Microsoft dropped Publisher this month, and Word cannot open its files directly. Updates start removing it from some Microsoft 365 PCs mid-November.
Microsoft ended support for Publisher's perpetual versions on 13 October, The Register reported on 23 October.
The desktop-publishing app left Microsoft 365 subscriptions on 1 October. Devices on a slower monthly enterprise channel follow in early December.
Microsoft suggested Word and PowerPoint instead, but neither opens Publisher's .pub files directly. The free LibreOffice Draw can import them.
PubKeep, from Texas-based Saint Systems, opens .pub files from Publisher 2000 to 2021 on Windows and macOS for a one-time $99, with a year of support. "Microsoft never published a spec for the .pub format," founder Adam Anderly told The Register. His team worked out the format from files and PDFs Publisher saves, alongside open-source code. It says it never decompiled Publisher.
The Register says the firm uses Claude Code, an AI coding tool, to reproduce reported problems and write fixes. PubKeep opened every .pub file the outlet tried, in a test it called far from exhaustive.
For IT teams, a retired app leaves an archive behind: years of brochures, forms and newsletters that still need to open.
Sources
Our file on Microsoft
- 23 Oct
Microsoft, Oracle and 3 peers have $2.7 trillion in AI commitments, a study found. None is on balance sheets yet.
- 23 Oct
Microsoft says hackers aimed AI agents at over 2,250 company Microsoft 365 accounts. Most attempts failed, but some won privileged access.
- 23 Oct
OpenAI said its models will reach 3 clouds in the coming weeks. Procurement teams check whether terms differ.
- 22 Oct
Microsoft added new controls for European cloud customers. A Gartner analyst said he "would not call this complete control."
- 20 Oct
ValueLicensing sued Microsoft for £270m. A court refused Microsoft's bid to appeal.
For your next steering committee
- 1Ask which design decisions in your programme would be expensive to reverse, and when each was last reviewed.
- 2Ask which expected benefits change if the implementation approach changes.
- 3Ask who owns a decision to change course, and where it would be recorded.
Issue 01 of the ERP LEADERS brief puts a timeline, the three-number review and six questions on one page. Read issue 01
Welcome back. · Issue 01
