One month left for Publisher
Microsoft 365 removes Publisher on October 1, 2026. After that date the app is gone from the subscription and you cannot open or edit a .pub file in it. A perpetual license, Office 2021 or LTSC, still opens your files, but it is unsupported from that point on. Microsoft's own advice is to convert to PDF or Word. We covered the announcement in Microsoft 365 loses Publisher on October 1.
One month is enough time if you start now. Here is the short version.
1. Find every .pub file
Search for *.pub on every PC, then on the shared drive, then in email attachments. Check the old USB sticks and the external drive in the desk drawer. Most people find more files than they expected, and the newsletter someone needs in November is usually one of the forgotten ones.
2. Decide what each file is for
Two piles. Archive means you only need to read it, print it or send it: PDF. Keep editing means somebody will change it next year: Word for text heavy documents, IDML if the layout matters and you use InDesign or Affinity Publisher.
3. If you still have Publisher, export now
While the app is on your machine it is the reference. Export PDFs from Publisher itself and keep them. That is the best record you will ever have of how the file is supposed to look.
4. If you don't have Publisher, convert without it
Drop each file at pubconvert.com and check the free preview before you pay anything. Conversions are unlimited for a one time $49.
5. Keep the original .pub next to the exports
Do not delete the source files. Converters keep improving, ours included, and a .pub you kept can be converted again later. A .pub you deleted cannot.
For the longer walkthrough of your options, see what to do with old .pub files.
Start with the file you care about most and preview any file free.