Microsoft Publisher (support ended Oct 2026)

What is Microsoft Publisher?

Microsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing application designed for creating professional-looking publications such as brochures, newsletters, flyers, business cards, labels and other marketing or printed materials.

Is Microsoft Publisher still supported?

No. Microsoft Publisher reached end of life in October 2026. It is no longer included with Microsoft 365, and support for the perpetual version of Publisher also ended in October 2026.

Can I still take Microsoft Publisher training?

Publisher training may still be useful for organisations that have legacy Publisher files, existing Publisher-based processes or employees who need to understand and migrate older publications. For new projects, however, organisations should consider supported alternatives.

What alternatives are there to Microsoft Publisher?

Microsoft recommends Microsoft Word and PowerPoint for many of the activities previously carried out in Publisher. Microsoft Create also provides a range of customisable templates.

What should we do with our existing Publisher files?

Microsoft recommends converting existing Publisher files to another format. Files that only need to be viewed, shared or printed can be saved as PDFs. Content that needs future editing may need to be migrated to another application.

What skills are covered in Microsoft Publisher training?

Publisher training can cover creating and editing publications, working with page layouts, text and images, using templates and preparing publications for printing or sharing. For organisations moving away from Publisher, training can also focus on transferring relevant desktop publishing skills to newer applications.

Who is Microsoft Publisher training suitable for?

Publisher training is particularly relevant to existing users and organisations that still have Publisher documents or established Publisher workflows and need to manage their transition away from the application.

Can SureSkills provide training for teams moving away from Publisher?

Yes. SureSkills can structure training around the needs of a team, including developing the Microsoft Word and PowerPoint skills required to reproduce common Publisher-style documents and communications.

Is Publisher training available online?

SureSkills offers instructor-led training through virtual and other delivery formats, depending on customer requirements and course availability.

Should new users learn Microsoft Publisher?

For most new users, we would recommend developing skills in currently supported Microsoft 365 applications rather than starting with Publisher. Microsoft identifies Word and PowerPoint as alternatives for many common Publisher use cases.

Does SureSkills offer training in other Microsoft applications?

Yes. SureSkills provides Microsoft training across applications including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams and the wider Microsoft 365 environment.