How to move a Microsoft Publisher file into Canva

Lots of church offices, clubs and small businesses are moving their flyers and newsletters to Canva. Canva cannot open .pub files directly, but it does import PDF and PowerPoint files. The easiest way to get both from a .pub file is EditMyPub, with nothing to install.

Canva does not accept .pub files

Canva's list of supported upload formats includes PDF, PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx), Word (.doc, .docx), images and more. Microsoft Publisher (.pub) is not on the list. (Canva does accept Affinity Publisher files, a different product with a similar name.) So the job is to turn your .pub into a PDF or a PowerPoint file first.

The easy way: EditMyPub

EditMyPub works in any web browser, on Windows, Mac, Chromebook or a tablet. You do not need Publisher, and you do not need to install or learn any other program.

Upload your .pub file at editmypub.com.
Look at the free watermarked preview to see how your pages came through.
Download your files. You get one .zip with a PowerPoint (.pptx) file (one slide per page, at the original page size, with editable text boxes), a PDF, Word (.docx), LibreOffice Draw (.odg) and page images, plus a README.
Upload the .pptx or the PDF to Canva and open the imported design.

Newsletter stories that flow through linked text boxes are re-flowed in reading order, so you do not get piled-up text in the PDF or the PowerPoint file. You also get a list of the fonts your file uses, which helps when you set up fonts in Canva. It is $12 for one file, $39 for 10 or $99 for 50, with a full refund within 30 days.

Honest limits:

Canva describes its PowerPoint import as a beta feature, so give each page a quick look after importing.
Pictures arrive in the .pptx as picture-filled shapes.
Text wrapped around pictures follows the outline in small steps, using extra text boxes.
Tables, WordArt and effects may come through as plain shapes or text.

What Canva says about PowerPoint import

Canva's help page describes PowerPoint import as a beta feature, and says:

It only works on canva.com in a desktop web browser.
Both .pptx and .ppt are supported. .pptx files can be up to 300 MB, and presentations up to 300 slides.
Files can have up to 1,400 elements and images.
Charts, SmartArt, 3D objects and WordArt are not supported and are ignored during import.
Canva tries to match fonts, but an exact match is not always possible.

To import, drag the file onto the Canva home page, or use the Upload button, then open the imported design. Full steps are on Canva's help page, linked below. For more on the PowerPoint file itself, see converting Publisher to PowerPoint.

Other ways

Make a PDF yourself, then upload it to Canva

Make a PDF. If you still have Publisher, open the file and choose File > Save As, then PDF. If not, install LibreOffice and open the file in LibreOffice Draw, then choose File > Export As > Export as PDF. See how to open a .pub file.
Upload the PDF to Canva. Canva says text and images "may be separated into editable elements".
Check every page. Canva says some layouts may shift slightly after import, and unsupported fonts may be replaced with similar fonts.

Canva's published limits for PDF import, when we checked: up to 500 pages, up to 300 MB, and up to 1,400 elements and images. Scanned PDFs come in as one flat picture, so their text cannot be edited.

The trade-off: you need either Publisher, which is retired, or LibreOffice, which means installing and learning a new program. And with newsletters there is a trap. LibreOffice can put the whole linked story into every linked box, so the text piles up, and that mess carries into Canva too. A PDF saved from Publisher itself does not have this problem. See why text overlaps in linked text boxes. EditMyPub fixes linked stories for you and needs nothing installed.

Paid design converters

Markzware sells DesignMarkz, which it says can turn Publisher files (and InDesign, QuarkXPress and PDF) into Canva designs. Its MarkzPortal pricing page lists pay-per-use pricing starting at $29 per document, plus subscription plans. We have not tested it. The trade-off: it costs more per document than EditMyPub's $12, and EditMyPub also gives you Word and PowerPoint copies you can keep editing outside Canva.

Ready to try it?

Upload your .pub file and see the free watermarked preview before you pay anything. Moving a lot of files at once? Bulk upload takes up to 50 files or one .zip.