What is this?
A portable, structured document that can explain itself, remember revisions, and carry independently checkable integrity evidence.
Authoritative answers
Universal Document, explained simply.
A Universal Document is a document that knows enough about itself to explain itself, track itself, and prove itself.
Seven quick answers
Why not just PDF or Word?
PDF preserves pages and Word supports office editing. UD is designed to carry portable structure, revision lineage, trust states, and canonical bytes.
What is UDR?
The living, revisable form. UDR remembers change.
What is UDS?
The sealed final form. UDS preserves a selected state and its integrity evidence.
Do I need software?
No. A BrowserCarrier opens in a normal browser. The free Reader is optional.
Is basic use free?
Yes. Basic Creator, Reader, local Talk, Verify, history, and BrowserCarrier sharing remain free.
How do I make one?
Plain-English comparison
Why use Universal Document instead of PDF or Word?
PDF and Word are useful, established formats. PDF is excellent for preserving and sharing a fixed-looking page, including offline. Word/DOCX is widely used for office editing. Universal Document is designed for a different combination of needs.
A PDF mostly shows you the document. A Universal Document can also tell you about itself.
That is a simple comparison, not a claim that PDF is empty or unintelligent. PDFs can contain structure and metadata, and modern vendor tools can add AI features. UD’s distinction is the convergence of portable structure, revision and provenance information, trust states, document policies, browser-ready sharing, and intelligence-readiness in the document architecture.
Browser-ready sharing
A BrowserCarrier uses .udr.html or .uds.html and opens through standard browser technology. No Universal Document installation is required to read it, and it remains readable offline.
Living or final
UDR is living and revisable, preserving revision history. UDS is sealed and final, designed to make later alteration detectable.
More than presentation
UD can carry structure, provenance, policies, history, and integrity information that compatible software can interpret.
Document-bound intelligence
Compatible Readers can answer from the document, cite the relevant source, and refuse unsupported questions. UD does not claim to have invented document chat.
PDF remains available
A PDF compatibility export remains useful for courts, portals, printers, archives, and counterparties that specifically require it.
Do Universal Documents need internet access?
No. A BrowserCarrier can be opened and read offline in a normal browser. Internet access is only required for optional online services that the recipient deliberately chooses, such as opening the canonical web Reader, online verification services, or creating a new UD online. The optional Desktop Reader provides supported local functionality for raw .udr and .uds files. Mobile attachment handling varies by application, so UD does not promise that every mobile email app will always launch a recipient’s chosen browser directly.
Canonical definitions
Public beta open standardUniversal Document (UD)
A document that can prove what it is.
Public betaUDRUDR remembers change.
Public beta; production signing is not generally enabledUDSUDS proves finality.
DevelopingUDZA portable Universal Document bundle.
Public betaBrowserCarrierA browser-ready carrier for a Universal Document.
Public beta on the canonical Reader hostnameUD ReaderOpen and inspect a Universal Document locally.
Public betaUD CreatorCreate a living UDR.
Public beta on the canonical Validator hostnameUD ValidatorCheck each trust claim separately.
Early Access on the canonical Signer hostname; protected production signing not enabledUD SignerAuthorize sealing without pretending assurance exists.
Live read-only registry; identity is only marked verified after a real procedureTrust RegistryPublic-key trust, stated precisely.
Public beta in the canonical ReaderDocument Intelligence / Talk to this documentAsk the document, not the open internet.
Common questions
What is Universal Document?
A Universal Document is a portable, structured document that knows enough about itself to explain itself, track its revisions, and carry independently checkable integrity evidence.
What is UDR?
UDR is the living, revisable form. UDR remembers change by creating new revisions instead of silently overwriting old history.
What is UDS?
UDS is the sealed final form. It carries integrity and signature evidence. Identity, trusted time, current status, and transparency remain separate checks.
What is a BrowserCarrier?
A BrowserCarrier is a self-contained .udr.html or .uds.html sharing form that opens in an ordinary browser. It can present the document and return the exact embedded original without requiring UD software.
Do recipients need special software?
No for BrowserCarrier. A recipient can open .udr.html or .uds.html in a normal browser. The free Reader and raw-file desktop integration are optional.
Do Universal Documents need internet access?
No. A BrowserCarrier can be opened and read offline in a normal browser. Internet access is only required for optional online services that the recipient deliberately chooses. The optional Desktop Reader supports local functionality for raw .udr and .uds files. Mobile attachment handling varies by application.
How is UD different from PDF?
PDF primarily preserves a fixed visual page. UD is designed to carry structured meaning, revision lineage, trust states, and exact canonical document bytes. A PDF can still be included as a derivative.
How is UD different from Word or DOCX?
DOCX is an editable office-file format. UDR adds portable revision policy and history; UDS adds a sealed final state with independently checkable integrity evidence.
How is UD different from Google Docs?
Google Docs is a hosted collaborative application. Universal Document is designed so the portable document remains usable outside one service or account.
Can you talk to a Universal Document?
Yes, in a compatible Reader. The current public Reader Worker demo answers from document content, cites sections, and refuses unsupported questions.
Can a Universal Document be verified?
Yes. A compatible Validator can recompute canonical integrity evidence and check available signatures. Key trust, identity, trusted time, current status, and transparency remain separate results.
Is UD an open standard?
UD is published as an open document-standard adoption layer that compatible implementations may support. Current implementation status and optional commercial services are reported separately.
Can organizations use UD?
Yes, for currently operational creation, reading, revision, BrowserCarrier sharing, local conversation, verification, and bounded services. Protected organization signing, verified identity, trusted timestamps, and independent-node validation retain their published Early Access or Planned status.
Does a UD upload my document to AI?
Not automatically. The current basic conversation demo is local-first and makes no automatic cloud upload. A future external-AI action must be explicitly allowed and disclosed.
Can a UDR be edited?
Yes, when its editing policy permits. Saving creates a new revision and should preserve prior history.
Can a UDS be edited?
No ordinary edit is offered. A recipient can create an amendment or new UDR derived from the sealed UDS.
How does verification work?
A compatible Validator recomputes canonical integrity evidence and checks available signatures. Key trust, real-world identity, trusted time, current status, and transparency are reported independently.
Is Universal Document free?
The open standard, basic Creator, Reader, local verification, BrowserCarrier sharing, and basic local Document Intelligence are free. Organizations may pay for optional trust, workflow, scale, or assurance services.
What are UD commensals?
Commensals are optional products built around the open UD standard. The document remains portable; organizations pay only when they need additional trust, workflow, scale, or assurance.