What is a .pub file?
A .pub file is a publication saved in Microsoft Publisher. The .pub ending tells you the file format, not what the publication is about.
What the file ending means
In a name such as newsletter.pub, “newsletter” is the name chosen for the file; “.pub” is its ending. Microsoft calls these Publisher (.pub) files. Microsoft also lists the type as “Microsoft Publisher document” with the MIME type application/vnd.ms-publisher (Microsoft’s list of attachment types). You will only need that label if a program or an upload form asks what kind of file you have.
If someone sent you the file, ask what it should look like and whether they have a PDF copy you can compare it with. Keep the original even if you receive a different format.
What is inside a .pub file
A .pub file holds a finished page layout, such as a newsletter, flyer, menu or certificate, made in Publisher (our own plain description of how people use it, not a Microsoft definition). Another program that opens one has to rebuild that layout. Affinity’s help says that when it imports a .pub file, text, shapes, images and solid fills come across, which shows what such a layout is made of.
It is a layout, not a plain document. Moving it into a program that does not understand Publisher can shift text, change fonts or drop items, which is why each program below lists what it loses.
Microsoft says: “Unfortunately, Publisher doesn’t have a viewer for opening and viewing Publisher (.pub) files” (Microsoft Support). The same page suggests downloading the latest Office trial that includes Publisher 2013 and using it as a viewer after the trial expires. We did not check whether that trial is still offered now that Publisher is being discontinued. Our own free browser viewer opens .pub files without Publisher, with nothing to install; the file is never uploaded.
Which versions exist, and what can open them
Microsoft’s own file-format documentation names three formats for a Publisher publication. It also lists formats Publisher can save to (HTML, plain text, Rich Text Format and others), but those are different files, not .pub.
| Format name | What Microsoft says |
|---|---|
| Publisher 98 | “The file was saved in a Publisher 98 file format.” |
| Publisher 2000 | “The file was saved in a Publisher 2000 file format.” |
| Current version | “The file was saved with the current version of Microsoft Publisher.” |
Microsoft’s list does not name Publisher 2002 to 2021 separately, so it does not tell you how a 2010 file differs from a 2019 one. Do not assume.
The next table shows what each program’s own documentation says it can open. The programs do not use the same version lists, and where two of the vendor’s own pages disagree we show both.
| Program | Versions it says it opens | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Publisher | Microsoft’s pages do not give a version-by-version list. | Microsoft says Microsoft 365 subscribers “will not be able to access Publisher on or shortly after October 1, 2026, as the removal update process rolls out.” A perpetual-license copy can still be installed and used, only without support (Microsoft Support). |
| LibreOffice Draw (free) | Publisher 98–2010 in LibreOffice’s Getting Started Guide 7.5; “2000 and higher”, with Publisher 95–98 import “rather limited”, on the Document Liberation Project page. | The Document Foundation says .pub files can be saved as ODF. Its guide lists Draw saving as OpenDocument Drawing and exporting to pictures such as PNG; Word is not on that list. Neither source names Publisher 2013 or later, and both are older than the LibreOffice 26.8.2 now offered for download. |
| Affinity | Publisher 97, 2000, 2002 and later (Affinity Help). | Says it opens .pub without Publisher. Its help says text, shapes, images and solid fills are imported, but tables, hyperlinks, lists, gradients, multi-column text and master pages are dropped or simplified, and color, rotation and text-formatting accuracy are not guaranteed. |
Microsoft’s own page names Affinity as a third-party program that “may be able to import native Publisher files” (Microsoft Support).
What we saw in our test with one file
In our test with one file, on Linux only, LibreOffice 26.2.6.3 opened a two-page sample .pub file. It saved the file 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 it as a Word document, reporting that it had no export filter for it. The first page held Russian text, and on the rendered PDF page it showed 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. It shows what can happen, not what will happen with your file. Always compare the result with the original or a PDF copy.
Is a .pub file a virus?
The ending can’t tell you. It only says what the file claims to be: a Publisher publication. Like any document, a .pub file can be safe or harmful depending on who made it and how it reached you. Treat it like any attachment, especially one you weren’t expecting.
- Do not open an attachment you were not expecting just to find out what it is. Check with the sender first.
- Be most careful with a .pub file that arrives with no message, or from someone you do not know.
- For a school or workplace file, ask your IT contact before trying unfamiliar software or an upload service.
- Keep the original untouched in a separate folder, and work on a copy.
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