Microsoft Publisher is being retired, and every brochure, flyer, newsletter and catalog saved as a PUB file is at risk. This article shows exactly how to export them to PDF, avoid font and layout problems, organize your archive, and republish the results as interactive flipbooks.
If you have spent years building brochures, flyers and newsletters in Microsoft Publisher, the retirement announcement probably hit a nerve. Every .pub file on your drive suddenly looks like a liability. The good news: saving them as PDFs takes a few clicks per file, and once they are PDFs you can even turn them into interactive pages on Flipbooks AI. This article walks through the whole process, from the first export to a clean, organized archive.
Short version: open each file in Publisher while you still can, export to PDF using the right quality setting, check fonts and images, then store the PDFs somewhere safe. Do it now, not after support ends.
Microsoft has announced that Publisher reaches end of life in October 2026. The app will stop receiving updates, and newer Microsoft 365 builds will no longer include it. Your files do not vanish overnight, but the risk grows every month.
Publisher was never a flashy tool, but it quietly powered a lot of small operations:
A PUB file is a proprietary format. Almost nothing else opens it well. Online viewers, Google Docs, Canva and Affinity all struggle with it, and results are often broken text boxes or missing images. Once Publisher is gone from your machine, the file becomes a locked box.
⚠️ Warning: Do not wait until your old computer fails or your Microsoft 365 plan updates. Export while the software still runs.
PDF is the one format every device, browser and printer can read. It locks in fonts, images and layout exactly as designed, which is the very thing Publisher users care about.
| Format | Keeps Layout | Opens Everywhere | Editable | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PUB | Yes | No | Only in Publisher | Nothing, going forward |
| Yes | Yes | Limited | Archive, print, sharing | |
| DOCX | Partly | Mostly | Yes | Text-heavy documents |
| PNG or JPG | Yes (flat) | Yes | No | Social posts, previews |
| Flipbook (from PDF) | Yes | Yes (browser) | Re-upload to update | Catalogs, brochures, newsletters |
If you need to keep editing a design, PDF alone will not be enough. For that reason, many people keep the PDF as the master record and rebuild only the designs they still plan to change. The majority of old files, such as last year's newsletter, simply need to be preserved.
Make two exports of anything important: one high quality print version and one small online version. Print versions can reach 40 MB or more, which is awkward to email. A lean version loads fast on a phone.
A few minutes of preparation prevents the most common problems later.
Files hide in more places than you expect. Search for *.pub in:
In Windows File Explorer, type *.pub in the search bar and sort by date modified. Anything you touched in the last three years deserves attention first.
Publisher can link to images instead of embedding them. If a linked photo has moved, your export will show a blank box. Open File > Info > Fix Linked Graphics to repair these before exporting.
Fonts matter just as much. If you used a decorative font that is installed only on one old computer, export on that computer. The PDF will embed it, and you never need the font again.
💡 Pro tip: Run the export from the same machine that created the file whenever possible. It avoids nearly every font substitution problem.
Create a folder called PUB-to-PDF and copy your originals into it. Never export in place. Keep the untouched originals in a separate backup, in case a future tool can read them better.
Here is the standard method. It works in Publisher 2010 and every version since.
| Setting | File Size | Image Quality | Use It When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum size (online publishing) | Very small | Low | Email attachments, quick previews |
| Standard (publishing online and printing) | Medium | Good | Most websites and office printers |
| High quality printing | Large | High | Professional printers |
| Commercial press | Largest | Highest | Offset printing, CMYK workflows |
For archiving, choose Standard. For anything a print shop might ever reuse, also save a High quality printing copy.
Sometimes the export dialog fails on a damaged file. A reliable backup is the printer route:
This flattens everything to a picture-like layout. Text may stay selectable, but hyperlinks and tags are lost, so treat it as a fallback.
If you have hundreds of PUB files, opening each one is painful. A few options make it faster.
Publisher supports VBA. A simple macro can open a folder of PUB files and export each one. Even if you have never written code, a short script from a trusted source and a test run on five files will save you hours.
LibreOffice Draw can open some PUB files directly. Results vary: simple text-and-photo flyers usually work, while heavy layouts with WordArt or special effects often break. Always compare the output against the original before deleting anything.
| Method | Speed | Accuracy | Skill Needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual export in Publisher | Slow | Excellent | None |
| VBA macro in Publisher | Fast | Excellent | Moderate |
| LibreOffice Draw | Fast | Mixed | Low |
| Online PUB converters | Fast | Mixed | None |
⚠️ Warning: Avoid uploading private files such as client contracts or customer price lists to unknown online converters. Use them only for material that is already public.
Even a clean workflow hits snags. These are the most frequent ones.
If the PDF shows a different typeface, the font was not available at export. Install it, reopen the file and export again. Open the PDF properties (Ctrl + D in Adobe Reader) and check the Fonts tab to confirm everything is embedded.
Blurriness almost always comes from choosing the minimum size setting. Re-export at Standard or higher. If the original image was low resolution to begin with, no export setting can recover detail.
Text that moved a few pixels usually means a font mismatch or a different printer driver was selected. Set the default printer to Microsoft Print to PDF before exporting and check again.
Links inside Publisher survive only the Export route, not the Print route. If your newsletter uses links, always use File > Export.
Converting is half the job. Without organization you will simply trade one mess for another.
Use a pattern such as 2025-03_spring-newsletter.pdf or menu_dinner_v3.pdf. Dates first sort chronologically. Avoid spaces and special characters if you plan to publish online.
| Folder | Contents |
|---|---|
| 01_Originals_PUB | Untouched source files |
| 02_PDF_Print | High quality exports |
| 03_PDF_Web | Standard or small exports |
| 04_Published | Files already live online |
Follow the classic rule: three copies, on two different types of storage, with one off-site. A cloud drive plus an external disk covers it.
✅ Best practice: Test your backup by opening five random PDFs on a different device. If they look right, your archive is real.
A folder of PDFs is safe, but it is not inviting. Customers do not enjoy downloading a 30 MB file just to read your menu. This is where flipbooks pay off.
A flipbook is a browser-based version of your PDF with realistic page turns. It loads quickly, works on phones and can be embedded in any website. For many former Publisher users, that is the natural next step: your layouts stay identical, but readers get a better experience.
| Feature | Plain PDF | Flipbook |
|---|---|---|
| Page-turn effect | No | Yes |
| Mobile friendly | Pinch and zoom | Responsive |
| Embed in a website | Awkward | One snippet |
| Track readers | No | Yes, with analytics |
| Password protection | Limited | Built in |
| Always up to date | Manual resend | Replace the file once |
Follow these steps once your PDF is ready.
No watermarks appear on your pages, and your original PDF layout remains untouched.
On the Professional plan you get reader analytics, lead capture forms and offline downloads. See pricing plans to compare. Analytics in particular tells you which pages people actually read, which printed flyers never could.
Here is how different users handle the switch.
A clothing boutique had six years of seasonal lookbooks built in Publisher. She exported each as PDF, then uploaded them to the Interactive Lookbook Designer. Her customers now flip through collections on their phones, and she embeds the latest one on her homepage.
A school secretary produced a monthly newsletter in Publisher. She now exports it to PDF and publishes it with the School Newsletter Creator. Parents receive one link instead of a heavy email attachment.
A restaurant kept menus as PUB files. After exporting to PDF, the manager used the Restaurant Menu Creator so a QR code on every table always points to the current menu. Updating a price means replacing one file.
An agent with dozens of property brochures converted them to PDFs and then used the Real Estate Brochure Creator to publish each listing with a shareable link.
| Your PUB File Was A | Try This Tool |
|---|---|
| Product price sheet | Digital Price List Generator |
| Brochure | Brochure Flipbook Maker |
| Newsletter | Newsletter Flipbook Publisher |
| Event schedule | Event Program Maker |
| Catalog | Catalog Flipbook Creator |
Some files are living documents. For those, you need a new editing tool.
Think about what you actually need:
Rebuild only what you will edit in the next twelve months. Archive the rest as PDF. This saves dozens of hours and keeps your focus on documents that still earn their keep.
You do not need to do everything at once. A short schedule keeps it manageable.
| Day | Task |
|---|---|
| 1 | Search every drive and cloud folder for .pub files |
| 2 | Copy originals into a safe backup folder |
| 3 | Export your top 10 most used files to PDF |
| 4 | Check fonts, images and links in each PDF |
| 5 | Export the remaining files in batches |
| 6 | Rename and organize the PDF archive |
| 7 | Publish your best documents as flipbooks |
Publisher's retirement is an annoyance, but not a disaster. Export your files while the software still runs, check the results, and keep your PDFs in more than one place. Then give your best material a second life online.
Ready to publish? Get started for free on Flipbooks AI and convert your first PDF today. Browse all flipbook tools and templates to find the right fit, or compare pricing plans to pick what works for your business.
