The End of an Era: Microsoft Publisher Retires and Your Digital Archives Need Attention

Microsoft Publisher was a staple back in the mid-90s when I was in high school. WordArt, graphics, type anywhere on a page. It was more exciting and flexible than Word. But like many I haven’t used Publisher in many years. And in a few days, your chance vanishes as Publisher will be removed from Microsoft 365 October 1st.

Not much from my Publisher-user era still exists in my archives. A poster I made for my long-deceased grandmother back in 1998 when she was running a Christmas fair in her village. A birthday card I made for my mom when I was still a teenager. A couple of high school projects. And work done by my late father-in-law who still used Publisher into the 2020s.

Perhaps you gave up on Publisher around Y2K or maybe you have more recent work in this app. Whichever the case, if you have .pub files in storage, you have a few more days to convert them to a different format before Publisher gets pulled from your M365 subscription.

If you have a perpetual license for Office, you'll be able to continue using Publisher, but it won't be supported beyond October. And there are third-party means to open those .pub files. But for most of us, action would be advised by before the October 1st deadline if you intend to preserve your work.

The end of an era and a reminder for all that our digital archives are only as good as our ability to access an app that reads them.

First posted on Linkedin on 10/02/2026 → View Linkedin Post Here