Publisher EOL: Save Your .pub Files Before Oct 13, 2026

Microsoft Publisher has been the quiet workhorse of churches, schools, clubs and small businesses since 1991 — the program behind countless Sunday bulletins, PTA newsletters and fundraiser flyers. On October 13, 2026, Microsoft retires it for good. This page explains what actually happens on that date, what it means for the .pub files sitting on your computer, and exactly what to do about it — in an afternoon, for free.

The timeline: how Publisher is being retired

1991–2021. Publisher ships in over a dozen versions, bundled with many Office editions. Millions of organizations standardize on it for anything laid out on a page.

2023. Microsoft quietly announces that Publisher will not be developed further and sets a retirement date. No .pub support is added to Word, PowerPoint or any successor — there is no official "next Publisher."

2024–2026. Publisher disappears from new Microsoft 365 installations. Existing users start seeing in-app end-of-life notices. Meanwhile, the pool of computers that can open a .pub file shrinks with every replaced laptop.

October 13, 2026. Official end of support. Microsoft 365 subscribers lose access to Publisher entirely — it stops working, not just stops updating. Perpetual-license copies (Publisher 2019/2021 bought outright) keep launching on the machines where they're installed, but get no fixes, no security updates, and no way to install on a future computer.

What stops working — and what doesn't

Your .pub files themselves don't change: they'll still sit on your hard drive, byte for byte. What changes is the world around them. After EOL there is no supported program that opens them, no Microsoft help when one won't open, and — the part people discover too late — no easy way to open a .pub on a new computer. When the office PC with Publisher 2016 finally dies, its .pub archive becomes a shelf of books in a language nobody nearby reads. The files that matter aren't gone; they're just locked.

Rescue checklist: an afternoon to save the archive

  • Find every .pub file. Search each computer (and old USB sticks, shared drives, email attachments) for *.pub. You'll likely find more than you expect — bulletins going back years.
  • Sort keepers from junk. Anything you might ever need to read, print or show someone is a keeper: newsletters, certificates, event programs, letterheads. When in doubt, keep — a PDF costs nothing to store.
  • Convert each keeper to PDF. If you still have Publisher: File → Export → Create PDF/XPS. If not, use the converter at the top of this page — about 15 seconds per file, with a preview so you can confirm each one came out right.
  • Keep the originals too. Don't delete the .pub files after converting — archive them in a folder next to the PDFs. Storage is cheap, and a future tool may open them better than anything today.
  • Rebuild living templates in a modern tool. For documents you re-issue every week or month — the bulletin, the newsletter — recreate the template once in Canva, Word or Affinity Publisher, using your fresh PDF as the visual reference.

Everything else on this site, in one place

Publisher end-of-life — common questions

Will Publisher stop launching on October 13, 2026?

For Microsoft 365 subscribers, yes — Publisher is removed and stops working after that date. Perpetual-license copies (like Publisher 2021 bought outright) keep launching, but receive no support or security updates, and won't install on future computers.

Do I need to convert every .pub file I have?

Convert everything you might ever need to read, print or show someone. Skip only true junk. A PDF costs nothing to keep, and converting a file takes about fifteen seconds.

What should I use instead of Publisher going forward?

Microsoft points users toward Word and PowerPoint for simple layouts. Popular alternatives are Canva (free, online, template-driven), Affinity Publisher (one-time purchase, professional) and LibreOffice Draw (free). None of them open .pub files well — so convert your archive first.

My .pub files still open today. Why act now?

Because the number of computers that can open them only shrinks from here. Every Office update, every replaced laptop and every retired volunteer takes another working copy of Publisher out of circulation. Converting while it's easy beats scrambling when the last copy is gone.