End of support: LibreOffice comes to the aid of Microsoft Publisher users
Microsoft is eliminating support for publishers and blocking normal access to old files. Are the detours recommended by Microsoft via Word or PDF really suitable? LibreOffice Draw offers users a way out via the open ODF format.
Rescue for old files
As announced, Microsoft has ended support for Publisher, Office LTSC 2021 and Office 2021 on October Patch Day. Users with a current Microsoft 365 subscription can no longer open existing PUB files as usual. The free alternative LibreOffice Draw allows you to continue opening, editing and managing the files. Companies, authorities and schools used Publisher for newsletters, calendars and posters for more than 30 years.
Microsoft recommends converting old documents to PDF or DOCX for further editing. Both methods have disadvantages: PDF files are not designed for subsequent layout changes. When converting complex publisher layouts to Word, the original formatting is often lost.
Open standards as a way out
Developers at the Document Liberation Project have reverse engineered the proprietary PUB format. This resulted in the libmspub program library, like the Document Foundation in one Blog post explained. It makes it possible to read old documents regardless of the original manufacturer. This library allows LibreOffice Draw Publisher files to be opened and saved in the open standard ODF format. According to the Document Foundation, the program offers the fastest way to view and customize smaller documents. However, some advanced features are missing for complex projects because Draw is not a full-featured desktop publishing program.
The Scribus program, which is also open-source, is ideal for complex publications. It uses the same library to import publisher files, but does not save the results in a standardized format like ODF. The Document Foundation advises those responsible for documents in authorities, schools and clubs to check their file formats for proprietary bindings and to plan a switch to an open standard format as long as the files can still be opened.
