Publisher 365 Files will end on October 1, 2026. What other program will open them after that?

Question

Publisher 365 Files will end on October 1, 2026. What other program will open them after that?

Mary Henderson 10

If I purchase perpetual Office 2021, will I be able to open Publisher 365 files that I have created in it? If not, is there something else? I have used Microsoft Publisher since it was created and have thousands of files. The past three years I have used Microsoft Office 365 for Publisher. I have been writing a book for years and have everything in Publisher and hate to lose the work I have done.

Help Me

0 comments

3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Yes. Publisher 2021 uses the same .pub format as the Microsoft 365 version, so it will open your files, and it keeps working after 1 October 2026. Check that the edition you buy actually includes Publisher: Office Professional 2021 (Windows) does, but Office Home & Student 2021 does not, and no Office 2024 edition includes Publisher. Microsoft ends support for Office 2021 on 13 October 2026, but the program still runs after that date.

About testing before you buy: the .pub file format hasn't changed between the recent Publisher versions, so if a friend or a library computer has any Publisher from 2010 onwards, open a copy of one of your book files there. If it opens and looks right, Publisher 2021 will open it too.

Since it's a book you've worked on for years, I'd also make safe copies now, while Publisher still opens everything:

Save each publication as PDF (File > Save As > PDF) so you always have a readable copy.
Keep all the original .pub files next to the PDFs.
If you ever need to keep editing the text elsewhere, you can open those PDFs in Word; expect some layout changes.
LibreOffice Draw (free) can open many .pub files for viewing if you end up without Publisher.

If you also use a Mac, iPhone or iPad: I make an app called PubHarbor that opens .pub files on those devices and can export them to PDF. It's a viewer, not an editor, so it won't replace Publisher for writing; the first 3 files are free and export needs the paid version.

Answer 2

Mary Henderson 10

Thank you. Is there a way I can test a file to make sure the perpetual version of Publish will open it before I purchase it?

Rita Cavanagh 20 Reputation points

2026-09-16T06:29:37.0433333+00:00

I'm very disappointed about losing Publisher. It's taken me several hours just to work out how to create a template in Word, which does work, but it isn't as user friendly. I've got it in landscape orientation and 2 columns with one side pages 4 and 1 and the other side is pages 2 and 3, the same as in Publisher. I do a 4 page booklet for church every week. In Publisher, I could just change items and the layout wouldn't change, but in Word, when I delete last week's information, it moves the next item up and often onto a different page. I'd be happy to continue to use Publisher without support, as long as it works the same way.

Answer 3

Yes—Publisher files created with the Microsoft 365 version can be opened by the perpetual version of Publisher, as long as that perpetual app is installed and working on the PC. The perpetual version can still be installed and used after October 2026, although support for it also ends in October 2026.

Key points:

Microsoft 365 Publisher access ends after October 1, 2026 After that date, Microsoft 365 subscribers will no longer be able to open or edit Publisher files in Publisher.
Perpetual Publisher can still run after that date If Publisher is part of a perpetual Office purchase, it can still be installed and used beyond October 2026, even though support ends.
Best way to protect existing work Convert important .pub files before October 2026:
- For viewing/printing: save them as PDF in Publisher using File > Save As > PDF.
- For editing in another Microsoft app: open the PDF in Word using File > Open. The document becomes editable in Word, but the layout can change, especially for graphics-heavy files.
If there are thousands of files A sample PowerShell script is available to bulk export Publisher files to PDF. It requires a working, licensed version of Publisher installed, and it should be tested and adjusted before large-scale use.
Microsoft-recommended replacements for new work Common Publisher tasks are already covered in other Microsoft 365 apps:
- Word: newsletters, envelopes, labels, letterhead, programs, forms
- PowerPoint: banners, signs, posters
- Word or PowerPoint: flyers, brochures, business cards, calendars, cards

If the goal is to keep opening and editing the existing .pub book files after October 1, 2026, the supported Microsoft path in the provided information is to use a perpetual version of Publisher rather than the Microsoft 365 version. In parallel, convert the most important files to PDF, and if editing outside Publisher is needed, test PDF-to-Word conversion on a few representative files first because layout fidelity can vary.

References:

Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026