in Microsoft 365 admin center: admin.cloud.microsoft 
• Navigate to Settings > Org settings > Baseline security mode 

• Scroll down to the Files section and select "Block Microsoft Publisher". 
• Turn off "Block Microsoft Publisher" by unchecking the option, then click "Save". 

• Please note that policy changes may take some time to propagate. After waiting a bit, try launching Publisher again to confirm whether the issue is resolved. 

If the issue still continues after these steps, please double-check that you’re signed in with the correct organizational account, as using a different or personal account can prevent the updated policy from applying correctly. 

Once you’ve confirmed which account you’re using, feel free to update me, I’ll be happy to help you tailor the next steps if needed. Looking forward to your response so we can get this sorted out together. 

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