diff --git a/src/libs/utils/macroexpander.cpp b/src/libs/utils/macroexpander.cpp
index 43d23d2d190..5d3bba0229a 100644
--- a/src/libs/utils/macroexpander.cpp
+++ b/src/libs/utils/macroexpander.cpp
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ QString MacroExpander::expand(const QString &stringWithVariables) const
 FilePath MacroExpander::expand(const FilePath &fileNameWithVariables) const
 {
     // We want single variables to expand to fully qualified strings.
-    return FilePath::fromString(expand(fileNameWithVariables.toString()));
+    return FilePath::fromUserInput(expand(fileNameWithVariables.toString()));
 }
 
 QByteArray MacroExpander::expand(const QByteArray &stringWithVariables) const