How to turn a Microsoft Publisher newsletter into a Word document

Microsoft recommends Word for newsletters now that Publisher is retired. Getting an old newsletter into Word is possible, but there is no perfect one-click route. The easiest way is EditMyPub, which turns your .pub file into a Word document that keeps each page's layout, with nothing to install.

The easy way: EditMyPub

EditMyPub makes a Word (.docx) file that keeps each page's layout: every story, heading and picture sits where it was, in its own positioned text box or picture. It works in any web browser, on Windows, Mac, Chromebook or a tablet.

Upload your newsletter's .pub file at editmypub.com.
Check the free watermarked preview.
Download one .zip with your Word file, plus PowerPoint (.pptx), LibreOffice Draw (.odg), a PDF, page images and a list of the fonts the newsletter uses.
Open the .docx in Word and edit your stories.

What it does for newsletters in particular:

Linked stories are fixed. Stories that flow through linked text boxes are re-flowed in reading order, so each box holds its own part of the story instead of piled-up text. That is the main thing free converters get wrong.
Wrapped text is handled. Text wrapped around pictures follows the picture's outline in small steps (in older-format files), and a story that still runs long is shrunk slightly (at most 15%) to fit.
Fonts are kept by name. Missing fonts are swapped for similar-width ones while we convert, and your files keep the original font names.
Back issues in one go. Bulk upload takes up to 50 .pub files or one .zip, and emails you one download link.

Prices are $12 for one file, $39 for 10 and $99 for 50, with a full refund within 30 days, no questions asked.

Honest limits: once converted, the boxes are no longer linked, so long edits will not flow from box to box. Tables and WordArt may come through as plain shapes or text, and missing fonts can change line breaks.

Other ways

Microsoft's route: Publisher to PDF to Word

This is what Microsoft suggests if you want to keep editing your content.

Open the newsletter in Publisher, choose File > Save As, and save it as a PDF.
Open Word, choose File > Open, and pick the PDF. Select OK when Word says it will convert it.

Microsoft notes that the Word document is made for text editing, and that its layout may differ from the original, especially if there are lots of graphics. With a multi-column newsletter, expect to tidy up columns, pictures and spacing.

No Publisher? You can make the PDF with LibreOffice Draw instead (free to install): open the .pub file, then File > Export As > Export as PDF. But check it first. If your newsletter has stories that flow through linked text boxes, LibreOffice can copy the whole story into every box, and Word will faithfully copy that mess. See why text overlaps in linked text boxes.

The trade-off: you need Publisher, or a new program to install and learn, and the layout usually needs tidying. EditMyPub keeps the layout and fixes linked stories for you.

Text only, then rebuild the layout in Word

If you just want the words, there are several ways to pull them out:

Copy and paste from LibreOffice Draw into Word, one story at a time.
Google Docs can convert a PDF into an editable document. Upload the PDF to Google Drive, then open it with Google Docs. Expect plain text with little of the layout.
Zamzar converts .pub to DOC online. Free converted files are stored for up to 24 hours. Expect the text to be more reliable than the layout.
Publisher itself, if you still have it, can save as Rich Text Format (.rtf), which Word opens.

Then build the layout fresh in Word:

Columns. Layout > Columns lets text flow down one column and into the next.
Linked text boxes. Word can link text boxes so a story flows from one box into the next, much like Publisher. Click in the first box, then on the Shape Format tab choose Create Link, and click the next box. The box you link to must be empty.

The trade-off: you rebuild every page by hand. EditMyPub gives you the layout already in Word, so you can tidy it into a reusable template instead of starting from a blank page.

Another online PUB to DOCX converter

Aspose's free online converter lists Word (.doc and .docx) among its output formats. Its page says files are deleted after 24 hours. When we tried it on October 21, 2026, it returned server errors. We have not judged how well its Word output keeps a newsletter's layout, so look closely at the result. Remember you are sending your file to another company, so check before uploading anything private. The trade-off: linked stories are where free converters usually go wrong. EditMyPub re-flows them and lets you see a preview before you pay.

Ready to try it?

Upload your newsletter and see the free watermarked preview before paying anything. Have years of back issues? Bulk upload converts up to 50 at once.