Historical customer story: Pub2ID has been discontinued. Markzware’s current options for converting PUB files to InDesign are included below.

Opening a 56-Page Publisher Document in InDesign

A client gave Links Designs Ltd a 56-page document created in Microsoft Publisher. Because printers were having difficulty accepting the file, graphic designer and typesetter Margaret Wilson needed to move the publication into Adobe InDesign without rebuilding it from scratch.

Links Designs Ltd Converted the File in Seconds

“One of my clients had produced designs himself in Publisher but was having problems getting printers to take the files, so he asked me if I could get them into a print-ready format.

My application of choice is InDesign, so I had to find a way of opening the Publisher files in InDesign.

What can I say—I was able to open a 56-page document this morning in around 10 seconds, which otherwise would have had to be created from scratch.”

Margaret Wilson, Links Designs Ltd

How to Convert a PUB File to InDesign Today

Although Pub2ID is no longer available, Microsoft Publisher files can still be converted into IDML for editing in Adobe InDesign:

• Use MarkzPortal to upload and convert a PUB file online.
• Use OmniMarkz for macOS to preview and convert Publisher files to IDML.
• Use OmniMarkz SE for Windows to inventory and convert Publisher files locally.

Open the exported IDML file in Adobe InDesign, then review the fonts, images, colors, transparency and page layout before sending the document to print.

Avoid Rebuilding Publisher Documents From Scratch

Converting the original PUB file can preserve far more editable structure than manually reconstructing a multipage publication or attempting to recover it from a flattened PDF.

Markzware also offers a File Conversion Service for Publisher documents requiring individual assistance.