Publisher .pub to PDF Converter: Batch, No Publisher Needed

Convert Microsoft Publisher (.pub) files to PDF in bulk, without Publisher, without Windows and without uploading files one by one to a website. Give the Actor links to your .pub files or to ZIP archives full of them (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive/SharePoint, any direct link), or upload them to Apify storage. You get one row per file with a PDF link, plus one ZIP of everything, named after your originals, with your folder structure kept.

Microsoft retired Publisher on October 1, 2026: Microsoft 365 no longer includes it, and Microsoft's own advice is to convert .pub files to PDF or Word while you still can. Microsoft's batch-conversion route is a PowerShell script that needs Windows and a working copy of Publisher. This Actor needs neither.

What you get for every file

Format	What it is	Good for
PDF (default)	Print-ready PDF of every page	Sharing, printing, archiving
PDF/A-2b (option)	ISO archiving standard: fonts embedded, no external links	Retiring a Publisher archive for good, records management
PNG	One image per page (50–300 DPI)	Websites, social posts, previews, thumbnails
Text (.txt)	The text of every page, laid out like the page	Search, indexing, feeding AI tools, copy-paste
ODG	Editable drawing for LibreOffice Draw (free)	Editing layouts without Publisher
DOCX (beta)	Word document with positioned text boxes	Quick text edits in Word

All formats you pick are included in the one per-file price.

Who it is for

• Schools, churches, clubs, councils and small businesses with years of newsletters, flyers, bulletins and brochures in .pub format.
• IT admins migrating a shared drive away from Publisher before people lose access.
• Archivists and records managers who need PDF/A copies of legacy files.
• Mac and Linux users who were sent a .pub file and have nothing to open it with.
• Developers and AI agents that need .pub support in a pipeline (Apify API, webhooks, MCP server).

How to use it

With links (fastest):

1. Paste links into Links to Publisher files or ZIP archives, one per line. Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive/SharePoint links work when the file or folder ZIP is shared as "Anyone with the link"; they are turned into direct downloads automatically. Any other direct https:// link works too.
2. Pick the output formats (PDF is selected by default).
3. Start the run. Each file appears as a row with its links as soon as it is converted.
4. Download single files from the table, or everything as converted-files.zip (the link is in the run's OUTPUT record, under Storage > Key-value store).

With files from your computer:

1. Under the links field, click Upload new files, choose New permanent storage, give it a name (for example publisher-files) and upload your .pub files or ZIP archives.
2. In Uploaded files: the storage you uploaded them to, select that storage. Apify only lets tools read storages you select, which keeps the rest of your account private.
3. Start the run. Every file in that storage is converted once.

Input example

{
    "files": [
        "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AbC.../view?usp=sharing",
        "https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xyz/Newsletters-2019-2024.zip?rlkey=abc&dl=0"
    ],
    "outputFormats": ["pdf", "png", "txt"],
    "pdfA": false,
    "imageDpi": 150,
    "bundleZip": true
}

Files you uploaded instead: {"filesStore": "publisher-files", "outputFormats": ["pdf"]} (the storage name or ID).

Output example

One row per input file:

{
    "fileName": "Spring newsletter.pub",
    "archivePath": "Newsletters/2024/Spring newsletter.pub",
    "source": "https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xyz/Newsletters-2019-2024.zip?rlkey=abc&dl=0",
    "status": "converted",
    "pages": 4,
    "pdfUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/.../records/00003-Spring-newsletter.pdf?signature=...",
    "outputs": {
        "pdf": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/.../records/00003-Spring-newsletter.pdf?signature=...",
        "txt": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/.../records/00003-Spring-newsletter.txt?signature=...",
        "png": ["https://.../00003-Spring-newsletter-p001.png?signature=...", "..."]
    },
    "inputBytes": 1630208,
    "warning": null,
    "error": null,
    "convertedAt": "2026-10-22T14:03:11Z"
}

Field	Meaning
fileName	Original file name
archivePath	Path inside your ZIP (folders kept), or null
status	converted, failed or skipped
pages	Number of pages in the PDF
pdfUrl	Link to the PDF (also in outputs.pdf)
outputs	Links for every format you picked (png is a list, one link per page)
warning	For example, no text found (image-only pages) or a format that could not be made
error	Why a file was skipped or failed

The run's OUTPUT record has the totals and zipUrls, the links to the ZIP of everything.

Pricing

Pay per converted file: $0.03 per file (less on higher Apify plans), with every output format included, plus a $0.005 start fee per run. Files that fail or are skipped are free: damaged files, password-protected entries, non-Publisher files, broken links. Set a maximum cost per run and the Actor stops converting when it is reached.

Example: an archive of 300 newsletters costs about $9.

How it works and what to expect

The Actor runs LibreOffice, whose Publisher import (libmspub) reads files from Publisher 97 onwards, including Publisher 2019 and Microsoft 365. Files from Publisher 95 and older are not supported (they are listed as failed and are free). Most text, shapes, tables and pictures come through.

Our test results. We ran 18 real Publisher files through it, 13 of them files that people had reported to LibreOffice as hard to open. 16 converted. The other 2 (a Publisher 2.0 file and one with an unusual text encoding) came out blank, so they were marked failed and were free. In 3 of the 16, some details came out simpler (WordArt missing, a title overlapping). Plain newsletters, flyers, certificates and booklets came through well. Speed: about half a second per file once LibreOffice has started.

Things to know:

• Fonts. Your files' fonts are not inside the .pub file. Common Microsoft fonts are replaced with free look-alikes that have the same letter widths (Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New, Calibri, Cambria). Rare fonts fall back to a similar font, so text can wrap slightly differently.
• Complex effects. WordArt, some text effects and unusual borders may look simpler than in Publisher.
• Check your important files. Open a few PDFs from each batch before you delete any originals. Keep the .pub files until you are happy.
• DOCX is beta. It is made from the PDF, so the layout is kept with text boxes. That is fine for small edits but not for re-flowing long text.

Privacy

Files are processed inside your own Apify run and stored in your run's storage, which only you can open unless you share the links. The output links are signed links: anyone who has a link can open that one file, so share them with care. Storage is removed according to your Apify plan's data retention. The Actor never sends your files anywhere else.

FAQ

Can I open .pub files on a Mac? Not with Microsoft software: Publisher never had a Mac version. This Actor converts them in the cloud, so you only need a browser.

What about password-protected or corrupt files? They are listed with status: "failed" and an explanation, and they are free.

Can I call it from code or an AI agent? Yes. Use the Apify API or any Apify client with files set to your links. For AI agents, add this Actor to Apify's MCP server (mcp.apify.com), which exposes it as a tool for Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients, so an agent can turn a .pub link into a PDF link and its text.

Why does a blank result count as failed? If the pages come out empty, the converter could not read that file (very old Publisher versions, for example). Such files are marked failed and you are not charged.

What happened to Publisher? Microsoft ended support on October 1, 2026. Microsoft 365 apps no longer include Publisher, and Microsoft recommends converting files to PDF or Word.

This Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft. Microsoft and Publisher are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.