For Microsoft Publisher files · nothing uploaded
Rescue your old Publisher files.
Publisher has gone from Microsoft 365, but your newsletters, certificates and notices don't have to go with it. Open any .pub file here, see every page, and keep it as a PDF. Free, and your files never leave this computer.
- Files never leave your computer
- Publisher 98 to 2021 and Microsoft 365
- Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPad
Drop your Publisher files here
One file, lots of files, or a ZIP of a whole folder. They stay on this computer.
The converter loads in the background once the page is ready.
Text from this file
How it works
Three steps, no account, nothing to install.
- 1
Drop your files
One .pub file, a handful, or a ZIP of a whole folder. Old ones from Publisher 98 and 2000 too.
- 2
Check the pages
Every page appears in a few seconds, with its pictures, clip art, tables and columns. Click through them to make sure it's all there.
- 3
Keep them
Download a PDF, print it, copy all the text out, or save the pictures. The PDF has real, searchable text.
Why nothing is uploaded
Publisher files are full of people: class lists, certificates with pupils' names, rotas with phone numbers, parish directories. Most online converters send your file to their servers. This one doesn't. The converter is downloaded to your browser and works on your file right there, so the file and the PDF stay on your computer.
It's built for schools, churches, charities and small offices that need to be able to say where their data goes. The page's security policy only lets it talk to this site and to Cloudflare's visit counter, and the only note it sends about a file is whether it opened. You can check: load the page, disconnect from the internet, and it still converts.
What comes through
- Text with its sizes, colours, bold, italic and underlining
- Photos at full quality, and old clip art (WMF and EMF) redrawn sharply
- Linked text boxes: stories flow from column to column, and text wraps around pictures
- Shapes, lines, borders and tables
- Every page at its real size, in one PDF with the fonts embedded
Where it differs
- Fonts that can't legally be shared are drawn in open stand-ins. Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New, Calibri and Cambria match exactly in width; others are close.
- WordArt shapes and some special effects may be simplified.
- Publisher 97 files open with some limits; Publisher 95 and older don't open.
One-time unlock
For the big clear-out
Opening, viewing, printing and downloading each file's PDF are free and stay free. The unlock saves time when there are hundreds of files.
- Batch to PDF: drop a folder's worth of files or a ZIP and get one ZIP of PDFs back, with the same names.
- Word files of the text: every text box and table as an editable .docx, with bold, italic, sizes and fonts kept.
- One payment, no account, no subscription. Files still never leave your computer.
£9 once
Coming soon
It isn't on sale yet, so there's nothing to pay today. Everything free on this page works now.
Payment is handled by Stripe. You come back here and it unlocks in this browser.
Unlocked in this browser
Drop your files above, then use "Download all as PDFs" in the file list, or "Word file" for any file.
Guides
Plain answers about Publisher files now that Publisher has been retired.
- Publisher is retired: your optionsPublisher left Microsoft 365 on 1 October 2026. An honest guide to every option for your old .pub files: PDFs, LibreOffice Draw, an old copy of Publisher, Word and more.
- Open a .pub file without PublisherHow to open a Microsoft Publisher .pub file when you don't have Publisher: view every page in your browser, then save it as a PDF. Nothing to install and nothing uploaded.
- Open a .pub file on a MacThere was never a Mac version of Microsoft Publisher. Here is how to open a .pub file on a Mac or MacBook, see every page and save it as a PDF, without installing anything.
- PUB to PDF without uploadingMost .pub to PDF converters upload your file to their servers. This one runs entirely in your browser, so files with names, addresses or pupils' details stay on your computer.
- Convert a whole folder of .pub filesHave hundreds of old .pub files? Drop many at once, or a ZIP of a whole folder, and convert them in your browser. Free one at a time; one ZIP of PDFs with the unlock.
- Publisher 98 and 2000 filesFiles from Publisher 98, 2000 and 2002 are a different format from later versions and many converters skip them. Here is how to open and convert them, and what to expect.
- School files and pupils' dataSchool .pub files often hold pupils' names and details. How to convert them to PDF without uploading them to a third-party server, and what to tell your data protection lead.
- Edit a .pub file without PublisherThe honest answer on editing .pub files without Microsoft Publisher: LibreOffice Draw, copying the text out, rebuilding in Word, and what does and doesn't work.
Questions
Is it really free?
Opening files, looking through the pages, downloading a PDF of each file, printing, copying the text and saving the pictures are all free, for as many files as you like. A one-time unlock for converting a whole batch into one ZIP of PDFs, and for Word files of the text, is coming soon.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The converter runs in your browser, on your computer. The file and the PDF never leave it. The page only tells our server whether a file opened, and if not a short reason, never the file or anything in it.
Which Publisher versions work?
Publisher 98 to 2021 and Microsoft 365 files open fully. Publisher 97 files open with some limits. Files from Publisher 95 or earlier aren't supported, and the page will tell you so.
Will it look exactly like it did in Publisher?
Very close, but not always identical. Fonts that can't legally be shared are drawn in open stand-ins; Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New, Calibri and Cambria are matched in width exactly, others approximately. Unusual effects (WordArt shapes, some shadows) may be simplified. Always look through the pages before you delete an original.
Does it work on a Mac, iPad or Chromebook?
Yes. It runs in any modern browser: Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox, on Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, Linux and iPad.
Can I edit the file?
Not here. You can copy all the text out, and LibreOffice Draw (free) can open .pub files for editing. See the editing guide.
Is this made by Microsoft?
No. Rescue Pub Files is an independent tool. It isn't made, endorsed or supported by Microsoft.