Janis,
This is a similar problem to the one you're enountering when reading a properties file. First, look at my response to your post on "reading a properties file".
Using the ResourceUtil, do the following:
URL myFileUrl = ResourceUtil.getAsUrl("MyFile.txt");
InputStream is = myFileUrl.openStream();
Than, use the InputStream as you normally would.
Tom Marrs
Lead Author,
JBoss at Work: A Practical Guide