Microsoft finally putting Publisher out of its misery.

I also used Publisher back in the 90's but not in a long time.

I am curious, if the functionality is going to being integrated into other apps or is it simply going to be removed along with Publisher? I'm also curious what happens if you try to open a Publisher file after Publisher is retired, especially if you are using an auto-updating version of Office 365? If enough of the features are simply migrated over to Word, then would it open in Word instead? Or would people just be screwed? I know some people who get really protective of their old files so this could be an issue. I assume that, worse case, an older offline version of publisher could be used, but still.
 
And also dropped WMR support to the point it will be UN-fuctionable to users.
Be glad M$ gave you 20+ years instead of a completer abandonment after only a few.
 
GotNoRice said:
I also used Publisher back in the 90's but not in a long time.

I am curious, if the functionality is going to being integrated into other apps or is it simply going to be removed along with Publisher? I'm also curious what happens if you try to open a Publisher file after Publisher is retired, especially if you are using an auto-updating version of Office 365? If enough of the features are simply migrated over to Word, then would it open in Word instead? Or would people just be screwed? I know some people who get really protective of their old files so this could be an issue. I assume that, worse case, an older offline version of publisher could be used, but still.
Click to expand...
It already is, anything you can do in publisher you can do better in Word.
 
from the horses mouth:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...ber-2026-ee6302a2-4bc7-4841-babf-8e9be3acbfd7
"As we look ahead to the retirement of Microsoft Publisher, we are exploring modern ways to achieve common Publisher scenarios across applications like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Designer.  We will update as we have more to share.  "

ive run into someone using it once in the last 15 years(school award templates), not many will miss it.
 
Funny, I just started using Publisher about a year ago for newsletters. Word is definitely not a good alternative. Not sure of any alternatives that can publish out PDFs, easily layer images and retain the links. Any suggestions?

Oh well, they are giving us 2 1/2 years to migrate to another solution. We were already looking at migrating to video content or podcasts. I think both formats will take more time to produce, won't be viewed as much and don't deliver as much content.
 
I don't think I've ever opened Publisher..................and to think of all those newsletters and flyers I didn't publish as a result................oh god.........now its too late :(
 
Honestly, it isn't that bad for what it is. It's poor man's InDesign, but it costs way less and works like Office programs vs. Adobe's interface.
If anything, the reason they're probably killing it is because other programs (like PowerPoint and Word) have gotten a lot of the same functionality. Publisher is still better for professional quality marketing materials, but most marketing pros are using Adobe stuff. The folks using publisher on a professional level are usually places with little to no budget.
 
I occasionally use it. They have a few tools that make aligning and layering images/text easy but it certainly still feels like it's from the 90's even with the latest version.
 
Lakados said:
https://www.neowin.net/news/microso...remove-it-from-microsoft-365-in-october-2026/

TLDR;
Good bye Publisher, you were good in the 90’s but haven’t kept up with the times.
Click to expand...
Looks like I am the only one who actually uses it once in a while.

I like it better than word, google suite, and other available tools for doing a flyer, poster, or notice type thing for work.

I am sad :(

Anyone know a similar type program I can start migrating to?

-edit- as in the style of Page Maker, the tool I first learned/used.
 
Elf_Boy said:
Looks like I am the only one who actually uses it once in a while.

I like it better than word, google suite, and other available tools for doing a flyer, poster, or notice type thing for work.

I am sad :(

Anyone know a similar type program I can start migrating to?

-edit- as in the style of Page Maker, the tool I first learned/used.
Click to expand...
Word is getting more of its functions, at work we moved to Adobe products years ago though.
 
Elf_Boy said:
Looks like I am the only one who actually uses it once in a while.

I like it better than word, google suite, and other available tools for doing a flyer, poster, or notice type thing for work.

I am sad :(

Anyone know a similar type program I can start migrating to?

-edit- as in the style of Page Maker, the tool I first learned/used.
Click to expand...
Serif Publisher 2: https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/publisher/ - Less than $100 to own, not rent - powerful too, in case you need to publish 200 page posters...
 
Elf_Boy said:
Anyone know a similar type program I can start migrating to?

-edit- as in the style of Page Maker, the tool I first learned/used.
Click to expand...

Adobe InDesign (and other parts of that suite like Illustrator/Photoshop) = what most people are using. The catch is that Adobe stuff marches to the beat of a different drummer. It's almost like they're different for the sake of being different. Even vs. other layout programs that came out around the same time. Things aren't located where you might expect them to be and it can take a while to truly get comfortable with everything. On the plus side, you can Google "how do I XXX" in pretty much every Adobe program ever and you'll get solid answers.
 
Also Scribus, although I have no idea how good it is. It has been around a long time, so it should be pretty mature.
 
M76 said:
Publisher to me is like Onenote, never used it, don't know what it does.
Click to expand...
OneNote is one of the best ways to take notes. You can organize with sections and click a new button to create a new tab - kind of like an Excel spreadsheet. Best of all, it is supremely searchable. Depending on the setup, it can also be accessed/synced on your phone, online or on your computer. Took me a day or two to adapt, but I've been using it for the last 5 years.
There's another competing tool that allows you to draw in content - it's pretty cool, too, if you have a touchpad. May be only Apple. I don't think OneNote has that capability.
 
sleepeeg3 said:
Funny, I just started using Publisher about a year ago for newsletters. Word is definitely not a good alternative. Not sure of any alternatives that can publish out PDFs, easily layer images and retain the links. Any suggestions?

Oh well, they are giving us 2 1/2 years to migrate to another solution. We were already looking at migrating to video content or podcasts. I think both formats will take more time to produce, won't be viewed as much and don't deliver as much content.
Click to expand...

Funny enough, I was tasked to make a newsletter as well not even 2 weeks ago, started with Publisher since we had M365, within an hour I requested Adobe InDesign. They said F no (monthly cost for business) so I went with Affinity’s suite. 137 bucks for Photo, Vector and template design was more suitable for them lol.

Affinity Publisher is great so far. I had no experience with that or InDesign prior but seem to be getting the hang of it.

I got all 3 Affinity Workbooks used on eBay but someone also took the time to make something similar specifically for Publisher.

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/in...df-manual-expert-guide-to-affinity-publisher/

I’d take a look at that to get an idea of what all you can do.

The Affinity Suite is basically Adobes from 2-3 years ago. You can supplement their AI stuff and vector auto trace with webpages that’ll do it for you but their AI in Photoshop is a no go in Affinity Photo.

Their programs align very similar to how Adobes apps have their tools setup in the GUI.

For the price you honestly can’t beat it.
 
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clockdogg said:
Serif Publisher 2: https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/publisher/ - Less than $100 to own, not rent - powerful too, in case you need to publish 200 page posters...
Click to expand...

To comment, I would get all three programs in that suite tbh. You effectively get one free and can use them all while inside Publisher using Chromas (switch between all apps while in the same file) without the need to export and import all the time.
 
sleepeeg3 said:
OneNote is one of the best ways to take notes. You can organize with sections and click a new button to create a new tab - kind of like an Excel spreadsheet. Best of all, it is supremely searchable. Depending on the setup, it can also be accessed/synced on your phone, online or on your computer. Took me a day or two to adapt, but I've been using it for the last 5 years.
There's another competing tool that allows you to draw in content - it's pretty cool, too, if you have a touchpad. May be only Apple. I don't think OneNote has that capability.
Click to expand...
It also does pretty well at OCR as well.
 
sleepeeg3 said:
OneNote is one of the best ways to take notes. You can organize with sections and click a new button to create a new tab - kind of like an Excel spreadsheet. Best of all, it is supremely searchable. Depending on the setup, it can also be accessed/synced on your phone, online or on your computer. Took me a day or two to adapt, but I've been using it for the last 5 years.
There's another competing tool that allows you to draw in content - it's pretty cool, too, if you have a touchpad. May be only Apple. I don't think OneNote has that capability.
Click to expand...
I just use txt files, that's searchable too, and every folder is a tab.
 
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