diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 0dfd633c..80eb1a64 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Version 1.99.7 (2012-03-12 23:27:38) dev
+Version 1.99.7 (2012-03-13 13:54:42) dev
diff --git a/gluon/template.py b/gluon/template.py
index efcea98f..73bfc66f 100644
--- a/gluon/template.py
+++ b/gluon/template.py
@@ -435,7 +435,7 @@ class TemplateParser(object):
         filename = eval(filename, self.context)
 
         # Get the path of the file on the system.
-        filepath = os.path.join(self.path, filename)
+        filepath = self.path and os.path.join(self.path, filename) or filename
 
         # try to read the text.
         try: