Supporting our clients and content partners

BSI is fully committed to improving the digital security of our standards, protecting our clients from potentially fraudulent activity and our Standards Development partners from copyright and intellectual property breaches. To help us achieve this, we added an extra layer of security to our documents.

BSI’s documents will only be opened with the FileOpen plug-in installed on your device. It will help us keep your documents and experience more secure.

Since the way you access your documents changed, we’ve created helpful guidance to guarantee that you are able to access and use your documents quickly and efficiently.

What does this mean to you?

You are required to have the FileOpen plug-in installed in order to access all electronic BSI documents, that are purchased from the BSI Shop or accessed via BSOL.

FileOpen document rights management solutions are trusted by publishers, corporations, universities and governments worldwide to protect their 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.

How to download and install the FileOpen plug-in

To download the plug-in, please click here. In some cases, you may need to contact your IT department.

Adobe Acrobat or Reader is required to view the document, please make sure it is installed on your device.

If you’re using Google Chrome and encounter problems opening your documents, please follow the steps below:

1. Go into settings and scroll down to the privacy and security section.
2. Click on ‘Site settings’
3. Scroll down and click on ‘PDF settings’
4. Ensure ‘Download PDF file instead of automatically opening them in Chrome’ is switched on

Operating system requirements:

Windows 7 or later with Adobe Reader/Adobe Acrobat 9.0 or later
Mac OS X 10.9 or above with Adobe Reader/Adobe Acrobat 9.0 or later
Linux Kernel 1.4 or later with Adobe Reader/Adobe Acrobat 7.0 or 8.0 only
iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, iOS 4.0 or later
Android 2.2 +

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

I already have the FileOpen plug-in installed, do I need to re-install it?
No, you won’t need to re-install the plug-in.

Do I need to be connected to the internet to open the documents?
You will need an internet connection to authenticate the documents for the first time. After that, you will be able to access the documents offline.

My operating system isn’t compatible with the requirements for FileOpen, how can I still access my documents?
Please get in touch with us so we can assist you. See the help section below for contact information.

I’d like to share the document with my colleague. Can I do it?
A document in electronic format is licensed to a sole named user who is permitted to install a single electronic copy of it for use on a single computer.

Do I need to install FileOpen for documents that I have purchased in the past?
No, the FileOpen plug-in won't be necessary to open previously bought or download documents.

When I try to install the plug-in, I am told to contact my administrator. What shall I do?
If you are trying to install the FileOpen plug-in on your work device, please get in touch with your company's IT department.

Due to security reasons, we cannot install FileOpen – what now?
If you are not able to install the FileOpen plug-in due to security reasons, please contact BSI’s customer service.

Can I make annotations to the PDFs and save them?
Yes, you can. However, we recommend adding a small annotation to your document, save it, close it and reopen again to make sure this functionality is fully working. If you encounter any issues, our customer service team will be able to assist you.

How can we help?

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.