What actually changed
Microsoft's support page says Publisher reached the end of its life in October 2026. It is no longer included in Microsoft 365, and Microsoft 365 subscribers can no longer open or edit Publisher files in Publisher. Support for the bought-once versions ended on 13 October 2026, when Office 2021 and Office LTSC 2021 reached end of support. Microsoft says those copies keep working; they just won't get updates or fixes.
Microsoft's own advice was to open every file in Publisher and save it as a PDF before the cut-off. That's sound advice if you still have Publisher. Many people don't any more, or have hundreds of files and no time.
Option 1: turn them into PDFs (to keep, print and share)
A PDF looks the same on every computer and will open for decades. For most old newsletters, notices, certificates and service sheets, a PDF is all you will ever need. You can do this here: drop the files on this page, check the pages look right, and download the PDF. Nothing is uploaded, which matters if the files hold names, addresses or anything about children.
Be aware that a converted PDF is a very good likeness, not a perfect copy. Fonts that aren't free to share are drawn in close stand-ins, and unusual effects may be simplified. Check the pages before you delete anything.
Option 2: LibreOffice Draw (free, for editing)
LibreOffice is a free office suite for Windows, Mac and Linux. Its drawing program, Draw, can open .pub files and lets you edit the text and move things around, then save as PDF or in its own format. It uses the same open-source Publisher reader (libmspub) that this page uses, so what opens here usually opens there. It's a desktop install, so it may not be allowed on a school or office laptop.
Option 3: keep an old copy of Publisher
If you own Publisher 2021, 2019 or an older bought-once version, it carries on working. Microsoft's moderators have said the same. It no longer gets security updates, so keep it for opening and saving files rather than for everyday work, and be careful buying old licences from third-party sellers: Microsoft warns some are unofficial.
Option 4: move to Word, PowerPoint or another layout app
Microsoft suggests Word for newsletters and letterheads and PowerPoint for posters and banners. Neither opens .pub files. Microsoft's route is to save as PDF, then open the PDF in Word, which it warns can change the layout. Microsoft also says Affinity may be able to import Publisher files; we haven't tested that.
For documents you update every year (a class list, a rota, a parish calendar) the realistic route is to rebuild one good template in the new app and copy the text across. Getting the text out is easy: this page can copy all the words out of a file, and a Word file of the text is coming as part of the unlock.
Option 5: online converters
Plenty of websites convert .pub to PDF, but most do it by uploading your file to their servers. For a church notice that may be fine. For a school file full of pupils' names, or anything with home addresses, uploading it to a company you know nothing about can be a data protection problem. This page was built so that you don't have to.
What we'd do
- Convert everything you want to keep to PDF now, while it's easy, and keep the original .pub files too.
- Install LibreOffice on one computer for the few files you still need to edit.
- Rebuild your handful of yearly templates in Word or another app, at your own pace.