String filePath = "http://gvas400/home/sde/pdffiles/817739P1.pdf"; InputStream in = null; try { in = new BufferedInputStream (new FileInputStream(filePath)); int ch; while ((ch = in.read()) !=-1) { out.print((char)ch); } } finally { if (in != null) in.close(); // very important } gives me this error: Error Message: http:\gvas400\home\sde\pdffiles\817739P1.pdf (The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect) What is stripping out the "/" ...