A native format experiment from Cyberdelic OS

A file, with room
for its context.

Keep an original PDF beside the reasons, questions and interpretations that travel with it.

Drop a .else or PDF.

On your device

Open a .else to read or edit it. Start with a PDF to create one. Nothing is uploaded.

Your files stay in this tab. Save a copy to keep your work.

What can I open?

Standalone two-readings .else files up to 64 MiB. Create from one PDF up to 12 MiB and 200 pages, with up to 65,536 characters of selectable text. Other .else profiles, encrypted PDFs and OCR are outside this first experiment.

The file is a score

Carry the difference.

A PDF has its own life. Context gives it another. .else makes room for both, without asking an interpretation to become the original.

01 / Material

The original stays itself.

Pull out the PDF whenever you choose. Its bytes stay unchanged.

02 / Context

Two readings can coexist.

Keep each interpretation with its contributor. Human and AI words are labelled separately.

03 / Provenance

Keep a source in view.

Carry declared origins and byte fingerprints. Editing saves a new copy with a reference to the earlier file.

A small experiment between Carry’s use and Dear Elsewhere’s encounter. Read Field Note 45 for the artistic direction.

An ordinary desktop companion

Take the reader with you.

Open a .else offline, read its context and pull out its PDF. Creation and editing are available here on the website.

Download for macOSDownload a sample .else

macOS: Apple silicon and Intel · Linux and Windows desktop apps planned

About the Mac download

Experimental reader for macOS 14 or later. It is locally signed and has not been notarized by Apple. If your Mac blocks the download, build from source. The independent Python reader also runs on Linux and Windows.

The paired-leaf .else icon