Dropping many files
Select as many .pub files as you like in File Explorer or Finder and drag them onto the page together. Each one appears in the list with its page count, or a plain reason if it can't be opened. Click a file to look through its pages and download its PDF. That's free, one file at a time, for as many files as you have.
A whole folder, as a ZIP
On Windows, right-click the folder and choose Send to › Compressed (zipped) folder. On a Mac, right-click and choose Compress. Drop the ZIP on this page and every .pub file inside it, including those in sub-folders, is opened. Other files in the ZIP are ignored.
One ZIP of PDFs back
Downloading every PDF in one ZIP, with the same names as the originals, is part of the one-time unlock, which is coming soon. Until then each file's PDF can be downloaded individually, free.
Tips for a big clear-out
- Work in batches of a few hundred files at a time. Everything happens in your browser's memory, so very large batches are slower on older computers.
- Keep the original .pub files. Disk space is cheap, and LibreOffice or a future tool may get even more out of them.
- Glance at a few PDFs from each year. Files from different Publisher versions can differ, and the list tells you which version each came from.
- Files listed as damaged are worth looking for elsewhere: an email attachment, a memory stick or a backup.
What happens to files that won't open
Each file that can't be converted stays in the list with a plain reason: not really a Publisher file, protected with a password, from Publisher 95 or earlier, or damaged. When the batch ZIP is made, those reasons go into a short text file inside it, so you have a list of what to chase up.
Microsoft's own route for many files is a PowerShell script that drives an installed copy of Publisher. If you still have Publisher, that gives the most faithful PDFs. If you don't, this is the next best thing.