Microsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing application that is included in some editions of Microsoft Office suite. It is not as popular and used as core Office applications like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. However, there are still quite a few users who consider it to be a simple way to create high-quality, professional looking and stylish publications.
So, it is safe to say that you’re likely to encounter .PUB and .PUBX files, especially if you are in the business of printing, publishing or simply reviewing and approving business publications like brochures, flyers, monthly company magazines and event resources. As Microsoft Publisher is included in more expensive Office suite editions, chances are you don’t have the right edition, even if you use MS Office suite. And, of course, it is quite possible that you are using on your Windows machine a completely different office productivity suite – LibreOffice, OpenOffice or Google Drive. So, there is really no out of the box way to open and view, let alone edit, that .PUB or .PUBX file with it being installed on your machine, because Microsoft doesn’t provide free viewer for Publisher formats even though it offers freely viewers for Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Then how can you view and edit that pesky .PUB file without appropriate Microsoft Office edition installed on your MS Windows machine?
Well, there is a workaround and a quick way to view the .PUB. And it’s free!
How to Open and View a PUB file without MS Publisher
Here’s the simplest and most effective way to view the information found within a PUB file without actually opening it with Publisher. Just convert it to PDF using a web-based PDF conversion service like our free online PDF creator.
It allows users to convert just about any Windows file type into a PDF in three easy steps.
Simply click on “Choose File” to locate the PUB file you want to convert, enter your email address and then click “Start!” Once the conversion is completed, you will receive a download link for your newly created PDF via email.
Click the download link to save your new PDF to your computer and then open it in your preferred PDF viewer, like Adobe Reader.
So, the opening and viewing part of the problem is solved for free. If this is all you wanted to achieve, you’re done! Go ahead and enjoy the publication of yours!
How to Edit a PUB file without Microsoft Publisher for free
While the aforementioned method will allow you to view the PUB file’s contents, it will not allow you to edit the information. In order to modify the PUB without MS Publisher installed, you can take the PDF file and all contents from the source PUB into another editable format. It can actually be any .doc file which you can open and modify in LibreOffice or OpenOffice Writer, or Google documents, for example.
To convert PDF to .DOC free, you can use free online PDF to DOC converter. It’s as easy to use as the above mentioned online PDF creator. PDF conversion to .DOC requires virtually the same steps.
So, with little effort and tweaking, it is possible to open, view and even edit the .PUB file on a Windows machine for free, without having installed MS Publisher or Microsoft Office at all.
This quick tip for viewing and editing .PUBs without Microsoft Office is our attempt to help out those computer users like students and teachers who are usually running on tight budget and can’t really afford all the programs and tools they actually need in their toolbox.
For professional users of Microsoft Publisher, we provide a handy PDF to Publisher conversion option inside our PDF Converter Elite 3. Even though it is our paid solution, it comes with a 14-day free trial, so go ahead, download it and give it a spin!