diff --git a/Flow.Launcher.Plugin/Interfaces/IPublicAPI.cs b/Flow.Launcher.Plugin/Interfaces/IPublicAPI.cs
index 76c7a4911..f47ee5e11 100644
--- a/Flow.Launcher.Plugin/Interfaces/IPublicAPI.cs
+++ b/Flow.Launcher.Plugin/Interfaces/IPublicAPI.cs
@@ -336,13 +336,28 @@ namespace Flow.Launcher.Plugin
         public void OpenDirectory(string DirectoryPath, string FileNameOrFilePath = null);
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Opens the URL with the given Uri object. 
+        /// Opens the URL using the browser with the given Uri object, even if the URL is a local file.
+        /// The browser and mode used is based on what's configured in Flow's default browser settings.
+        /// </summary>
+        public void OpenWebUrl(Uri url, bool? inPrivate = null);
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Opens the URL using the browser with the given string, even if the URL is a local file.
+        /// The browser and mode used is based on what's configured in Flow's default browser settings.
+        /// Non-C# plugins should use this method.
+        /// </summary>
+        public void OpenWebUrl(string url, bool? inPrivate = null);
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Opens the URL with the given Uri object in browser if scheme is Http or Https.
+        /// If the URL is a local file, it will instead be opened with the default application for that file type.
         /// The browser and mode used is based on what's configured in Flow's default browser settings.
         /// </summary>
         public void OpenUrl(Uri url, bool? inPrivate = null);
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Opens the URL with the given string. 
+        /// Opens the URL with the given string in browser if scheme is Http or Https.
+        /// If the URL is a local file, it will instead be opened with the default application for that file type.
         /// The browser and mode used is based on what's configured in Flow's default browser settings.
         /// Non-C# plugins should use this method.
         /// </summary>
diff --git a/Flow.Launcher/PublicAPIInstance.cs b/Flow.Launcher/PublicAPIInstance.cs
index c125ea00f..6e82032ff 100644
--- a/Flow.Launcher/PublicAPIInstance.cs
+++ b/Flow.Launcher/PublicAPIInstance.cs
@@ -400,10 +400,9 @@ namespace Flow.Launcher
             }
         }
 
-
-        private void OpenUri(Uri uri, bool? inPrivate = null)
+        private void OpenUri(Uri uri, bool? inPrivate = null, bool forceBrowser = false)
         {
-            if (uri.Scheme == Uri.UriSchemeHttp || uri.Scheme == Uri.UriSchemeHttps)
+            if (forceBrowser || uri.Scheme == Uri.UriSchemeHttp || uri.Scheme == Uri.UriSchemeHttps)
             {
                 var browserInfo = _settings.CustomBrowser;
 
@@ -444,6 +443,16 @@ namespace Flow.Launcher
             }
         }
 
+        public void OpenWebUrl(string url, bool? inPrivate = null)
+        {
+            OpenUri(new Uri(url), inPrivate, true);
+        }
+
+        public void OpenWebUrl(Uri url, bool? inPrivate = null)
+        {
+            OpenUri(url, inPrivate, true);
+        }
+
         public void OpenUrl(string url, bool? inPrivate = null)
         {
             OpenUri(new Uri(url), inPrivate);
diff --git a/Plugins/Flow.Launcher.Plugin.WebSearch/Main.cs b/Plugins/Flow.Launcher.Plugin.WebSearch/Main.cs
index 76aeb3250..0040cffa7 100644
--- a/Plugins/Flow.Launcher.Plugin.WebSearch/Main.cs
+++ b/Plugins/Flow.Launcher.Plugin.WebSearch/Main.cs
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ namespace Flow.Launcher.Plugin.WebSearch
                         Score = score,
                         Action = c =>
                         {
-                            _context.API.OpenUrl(searchSource.Url.Replace("{q}", Uri.EscapeDataString(keyword)));
+                            _context.API.OpenWebUrl(searchSource.Url.Replace("{q}", Uri.EscapeDataString(keyword)));
 
                             return true;
                         },
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ namespace Flow.Launcher.Plugin.WebSearch
                 ActionKeywordAssigned = searchSource.ActionKeyword == SearchSourceGlobalPluginWildCardSign ? string.Empty : searchSource.ActionKeyword,
                 Action = c =>
                 {
-                    _context.API.OpenUrl(searchSource.Url.Replace("{q}", Uri.EscapeDataString(o)));
+                    _context.API.OpenWebUrl(searchSource.Url.Replace("{q}", Uri.EscapeDataString(o)));
 
                     return true;
                 },