In October 2026, Microsoft Publisher will reach its end of life. After that time, it will no longer be included in Microsoft 365 and existing on-premises suites will no longer be supported. Users will no longer be able to open or edit Publisher files in Publisher. Until then, support for Publisher will continue and users can expect the same experience as today.  

MCC is beginning the rollout of Microsoft Office 2024 LTSC to all college-owned computers. The rollout will take place from August 13 through October 13.

This update will provide employees with the latest versions of familiar Microsoft applications, including:

• Word
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• OneNote
• Outlook
• Teams

Important: Microsoft Publisher is not included with Microsoft Office 2024 LTSC.

If your computer has been upgraded to Microsoft Office 2024 LTSC, but you still have Publisher files that need to be opened or converted before Publisher reaches end of life in October 2026, please submit an IT Support Services ticket.

IT can assist by downgrading your computer to Microsoft Office 2021 LTSC, which includes Microsoft Publisher, allowing you additional time to access and convert your Publisher files.

For additional information about the Microsoft Office 2024 LTSC rollout, please visit Unity.

We recommend converting your existing files to another format before October 1, 2026. After this date, you will no longer be able to open or edit these files in Microsoft Publisher.  

View content after Publishers retirement by converting to PDF format

• Steps to Convert Publisher Files to PDF

  1. Open Publisher file. 
  2. Go to File > Save as. 
  3. Choose a location to save the file.
  4. Select PDF as the file type and Save. 

Edit content after Publishers retirement by either:

• Converting a Publisher file to PDF, and then a Word file.

  • Steps to Convert PDF Files to Word

  1. Open Word.

  2. Go to File > Open.

  3. Locate and open the PDF file.

4. Select OK in the dialog box.

• From here your document will open as a Word file.

Note: The converted Word document will be optimized for text editing. As a result, its layout may vary from the original PDF, particularly if the document includes many graphics.

If you have a large number of Microsoft Publisher files that need to be converted to Adobe PDF format, IT can assist with the bulk conversion using a script. Please submit a ticket to IT Support Services to request this service.

Once the conversion is complete, you will be able to access your files as PDF documents. If you do not currently have an MCC Adobe license, you will need to submit a Software Request Form to request Adobe Acrobat Pro in order to edit or modify the converted PDF files.