Opening .pub files in the free Affinity? Here's what it drops, and what PubConvert keeps

The free Affinity app from Canva can now open Microsoft Publisher files. That is good news for anyone leaving Publisher. Affinity is a capable layout app, it costs nothing, and for a simple flyer it may be all you need.

But Affinity is honest about its limits. Its own help page, "Import Microsoft Publisher files", lists the parts of a .pub file that are "either dropped or simplified on import". If your files have any of these, it's worth knowing before you start.

So the question is no longer "can I open my .pub file?" It's "which tool keeps what my file needs?" Here is Affinity's list, item by item, with what PubConvert does instead.

What Affinity's help page says it drops, and what we keep

Tables. Affinity: "text content is imported, but not laid out as a table." PubConvert keeps tables as real tables in Word, InDesign and LibreOffice Draw files: rows, columns, merged cells, borders and cell colours. You can still click into a cell and type. In the PDF, the table looks the way Publisher draws it.

Bulleted and numbered lists. Affinity drops or simplifies them. In Word and InDesign files, your lists stay real lists, so a new line gets the next bullet or number. In the PDF and in LibreOffice Draw, the bullets and numbers show where Publisher puts them.

Gradient, texture and pattern fills. Affinity drops or simplifies them. PubConvert keeps gradient fills in every format. Texture and pattern fills show in every format too. In some formats they come through as a picture of the pattern rather than a live pattern you can edit.

EMF clip art. Affinity shows EMF pictures "as a broken-image placeholder." Classic clip art in EMF and WMF format comes through in every format. In the PDF we draw it ourselves. In Word, InDesign and LibreOffice Draw files we keep the original picture where we can, so it stays sharp.

Multi-column text boxes. Affinity imports them "as a single column." PubConvert keeps the columns in all four formats: PDF, Word, InDesign and LibreOffice Draw.

Master pages. Affinity: "not carried over." Items on your master page, such as a logo, a page border or a page number, appear on every page in all four formats. InDesign and LibreOffice Draw files keep real master pages, so you change the item once and every page follows. In Word, the items are copied onto each page.

Hyperlinks. Affinity drops them. Links stay clickable in the PDF, including linked pictures and shapes. In Word and InDesign files, linked text stays linked.

Three things Affinity doesn't do at all

Editable Word files. Affinity can place a Word file into a layout, but it can't save one. Most office staff and church secretaries want to keep editing in Word, not learn a layout app. PubConvert turns your .pub file into a Word file with each text box, picture and shape where it was on the page. In real Microsoft Word, across 897 test files, our Word files matched Publisher's own output more closely than LibreOffice's: an average similarity of 0.83 against 0.73.

InDesign files. Affinity doesn't export to InDesign's file formats. PubConvert makes InDesign files (IDML) with real text frames, tables and master pages. In testing they opened in InDesign 2026 on 1,497 out of 1,497 attempts.

Many files at once. Affinity opens one .pub file at a time. Its batch feature works on image files only. PubConvert converts up to 20 files in one job, and the Windows app converts a whole folder in one go.

And one thing to set up

Affinity is a desktop app for Windows and Mac. You need to install it and sign in with a Canva account. PubConvert is a website. You drop a file in, and you get a PDF, a Word file, an InDesign file or a LibreOffice Draw file. Nothing to install, no account.

Which one should you use?

  • A simple flyer you want to redesign in a layout app: Affinity may be enough. Try it.
  • Files with tables, lists, master pages, columns or clip art: check what Affinity drops, or try PubConvert.
  • You want to keep editing in Word: PubConvert. Affinity can't save Word files.
  • A folder of files, not one: PubConvert.

The fair test is your own file. You can preview it here for free, with no account: try your file. Then open the same file in Affinity and compare.

Source for Affinity's limits: Affinity's help page "Import Microsoft Publisher files" (affinity.studio), as published on 8 October 2026.