How to open old Publisher files

Hi @Andrew Wootton,

I understand the concern.

Publisher is no longer available to Microsoft 365 subscribers after October 1, 2026, although support for perpetual versions such as Publisher 2021 continues until October 13, 2026. If you still have a working perpetual version installed, you may be able to use it to open your existing .pub files. I’d recommend saving any important publications as PDFs while you can, so they remain easy to view and share.

If you no longer have access to Publisher, there isn’t a standalone Microsoft viewer for .pub files. You could try a reputable third-party converter or use another computer that still has Publisher installed. Keep in mind that conversion quality can vary, particularly with complex layouts, custom fonts, and graphics.

If you need to edit the content, another option is to convert the publication to PDF and then open the PDF in Word. However, Word optimizes the converted file for text editing, so the original layout and graphics may not be preserved exactly.

More details are available here: Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026.

I hope this helps clarify the available options.

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