Guide
What to do with your .pub files now.
Publisher is being retired. Here is how to keep years of newsletters, flyers and templates usable, whether or not you still have Publisher.
What changes in October 2026
- On or shortly after 1 October 2026: Microsoft began removing Publisher from Microsoft 365 as the update rolls out. If it still opens on your computer, export important files now.
- 13 October 2026: support ends for the remaining one-off versions, Publisher 2021 and Office LTSC 2021. If you bought one of these, it keeps working, but it gets no more updates or fixes.
Your .pub files are not deleted. The problem is that almost nothing else opens them properly: the format was never published, and other programs that import it tend to move text, drop linked text boxes or lose fonts. Read Microsoft's announcement for the official details.
If you still have Publisher: export now
While Publisher still runs on your computer, it is the most faithful converter of its own files. Export what matters to you now.
One file at a time
- Open the file in Publisher.
- Choose File, then Export (or Save As), and pick PDF.
- Under Options, choose the highest quality ("Commercial Press" or "High quality printing") if the file will be printed again.
- Keep the original .pub next to the PDF.
A whole folder
Microsoft offers a free sample PowerShell script for batch exporting .pub files to PDF. It needs Publisher installed, licensed and working on the same computer, so use it while your copy still opens files. The script and its instructions are linked from Microsoft's announcement. Test a copied folder first and check the results; Microsoft says the sample may need changes for your files.
A PDF is a good archive copy, but it is hard to edit. If you still use some files as templates, keep those .pub files too, and consider a format you can change later.
If you don't have Publisher any more
There are a few kinds of tools. Each has trade-offs worth knowing before you convert a whole archive.
Online converters
You upload a file and download a PDF. They are quick for a single file, but your documents go to someone else's server, and most have limits on file size or on how many files you can convert. For letters, member lists or anything personal, check where the files go and how long they are kept.
Office and drawing programs that import .pub
Some free office suites can open .pub files. Simple one-page flyers often come through. Complex layouts are where they struggle: text that flows across several linked boxes, tables, rotated or grouped objects, and fonts you don't have installed. LibreOffice can also batch-convert from the command line; test representative files before processing a whole archive.
Ask someone who still has Publisher
A colleague, a school office or a family member with Publisher 2021 can export your files to PDF. It works well for a handful of files.
PUB Rescue
PUB Rescue is a Windows app. It converts .pub files on your own computer, a whole folder at a time, to PDF and to PowerPoint with editable text, and writes a report of detected changes. Nothing is uploaded. Download the free trial from the Microsoft Store for Windows 10 and 11. The trial makes watermarked PDFs but no PowerPoint files. A licence costs US$49.99 (Personal) or US$149.99 (Business), once; see pricing.
How to check a conversion
Whatever you use, spend a minute on each important file before you rely on the result.
- Page count and page size. The PDF should have the same number of pages, at the same size, as the original.
- Fonts. If a font was replaced, lines may break in different places. Look for text that suddenly runs longer or shorter.
- Text in linked boxes. An article that continues from one box to the next should appear once, in the right order. Missing or repeated paragraphs are the most common fault.
- Pictures and clip art. Old Windows metafile pictures (WMF and EMF) can be lost or drawn blank.
- Tables and text that didn't fit. Check that table borders and cell text are there, and that no text box is cut off.
Keep the originals
Whatever you convert to, keep your .pub files. They are the only complete copy of your work, and converters improve over time. Store them with the PDFs, in the same folder structure, and back them up like any other important files.
Converting a whole archive?
PUB Rescue converts .pub files in a folder to PDF and PowerPoint on your own computer, and reports detected changes.
Free from the Microsoft Store · Windows 10 and 11