pub2pdf

A single-file executable for Windows, macOS and Linux to convert Microsoft Publisher files to PDF, due to Microsoft Publisher reaching end of life in October 2026.

This is based on Convert-PubFileToPDF.ps1, the not very user-friendly PowerShell script that Microsoft recommends, but is much simpler to use.

Copy pub2pdf.exe (or equivalent for Mac/Linux) into a folder containing Publisher files, and double-click it to create a .pdf copy of every .pub file in the folder.

Nothing needs to be installed to run it except a program that can read .pub, no Python, no .NET, no Go runtime, no PowerShell execution-policy changes.

Requirements

• Windows (64-bit) 10-11, macOS 12 Monterey or later, or Linux (kernel 3.2 or later)
• Microsoft Publisher or LibreOffice installed. .pub is a proprietary format, so an app that can read them is required. Publisher is used when installed, automated through COM, otherwise the tool falls back to LibreOffice, run headlessly. On macOS and Linux only LibreOffice is used.

If you are using this after October 2026 and you don't have a working version of Publisher, the only option is to download and use LibreOffice.

Which converter is used

Publisher is tried first and then LibreOffice if it is missing. Publisher renders its own format faithfully and LibreOffice's .pub import (libmspub) is approximate, so text frames, fonts and complex layouts can shift. The final summary says when the fallback is used, so the PDFs can be checked.

LibreOffice is found on PATH, in the usual Program Files locations, or through the install path the installer records in the registry. It works using a private, temporary user profile, so conversion works even while LibreOffice is open on the desktop.

--libreoffice forces it in preference to Publisher.

Installation

1. Download the release (recommended)

Download the file for your platform from the latest release:

Computer	Download
Windows	pub2pdf.exe
Windows on ARM	pub2pdf-arm64.exe
Mac with Apple silicon (M1+)	pub2pdf-mac.tar.gz
Intel Mac	pub2pdf-mac-intel.tar.gz
Linux	pub2pdf-linux.tar.gz
Linux on ARM	pub2pdf-linux-arm64.tar.gz

The Mac and Linux downloads are archives, so they keep the program's permission to run. Double-click to extract (or tar xzf <file>), and the program inside is ready to use as is.

Copy the program into the folder with your Publisher files. Nothing else is needed.

2. go install

With Go 1.26 or later installed:

go install github.com/rdawebb/pub2pdf@latest

This puts pub2pdf.exe in %USERPROFILE%\go\bin on Windows, or pub2pdf in ~/go/bin on macOS and Linux. Copy it next to your Publisher files, or run it with a folder path, as it converts the folder it sits in by default.

3. Build from source

Requires Git and Go 1.26 or later.

From macOS or Linux:

git clone https://github.com/rdawebb/pub2pdf.git
cd pub2pdf
./build.sh            # for this machine
./build.sh windows    # or mac / linux

Set GOARCH to override the architecture, e.g. GOARCH=amd64 ./build.sh mac for an Intel Mac, or GOARCH=arm64 ./build.sh windows for Windows on ARM.

On Windows, ./build.sh works in Git Bash or WSL. From PowerShell, run the two steps directly:

git clone https://github.com/rdawebb/pub2pdf.git
cd pub2pdf
go run github.com/josephspurrier/goversioninfo/cmd/goversioninfo@v1.7.0 -64 -manifest=pub2pdf.manifest -icon=icon.ico -o resource_windows_amd64.syso versioninfo.json
$env:GOARCH="amd64"; $env:CGO_ENABLED="0"; go build -trimpath -o pub2pdf.exe .

Either way, this writes pub2pdf.exe (or pub2pdf-mac / pub2pdf-linux) into the repo folder.

First run on Windows

The exe has been submitted to Microsoft for verification, so it should download and run with no issues, but occasionally the first launch may raise: "Windows protected your PC — Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognised app from starting"

In that case click More info → Run anyway. It should only be asked once per copy of the file, if at all, but in most cases it downloads and works just fine and this isn't a concern.

First run on macOS

The Mac program isn't notarised by Apple, so the first launch of a downloaded copy is blocked with "pub2pdf-mac" cannot be opened. Click Done, then open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway next to the message about pub2pdf-mac. This is only needed once per copy.

Alternatively, clear the download flag in Terminal before running it:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine pub2pdf-mac

Usage

Command	Effect
double-click	convert .pub files sitting next to the exe
pub2pdf.exe -r	include subdirectories
pub2pdf.exe --overwrite	replace existing PDFs instead of skipping
pub2pdf.exe "C:\Docs"	convert a different folder
pub2pdf.exe "C:\Docs\one.pub"	convert a single file
pub2pdf.exe --libreoffice	use LibreOffice even if Publisher is installed
pub2pdf.exe --no-pause	don't wait for a keypress (for scripts/scheduling)
pub2pdf.exe --no-dialog	don't show the summary pop-up

Flags and the path may be given in any order. Exit code is 0 on success, 1 if any file failed, 2 for a bad command line.

When double-clicked, a standard Windows message box reports how many files were converted, skipped and failed (naming the failures), and the program exits when it is dismissed. --no-dialog falls back to behaviour of holding the console window open until Enter is pressed. When run from an existing terminal neither happens, and the output stays in the shell and the program exits immediately.

Differences from the PowerShell script

• No -Filter argument. The folder is implied by where the exe sits, which is what makes double-clicking work. It resolves its own location rather than the shell's working directory, so it behaves the same however it is launched.
• An existing PDF is a skip, not an error, and is counted separately. The original script counted it as a failure, so re-running a finished folder reported everything as errors. --overwrite forces re-export.
• Publisher is not launched at all if every document already has a PDF.
• Publisher always shuts down. In the original, a Continue after a failed open skipped $doc.Close(), and an early exit 1 bypassed the finally block, and both could leave a stray PUBLISHER.EXE running. Here the document close and the app quit are deferred, so they run on every path.
• Case-insensitive matching, so .PUB files are picked up too.
• LibreOffice fallback. The script reported an error per file and stopped when Publisher was missing. This converts with LibreOffice instead if it is installed.