diff --git a/config/configure.ac b/config/configure.ac
index 2fbf17f286..135c4ee49d 100644
--- a/config/configure.ac
+++ b/config/configure.ac
@@ -297,9 +297,16 @@ ${FRONTEND_INFO}\
     LyX binary dir:               ${real_bindir}\n\
     LyX files dir:                ${real_datadir}\n"
 
+real_localedir=`eval "echo \`eval \"echo ${datadir}/locale\"\`"`
+MSYS_AC_CANONICAL_PATH(LYX_ABS_TOP_SRCDIR, ${srcdir})
+MSYS_AC_CANONICAL_PATH(LYX_ABS_INSTALLED_LOCALEDIR, ${real_localedir})
+MSYS_AC_CANONICAL_PATH(LYX_ABS_INSTALLED_DATADIR, ${real_datadir})
 
 AC_SUBST(VERSION_INFO)
 AC_SUBST(RPM_FRONTEND)
+AC_SUBST(LYX_ABS_TOP_SRCDIR)
+AC_SUBST(LYX_ABS_INSTALLED_LOCALEDIR)
+AC_SUBST(LYX_ABS_INSTALLED_DATADIR)
 
 ## Some config.h stuff
 
diff --git a/config/configure.in b/config/configure.in
index cbae8ddc2c..e3755f098f 100644
--- a/config/configure.in
+++ b/config/configure.in
@@ -301,8 +301,16 @@ ${FRONTEND_INFO}\
     LyX binary dir:               ${real_bindir}\n\
     LyX files dir:                ${real_datadir}\n"
 
+real_localedir=`eval "echo \`eval \"echo ${datadir}/locale\"\`"`
+MSYS_AC_CANONICAL_PATH(LYX_ABS_TOP_SRCDIR, ${srcdir})
+MSYS_AC_CANONICAL_PATH(LYX_ABS_INSTALLED_LOCALEDIR, ${real_localedir})
+MSYS_AC_CANONICAL_PATH(LYX_ABS_INSTALLED_DATADIR, ${real_datadir})
+
 AC_SUBST(VERSION_INFO)
 AC_SUBST(RPM_FRONTEND)
+AC_SUBST(LYX_ABS_TOP_SRCDIR)
+AC_SUBST(LYX_ABS_INSTALLED_LOCALEDIR)
+AC_SUBST(LYX_ABS_INSTALLED_DATADIR)
 
 ### Finish the work.
 AC_CONFIG_SUBDIRS(lib lib/reLyX)
diff --git a/config/lyxinclude213.m4 b/config/lyxinclude213.m4
index 637fde00e1..472940b90f 100644
--- a/config/lyxinclude213.m4
+++ b/config/lyxinclude213.m4
@@ -72,3 +72,28 @@ if eval "test \"\${lyx_cv_declare_${tr_hdr}_$1}\" = \"yes\""; then
 fi
 done])
 
+
+
+dnl Set VAR to the canonically resolved absolute equivalent of PATHNAME,
+dnl (which may be a relative path, and need not refer to any existing 
+dnl entity).
+
+dnl On Win32-MSYS build hosts, the returned path is resolved to its true
+dnl native Win32 path name, (but with slashes, not backslashes).
+
+dnl On any other system, it is simply the result which would be obtained
+dnl if PATHNAME represented an existing directory, and the pwd command was
+dnl executed in that directory.
+AC_DEFUN([MSYS_AC_CANONICAL_PATH],
+[ac_dir="$2"
+ ( exec 2>/dev/null; cd / && pwd -W ) | grep ':' >/dev/null &&
+    ac_pwd_w="pwd -W" || ac_pwd_w=pwd
+ until ac_val=`exec 2>/dev/null; cd "$ac_dir" && $ac_pwd_w`
+ do
+   ac_dir=`dirname(["$ac_dir"])`
+ done
+ ac_dir=`echo "$ac_dir" | sed 's?^[[./]]*??'`
+ ac_val=`echo "$ac_val" | sed 's?/*$[]??'`
+ $1=`echo "$2" | sed "s?^[[./]]*$ac_dir/*?$ac_val/?"'
+   s?/*$[]??'`
+])
diff --git a/config/lyxinclude25x.m4 b/config/lyxinclude25x.m4
index 1930f198d6..2e0c5492a5 100644
--- a/config/lyxinclude25x.m4
+++ b/config/lyxinclude25x.m4
@@ -17,3 +17,28 @@ do
        break],
       [AC_MSG_RESULT(no)])
 done])
+
+
+dnl Set VAR to the canonically resolved absolute equivalent of PATHNAME,
+dnl (which may be a relative path, and need not refer to any existing 
+dnl entity).
+
+dnl On Win32-MSYS build hosts, the returned path is resolved to its true
+dnl native Win32 path name, (but with slashes, not backslashes).
+
+dnl On any other system, it is simply the result which would be obtained
+dnl if PATHNAME represented an existing directory, and the pwd command was
+dnl executed in that directory.
+AC_DEFUN([MSYS_AC_CANONICAL_PATH],
+[ac_dir="$2"
+ ( exec 2>/dev/null; cd / && pwd -W ) | grep ':' >/dev/null &&
+    ac_pwd_w="pwd -W" || ac_pwd_w=pwd
+ until ac_val=`exec 2>/dev/null; cd "$ac_dir" && $ac_pwd_w`
+ do
+   ac_dir=`AS_DIRNAME(["$ac_dir"])`
+ done
+ ac_dir=`echo "$ac_dir" | sed 's?^[[./]]*??'`
+ ac_val=`echo "$ac_val" | sed 's?/*$[]??'`
+ $1=`echo "$2" | sed "s?^[[./]]*$ac_dir/*?$ac_val/?"'
+   s?/*$[]??'`
+])
diff --git a/status.13x b/status.13x
index a937b220ea..5ab0935473 100644
--- a/status.13x
+++ b/status.13x
@@ -61,3 +61,6 @@ What's new
 - Enable compilation of LyX on DragonFly BSD.
 
 - Add missing cygwin support file in the distribution (bug 2035)
+
+- Enable Windows boxes to recognize the hard-coded paths needed to run
+  LyX from the build tree.