Unlock a master page in Publisher

Question

I am creating a booklet in Publisher. Somehow a master page was created (now locked) and has replicated itself (every other page) in the booklet. I need to edit the master page and I need to get rid of the "extra" pages.

Answer 1

Hi Cyndi,

Based on what you shared, this situation is that Publisher has a master page applied to publication pages, which means they live on the master, so it looks "blocked" as you said.

In this case, I would recommend:

• You can consider saving a copy first to avoid losing data in the worst scenario
• Then open the Publisher file > in the left navigation pane, select the master page that is being used.
• Edit or delete the objects on that master page > click "Close Master Page" to return to normal publication view.
• Now you are in normal view. Then go to View > Master Page > click one of the pages where the unwanted master appears.
• Go to Page Design > Page Background group, click the arrow beside Master Page > choose None

Please give it a try and let me know if it works. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments of this post. I'm happy to assist you further.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. 

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