diff --git a/src/qtgui/confgui/confgui.cpp b/src/qtgui/confgui/confgui.cpp
index 03b9b918..27222440 100644
--- a/src/qtgui/confgui/confgui.cpp
+++ b/src/qtgui/confgui/confgui.cpp
@@ -336,7 +336,11 @@ static QString myGetFileName(bool isdir, QString caption, bool filenosave)
 void ConfParamW::setValue(const QString& value)
 {
     if (m_fsencoding) {
+#ifdef _WIN32
+        m_cflink->set(string((const char *)value.toUtf8()));
+#else
         m_cflink->set(string((const char *)value.toLocal8Bit()));
+#endif
     } else {
         m_cflink->set(string((const char *)value.toUtf8()));
     }
@@ -462,7 +466,11 @@ void ConfParamStrW::loadValue()
     string s;
     m_cflink->get(s);
     if (m_fsencoding) {
+#ifdef _WIN32
+        m_le->setText(m_origvalue = QString::fromUtf8(s.c_str()));
+#else
         m_le->setText(m_origvalue = QString::fromLocal8Bit(s.c_str()));
+#endif
     } else {
         m_le->setText(m_origvalue = QString::fromUtf8(s.c_str()));
     }
@@ -513,7 +521,11 @@ void ConfParamCStrW::loadValue()
     m_cflink->get(s);
     QString cs;
     if (m_fsencoding) {
+#ifdef _WIN32
+        cs = QString::fromUtf8(s.c_str());
+#else
         cs = QString::fromLocal8Bit(s.c_str());
+#endif        
     } else {
         cs = QString::fromUtf8(s.c_str());
     }
@@ -619,7 +631,11 @@ void ConfParamFNW::loadValue()
 {
     string s;
     m_cflink->get(s);
+#ifdef _WIN32
+    m_le->setText(m_origvalue = QString::fromUtf8(s.c_str()));
+#else
     m_le->setText(m_origvalue = QString::fromLocal8Bit(s.c_str()));
+#endif
 }
 
 void ConfParamFNW::showBrowserDialog()
@@ -765,7 +781,11 @@ void ConfParamSLW::loadValue()
     QStringList qls;
     for (const auto& str : ls) {
         if (m_fsencoding) {
+#ifdef _WIN32
+            qls.push_back(QString::fromUtf8(str.c_str()));
+#else
             qls.push_back(QString::fromLocal8Bit(str.c_str()));
+#endif
         } else {
             qls.push_back(QString::fromUtf8(str.c_str()));
         }
diff --git a/src/qtgui/multisave.cpp b/src/qtgui/multisave.cpp
index 40d1274d..39accf85 100644
--- a/src/qtgui/multisave.cpp
+++ b/src/qtgui/multisave.cpp
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ void multiSave(QWidget *p, vector<Rcl::Doc>& docs)
     */
     set<string> existingNames;
     string reason;
-    if (!readdir(dir, reason, existingNames)) {
+    if (!listdir(dir, reason, existingNames)) {
 	QMessageBox::warning(0, "Recoll",
 			     QWidget::tr("Could not read directory: ") +
 			     QString::fromLocal8Bit(reason.c_str()));
diff --git a/src/testmains/trwipedir.cpp b/src/testmains/trwipedir.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..85c70908
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/testmains/trwipedir.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+#include "wipedir.h"
+
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+
+
+using namespace std;
+static const char *thisprog;
+
+static int     op_flags;
+#define OPT_MOINS 0x1
+#define OPT_r	  0x2 
+#define OPT_s	  0x4 
+static char usage [] =
+"wipedir [-r -s] topdir\n"
+" -r : recurse\n"
+" -s : also delete topdir\n"
+;
+static void
+Usage(void)
+{
+    fprintf(stderr, "%s: usage:\n%s", thisprog, usage);
+    exit(1);
+}
+
+int main(int argc, const char **argv)
+{
+    thisprog = argv[0];
+    argc--; argv++;
+
+    while (argc > 0 && **argv == '-') {
+	(*argv)++;
+	if (!(**argv))
+	    /* Cas du "adb - core" */
+	    Usage();
+	while (**argv)
+	    switch (*(*argv)++) {
+	    case 'r':	op_flags |= OPT_r; break;
+	    case 's':	op_flags |= OPT_s; break;
+	    default: Usage();	break;
+	    }
+    b1: argc--; argv++;
+    }
+
+    if (argc != 1)
+	Usage();
+
+    string dir = *argv++;argc--;
+
+    bool topalso = ((op_flags&OPT_s) != 0);
+    bool recurse = ((op_flags&OPT_r) != 0);
+    int cnt = wipedir(dir, topalso, recurse);
+    printf("wipedir returned %d\n", cnt);
+    exit(0);
+}
diff --git a/src/utils/pathut.cpp b/src/utils/pathut.cpp
index 66528c48..9dbdf829 100644
--- a/src/utils/pathut.cpp
+++ b/src/utils/pathut.cpp
@@ -61,6 +61,11 @@
 #define LSTAT _wstati64
 #define STATBUF _stati64
 #define ACCESS _waccess
+#define OPENDIR _wopendir
+#define CLOSEDIR _wclosedir
+#define READDIR _wreaddir
+#define DIRENT _wdirent
+#define DIRHDL _WDIR
 
 #else // Not windows ->
 #include <fcntl.h>
@@ -76,6 +81,11 @@
 #define LSTAT lstat
 #define STATBUF stat
 #define ACCESS access
+#define OPENDIR opendir
+#define CLOSEDIR closedir
+#define READDIR readdir
+#define DIRENT dirent
+#define DIRHDL DIR
 #endif
 
 #include <cstdlib>
@@ -996,43 +1006,55 @@ ParsedUri::ParsedUri(std::string uri)
     }
 }
 
-bool readdir(const string& dir, string& reason, set<string>& entries)
+bool listdir(const string& dir, string& reason, set<string>& entries)
 {
-    struct stat st;
+    struct STATBUF st;
     int statret;
     ostringstream msg;
-    DIR *d = 0;
-    statret = lstat(dir.c_str(), &st);
+    DIRHDL *d = 0;
+
+    SYSPATH(dir, sysdir);
+
+    statret = LSTAT(sysdir, &st);
     if (statret == -1) {
-        msg << "readdir: cant stat " << dir << " errno " <<  errno;
+        msg << "listdir: cant stat " << dir << " errno " <<  errno;
         goto out;
     }
     if (!S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
-        msg << "readdir: " << dir <<  " not a directory";
+        msg << "listdir: " << dir <<  " not a directory";
         goto out;
     }
-    if (access(dir.c_str(), R_OK) < 0) {
-        msg << "readdir: no read access to " << dir;
+    if (ACCESS(sysdir, R_OK) < 0) {
+        msg << "listdir: no read access to " << dir;
         goto out;
     }
 
-    d = opendir(dir.c_str());
+    d = OPENDIR(sysdir);
     if (d == 0) {
-        msg << "readdir: cant opendir " << dir << ", errno " << errno;
+        msg << "listdir: cant opendir " << dir << ", errno " << errno;
         goto out;
     }
 
-    struct dirent *ent;
-    while ((ent = readdir(d)) != 0) {
-        if (!strcmp(ent->d_name, ".") || !strcmp(ent->d_name, "..")) {
+    struct DIRENT *ent;
+    while ((ent = READDIR(d)) != 0) {
+#ifdef _WIN32
+        string sdname;
+        if (!wchartoutf8(ent->d_name, sdname)) {
             continue;
         }
-        entries.insert(ent->d_name);
+        const char *dname = sdname.c_str();
+#else
+        const char *dname = ent->d_name;
+#endif
+        if (!strcmp(dname, ".") || !strcmp(dname, "..")) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        entries.insert(dname);
     }
 
 out:
     if (d) {
-        closedir(d);
+        CLOSEDIR(d);
     }
     reason = msg.str();
     if (reason.empty()) {
diff --git a/src/utils/pathut.h b/src/utils/pathut.h
index be2b47ba..eccaef43 100644
--- a/src/utils/pathut.h
+++ b/src/utils/pathut.h
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ extern std::string path_PATHsep();
 #endif
 
 /// Dump directory
-extern bool readdir(const std::string& dir, std::string& reason,
+extern bool listdir(const std::string& dir, std::string& reason,
                     std::set<std::string>& entries);
 
 /** A small wrapper around statfs et al, to return percentage of disk
diff --git a/src/utils/rclutil.cpp b/src/utils/rclutil.cpp
index 08a474e0..cb0049cf 100644
--- a/src/utils/rclutil.cpp
+++ b/src/utils/rclutil.cpp
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ bool path_empty(const string& path)
     if (path_isdir(path)) {
         string reason;
         std::set<string> entries;
-        if (!readdir(path, reason, entries) || entries.empty()) {
+        if (!listdir(path, reason, entries) || entries.empty()) {
             return true;
         }
         return false;
diff --git a/src/utils/wipedir.cpp b/src/utils/wipedir.cpp
index e7aa03cc..8ce028f8 100644
--- a/src/utils/wipedir.cpp
+++ b/src/utils/wipedir.cpp
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-/* Copyright (C) 2004 J.F.Dockes
+/* Copyright (C) 2004-2019 J.F.Dockes
  *
  *   This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
  *   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
@@ -15,15 +15,12 @@
  *   Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
  * 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
  */
-
-#ifndef TEST_WIPEDIR
 #include "autoconfig.h"
 
+#include "wipedir.h"
+
+#include <stdio.h>
 #include <errno.h>
-#include "safefcntl.h"
-#include <sys/types.h>
-#include "safesysstat.h"
-#include "safeunistd.h"
 #include <dirent.h>
 
 #include <cstring>
@@ -31,48 +28,96 @@
 
 #include "log.h"
 #include "pathut.h"
-#include "wipedir.h"
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+#include "safefcntl.h"
+#include "safeunistd.h"
+#include "safewindows.h"
+#include "safesysstat.h"
+#include "transcode.h"
+
+#define STAT _wstati64
+#define LSTAT _wstati64
+#define STATBUF _stati64
+#define ACCESS _waccess
+#define OPENDIR _wopendir
+#define CLOSEDIR _wclosedir
+#define READDIR _wreaddir
+#define DIRENT _wdirent
+#define DIRHDL _WDIR
+#define UNLINK _wunlink
+#define RMDIR _wrmdir
+
+#else // Not windows ->
+
+#include <fcntl.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+
+#define STAT stat
+#define LSTAT lstat
+#define STATBUF stat
+#define ACCESS access
+#define OPENDIR opendir
+#define CLOSEDIR closedir
+#define READDIR readdir
+#define DIRENT dirent
+#define DIRHDL DIR
+#define UNLINK unlink
+#define RMDIR rmdir
+#endif
 
 using namespace std;
 
 int wipedir(const string& dir, bool selfalso, bool recurse)
 {
-    struct stat st;
+    struct STATBUF st;
     int statret;
     int ret = -1;
 
-    statret = lstat(dir.c_str(), &st);
+    SYSPATH(dir, sysdir);
+    statret = LSTAT(sysdir, &st);
     if (statret == -1) {
-	LOGERR("wipedir: cant stat "  << (dir) << ", errno "  << (errno) << "\n" );
+	LOGSYSERR("wipedir", "stat", dir);
 	return -1;
     }
     if (!S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
-	LOGERR("wipedir: "  << (dir) << " not a directory\n" );
+	LOGERR("wipedir: " << dir << " not a directory\n");
 	return -1;
     }
 
-    if (access(dir.c_str(), R_OK|W_OK|X_OK) < 0) {
-	LOGERR("wipedir: no write access to "  << (dir) << "\n" );
+    if (ACCESS(sysdir, R_OK|W_OK|X_OK) < 0) {
+	LOGSYSERR("wipedir", "access", dir);
 	return -1;
     }
 
-    DIR *d = opendir(dir.c_str());
+    DIRHDL *d = OPENDIR(sysdir);
     if (d == 0) {
-	LOGERR("wipedir: cant opendir "  << (dir) << ", errno "  << (errno) << "\n" );
+	LOGSYSERR("wipedir", "opendir", dir);
 	return -1;
     }
     int remaining = 0;
-    struct dirent *ent;
-    while ((ent = readdir(d)) != 0) {
-	if (!strcmp(ent->d_name, ".") || !strcmp(ent->d_name, "..")) 
+    struct DIRENT *ent;
+    while ((ent = READDIR(d)) != 0) {
+#ifdef _WIN32
+        string sdname;
+        if (!wchartoutf8(ent->d_name, sdname)) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        const char *dname = sdname.c_str();
+#else
+        const char *dname = ent->d_name;
+#endif
+	if (!strcmp(dname, ".") || !strcmp(dname, "..")) 
 	    continue;
 
-	string fn = path_cat(dir, ent->d_name);
+	string fn = path_cat(dir, dname);
 
-	struct stat st;
-	int statret = lstat(fn.c_str(), &st);
+        SYSPATH(fn, sysfn);
+	struct STATBUF st;
+	int statret = LSTAT(sysfn, &st);
 	if (statret == -1) {
-	    LOGERR("wipedir: cant stat "  << (fn) << ", errno "  << (errno) << "\n" );
+	    LOGSYSERR("wipedir", "stat", fn);
 	    goto out;
 	}
 	if (S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
@@ -86,8 +131,8 @@ int wipedir(const string& dir, bool selfalso, bool recurse)
 		remaining++;
 	    }
 	} else {
-	    if (unlink(fn.c_str()) < 0) {
-		LOGERR("wipedir: cant unlink "  << (fn) << ", errno "  << (errno) << "\n" );
+	    if (UNLINK(sysfn) < 0) {
+		LOGSYSERR("wipedir", "unlink", fn);
 		goto out;
 	    }
 	}
@@ -95,74 +140,14 @@ int wipedir(const string& dir, bool selfalso, bool recurse)
 
     ret = remaining;
     if (selfalso && ret == 0) {
-	if (rmdir(dir.c_str()) < 0) {
-	    LOGERR("wipedir: rmdir("  << (dir) << ") failed, errno "  << (errno) << "\n" );
+	if (RMDIR(sysdir) < 0) {
+	    LOGSYSERR("wipedir", "rmdir", dir);
 	    ret = -1;
 	}
     }
 
- out:
+out:
     if (d)
-	closedir(d);
+	CLOSEDIR(d);
     return ret;
 }
-
-
-#else // FILEUT_TEST
-
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <stdlib.h>
-
-#include "wipedir.h"
-
-using namespace std;
-static const char *thisprog;
-
-static int     op_flags;
-#define OPT_MOINS 0x1
-#define OPT_r	  0x2 
-#define OPT_s	  0x4 
-static char usage [] =
-"wipedir [-r -s] topdir\n"
-" -r : recurse\n"
-" -s : also delete topdir\n"
-;
-static void
-Usage(void)
-{
-    fprintf(stderr, "%s: usage:\n%s", thisprog, usage);
-    exit(1);
-}
-int main(int argc, const char **argv)
-{
-    thisprog = argv[0];
-    argc--; argv++;
-
-    while (argc > 0 && **argv == '-') {
-	(*argv)++;
-	if (!(**argv))
-	    /* Cas du "adb - core" */
-	    Usage();
-	while (**argv)
-	    switch (*(*argv)++) {
-	    case 'r':	op_flags |= OPT_r; break;
-	    case 's':	op_flags |= OPT_s; break;
-	    default: Usage();	break;
-	    }
-    b1: argc--; argv++;
-    }
-
-    if (argc != 1)
-	Usage();
-
-    string dir = *argv++;argc--;
-
-    bool topalso = ((op_flags&OPT_s) != 0);
-    bool recurse = ((op_flags&OPT_r) != 0);
-    int cnt = wipedir(dir, topalso, recurse);
-    printf("wipedir returned %d\n", cnt);
-    exit(0);
-}
-
-#endif
-