diff --git a/htroot/CrawlStartExpert_p.html b/htroot/CrawlStartExpert_p.html
index 11a82e02b..0cadd1db8 100644
--- a/htroot/CrawlStartExpert_p.html
+++ b/htroot/CrawlStartExpert_p.html
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@
                 </td>              
               </tr>
               <tr>
-                <td><label for="file"><span class="nobr">From File</span></label>:</td>
+                <td><label for="file"><span class="nobr">From File (enter a path<br/>within your local file system)</span></label>:</td>
                 <td><input type="radio" name="crawlingMode" id="file" value="file" onclick="document.getElementById('Crawler').rangeDomain.checked = true;"/></td>
                 <td><input type="text" name="crawlingFile" size="41" onfocus="check('file')"/><!--<input type="file" name="crawlingFile" size="18" onfocus="check('file')"/>--></td>
               </tr>
diff --git a/htroot/Crawler_p.java b/htroot/Crawler_p.java
index 75a28a323..b0a0c983a 100644
--- a/htroot/Crawler_p.java
+++ b/htroot/Crawler_p.java
@@ -154,8 +154,14 @@ public class Crawler_p {
                 }
 
                 // remove crawlingFileContent before we record the call
-                final String crawlingFileName = post.get("crawlingFile");
-                final File crawlingFile = (crawlingFileName != null && crawlingFileName.length() > 0) ? new File(crawlingFileName) : null;
+                String crawlingFileName = post.get("crawlingFile");
+                final File crawlingFile;
+                if (crawlingFileName == null || crawlingFileName.length() == 0) {
+                    crawlingFile = null;
+                } else {
+                    if (crawlingFileName.startsWith("file://")) crawlingFileName = crawlingFileName.substring(7);
+                    crawlingFile = new File(crawlingFileName);
+                }
                 if (crawlingFile != null && crawlingFile.exists()) {
                     post.remove("crawlingFile$file");
                 }
@@ -644,7 +650,7 @@ public class Crawler_p {
         prop.put("crawlProfilesShow_list", count);
         prop.put("crawlProfilesShow", count == 0 ? 0 : 1);
 
-        
+
         // return rewrite properties
         return prop;
     }