diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 76667583c..b4c6fef84 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1860,6 +1860,7 @@ SET(host_cpu "${cpu}")
 SET(host_vendor "${osname}")
 SET(host_os "${osrel}")
 SET(abs_top_builddir "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}")
+SET(abs_top_srcdir "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}")
 
 SET(CC_VERSION "${CMAKE_C_COMPILER}")
 
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 6b3c86ba5..4ca9964a8 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -1442,9 +1442,10 @@ abs_top_builddir=`pwd`
 cd $srcdir
 abs_top_srcdir=`pwd`
 cd $abs_top_builddir
-#AC_CONFIG_FILES(test_common.sh.in)
-rm -f ${abs_top_builddir}/test_common.sh
-sed -e "s|@TOPSRCDIR@|${abs_top_srcdir}|" -e "s|@TOPBUILDDIR@|${abs_top_builddir}|" <${abs_top_srcdir}/test_common.in >${abs_top_builddir}/test_common.sh
+
+AC_CONFIG_FILES(test_common.sh:test_common.in)
+#rm -f ${abs_top_builddir}/test_common.sh
+#sed -e "s|@TOPSRCDIR@|${abs_top_srcdir}|" -e "s|@TOPBUILDDIR@|${abs_top_builddir}|" <${abs_top_srcdir}/test_common.in >${abs_top_builddir}/test_common.sh
 
 #####
 # End netcdf_meta.h definitions.
diff --git a/test_common.in b/test_common.in
index 553b242c2..89720b521 100644
--- a/test_common.in
+++ b/test_common.in
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 set -e
 
-TOPSRCDIR=@TOPSRCDIR@
-TOPBUILDDIR=@TOPBUILDDIR@
+TOPSRCDIR=@abs_top_srcdir@
+TOPBUILDDIR=@abs_top_builddir@
 
 # Figure out various locations in the src/build tree.
 # This is relatively fragile code and is essentially
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ TOPBUILDDIR=@TOPBUILDDIR@
 #    the src and build trees are distinct.
 # 4. Cmake on windows using cygwin or msys.
 #    The src and build trees are distinct.
-# 
+#
 # For now, an explicit build using the Visual C(++) compiler
 # is not supported. The big issue is the handling of executables
 # and the notion of a VS configuration/build type like Debug or Release.
@@ -29,11 +29,11 @@ TOPBUILDDIR=@TOPBUILDDIR@
 # Thus one finds ncdump.exe in $top_builddir/ncdump/Debug instead of
 # $top_builddir/ncdump. An additional issue is the extension of an
 # executable: .exe vs nothing. This code attempts to figure out which is used.
-# 
+#
 # For possible future fixes, a placeholder is left in place in the
 # following code named VS. If it were set to the build type, then,
 # in theory, this code would work with Visual C. It is disabled for now.
-# 
+#
 # The goal, then, of this common code is to set up some useful
 #constants for use in test shell scripts.
 # 1. srcdir - absolute path to the source dir (e.g. ${top_srcdir}/ncgen)