diff -Naur a/util/genmsgidx b/util/genmsgidx
--- a/util/genmsgidx	2011-12-28 11:58:04.399319906 +0000
+++ b/util/genmsgidx	2011-12-28 12:09:01.852424013 +0000
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@
    esac
 done
 
-BASEDIR=${BASEDIR:=$basedir}
+BASEDIR="${BASEDIR:=$basedir}"
+BASEDIR="${BASEDIR%/}"
 export BASEDIR
 
 findcmd()
@@ -96,7 +97,7 @@
 haveallof variables BASEDIR || exit 1
 
 # Clear idx file and detect error
-> $BASEDIR/doc/explain.idx && {
+> "${BASEDIR}/doc/explain.idx" || {
     echo "Error: Cannot write over the index file $BASEDIR/doc/explain.idx. Aborting"
     exit 1
 }