How do I open a .pub file without Publisher?

LibreOffice Draw imports many Publisher documents for free, with some shifting of fonts and layout. The cleaner answer is to ask whoever sent it for a PDF export.

Can Word open a .pub file?

No. Despite both being Microsoft Office applications, Word cannot read Publisher documents. Only Publisher itself, or an importer such as LibreOffice Draw.

File extensions

How to open a .pub file

Microsoft Publisher document · Document

A .pub file is a Microsoft Publisher document. Microsoft is retiring Publisher in October 2026, so this is a format on its way out. LibreOffice Draw opens many .pub files, imperfectly but usefully.

What a .pub file actually is

Publisher was Microsoft's desktop publishing application, used for newsletters, flyers and leaflets. Its format is proprietary and was never widely supported elsewhere.

Microsoft has announced Publisher reaches end of support in October 2026 and is removing it from Microsoft 365, which means .pub files are becoming legacy documents with a shrinking set of ways to read them.

Why it will not open

Publisher only ever shipped on Windows and only in some Office editions, so most people simply do not have it. Word cannot open a .pub either, which surprises people who assume Office formats are interchangeable.

Renaming it to an extension you can open will not help: changing the extension does not convert the file, it only changes what Windows tries to open it with.

Step by step

Windows

01If you have Publisher, double-click. Check whether your Microsoft 365 subscription still includes it, given the retirement.
02Without it, install LibreOffice and open the file in Draw. It imports the layout with reasonable fidelity, though fonts and complex effects shift.
03Best long-term move: ask the sender for a PDF. Publisher exports to PDF and that version opens anywhere, forever.
04If it is your own document and you still have Publisher, export everything important to PDF now, before the retirement removes your ability to open it.

macOS

01Publisher never existed for macOS.
02LibreOffice Draw is the only realistic local option, otherwise request a PDF.

What usually goes wrong

Publisher is being retired

Microsoft has confirmed Publisher reaches end of support in October 2026 and disappears from Microsoft 365. If you hold .pub files that matter, convert them to PDF while you still have something that opens them.

Programs that open .pub

Our pick, in order. Every one links to the publisher's official download URL and the SHA-256 hash of the installer. Once you have downloaded it, you can check the file against our index before you run it.

If you end up downloading one of these from somewhere other than the publisher, what you can and cannot verify about that is worth two minutes.

LibreOfficeLibreOffice is a free and powerful office suite, and a successor to OpenOffice.org (commonly known as OpenOffice). Its clean interface and feature-rich tools help you unleash your creativity and enhance your productivity.v26.2.5.2 · 3 hashed installers100

Common questions

How do I open a .pub file without Publisher?: LibreOffice Draw imports many Publisher documents for free, with some shifting of fonts and layout. The cleaner answer is to ask whoever sent it for a PDF export.
Can Word open a .pub file?: No. Despite both being Microsoft Office applications, Word cannot read Publisher documents. Only Publisher itself, or an importer such as LibreOffice Draw.