diff --git a/src/FontCache.cc b/src/FontCache.cc
index 1d2546f8..29599e32 100644
--- a/src/FontCache.cc
+++ b/src/FontCache.cc
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ FontCache::FontCache()
 	// If we've got a bundled fonts.conf, initialize fontconfig with our own config
 	// by overriding the built-in fontconfig path.
 	// For system installs and dev environments, we leave this alone
-	fs::path fontdir(fs::path(PlatformUtils::resourcesPath()) / "fonts");
+	fs::path fontdir(PlatformUtils::resourcePath("fonts"));
 	if (fs::is_regular_file(fontdir / "fonts.conf")) {
 		PlatformUtils::setenv("FONTCONFIG_PATH", boosty::stringy(boosty::absolute(fontdir)).c_str(), 0);
 	}
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ FontCache::FontCache()
 	}
 
 	// Add the built-in fonts & config
-	fs::path builtinfontpath = fs::path(PlatformUtils::resourcesPath()) / "fonts";
+	fs::path builtinfontpath(PlatformUtils::resourcePath("fonts"));
 	if (fs::is_directory(builtinfontpath)) {
 		FcConfigParseAndLoad(this->config, reinterpret_cast<const FcChar8 *>(boosty::stringy(builtinfontpath).c_str()), false);
 		add_font_dir(boosty::stringy(boosty::canonical(builtinfontpath)));
diff --git a/src/PlatformUtils.cc b/src/PlatformUtils.cc
index a7f6c61a..97b237ab 100644
--- a/src/PlatformUtils.cc
+++ b/src/PlatformUtils.cc
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 #include <stdlib.h>
 
 #include "PlatformUtils.h"
-#include "boosty.h"
 #include <Eigen/Core>
 #ifdef USE_SCINTILLA_EDITOR
 #include <Qsci/qsciglobal.h>
@@ -97,7 +96,7 @@ bool PlatformUtils::createBackupPath()
 }
 
 // This is the built-in read-only resources path
-std::string PlatformUtils::resourcesPath()
+std::string PlatformUtils::resourceBasePath()
 {
 	fs::path resourcedir(applicationPath());
 	fs::path tmpdir;
@@ -130,6 +129,21 @@ std::string PlatformUtils::resourcesPath()
 	return boosty::stringy(boosty::canonical(resourcedir));
 }
 
+fs::path PlatformUtils::resourcePath(const std::string &resource)
+{
+	fs::path base(resourceBasePath());
+	if (!fs::is_directory(base)) {
+		return fs::path();
+	}
+	
+	fs::path resource_dir = base / resource;
+	if (!fs::is_directory(resource_dir)) {
+		return fs::path();
+	}
+	
+	return resource_dir;
+}
+
 int PlatformUtils::setenv(const char *name, const char *value, int overwrite)
 {
 #if defined(WIN32)
diff --git a/src/PlatformUtils.h b/src/PlatformUtils.h
index ca28134c..1dd7feac 100644
--- a/src/PlatformUtils.h
+++ b/src/PlatformUtils.h
@@ -2,13 +2,16 @@
 
 #include <string>
 
+#include "boosty.h"
+
 namespace PlatformUtils {
 
 	void registerApplicationPath(const std::string &applicationpath);
 	std::string applicationPath();
 
 	std::string documentsPath();
-	std::string resourcesPath();
+        std::string resourceBasePath();
+	fs::path resourcePath(const std::string& resource);
 	std::string userLibraryPath();
 	bool createUserLibraryPath();
 	std::string backupPath();
diff --git a/src/UIUtils.cc b/src/UIUtils.cc
index 58241ef6..3e8c8c01 100644
--- a/src/UIUtils.cc
+++ b/src/UIUtils.cc
@@ -89,8 +89,8 @@ QStringList UIUtils::exampleCategories()
 
 QFileInfoList UIUtils::exampleFiles(const QString &category)
 {
-    QDir dir(QString::fromStdString(PlatformUtils::resourcesPath()));
-    if (!dir.cd("examples") || !dir.cd(category)) {
+    QDir dir(QString::fromStdString(PlatformUtils::resourcePath("examples").string()));
+    if (!dir.cd(category)) {
 	return QFileInfoList();
     }
 
diff --git a/src/openscad.cc b/src/openscad.cc
index b65ed057..b3515eaf 100644
--- a/src/openscad.cc
+++ b/src/openscad.cc
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ void localization_init() {
 #ifdef 	LOCALE_PREFIX
 	std::string locale_path(LOCALE_PREFIX);
 #else
-	fs::path po_dir = get_resource_dir("locale");
+	fs::path po_dir(PlatformUtils::resourcePath("locale"));
 	std::string locale_path(po_dir.string());
 #endif
 	if (fs::is_directory(locale_path)) {
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ int cmdline(const char *deps_output_file, const std::string &filename, Camera &c
 	const std::string application_path = boosty::stringy(boosty::absolute(boost::filesystem::path(argv[0]).parent_path()));
 #endif	
 	PlatformUtils::registerApplicationPath(application_path);
-	parser_init(PlatformUtils::applicationPath());
+	parser_init();
 	localization_init();
 
 	Tree tree;
@@ -578,7 +578,7 @@ int gui(vector<string> &inputFiles, const fs::path &original_path, int argc, cha
 	const QString &app_path = app.applicationDirPath();
 	PlatformUtils::registerApplicationPath(app_path.toLocal8Bit().constData());
 
-	parser_init(PlatformUtils::applicationPath());
+	parser_init();
 
 	QSettings settings;
 	if (settings.value("advanced/localization", true).toBool()) {
diff --git a/src/parsersettings.cc b/src/parsersettings.cc
index b47beccc..6e3f06bb 100644
--- a/src/parsersettings.cc
+++ b/src/parsersettings.cc
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 
 namespace fs = boost::filesystem;
 
-static std::string applicationdir;
 std::vector<std::string> librarypath;
 
 static void add_librarydir(const std::string &libdir)
@@ -15,47 +14,6 @@ static void add_librarydir(const std::string &libdir)
 	librarypath.push_back(libdir);
 }
 
-fs::path get_resource_dir(const std::string &resource_folder)
-{
-	if (!fs::is_directory(applicationdir)) {
-		return fs::path();
-	}
-
-	fs::path basepath(applicationdir);
-
-	fs::path paths[] = {
-#if __APPLE__
-		// Application layout when installed on MacOS
-	        basepath.parent_path().parent_path() / "Contents" / "Resources",
-#endif
-#ifdef __unix__
-		// Different unix installation layouts are possible, this
-		// tries to capture the most obvious cases.
-		basepath.parent_path() / "share" / "openscad",
-		basepath.parent_path().parent_path() / "share" / "openscad",
-		fs::path("..") / "..",
-#endif
-#ifdef OPENSCAD_TESTING
-		// Used when running the test cases from source code layout.
-		fs::path(".."),
-#endif
-		// Try to fall back to path relative to the executable and
-		// relative to the current working directory.
-		basepath,
-		fs::path("."),
-		fs::path(), // end of list marker
-	};
-	
-	for (int a = 0;!paths[a].empty();a++) {
-		fs::path resource_dir = paths[a] / resource_folder;
-	        if (fs::is_directory(resource_dir)) {
-			return resource_dir;
-		}
-	}
-	
-	return fs::path();
-}
-
 /*!
 	Searces for the given file in library paths and returns the full path if found.
 	Returns an empty path if file cannot be found or filename is a directory.
@@ -131,9 +89,8 @@ fs::path find_valid_path(const fs::path &sourcepath,
 	return fs::path();
 }
 
-void parser_init(const std::string &applicationpath)
+void parser_init()
 {
-	applicationdir = applicationpath;
 	// Add paths from OPENSCADPATH before adding built-in paths
 	const char *openscadpaths = getenv("OPENSCADPATH");
 	if (openscadpaths) {
@@ -149,5 +106,5 @@ void parser_init(const std::string &applicationpath)
 	add_librarydir(PlatformUtils::userLibraryPath());
 #endif
 
-	add_librarydir(boosty::absolute(fs::path(PlatformUtils::resourcesPath()) / "libraries").string());
+	add_librarydir(boosty::absolute(PlatformUtils::resourcePath("libraries")).string());
 }
diff --git a/src/parsersettings.h b/src/parsersettings.h
index 8ae7730b..1b8dd53b 100644
--- a/src/parsersettings.h
+++ b/src/parsersettings.h
@@ -8,22 +8,9 @@ namespace fs = boost::filesystem;
 extern int parser_error_pos;
 
 /**
- * Initialize application an library path.
- * 
- * @param applicationpath path of the application binary, this is usually
- * derived from the Qt application object. If Qt is disabled, argv[0] is used.
+ * Initialize library path.
  */
-void parser_init(const std::string &applicationpath);
-
-/**
- * Return a path to specific resources relative to the application binary.
- * This is used to find resources bundled with the application, e.g. the
- * translation files for the gettext library.
- * 
- * @param folder subfolder for the resources (e.g. "po").
- * @return the resource path.
- */
-fs::path get_resource_dir(const std::string &resource_folder);
+void parser_init();
 
 fs::path search_libs(const fs::path &localpath);
 fs::path find_valid_path(const fs::path &sourcepath, 
diff --git a/tests/cgalcachetest.cc b/tests/cgalcachetest.cc
index 0d434cac..663dc48c 100644
--- a/tests/cgalcachetest.cc
+++ b/tests/cgalcachetest.cc
@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ namespace fs = boost::filesystem;
 #include <boost/program_options.hpp>
 namespace po = boost::program_options;
 #include "boosty.h"
+#include "PlatformUtils.h"
 
 std::string commandline_commands;
 std::string currentdir;
@@ -116,7 +117,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 	currentdir = boosty::stringy(fs::current_path());
 
-	parser_init(boosty::stringy(fs::path(argv[0]).branch_path()));
+	PlatformUtils::registerApplicationPath(boosty::stringy(fs::path(argv[0]).branch_path()));
+	parser_init();
 
 	ModuleContext top_ctx;
 	top_ctx.registerBuiltin();
diff --git a/tests/csgtexttest.cc b/tests/csgtexttest.cc
index 95912f63..0787088d 100644
--- a/tests/csgtexttest.cc
+++ b/tests/csgtexttest.cc
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@
 #include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
 namespace fs = boost::filesystem;
 #include "boosty.h"
+#include "PlatformUtils.h"
 
 std::string commandline_commands;
 std::string currentdir;
@@ -77,7 +78,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 	currentdir = boosty::stringy( fs::current_path() );
 
-	parser_init(boosty::stringy(fs::path(argv[0]).branch_path()));
+	PlatformUtils::registerApplicationPath(boosty::stringy(fs::path(argv[0]).branch_path()));
+	parser_init();
 
 	ModuleContext top_ctx;
 	top_ctx.registerBuiltin();
diff --git a/tests/modulecachetest.cc b/tests/modulecachetest.cc
index d996cd84..c5c46fc0 100644
--- a/tests/modulecachetest.cc
+++ b/tests/modulecachetest.cc
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@
 #include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
 namespace fs = boost::filesystem;
 #include "boosty.h"
+#include "PlatformUtils.h"
 
 std::string commandline_commands;
 std::string currentdir;
@@ -73,7 +74,8 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 	currentdir = boosty::stringy( fs::current_path() );
 
-	parser_init(boosty::stringy(fs::path(argv[0]).branch_path()));
+	PlatformUtils::registerApplicationPath(boosty::stringy(fs::path(argv[0]).branch_path()));
+	parser_init();
 
 	ModuleContext top_ctx;
 	top_ctx.registerBuiltin();