# Opening File from File Explorer (no plugins) 

**URL:** <https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/opening-file-from-file-explorer-no-plugins/2685205>\
**Category:** Programming & Scripting\
**Tags:** unreal-engine, question, CPP\
**Created:** [December 15, 2025, 3:37pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/opening-file-from-file-explorer-no-plugins/2685205 "2025-12-15T15:37:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![epadler\_cesi](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@epadler\_cesi](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/epadler_cesi)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 3:37pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/opening-file-from-file-explorer-no-plugins/2685205/1 "2025-12-15T15:37:24Z")

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Trying to use the OpenFileDialog (or any other build in functionality) to open a file dialogue and then read in file contents. The reading in of the file works. However, when I use this dialog function, the file path that results is relative, containing “../../../../../../”, and this seems to not work for the Open function I have. Can someone help me either:

1. Find a way to use this OpenFileDialog function (or if there is another system I can use)
2. Fix the resulting path to not be relative
3. Or if there is just an issue in this code, let me know

 ![image](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/3/0/9/309f71c050fc3705ef1f86212c44f28ada1f2e98.png)

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**Author:** ![mteles-kokku](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/mteles-kokku/32/1185846_2.png) [@mteles-kokku](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/mteles-kokku)\
**Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/opening-file-from-file-explorer-no-plugins/2685205/2 "2025-12-15T17:33:12Z")

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Hey there, I suggest using the `FPaths::ConvertRelativePathToFull` function on the output.

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**Author:** ![ShadowBr0kerz](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/shadowbr0kerz/32/1201558_2.png) [@ShadowBr0kerz](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/ShadowBr0kerz)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2026, 1:22pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/opening-file-from-file-explorer-no-plugins/2685205/3 "2026-10-21T13:22:02Z")

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the relative path is normal, that dialog returns a path relative to the project and your file open expects an absolute one. run the result through FPaths::ConvertRelativePathToFull first and teh ../../ bits resolve away.

longer term, keep the picker and the loader as separate steps. picker returns a path string, loader turns it into data, so a path format change only touches one place.

you can also try Async Runtime File Dialog, a native file picker plugin for Unreal Engine that returns an absolute path from an async open dialog in packaged builds: [Async Runtime File Dialog — Native OS File Picker for Blueprints | Fab](https://www.fab.com/listings/0044ee86-6930-4839-931a-bd63bf6ea34f)