For years, the churches, parishes, schools, and nonprofits we work with have quietly run on Microsoft Publisher: weekly bulletins, member newsletters, event and worship programs, flyers, and photo calendars. That is about to change. On October 1, 2026, Microsoft removes Publisher from Microsoft 365, and on October 13 the perpetual versions (Publisher 2021 and earlier) lose support. After that, the .pub files people have built for years become hard to open or edit, and Word, PowerPoint, Canva, and the usual alternatives do not open them either. Microsoft announced this more than two years ago, but many people were caught off guard, and some are still unaware.
The impact is practical and immediate. A parish or nonprofit office often holds years of Publisher (.pub) files, and the usual advice is to relearn a different design tool or rebuild everything from scratch. That is a lot to ask of a volunteer or a one-person office.
So we built PubKeep. It is a desktop app for Windows and Mac that opens and edits your existing Publisher files directly. There is nothing to convert, no new tool to learn, and nothing to rebuild. Whoever makes your bulletin can open last week’s file and make this week’s, the way they always have. PubKeep is in early access now for churches and nonprofits and will officially launch by the October 1 cutoff. You buy it once, and there is no subscription.
“Organizations have put real time into these files, sometimes decades of it, and they should not have to lose that or start over. We are a faith-driven company, so helping churches, parishes, and nonprofits keep their work matters to us. We built PubKeep so a volunteer or office manager can keep opening and editing the bulletins and programs they already have, with as little disruption as possible.”
Adam Anderly, founder of PubKeep
If your church, parish, or nonprofit uses Publisher, you can join early access at pubkeep.com/desktop. It is free while it is in beta.
About PubKeep
PubKeep is a desktop application that opens and edits Microsoft Publisher (.pub) files on Windows and Mac, so organizations can keep using the publications they have already made. It is built by Saint Systems, a Catholic-run software company in the Dallas area and a longtime Microsoft partner. PubKeep is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.
Media and partnership inquiries: Adam Anderly. Contact us.
