Conversion from MS Publisher to MS Word

The best method depends on what must be preserved:

• If the goal is editable text: save the Publisher file as a Word document. This preserves text and font formatting, but does not preserve graphics, columns, or full page layout.
• If the goal is to preserve page appearance: copy and paste the page or objects into Word, or save pages/objects as a picture and insert them into Word. This preserves more of the visual layout, but editing is more limited.

For most cases, the best direct method is:

1. Open the Publisher publication.
2. Select File > Save As.
3. Choose where to save the file.
4. In Save as type, select the Word version needed. For current Word versions, select Word Document.
5. Select Save.

Important limitations of this method:

• Only text and font formatting are preserved.
• Graphics are not preserved.
• Columns and overall design layout are not preserved.
• Page breaks are ignored.
• Headers, footers, and page numbers are preserved, but header/footer functionality is not.

If layout matters more than text editing, use one of these alternatives:

• Copy and paste pages or objects into Word to preserve formatting and text styles better for selected content.
• Save pages or objects as PNG or JPEG and insert them into Word if the exact look must be kept. This is especially useful for items like tables or calendars, but the inserted content will not be editable as normal Word content.

If converting for long-term access after Publisher retirement, converting first to PDF and then opening the PDF in Word is also supported, but the resulting Word document may have layout differences, especially in graphic-heavy files.

• Save a publication as a Word document
• Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026