Step 1: decide what each file is for
Most archives split into two piles. The big pile is files you only need to keep: last year's bulletins, old event flyers. The small pile is files you'll edit again: templates, the newsletter masthead, forms. Treat them differently. The first pile only needs PDFs. The second needs a format you can keep editing.
Step 2: archive the big pile as PDF
If you still have a working copy of Publisher (for example Publisher 2019 or 2021), Microsoft published sample PowerShell scripts that open each .pub file and save it as PDF. They need Publisher installed on the computer that runs them. Without Publisher, LibreOffice can convert .pub files to PDF in bulk from its command line, though complex layouts may shift, and my converter makes a PDF of each file you drop in for $4.99, after a free preview.
Step 3: convert the files you'll edit again
For templates and anything you'll reuse, a PDF isn't enough. Convert those to a layout format:
- PowerPoint (.pptx), which also imports into Canva
- IDML, which opens in Affinity (free) and InDesign
My bulk converter does a whole folder in one go: zip it, upload it once, and get every file back as a PDF, a PowerPoint file and an IDML file, in the same folders. It's $49 for up to 100 files, $99 for up to 500 and $199 for up to 2,000. To check the quality first, drop a single file on the Publisher converter for a free preview.
Tips for a big archive
- Start with your three most-used templates and check them in the app you'll actually use.
- Keep the original .pub files. Converters keep improving, and so does LibreOffice.
- Note which fonts your files use. If a font isn't on your new computer, the app substitutes another and text can reflow.