Open PUB File Online (no Publisher needed)
Someone emailed you a file ending in .pub, you double-clicked it, and your computer had no idea what to do with it. That’s normal: .pub is Microsoft Publisher’s own format, and unless Publisher is installed — which fewer and fewer computers have, now that Microsoft is retiring the program — nothing on Windows or Mac will open it. Not Word, not Adobe Reader, not your browser.
The good news: you don’t need to buy or install anything. Drop the file below and we’ll open it right here, rendering every page the way Publisher would — the newsletter, flyer or bulletin exactly as its author laid it out. Reading it costs nothing and takes about ten seconds. If you want to keep it, one more click saves it as a PDF that opens anywhere, forever.
Opening PUB files — common questions
Can I open a .pub file without Microsoft Publisher?
Yes — that’s exactly what this page does. Drop the file above and we render every page in your browser. No Publisher, no installation. Want to keep it? Download it as a PDF with one click.
Can Microsoft Word open a .pub file?
No. Word doesn’t read the .pub format, even though both are Microsoft programs. Publisher files need either Publisher itself or a tool built specifically to read the format, like this one. There’s a longer rundown on our what opens PUB files page.
Does this work on a Mac or Chromebook?
Yes. Everything runs in the browser, so it works the same on Windows, Mac, Chromebooks, tablets and phones. Publisher was never even available on Mac — this is the simplest way to open a .pub file there.
Will the file look the same as it did in Publisher?
In almost all cases, yes — our renderer lays out pages the way Publisher does. If your file uses one of the rare features we can’t fully reproduce, a warning appears above the preview, so you know before you rely on it.