TrustRadius Insights for Microsoft Publisher are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.
Pros
Wide Variety of Templates: Users have praised the software for offering a diverse selection of templates that cater to different needs. For example, users found templates for newsletters, flyers, brochures, and more extremely useful in creating professional-looking documents.
User-Friendly Interface: Reviewers have highlighted the extreme user-friendliness of the software, especially for those familiar with Microsoft suite. They appreciate how easy it is to manipulate images on the workspace and design various types of documents effortlessly.
Affordable Option: Some users appreciate that the software is a cost-effective alternative to high-end graphics programs while still providing strong features and flexibility. This affordability allows users to access powerful design tools without breaking the bank.
We use Microsoft Publisher to create high standard documents and infographics for sharing department- or company-wide. It gives a more professional look than Microsoft Word when the document is more flow or picture based, rather than pure written content.
Pros
Professional presentation
Infographics
Internal communication documents
Event information
Cons
Finding the right template
Unable to edit WordArt
Likelihood to Recommend
Creating visually appealing content to present or share within the business, or to external stakeholders. We have used this to create event posters, i.e. for our Annual Awards or Christmas Party, or Infographics for Human Resources content. It provides a better platform for creating easy-to-read content. It is less appropriate for highly technical and wordy content.
I use Microsodt Publisher to create quick signs or flyers. As a construction company, there is always something that we need to create quickly that is specific to one job or client. This program allows me to create and save templates that I can customize to each job, or I can start from scratch and put something together in minutes that looks professional for our client.
Pros
Importing photos to insert into flyers or documents.
Creating quick signs for either directions or safety at jobsites so the superintendents can have them right away.
There is a wealth of pre-loaded shapes, fonts, and clip arts that allows for a professional looking document without having to have a graphic design degree to figure it out.
Cons
Overall I don't have any issues using this program.
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft Publisher is well suited for almost any situation. It is something that I'm sure has far more advanced tools than I use or am aware of, but it is also very simple for entry-level users to create professional documents quickly. I have used it for very involved brochures in real estate scenarios and I have also used it for very simple "Construction Zone" signs at a job site under construction. There are so many uses for this program!
I use it for business cards, flyers, newsletters, and other lightweight desktop publishing projects. Microsoft Publisher is OK for quick and easy desktop publishing projects. It's useful because we have a lot of Microsoft Publisher boilerplate built up over the years so we can just take a previous project and repurpose it. When used that way it's time-efficient and cost-effective. It is not our first choice for new projects that demands detail and real creative energy.
Pros
Business cards
Internal memos that use a logo or a little bit of design.
Quick and simple flyers for internal events.
Cons
Formatting in general. It's a pain to refine a layout in Publisher in my opinion.
Microsoft is so invested in their approach to software and making it look and feel like an Office 365 application that they inadvertantly cripple applications like Publisher.
Earlier versions of Publisher gave you a lot more latitude and creative freedom. They were also much easier to work with. Not everything has to look like it's part of Office 365. They did the same ... thing to Access.
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft Publisher is only suited for very simple stuff. Anything brand new that requires nuance and detail is beyond Microsoft Publishers' capabilities. As an example: I would never use it for creating an application user manual, an employee manual, or an infographic. Trying to do any of the above would certainly make you wonder what you were thinking.
Currently, Publisher is used only in my department. The company prefers Adobe Suite. I, however, prefer Publisher. It provides a much simpler interface that allows me to do all the things that the more expensive and complex Adobe In-Design can do. I use Publisher to produce a quarterly full-color magazine that has ranged from as few as 28 pages to as many as 56. The magazine is full of internal and external hyperlinks. In addition, I have just created a nearly 400 page quarterly planner with somewhere between 1500-2000 internal hyperlinks to various days and sections and pages within sections. I upload the pdf and use it on my Remarkable 2. Couldn't use it there without first designing it in Publisher. If there is some document that has a graphic, I will be working on it in Publisher. For me, Publisher is used for virtually all of my daily writing. If I use Word it is most often to create text that is then pulled into Publisher and laid out for the document I am creating. I could not do my day-to-day job without Publisher.
Pros
Design of my quarterly full color magazine: (usually 28-56 pages in length)
Design of the quarterly planning system used by me and others in the annual conference.
Design and layout of any document that requires graphics/photos.
Simple to use with ample flexibility and strength of features
Cons
The greatest shortcoming is large (300+ page documents) that require lots of internal hyperlinks. While it can do it, I can tell, due to the way it bogs down, that I am pushing the program to its limits.
I would like to be able to work better with pdf's. I would like the ability to import a pdf of a graph, picture, or some other object directly into a Publisher document. Currently, I have to first convert the pdf to a jpeg and then import the jpeg. I have not found a way around this issue.
At one point, I thought I had the option to automatically turn off hyphenation. Somewhere along the way, it seems as if the default for everything is hyphenation is turned on. I detest hyphenation and turning it off on every box I create becomes cumbersome.
More options for graphics. Particularly the defaults that allow you to place "frames" and effects around photos. More options.
Likelihood to Recommend
Publisher, for me, is best suited for a document with graphics/photos and text. I cannot use Word for this. Too hard to get the graphic/photo to behave and stay where I put it. In Publisher, I put the graphic/photo on the page and it stays where I put it. The text then flows around it. Seems to me as if Word works in the opposite manner.
Publisher also allows me better control of the overall look of multi-page documents. I design lots of magazine-style docs and I know that whether they are printed or viewed online that I will have everything exactly where I want it to be.
There is access to Microsoft Publisher for every employee, but it is not used by everyone. I mainly used it to [create] invitations, certificates, or posters advertising events at the college. It was easy to use, had templates that made it easy to create whatever document I was trying to create. And once I had made, for example, one certificate it was easy to just change the information and use it again and again.
Pros
The templates are great
It’s very user friendly for anyone familiar with Microsoft suite
It’s easier to manipulate images on your workspace than using Microsoft word
Cons
More options or more blank templates
Likelihood to Recommend
[Microsoft Publisher is] great for creating documents like invitations or certificates. It comes with templates that help you get started. It’s easier to manipulate your text and images than just using Microsoft word. If you’re looking for something more graphic, you may want something more advanced (like photoshop or indesign) but for the occasional basic need this will do the job.
1) MS PowerPoint cannot do some of the artwork diagramming possible in MS Publisher, so we create the artwork in Publisher and copy it over to PowerPoint.
2) MS Publisher is used to create diagrams to be inserted into proposals created with MS Word
3) MS Publisher is used to create sales literature (flyers, brochures)
Microsoft Publisher was extremely useful as we set up our medical practice. We used it extensively to construct all of our informational sheets for patients.
Pros
Affordable.
Variety of templates are useful.
Easy to use.
Cons
Spellcheck does not always catch errors in medical terms.
Does not seem to work on Apple products, which is fine for use at work, but does [not] let me work on it from my MacBook at home.
Likelihood to Recommend
I can only say that it did everything that we needed it to. If we were in another business and had other needs, perhaps we would find a scenario in which it would not work? But we did not need anything complicated, just professional looking educational material for our patients.
I use Microsoft Publisher to create course flyers. Microsoft Publisher is used on an individual basis across the organization.
Pros
Easy create newsletters and flyers
Many templates to choose from
Cons
It doesn't have similar layout as other Microsoft applications such as Word and PowerPoint.
A little expensive compared to publishing software.
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft Publisher is suitable for use in creating an event invitation on campus and course flyers to be placed on announcement boards. While it has the capability of publishing web pages, I think there is better software to create web pages.
Right now, we use Microsoft Publisher, specifically in one department, which is the safety department. Every month we have meeting minutes recorded from our safety meeting and post the minutes on our website. I use Microsoft Publisher to edit the minutes into an eNewsletter to send out to all employees and make them aware of new safety action items
Pros
Developing eNewsletters
Mass email sending
Cons
Some of its interface felt a little dated
Limited integration from other Microsoft programs
Likelihood to Recommend
If you have a large company and want to send flyers or newsletters to all employees or clients, then it’s a great way to bring that to one place. It’s great for news updates. I would avoid trying to use this as a marketing program. Microsoft Publisher is great for making templates.
