"After this date, you will no longer be able to open or edit these files with Microsoft Publisher"...

Question

How can it be legal for Microsoft to charge for a product, allow customers to create content, then "no longer support it" which translates to "Microsoft is locking you out of your content"? This is a kin to a car company no longer wishing to build the car you bought, then after the date they sunset the assembly line, your car will never start again!

I understand not having "support", it's like the warranty running out on the car you drive. The car company won't fix it for free anymore, but you certainly can still use the car and make repairs yourself.

This is the exact reason cloud based or subscription-based software is dangerous! I dislike the government interfering with commerce, but this is a good example of where they should step in to protect the consumer from companies like Microsoft.

Answer 1

Your analogy may not be quite correct. When you use a subscription, it's more like renting a car, rather than buying one.

"This is the exact reason cloud based or subscription-based software is dangerous!"

You're right. That's the risk you take using subscriptions. If you want to "buy the car", then you purchase a perpetual license and install the software on your desktop. Even if the manufacturer decides to no longer support the software, you can continue to use it (i.e., continue to drive the car).

Microsoft, nor is anyone else, forcing you to buy a subscription. There are alternatives in the market place--some are web-based and some desktop. Some are better than others.

The government can't step in because there is no law broken. The same thing can happen if a company offered subscription software and then later went out of business. The government is not going to step in and require or pay the company stay in business.

In general, Microsoft Services Agreements and related licensing terms do not guarantee a formal "migration path" for discontinued software. Instead, Microsoft typically provides a notice and a period of time for you to find alternatives.

The bottom line is this. When you buy into a subscription model, you need to ask yourself what your solution will be if the software is no longer available. If you don't have a good answer, then maybe you need to reconsider.

Answer 2

Hello @STEPHEN GMEINER

As a user of many Microsoft 365 apps, I truly sympathize with your situation. It is genuinely stressful when the tools we have relied on for years to create and store our work undergo such a significant transition.

Since the product roadmap is already in motion, I sincerely hope you have a smooth transition and can protect all your content before the sunset date. While I don't have the power to change this outcome, I wanted to share my perspective on how to handle it. From my view, the primary focus right now should be on data portability.

You can take a few proactive steps to protect your work:

• Exporting Layouts: I highly recommend saving your critical Publisher files as high-quality PDFs or converting them into Word documents while the software is still fully active.
• Exploring Alternatives: There are several professional desktop publishing tools available today that offer features for importing legacy files. It might be worth exploring these sooner rather than later.
• Prioritizing your Creative History: My main concern is ensuring your work moves forward with you into the next generation of productivity tools.

Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026 - Microsoft Support

If you need any more support or specific tips during this transition, please feel free to come back to this forum. There are many people here who would be happy to offer more advice to you.

Kind regards,

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Answer 3

Microsoft Publisher is being retired for Microsoft 365 subscribers, but this does not equate to Microsoft deleting or seizing customer content.

From the documented plan:

• Publisher reaches end of life in October 2026.
• For Microsoft 365 subscribers:
  • Publisher will no longer be included in Microsoft 365.
  • Publisher will no longer be available for installation or download after October 2026.
  • Publisher files (.pub) will no longer be openable or editable using Microsoft Publisher after that date.
• For perpetual (non‑subscription) versions of Publisher (for example, Office LTSC 2021):
  • Support ends October 1, 2026, when Office LTSC 2021 reaches end of support.
  • The app can still be installed and used beyond that date, and .pub files can still be opened and edited with that perpetual copy.

The key points regarding access to content:

1. Files remain the customer’s data
   • Existing .pub files are not deleted or encrypted by Microsoft.
   • They remain accessible as files on local storage, OneDrive, or SharePoint.
   • The change is that Microsoft 365 subscribers will no longer have the Publisher application available to open them.
2. Microsoft is providing a migration path
   • Before 10/1/2026, customers are explicitly advised to convert .pub files to other formats:
     • To view content after retirement: convert .pub to PDF.
       • Open the Publisher file.
       • File → Save As → choose location → select PDF as file type → Save.
     • To edit content after retirement:
       • Convert .pub to PDF, then open the PDF in Word:
         • Open Word.
         • File → Open → select the PDF.
         • Click OK to convert; Word opens an editable document (layout may differ, especially with many graphics).
     • Alternatively, third‑party tools can be used to convert directly from Publisher to other formats (quality and support vary, and Microsoft does not support those tools).
3. Bulk conversion is supported
   • For large numbers of .pub files, automation is supported via PowerShell to bulk export to PDF.
   • The documented approach:
     • Ensure a working, licensed Publisher installation.
     • Use the sample PowerShell script (Example conversion script) to convert files in bulk.
     • Example usages:
       • Convert-PubFileToPDF.ps1 -Filter "C:\\Documents\\MyFile.pub"
       • Convert-PubFileToPDF.ps1 -Filter "*.pub"
       • Convert-PubFileToPDF.ps1 -Filter "*.pub" -Recurse
       • Convert-PubFileToPDF.ps1 -Filter "C:\\Documents*.pub"
       • Convert-PubFileToPDF.ps1 -Filter "C:\\Documents*.pub" -Recurse
   • The script is designed to continue on errors and report which files succeeded or failed.
4. Alternatives within Microsoft 365
   • Many Publisher scenarios are already supported in other apps:
     • Ads/Flyers, Brochures, Certificates, Business cards, Calendars, Cards: Word or PowerPoint.
     • Banners/Signs/Posters: PowerPoint.
     • Business invoices, applications, forms; Envelopes; Labels; Letterhead; Newsletters; Programs/Folded paper projects: Word.
   • Templates for these scenarios are available via Microsoft 365 apps and Microsoft Create.
5. Practical implication for Microsoft 365 subscribers
   • The subscription includes access to specific apps and services for as long as they are part of the subscription offering.
   • When an app is retired from the subscription, the right to use that app under the subscription ends, but the customer’s files remain and can be:
     • Converted before retirement using Publisher.
     • Opened later using a perpetual Publisher license (if purchased separately and installed on a supported system).
     • Opened/edited via converted formats (PDF/Word) or third‑party tools.

To avoid losing practical access to .pub content under Microsoft 365, the documented recommendation is to convert existing Publisher files to other formats before October 1, 2026, or maintain a perpetual Publisher installation that can still open and edit them after that date.

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References:

• Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026
• I have thousands of Publisher files; I'm not opening each one individually to convert them. What is this BS about retiring publisher and losing access to all those files? This is 20 years of work that my business is going to lose, we won't recover from th - Microsoft Q&A