1. LibreOffice Draw: edit the layout (free)
LibreOffice is free and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. Open the .pub file with LibreOffice and it opens in Draw, where you can change text, move boxes, swap pictures and export a PDF. It isn't Publisher, and complex files may need tidying, but it's the only free way to edit the layout itself. It needs installing, so you may need permission on a work or school computer.
2. Copy the words out, then rebuild
For documents you remake every year (a rota, a class list, a programme), it's often quickest to rebuild one clean template in Word, Pages or Google Docs and paste the text in. Drop the file on this page and press Text to copy every word out, page by page. A Word file of the text, with bold, italic, sizes and fonts kept, is coming as part of the unlock.
3. PDF, then Word
This is Microsoft's suggested route: make a PDF, then open the PDF in Word, which converts it into an editable document. Microsoft warns the layout may change. It works best for simple, text-heavy pages.
4. An old copy of Publisher
If you still own Publisher 2021 or an older bought-once version, it keeps working, without updates. For a large set of complex files you'll keep editing for years, that may be the least work.
Which route for which file?
- Just need to keep or print it: a PDF. Nothing more to do.
- A one-off change to a few words: LibreOffice Draw, then save as PDF.
- A template you reuse every term or every year: rebuild it once in the app you use now, using the text copied out of the old file.
- Hundreds of complex files you'll keep editing: keep an old copy of Publisher on one computer.
What this page does and doesn't do
Rescue Pub Files opens, shows, prints and converts .pub files. It doesn't edit them, and it can't save a .pub file. We'd rather say so plainly than let you find out halfway through.