How to open Publisher files without Publisher

First, check what you still have

Microsoft handled this in two ways, so its notice affects churches differently.

• •If Publisher came with Microsoft 365, it has been removed, and you can no longer open files in it.
• •If someone bought Publisher or Office outright, it still runs and still opens every file. It gets no more fixes, but it works.
• •Look on other machines. An old office computer, or a treasurer’s laptop with a bought copy of Office, may still have it.

Way 1: Save as PDF from Publisher

If you can get to a working copy, this is the best way, because the page comes out exactly as you made it.

1. 1

   Open the file

   Open it in Publisher as usual.

2. 2

   Choose Save As

   Go to File, then Save As, and pick a folder you will be able to find again.

3. 3

   Choose PDF

   Set the file type to PDF.

4. 4

   Save it

   Keep the original .pub beside it. Open the PDF to check that it worked.

Way 2: Convert a whole folder at once

Microsoft publishes a sample script, Convert-PubFileToPDF.ps1, which turns every .pub file in a folder into a PDF. It is linked from the same notice. It needs a licensed copy of Publisher on the computer, and you run it from PowerShell. If nobody at your church is comfortable with that, doing the last year of sheets by hand is often quicker.

Way 3: Open it in LibreOffice

If nobody has Publisher, this is the one to try. LibreOffice is free, and its Draw program can read .pub files.

1. 1

   Install LibreOffice

   Download it from libreoffice.org, the project’s own site.

2. 2

   Open your file

   Choose File, then Open, and pick the .pub file. It opens in Draw by itself.

3. 3

   Check it carefully

   Look at the fonts, the pictures and anything sitting close to an edge.

4. 4

   Export a PDF

   Choose File, then Export as PDF. LibreOffice cannot save back to .pub.

Older files tend to come through best. Newer or picture-heavy ones can arrive with the layout shifted, or with images missing. For a bulletin you mostly want the words, so that is often good enough.

Way 4: Try Affinity

Microsoft names Affinity as a tool that may be able to import Publisher files. It is free with a Canva account, and it is proper page layout software, so if your files open well you could keep working in it. Try it on one file before you rely on it.

Which files are worth keeping

You do not need all of them. Start with these, and leave the rest in a folder.

• •The last twelve months of bulletins. They hold your wording and your hymn history.
• •Christmas, Easter and anything else you only make once a year.
• •Funerals and weddings that a family might ask for again.
• •Your best week: the sheet you would be happy to start from.

What to do with them next

A PDF is safe to keep and easy to print, but it is awkward to edit. Microsoft’s route is to open the PDF in Word, though it warns that the layout may change.

For your weekly sheet, bring a PDF to Hymnfold. We read the text, keep your wording and your order, flag anything we are unsure of, and set it as a bulletin. Every Sunday after that starts from it.

Questions people ask