How to open a .pub file without Publisher

Which method fits your device

Microsoft’s page “Where is the Publisher viewer?” says: “Unfortunately, Publisher doesn’t have a viewer for opening and viewing Publisher (.pub) files.” The same page suggests downloading the latest Office trial that includes Publisher 2013, and says that after the trial expires you can still use it as a viewer (Microsoft Support). We did not check whether that trial can still be downloaded now that Publisher is being discontinued. Otherwise you need another program. The first one below is our own, so weigh that. This table says which route exists on each device and how sure we are of it.

Any device: the viewer on this site

PubFold’s PUB file viewer opens a .pub file in your browser, with nothing to install and no account. It is free, and the file is never uploaded: it is read on your own device, and an automated test of ours records every request the page makes to check this. It works offline once the page has loaded. You see the pages, and you can download a Word file (.docx), a PDF or page pictures. Several files at once come back as one zip. If you want the text in Word, use the Word version of the tool.

It uses libmspub, the same code LibreOffice uses to read Publisher files, so it has the same limits: it supports Publisher 2000 and later, and only partly Publisher 95 to 98 (libmspub wiki). Our version also repairs garbled Russian-style text in old Publisher 97 files whose font name says so, such as “Times New Roman Cyr”. Fonts your device lacks are replaced, so line breaks can differ. In Word, text boxes become paragraphs in reading order, and a drawing Word can’t edit comes across as a picture of the page. We tested it on 19 sample files, mostly small test files plus one real four-page newsletter, so check the result against your original.

Windows, Mac and Linux: LibreOffice Draw

LibreOffice is a free, open source office suite. Its own site offers it for Windows, macOS and Linux (download options). The Document Foundation, the group behind it, calls LibreOffice Draw the quickest way to open, view, edit and manage Publisher documents (its announcement).

1. Download LibreOffice from LibreOffice’s official download page. The Microsoft Store and Mac App Store versions carry a small charge; the download from the website is free. That page now offers LibreOffice 26.8.2 first, a newer version than the 26.2.6.3 we tested, so your screens may differ a little from what we describe.
2. Install it and start LibreOffice.
3. Choose File > Open and pick your .pub file (LibreOffice help: Open). In our test LibreOffice opened it as a Draw document, its drawing program, and its guide lists .pub among the formats Draw can open (Getting Started Guide 7.5).
4. Look through every page. Then choose File > Export As > Export as PDF (LibreOffice help: PDF export) and save the PDF next to the original.
5. To keep a copy in LibreOffice’s own Draw format, use File > Save As and save it as .odg. In our test we saved an .odg this way (by command line), but we did not open it afterwards.

Keep the original .pub file. A PDF is for reading and printing. LibreOffice’s guide says Draw saves in the OpenDocument Drawing formats (.odg, .otg, .fodg) and exports to picture formats, and does not list Word (Getting Started Guide 7.5, chapter 10; that guide is for LibreOffice 7.5, older than the version we tested).

What we tested

In our test with one file (a two-page A4 .pub file, LibreOffice 26.2.6.3 on Linux only, not Windows or Mac), LibreOffice opened it as a Draw document and saved it as a PDF, as a Draw file (.odg) and as a picture (.png). We did not open the .odg or look at the picture. It could not save a Word document: it reported that there was no export filter for it. The first page held Russian text, and in the rendered PDF page it came out as garbled Latin letters (“Ðóññêèé òåêñò...”). So older files with non-Latin text can come out garbled; ours did. One file is not a study. We do not know how it handles yours.

Which Publisher versions it opens

The LibreOffice Getting Started Guide lists “Microsoft Publisher 98-2010 (*.pub)” among the formats Draw can open (guide). The library that does the reading supports documents from Publisher 2000 and later, with limited import of Publisher 95 to 98 files (libmspub wiki). Neither source names newer versions such as Publisher 2016 or 2021, so open your file and look at it before you rely on it. Both are older than the 26.8.2 download you will get today, so they may not describe it.

Affinity, if you want an editable copy

Microsoft’s own page names Affinity as a third-party program that may be able to import native Publisher files (Microsoft’s support article). Affinity’s help says you can import .pub files without needing Publisher, from Publisher 97, 2000, 2002 and later (Affinity Help). On the desktop, choose File > Open, pick the .pub file, then save it as an Affinity file (.af) to keep working.

Affinity’s help also lists what does not carry over: tables become a text frame, and hyperlinks, bulleted and numbered lists, gradients, multi-column text and master-page content are dropped or simplified. Its own site says Affinity is free for individuals (Affinity); we did not check what sign-up or account it asks for. Its help also says color, rotation and text-formatting accuracy are not guaranteed. We did not test it with a .pub file.

If you still have Publisher

Microsoft’s advice is to convert your files while you can still open them: open the file in Publisher and choose File > Save as > PDF (Microsoft’s support article). That article says Microsoft 365 subscribers will no longer be able to open or edit Publisher files using Publisher after the removal, and that people with the perpetual version will still be able to access and edit their files. We do not know whether the removal has reached your computer. If Publisher opens today, save the PDFs today. The end-of-life dates are on their own page.

Chromebook

The browser viewer on this site works on a Chromebook: open the page in Chrome and choose your file. If you want a program instead, we found no official instructions for opening a .pub file on a Chromebook, and no Microsoft or LibreOffice app for ChromeOS that says it opens one. Google documents a Linux environment you can turn on in Settings, where more tools can be installed, and says it may be unavailable on a work or school Chromebook (Google’s Linux setup page). LibreOffice offers a Linux version. We did not test LibreOffice on a Chromebook, and we do not recommend it as a first choice for someone who is not comfortable with setup steps like these.

The other simple routes: use a Windows or Mac computer for a short time, or ask the person who sent the file for a PDF.

iPhone, iPad and Android

The browser viewer on this site works in the browser on an iPhone, iPad or Android phone: open the page, choose the file, and its pages appear. Microsoft says Publisher has no viewer. LibreOffice’s own page lists a viewer app for LibreOffice documents on Android, and a LibreOffice-based editing app from Collabora for Android and iOS (LibreOffice for Android and iOS). That page does not say either one opens .pub files, and we have not tested them, so we cannot tell you they work. Other routes: ask the sender for a PDF, or move the file to a computer.

Online converters

Microsoft’s page mentions that third-party converters exist for going from Publisher to other formats, says they vary in quality and capabilities, and says Microsoft does not support them (Microsoft’s support article). We have not tested any, so we name none.

The trade-off is simple: most online converters work by uploading your file to someone else’s server. For a church flyer that may not matter. For a file with names, addresses, or a client’s work in it, use a program on your own computer instead.

What to do next

Whatever you use, work from a copy, check every page against the original, and keep the .pub file. If you have a whole folder of them, see how to convert many .pub files at once. For more programs and what each maker says about .pub files, see Publisher alternatives.