LibAnswers: Customer Services

British Standards Online uses FileOpen's document rights management solutions to safeguard its digital assets from copying, piracy, and unauthorised sharing.

If you wish to download or print documents from British Standards Online, you will need to install the FileOpen plug-in on your device.

What do I need to do?

If you are using your own device, visit https://plugin.fileopen.com/ to install the FileOpen plugin.

If you are using a managed University device, you will need local admin rights to install the FileOpen plugin. If you do not have these, please contact IT Services for assistance.

You will also need Adobe Acrobat Reader on your device for FileOpen to work.  If you are using your own device, visit https://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/ to install.  If you are using a managed University device, Adobe Reader can be downloaded from the Company Portal.

Important note for all devices (personal and University devices)

Changes to browser settings may be needed to ensure that British Standards documents open in the PDF reader rather than in-browser which is often the default. If you encounter any problems downloading your documents please follow the steps below:

If you are using Google Chrome

1. From the Chrome home page click on the three dots at the top-right of your page and select ‘Settings’ from the menu.

2. Scroll down to the privacy and security section and click on ‘Site settings’.

3. Scroll down and click on ‘Additional content settings’.

4. Click on ‘PDF documents’.

5. Ensure ‘Download PDFs’ is switched on.

If you are using Microsoft Edge

1. From the Microsoft Edge home page click on the three dots at the top-right of your page and select ’Settings’ from the menu.

2. Click on ‘Cookies and site permissions’.

3. Scroll down and click on ‘PDF documents’.

4. Ensure ‘Always download PDF files’ is switched on.

Have a problem?

British Standards Online have further advice on the ‘DRM – Digital Rights Management’ section of their Help & Support page.

You can contact IT Services for help installing FileOpen.

For any other questions, contact the Library’s Electronic Resources Helpdesk.