Me, again. Not tech this time.

[madamesilverspurs]

Could use a bit of advice on software. I think.

Long story short, I got my first computer in '07 when I was a sprightly 59. It came with Publisher, and I learned to use that for some minor graphics. Over the years I've used it to make buttons, yard signs, Tshirts, flyers, and bumper stickers (one of which is my sig line). To my dismay, Microsoft is discontinuing support for Publisher as of October. I thought I had some time to "shop" for an alternative, but they've already reverted everything to a very early version, and I'm having an awful time trying to navigate it. Adding salt to the wound, I'm told that after October I will no longer be able to retrieve any of my Publisher files and I have hundreds of those (but that is a separate panic).

I'm hoping that some patient soul will be able to direct me to a simple, easy-to-learn replacement. Since I can no longer knock on doors or wave signs in protests, I contribute to the cause with my graphics; at present, I'm working on flyers and invitations for our annual fundraising event. And November is coming.

Any and all suggestions are very welcome. Saying heartfelt THANK YOU in advance!

[TommyT139]

1. Keep this link handy

For an alternative program, would Libre Office work for your purposes?
https://www.libreoffice.org/

In the event you want to convert files you previously worked with, before you figure out a whole new program suite, this site is worth checking out:
https://www.freeconvert.com/pub-converter

I have used Freeconvert for converting hundreds of files, from one audio format to another, epubs to pdfs, mobis to epubs, across graphics formats, etc. It handles quite large files, and deletes uploaded files after eight hours, so download the conversions before then. (To be safe, I don't use the site for documents containing personal info.) I have found the quality to be excellent. Sometimes I use up my free conversions per day, but I just save things for next day. I haven't used Publisher for a long time, so check the output against your original file.

There are others in your situation, so boards like the MS support forums could be useful too.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5724939/how-to-convert-existing-publisher-documents-to-edi

Good luck!

---
Update: Further down that Microsoft support thread, there is a link to a tutorial on working with Publisher files using the Libre Office suite. So my instinct seems to have been correct. And Libre Office is free - no more money to the oligarchs.
https://shunspirit.com/article/how-to-use-purblisher-files-in-libre-suite-of-programs

[LearnedHand]

2. PowerPoint is a decent substitute for the tasks you mentioned

It can’t do serious page layout but can definitely do stickers and such.

Note about LibreOffice: I tried using it many times but the messy interface is just too much busyness for me. I stumbled across Ashampoo Office 9, a German product, that is almost indistinguishable from Office 2021 (not Office 365). They sell permanent licenses, not subscriptions.

https://www.ashampoo.com/en-us/office-9

[summer_in_TX]

3. For the design work I highly recommend Canva. Especially a Pro account - and if you volunteer for a

501 (c)3 nonprofit you and your organization can get it for free. Or try a free account without pro-level tools. It's web based so you don't have to worry about software going out of date. I create graphics for all kinds of things and can insert it into newsletters easily.