Why can't Microsoft create a way to convert from Publisher to Word? We have thousands of Publisher files.

Question

Microsoft should find a way to convert Publisher files to Word since after October 2026, no one will be able to use Publisher. This creates quite a hardship on everyone who has 25 plus years of Publisher files that are still needed. We have thousands of files that will need to be re-created in Word.

We trusted that Publisher would be there, just like Word. Microsoft owes it's customers to create a converter to convert in bulk, all pub files into docx files.

My personal home Publisher files and our business Publisher files are in the thousands.

Answer 1

Dear @Therese Beck,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Based on your description, you wonder why Microsoft hasn’t provided a bulk converter to convert Publisher (.pub) files to Word (.docx) before Publisher is retired in October 2026.

Unfortunately, at this time, there has not released an official bulk converter that directly converts Publisher (.pub) files to Word (.docx) while preserving layout and structure.

In addition to the Publisher-to-Word conversion options already described in Microsoft’s official articles, such as:

Publisher files can be saved individually as Word (.docx) files from within Publisher; however, this is a manual process, and layout fidelity may vary for complex designs.

Microsoft has shared sample PowerShell scripts to help automate bulk export of Publisher files to PDF. This approach is suitable for archiving purposes but not for continued editing in Word. These scripts are provided for instructional purposes only and do not represent a full migration solution to Word.
For more detail information Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026

I strongly encourage customers affected by this scenario to submit feedback through Ideas · Community. Requests for a supported bulk conversion tool from .pub to .docx have been raised by multiple users. Our product team is in charge of the site, and they constantly check customer reviews and feedback, the higher votes, the more attention the related team will pay on. And a lot of the features are developed and improved based on customer feedback. You also can leave feedback link here for other users who have the similar issue can upvote.

Note: Please understand that as forum moderator, my primary goal is to provide helpful guidance and support through general troubleshooting steps. While I don’t have access to internal systems or test devices required to resolve backend issues, I truly appreciate your understanding of these limitations. I genuinely hope the information I share helps guide you in the right direction, and I'm always here to assist as much as I can within my scope.   

Thank you for your understanding. If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out.

Answer 2

Microsoft has acknowledged the discontinuation of support for Microsoft Publisher, which will end on October 1, 2026. While there is currently no direct bulk conversion tool from Publisher to Word, users can convert Publisher files to PDF in bulk using a PowerShell script. This method allows you to automate the conversion process for multiple files, although it does not convert them directly to Word format.

For those needing to transition from Publisher to Word, it may be necessary to recreate the documents manually in Word after converting them to PDF, as there is no official converter from Publisher files to Word documents provided by Microsoft at this time.

It is understandable that this situation poses challenges for users with extensive Publisher file collections, and while Microsoft has not committed to creating a bulk conversion tool to Word, users are encouraged to explore the available options for managing their files before the end of support date.