Downloading the FileOpen plugin for British Standards Online
03/06/2025

You need to install and use a FileOpen plugin on your device to access any document you find on British Standards Online (BSOL). This protects BSOL’s digital assets from copying, piracy, and unauthorized sharing.
You will need an internet connection to open the documents for the first time. Once your documents have been authenticated, you will be able to access the documents offline.
What do I need to do?
You will also need a PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Reader or Kofax Power to read the document. If you experience any issues opening the PDF please find the file in the Downloads area on your device and choose the ‘Open with’ option to select your PDF reader.
Have a problem?
You can contact our IT Service Desk for help installing FileOpen.
BSOL have also advised us of a specific problem opening documents using Google Chrome. If you experience a problem, please follow these steps:
- Go into settings and scroll down to the privacy and security section.
- Click on ‘Site settings’
- Scroll down and click on ‘PDF settings’
- Ensure ‘Download PDF file instead of automatically opening them in Chrome’ is switched on
Operating system requirements:
- Windows 10 or later with Adobe Reader/Adobe Acrobat 10.0 or later
- Mac OS X 12.0 or above with Adobe Reader/Adobe Acrobat DC version 22.003.20310 or higher
- iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, iOS 11 or later
- Android 2.2 +
Questions?
If you have any other questions about FileOpen or using British Standards Online, please contact the Library Resources team who will be happy to help you.
Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Earth’s silent hero: Why soil is finally stepping into the spotlight
As a Soil Scientist, the start of December is always an exciting time of year, specifically World Soil Day (5 December). This year, it’s doubly special, because we are also celebrating the 75th Anniversary ...
How do I reference social media… in the NLM style?
Although it’s not considered to be scholarly material, you may find information on social media useful for a piece of academic work. It may be that a particular post on X or Facebook illustrates or ...
Want to improve your reading skills?
Are you starting to read through the mountains of journals, books or articles for your project or on your course reading list? Let’s start with a few myths about the reading process: You need to ...
Introducing… Bloomberg Spreadsheet Analysis (BSA)
Want to take your Bloomberg data skills in Microsoft Excel to the next level? The new Bloomberg Spreadsheet Analysis (BSA) certification is designed to help you do just that. Created by Bloomberg, BSA is an ...
Bridging Science and Supply: My Journey at the GCSG European Knowledge Forum 2025
Earlier this year, I had the honour of being selected as one of the 2025 Global Clinical Supplies Group (GCSG) European Scholarship Winners, an opportunity that took me to Budapest, Hungary, for the GCSG ...
Engineering a Greener Tomorrow: The Future of Sustainable Manufacturing
Across the world, engineers are facing one of the greatest challenges of our time: how to manufacture more while consuming less. As industries race toward net-zero targets, sustainability has become the driving force behind ...

Hi hope you can help – struggling to down load the PDF to give me continued access to British Standards
Hi Graeme,
What client are you using, e.g. Windows, MAC etc…, and I’ll email you a copy of the applicable PDF.
Thanks.
Helen