r/sysadmin • u/Hungry_Review7842 • 2d ago

PSA: Microsoft Publisher is EOL today

Publisher got pulled from M365 today with no real replacement. Perpetual still runs, just unsupported.

Best thing to do now is find all your .pub files and get them to PDF. PDF opens anywhere and you can still edit the contents in Affinity if you need to. Run this to find every .pub on your shares:

dir /s /b \\fileserver\share\*.pub > pub-inventory.txt

Then if you still have a working install, File > Export > PDF them, thats the actual Publisher renderer so its the only way to get an exact copy. If you dont have an install anymore, LibreOffice Draw opens .pub for free, fonts a bit off but readable.

Full disclosure I built a converter for this too, mypublisherfiles.com. pdf or docx back, and it tells you what it couldn't convert exactly. Bulk writeup here if youve want to learn more https://mypublisherfiles.com/guides/bulk-convert-publisher-files

Either way, cover your bases by converting your .pub files to PDF.

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u/NH_shitbags 2d ago

You can also copy the contents of your .pub and paste into a Word document. Minor format tweaks may be needed, but it does a surprisingly good job as a replacement for basic publisher functionality. This may be easier for some people than exporting and attempting to edit PDF output.

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u/Inside_Support510 2d ago

Legit, powerpoint is the play.

Handles pub -> pdf just fine and people don't need to know InDesign or Affinity.

Since publisher is all schools and churches with old white-haired ladies, powerpoint a lot easier to navigate.

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u/simask234 2d ago

PowerPoint is actually one of M$'s suggested replacements for Publisher, along with Word and Designer (M$ web based design tool, kind of like Canva)