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Microsoft Publisher

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Microsoft Publisher
Developer(s)Microsoft
Initial release1991; 33 years ago (1991)
Stable release(s)
Microsoft 365 & Retail[a] (Windows)2409 (Build 18025.20160) / 15 October 2024; 22 days ago (2024-10-15)[1][2]
Microsoft 365 (Mac)16.90.1 (Build 24102013) / 22 October 2024; 15 days ago (2024-10-22)[3]
Office 2021 (LTSC)2108 (Build 14332.20791) / 8 October 2024; 29 days ago (2024-10-08)[2]
Office 2019 (LTSC)1808 (Build 10415.20025) / 8 October 2024; 29 days ago (2024-10-08)[4]
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
TypeDesktop publishing software
LicenseTrialware
Websiteproducts.office.com/publisher Edit this on Wikidata

Microsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing application from Microsoft, differing from Microsoft Word in that the emphasis is placed on page layout and graphic design rather than text composition and proofreading. It is planned for discontinuation in October 2026.[5]

Overview

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Publisher is included in higher-end editions of Microsoft Office, reflecting Microsoft's emphasis on the application as an easy-to-use and less expensive alternative to the "heavyweights" with a focus on the small-business market, where firms do not have dedicated design professionals available to make marketing materials and other documents.[6][7] However, it has a relatively small share of the desktop publishing market, which is dominated by Adobe InDesign and formerly by QuarkXPress.[6]

While most Microsoft Office apps adopted ribbons for their user interface starting with Microsoft Office 2007, Publisher retained its toolbars and did not adopt ribbons until Microsoft Office 2010.[8]

On February 15, 2024, Microsoft announced that Publisher will be discontinued on October 13, 2026.[9][10] After this date, Publisher will no longer be included in Microsoft 365 plans, and existing on-premises installations will no longer be supported. This date will mark the end of Publisher as a standalone Microsoft program since its initial release in 1991.

Compatibility

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Several applications can import Publisher's proprietary file format (.pub) for editing with some success, including Collabora Online,[11] LibreOffice,[12] and Scribus.[13] Another option is to save the document as a separate EPS file for each individual page in the publication, and to then open the EPS files in the aforementioned applications or other applications.[14]

Publisher supports some other file formats, including Microsoft's Enhanced Metafile (EMF) format, which is supported on Windows platforms. The Microsoft Publisher trial version can be used to view .pub files beyond the trial period.[15][16]

Adobe PageMaker also saved files with a .pub extension, but the two file formats were unrelated and incompatible.

Release history

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Name Version number Release date[17] Editions of Microsoft Office included in
Microsoft Publisher 1.0 Late 1991 (approx.) —
Microsoft Publisher 2.0 Jul 12, 1993 —
Publisher for Windows 95 (beginning to transition to 32-bit) 3.0 Aug 24, 1995 —
Microsoft Publisher 97 4.0 Oct 21, 1996 Small Business Edition
Microsoft Publisher 98 (first fully 32-bit) 5.0 Mar 23, 1998 Small Business Edition 2.0
Microsoft Publisher 2000 6.0 Jun 7, 1999 Small Business Edition, Professional, Premium, Developer
Microsoft Publisher 2002 10.0[b] May 31, 2001 Professional OEM, Professional Special Edition
Microsoft Office Publisher 2003 11.0 Oct 21, 2003 Small Business, Professional, Professional Plus, Enterprise
Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 12.0 Jan 30, 2007 Small Business, Professional, Ultimate, Professional Plus, Enterprise
Microsoft Publisher 2010 14.0[c] Jun 15, 2010 Standard, Professional, Professional Plus
Microsoft Publisher 2013 15.0 Jan 29, 2013 Professional, Professional Plus, Standard (volume licensing), all Office 365 / Microsoft 365 Apps editions
Microsoft Publisher 2016 16.0 Sep 22, 2015
Microsoft Publisher 2019 Sep 24, 2018
Microsoft Publisher 2021 October 5, 2021 Microsoft 365 Apps for business and Business Standard editions[19]
  1. ^ Including Office 2021, 2019 and 2016
  2. ^ Starting with Publisher 2002, the version number jumps to 10.0 to tally Microsoft Office versions.
  3. ^ Version 13 was skipped due to the superstition attached to the number 13.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Release notes for Current Channel". Microsoft Learn. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Update history for Office LTSC 2021 and Office 2021". Microsoft Learn. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  3. ^ "Update history for Office for Mac". Microsoft Learn. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  4. ^ "Update history for Office 2016 C2R and Office 2019". Microsoft Learn. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  5. ^ "Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026 - Microsoft Support". support.microsoft.com. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Desktop Publishing Software 2007 Style". Computor edge. July 27, 2007. Archived from the original on September 2, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
  7. ^ "Office Publisher 07". PC World Australia. IDG. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2012..
  8. ^ "User interface differences in Office 2010 vs earlier versions". TechNet. Microsoft. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  9. ^ GitHub-Name. "Publisher LTSC 2021 - Microsoft Lifecycle". learn.microsoft.com. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  10. ^ "Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026". Message center - Microsoft admin center. February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024. "Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  11. ^ "Collabora Office 6.0". Collabora Office. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  12. ^ "LibreOffice 4.0: Release Notes – the Document Foundation Wiki". Archived from the original on May 18, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  13. ^ Prokoudine Alexandre (April 16, 2013). "Scribus gets basic support for Microsoft Publisher documents". Libre Arts. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  14. ^ "Opening PUB Files Without Microsoft Publisher". LifeWire. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  15. ^ "Where is the Publisher viewer?". Microsoft. Archived from the original on March 16, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  16. ^ "Where is the Publisher viewer?". Microsoft. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  17. ^ "Publisher Life-cycle". Microsoft. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  18. ^ Paul Thurrott (May 14, 2009). "Office 2010 FAQ". Archived from the original on April 19, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2009.
  19. ^ "See what's in Office 2021". Archived from the original on March 30, 2023.
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