HOW DO I LOCATE "PUBLISHER" IN MY MICROSOFT 365?

Dear @BRUCE STEPHENS,

Good day! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum!

Based on your description, I understand that you’re unable to locate Microsoft Publisher in your Microsoft 365 apps and need it to convert files to PDF or Word format. You’re looking for guidance on where to find Publisher or whether it’s included in your Microsoft 365 subscription.

Microsoft Publisher is not included in all Microsoft 365 plans. It’s only available on Windows and is typically included with certain subscriptions such as Microsoft 365 Apps for business, Business Standard, or some Enterprise plans. If you’re using Microsoft 365 on a Mac, or if your subscription doesn’t include Publisher, the app won’t appear in your list of available programs.

To check if Publisher is included in your plan, you can:

• Sign in to www.office.com
• Select Apps > More apps > All apps
• Review the list of available applications
• 
• 

If Publisher isn’t listed, it means it’s not part of your current license. Your IT administrator (if this is a work account) can confirm whether it can be added, or suggest alternative tools for file conversion.

Moreover, most Microsoft 365 apps (like Word and PowerPoint) allow you to export documents directly to PDF, and Microsoft also provides built‑in conversion options through OneDrive and Word itself.

• Open your document in Microsoft Word
• Select File
• Choose Save As (or Export, depending on your version)
• In the File format or Save as type dropdown, select PDF
• Choose where you want to save the file
• Select Save

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.

Kindly let me know when there are updates or if you need further assistance. Any updates you’re able to share would be really helpful. I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing how things are going! 

Thank you for your time and patience.

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Publisher availability in Microsoft 365 depends on the type of license and the platform.

For Microsoft 365 subscriptions:

• Publisher is a Windows desktop app only. It does not appear in Microsoft 365 on the web, and it cannot be installed on macOS without a Windows environment.
• If using Microsoft 365 on Windows and Publisher is included in the subscription, install it through the normal Office installation (it will appear alongside Word, Excel, etc.). If it is not present, the subscription plan may not include Publisher.

Important for planning:

• After October 2026, Microsoft 365 subscribers will no longer be able to install or use Publisher. Existing Publisher files should be converted to other formats (such as PDF or Word) before 10/1/2026.
• To convert a Publisher file to PDF while Publisher is still available:
  1. Open the .pub file in Publisher.
  2. Select File > Save As.
  3. Choose a location.
  4. Select PDF as the file type and select Save.
• To edit content later in Word, first save as PDF from Publisher, then in Word use File > Open to open the PDF; Word will convert it to an editable document (layout may change, especially with many graphics).

If Publisher is not available in the Microsoft 365 subscription or is already retired in the environment, consider:

• Using a perpetual (non‑subscription) version of Publisher (if owned) to open and convert files.
• Using third‑party conversion tools to convert .pub files to PDF or other formats. These vary in quality and are not supported by Microsoft.

References:

• Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026
• Edit or make changes to a PDF file
• Where is the Publisher viewer?
• I have thousands of Publisher files; I'm not opening each one individually to convert them. What is this BS about retiring publisher and losing access to all those files? This is 20 years of work that my business is going to lose, we won't recover from th - Microsoft Q&A