Publisher is retiring on October 1, 2026. What to do with your files

Microsoft is retiring Publisher. Here's what that means in plain English, and a simple plan to make sure you don't lose years of newsletters, bulletins and flyers.

What changes

• Microsoft 365 subscribers: Publisher stops opening on October 1, 2026 and disappears from installs. Your .pub files stay on your computer, but you can't open or edit them with Publisher any more.
• Publisher 2021 / 2019 (one-time purchase): keeps running, but support ends October 13, 2026, so there are no more security fixes.
• Other programs: almost nothing opens .pub files faithfully. Canva, Word and Google Docs can't open them directly.

Your plan (15 minutes)

1. Find your files. Search your PC, OneDrive and shared drives for *.pub. Church offices, schools and clubs often have years of them in shared folders.
2. Convert them to PDF. A PDF keeps the exact look forever and opens anywhere.
   • A few files, and you still have Publisher: File → Save As → PDF.
   • Lots of files, and you still have Publisher: use our free batch script.
   • No Publisher, a Mac, or no time: upload them to PubRescue and get PDFs, images and Word files back in minutes.
3. Pick a new tool for next time. Common choices are Canva (it imports PDFs as editable designs), Word, PowerPoint for free-form layouts, and Affinity Publisher or Adobe InDesign for print design.
4. Keep the originals. Store the .pub files next to their PDFs, just in case.