Microsoft 365

Question

I received an email stating that as of October 2026 I would no longer have publisher with my subscription. I don't know what publisher is? Will this affect my having Microsoft Office, Excel, and Word?

Answer 1

Yes, my question was answered. Thank you.

Answer 2

No. This does not affect Word, Excel, or the rest of Microsoft 365 apps.

Publisher is a separate desktop publishing app used for things like flyers, brochures, labels, business cards, calendars, and similar page-layout projects. Microsoft has announced that Publisher will reach end of life in October 2026. After that:

• Publisher will no longer be included in Microsoft 365.
• Microsoft 365 subscribers will no longer be able to open or edit Publisher files in Publisher.
• Support for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft 365 apps is not stated as ending because of this change.

If Publisher has never been used, this change likely will not affect normal use of Microsoft 365.

If there are old Publisher files, they usually have the .pub extension. A search for .pub on the PC, OneDrive, or SharePoint can help find them. Microsoft recommends converting any needed Publisher files before October 2026, such as saving them to PDF.

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References:

• Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026
• Create a publication in Publisher