# \[FMX\]How might I open an outside file?
**URL:** https://forum.kirupa.com/t/fmx-how-might-i-open-an-outside-file/11049
**Category:** flash
**Created:** [January 11, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/fmx-how-might-i-open-an-outside-file/11049 "2003-01-11T05:09:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@sysdmg](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/sysdmg)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/fmx-how-might-i-open-an-outside-file/11049/1 "2003-01-11T05:09:15Z")
I want to open an outside pdf file located in the same dir as the flash movie… how would I go about doing that? I’m pretty sure its done with action script
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### Author:  [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 5:20am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/fmx-how-might-i-open-an-outside-file/11049/2 "2003-01-11T05:20:16Z")
use getURL
getURL(“myfile.pdf”);
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### Author:  [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/fmx-how-might-i-open-an-outside-file/11049/3 "2003-01-11T19:10:01Z")
that only sorta worked, it opens up Opera and tells me to downlaod the file. I want it to open in the default viewer right when i click the button, and btwe this file will be on a cd so the program is gonna be like a menu system type dealie
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### Author:  [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 7:37pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/fmx-how-might-i-open-an-outside-file/11049/4 "2003-01-11T19:37:50Z")
What is happening now, is that you don’t have the acrobat reader installed (or at least installed for Opera, which is your default web browser), so it is trying to d/l the Acrobat player so you can view the pdf.
Since you are going to put this on CD, you will not be able to know what is installed on what computer, so this may be a problem. You may wish to create something similar to the .pdf, only in Flash, that way you are sure they have the player…
Rev 
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### Author:  [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/fmx-how-might-i-open-an-outside-file/11049/5 "2003-01-11T19:57:19Z")
so there is no way of making it open in whatever the default viewer is?
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### Author:  [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/fmx-how-might-i-open-an-outside-file/11049/6 "2003-01-11T20:04:10Z")
you have no way to know if the user has the needed default viewer (pdf uses the Adobe Acrobat Reader), is the problem.
The browser will find the correct viewer, if it is installed. If not installed, the user is generally prompted to d/l the viewer.
Rev 
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### Author:  [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 11, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/fmx-how-might-i-open-an-outside-file/11049/7 "2003-01-11T21:44:08Z")
but thats not waht it is downloading, when i click the button it tells me that im downloading the pdf file fomr [http://localhost/name.pdf](http://localhost/name.pdf), and im including acrobat reader on the cd so it shouldnt be a problem. Just think of the pdf as a txt file, and tell me how to open the txt file in a new notepad window