Publishing program to open MS Publisher doc

I need a publishing program for my mac so I can open my old Microsoft publishing documents

What can I use to do this?

Can I export my old MS Publisher doc into a Mac program or must I redesign my project?

Where can I get a program?

How much will it cost?

Thanks for any help provided

1. No you don't. You need to forget that you ever used Publisher.

2. Nothing. MS Publisher stuff doesn't open in ANYTHING else. Even on PCs.

3. Re-design.

4. I'd suggest Pages as an excellent and far superior alternative.

5 and 6. Pages is part of iWork, you can buy the entire suite for $49, or just buy Pages from the Mac App Store for $20. I'd suggest getting the free trial from Apple first, in order to give yourself time to learn it.

Sorry to be blunt, but MS Publisher (or MESS publisher as it was known) was the laughing stock of the print industry and always has been, even on the PC side of things. I think it's criminal that Microsoft never made it exportable to anything else (except sorta-kinda PDF), but that's where you are.

You could set up Windows on your Mac, obtain a copy of Publisher and re-open the files, probably (of course the fonts would reset and the clip art would disappear, but that's typical MS Publisher behaviour when opened on a new PC) -- but all you'll be able to do is look at it, pretty much. As mentioned, Publisher doesn't play well with ANYTHING else, even MS's own other products. Sorry.

Look into iStudio Publisher. APP store has it for $17.99. I used a trial version a couple of years ago.

Microsoft Word can also do wonders with its templates nowadays, if you're already going to be using Office anyway. Microsoft even keeps a whole database of such templates online.

As chas_m noted, nothing except MS Publisher itself will open a Publisher document. It's a MS proprietary format.

As for recommendations for a similar Mac program, there is Pages which can do layout work but is primarily a WP program. Price is right at $19.99 from the App store.

My choice is iStudio Publisher currently on sale at the App store for $17.99. Very similar to MS Publisher except does not have all the fancy templates which most people never use anyway. And considering MS Publisher is well over $100 (stand alone version), iStudio is a bargain.

I suggest trying both iStudio and Pages out and choose the one which best suits you.

I always forget about iStudio Publisher! Thanks for the assist guys.

Can anyone advise on which to use in place of MS Publisher. iStudio Publisher or iPage (iWorks). It has been confusing since switching as seems like all of the MS Publisher user is facing th same problem. Decision of what program to use to replace it. Please advice.

They're both fine programs that are strongly supported. Why not download the free trials of each and take em for a spin?

Have just downloaded the iPage. The thought of reconstructing all my templats is horrifying. Thanks for the advice..

PakaRiverman said:

Have just downloaded the iPage. The thought of reconstructing all my templats is horrifying. Thanks for the advice..

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You would have had to have done it anyway, since I don't think MS even makes Publisher anymore, no self-respecting printer accepts such files, and it can't be converted to ANY other publishing program (not even Word, which I certainly wouldn't call a publishing program). Sorry about that, but this is probably how Framemaker fans feel as well ... or people with a bunch of files in ReadySetGo ...

PakaRiverman said:

Have just downloaded the iPage. The thought of reconstructing all my templats is horrifying. Thanks for the advice..

Click to expand...

Re-doing templates is not that big a deal regardless if you choose Pages or iStudio. When I switched over some years ago I had numerous Publisher templates, even some custom ones that I made. It was just a matter of copying the style and content. And you may be surprised when doing so that you can make improvements.

MS Publisher in my humble opinion is overpriced. It's still being included with the expensive business version of Windows Office and it can be purchased stand alone. But who want to pay $149.95 when you can get the same thing for $17.99 or $19.99?

chscag said:

And you may be surprised when doing so that you can make improvements.

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Amen to that. In fact, if you're going from Publisher to ANYTHING else, you're *already* making improvements.

But who want to pay $149.95 when you can get the same thing for $17.99 or $19.99?

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Thanks for letting me know that Publisher is still around ... though it sure sounds like MS is trying to gently kill it off ...