Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 25

Thread: Thinking about switching to Open Office

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Brampton ON Can
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Thinking about switching to Open Office

    I've been wanting to find a way to convert my MS publisher .pub files so I can work on them from either Ubuntu or Windows. From I can see this is a totally fruitless effort.
    This is really bugging me though. The format is so proprietary that your completely stuck. At least MS word has other options. Publisher is completely untu its own. AAGGGGHHH!!!

    It's bugging me so much that the only answer I can see is to switch to Open Office. Truthfully the only thing that I may miss at all would be Outlook. Even then I'm not sure how much I will.

    Before I do this has anyone found a way to convert these .pub files into a format that can be used by another program?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Brampton ON Can
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Thinking about switching to Open Office

    I should add that even if I were to switch to Ubuntu on both computers which I could do. I would still like to find a way to deal with these dang .pub files.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Louisville, KY
    Beans
    255
    Distro
    Xubuntu 19.04 Disco Dingo

    Re: Thinking about switching to Open Office

    Quote Originally Posted by SonicSteve View Post
    I've been wanting to find a way to convert my MS publisher .pub files so I can work on them from either Ubuntu or Windows. From I can see this is a totally fruitless effort.
    This is really bugging me though. The format is so proprietary that your completely stuck. At least MS word has other options. Publisher is completely untu its own. AAGGGGHHH!!!

    It's bugging me so much that the only answer I can see is to switch to Open Office. Truthfully the only thing that I may miss at all would be Outlook. Even then I'm not sure how much I will.

    Before I do this has anyone found a way to convert these .pub files into a format that can be used by another program?
    Trust me... you won't miss Outlook. Evolution or Kontact is every bit as good or better.

    As far as the .pub thing... don't know. Haven't had the occasion to try that. But you can see the results of using proprietary stuff....

    Get free, dood! Surely there's a way you can cut & paste through VMware or Parallels.
    Before taking down a fence, it may be a good idea to find out why it was put up.
    Registered Linux User #402142

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Freeport, Illinois
    Beans
    835

    Re: Thinking about switching to Open Office

    Quote Originally Posted by gjtoth View Post
    Trust me... you won't miss Outlook. Evolution or Kontact is every bit as good or better.

    As far as the .pub thing... don't know. Haven't had the occasion to try that. But you can see the results of using proprietary stuff....

    Get free, dood! Surely there's a way you can cut & paste through VMware or Parallels.
    You could try this file conversion web site. Zamzar - Free online file conversion
    Workers of the world unite! Do not go unheard!! soviet-empire.com

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    in the dark
    Beans
    1,513

    Re: Thinking about switching to Open Office

    You can download the MS office viewers through crossover office for free which will let you view and print your .pub files. You cant edit them but its still cool. Unless of course you decide to install MS office through Crossover.
    Imagination is more important than knowledge

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Beans
    Hidden!

    Re: Thinking about switching to Open Office

    OO.o won't solve a thing for your Publisher issues. It has no DTP application. The only worthy free software desktop publishing option is Scribus. I'm not sure if there is way to convert to and from .pub files, but Scribus is a hell of a lot better at publishing than Publisher. Then again, there is very little out there that isn't. Publisher is a joke.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    N. Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu 20.04 Focal Fossa

    Re: Thinking about switching to Open Office

    If one still has Microsoft Publisher, I suggest open the file in Publisher, save it as a Microsoft Word document (.doc) then open the file in Open Office and save it in .odt format. In that way one can rescue the content from the propriety .pub format. A similar approach has to be taken with Microsoft Works files.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Brampton ON Can
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Thinking about switching to Open Office

    Quote Originally Posted by FineE View Post
    If one still has Microsoft Publisher, I suggest open the file in Publisher, save it as a Microsoft Word document (.doc) then open the file in Open Office and save it in .odt format. In that way one can rescue the content from the propriety .pub format. A similar approach has to be taken with Microsoft Works files.
    I'll give that a try.
    On a separate note why does everyone think that Publisher is a joke? Honestly I would like to hear your thoughts.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Brampton ON Can
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

    Re: Thinking about switching to Open Office

    It kind of worked, yes the shapes are gone but at least I saved tables and text. Now I have to decide if I can do with writer what I did with publisher or if I need to use scribus.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Manchester
    Beans
    2,086
    Distro
    Ubuntu Mate 15.10 Wily Werewolf

    Re: Thinking about switching to Open Office

    Quote Originally Posted by SonicSteve View Post
    I'll give that a try.
    On a separate note why does everyone think that Publisher is a joke? Honestly I would like to hear your thoughts.
    i think because it is far too basic for real publishing.

    if you are doing professional printing you get lots of complex issues with fonts (do the print shop have what you used, does the font have real italics, or does your software just rotate the letters), embedded media (you might have a document that links to external images), colour separation (often printing is done with a few specific ink colours rather than mixing CMYK).

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •