diff --git a/jsdoc.js b/jsdoc.js
index b717479b..cdbed258 100644
--- a/jsdoc.js
+++ b/jsdoc.js
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ env = {
     /**
         The command line arguments, parsed into a key/value hash.
         @type Object
-        @example if (env.opts.help) { print 'Helpful message.'; }
+        @example if (env.opts.help) { console.log('Helpful message.'); }
     */
     opts: {}
 };
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ function main() {
     var handlers = require('jsdoc/src/handlers');
     var include = require('jsdoc/util/include');
     var Package = require('jsdoc/package').Package;
-    var path = require('path');
+    var path = require('jsdoc/path');
     var plugins = require('jsdoc/plugins');
     var Readme = require('jsdoc/readme');
     var resolver = require('jsdoc/tutorial/resolver');
@@ -121,64 +121,6 @@ function main() {
     var template;
 
 
-    /**
-     * If required by the current VM, convert a path to a URI that meets the operating system's
-     * requirements. Otherwise, return the original path.
-     * @function
-     * @param {string} path The path to convert.
-     * @return {string} A URI that meets the operating system's requirements, or the original path.
-     */
-    var pathToUri = vm.getModule('jsdoc').pathToUri;
-
-    /**
-     * If required by the current VM, convert a URI to a path that meets the operating system's
-     * requirements. Otherwise, assume the "URI" is really a path, and return the original path.
-     * @function
-     * @param {string} uri The URI to convert.
-     * @return {string} A path that meets the operating system's requirements.
-     */
-    var uriToPath = vm.getModule('jsdoc').uriToPath;
-
-    /**
-        Retrieve the fully resolved path to the requested template.
-
-        @param {string} template - The path to the requested template. May be an absolute path;
-        a path relative to the current working directory; or a path relative to the JSDoc directory.
-        @return {string} The fully resolved path (or, on Rhino, a URI) to the requested template.
-     */
-    function getTemplatePath(template) {
-        var result;
-        template = template || 'templates/default';
-
-        function pathExists(_path) {
-            try {
-                fs.readdirSync(_path);
-            }
-            catch(e) {
-                return false;
-            }
-
-            return true;
-        }
-
-        // first, try resolving it relative to the current working directory (or just normalize it
-        // if it's an absolute path)
-        result = path.resolve(template);
-        if ( !pathExists(result) ) {
-            // next, try resolving it relative to the JSDoc directory
-            result = path.resolve(__dirname, template);
-            if ( !pathExists(result) ) {
-                result = null;
-            }
-        }
-
-        if (result) {
-            result = pathToUri(result);
-        }
-
-        return result;
-    }
-
     defaultOpts = {
         destination: './out/',
         encoding: 'utf8'
@@ -274,19 +216,23 @@ function main() {
             resolver.resolve();
         }
 
-        env.opts.template = getTemplatePath(env.opts.template) || env.opts.template;
+        env.opts.template = (function() {
+            var publish = env.opts.template || 'templates/default';
+            // if we don't find it, keep the user-specified value so the error message is useful
+            return path.getResourcePath(publish) || env.opts.template;
+        })();
 
         try {
             template = require(env.opts.template + '/publish');
         }
         catch(e) {
-            throw new Error("Unable to load template: " + e.message || e);
+            throw new Error('Unable to load template: ' + e.message || e);
         }
 
         // templates should include a publish.js file that exports a "publish" function
         if (template.publish && typeof template.publish === 'function') {
             // convert this from a URI back to a path if necessary
-            env.opts.template = uriToPath(env.opts.template);
+            env.opts.template = path._uriToPath(env.opts.template);
             template.publish(
                 taffy(docs),
                 env.opts,
@@ -301,7 +247,7 @@ function main() {
                     'deprecated and may not be supported in future versions. ' +
                     'Please update the template to use "exports.publish" instead.' );
                 // convert this from a URI back to a path if necessary
-                env.opts.template = uriToPath(env.opts.template);
+                env.opts.template = path._uriToPath(env.opts.template);
                 publish(
                     taffy(docs),
                     env.opts,
@@ -309,7 +255,7 @@ function main() {
                 );
             }
             else {
-                throw new Error( env.opts.template + " does not export a 'publish' function." );
+                throw new Error( env.opts.template + ' does not export a "publish" function.' );
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/lib/jsdoc/path.js b/lib/jsdoc/path.js
index 3f036632..9e3c4d48 100644
--- a/lib/jsdoc/path.js
+++ b/lib/jsdoc/path.js
@@ -3,7 +3,9 @@
  * @module jsdoc/path
  */
 
+var fs = require('fs');
 var path = require('path');
+var vm = require('jsdoc/util/vm');
 
 
 function prefixReducer(previousPath, current) {
@@ -60,6 +62,75 @@ exports.commonPrefix = function(paths) {
     return common.join(path.sep);
 };
 
+// TODO: do we need this?
+/**
+ * If required by the current VM, convert a path to a URI that meets the operating system's
+ * requirements. Otherwise, return the original path.
+ * @function
+ * @private
+ * @param {string} path The path to convert.
+ * @return {string} A URI that meets the operating system's requirements, or the original path.
+ */
+var pathToUri = vm.getModule('jsdoc').pathToUri;
+
+// TODO: do we need this? if so, any way to stop exporting it?
+/**
+ * If required by the current VM, convert a URI to a path that meets the operating system's
+ * requirements. Otherwise, assume the "URI" is really a path, and return the original path.
+ * @function
+ * @private
+ * @param {string} uri The URI to convert.
+ * @return {string} A path that meets the operating system's requirements.
+ */
+exports._uriToPath = vm.getModule('jsdoc').uriToPath;
+
+/**
+ * Retrieve the fully qualified path to the requested resource.
+ *
+ * If the resource path is specified as a relative path, JSDoc searches for the path in the current
+ * working directory, then in the JSDoc directory.
+ *
+ * If the resource path is specified as a fully qualified path, JSDoc uses the path as-is.
+ *
+ * @param {string} filepath - The path to the requested resource. May be an absolute path; a path
+ * relative to the JSDoc directory; or a path relative to the current working directory.
+ * @param {string} [filename] - The filename of the requested resource.
+ * @return {string} The fully qualified path (or, on Rhino, a URI) to the requested resource.
+ * Includes the filename if one was provided.
+ */
+exports.getResourcePath = function(filepath, filename) {
+    var result;
+
+    function pathExists(_path) {
+        try {
+            fs.readdirSync(_path);
+        }
+        catch(e) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    // first, try resolving it relative to the current working directory (or just normalize it
+    // if it's an absolute path)
+    result = path.resolve(filepath);
+    if ( !pathExists(result) ) {
+        // next, try resolving it relative to the JSDoc directory
+        result = path.resolve(__dirname, filepath);
+        if ( !pathExists(result) ) {
+            result = null;
+        }
+    }
+
+    if (result) {
+        result = filename ? path.join(result, filename) : result;
+        result = pathToUri(result);
+    }
+
+    return result;
+};
+
 Object.keys(path).forEach(function(member) {
     exports[member] = path[member];
 });
diff --git a/lib/jsdoc/plugins.js b/lib/jsdoc/plugins.js
index 82cd6e18..da85646e 100644
--- a/lib/jsdoc/plugins.js
+++ b/lib/jsdoc/plugins.js
@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@
  * @module jsdoc/plugins
  */
 
+var error = require('jsdoc/util/error');
+var path = require('jsdoc/path');
+
 var hasOwnProp = Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty;
 
 exports.installPlugins = function(plugins, p) {
@@ -12,28 +15,35 @@ exports.installPlugins = function(plugins, p) {
 
     var eventName;
     var plugin;
+    var pluginPath;
 
-    // allow user-defined plugins to...
-    for (var i = 0, leni = plugins.length; i < leni; i++) {
-        plugin = require(plugins[i]);
+    for (var i = 0, l = plugins.length; i < l; i++) {
+        pluginPath = path.getResourcePath(path.dirname(plugins[i]), path.basename(plugins[i]));
+        if (!pluginPath) {
+            error.handle(new Error('Unable to find the plugin "' + plugins[i] + '"'));
+        }
+        else {
+            plugin = require(pluginPath);
 
-        //...register event handlers
-        if (plugin.handlers) {
-            for (eventName in plugin.handlers) {
-                if ( hasOwnProp.call(plugin.handlers, eventName) ) {
-                    parser.on(eventName, plugin.handlers[eventName]);
+            // allow user-defined plugins to...
+            //...register event handlers
+            if (plugin.handlers) {
+                for (eventName in plugin.handlers) {
+                    if ( hasOwnProp.call(plugin.handlers, eventName) ) {
+                        parser.on(eventName, plugin.handlers[eventName]);
+                    }
                 }
             }
-        }
 
-        //...define tags
-        if (plugin.defineTags) {
-            plugin.defineTags(dictionary);
-        }
+            //...define tags
+            if (plugin.defineTags) {
+                plugin.defineTags(dictionary);
+            }
 
-        //...add a node visitor
-        if (plugin.nodeVisitor) {
-            parser.addNodeVisitor(plugin.nodeVisitor);
+            //...add a node visitor
+            if (plugin.nodeVisitor) {
+                parser.addNodeVisitor(plugin.nodeVisitor);
+            }
         }
     }
 };
diff --git a/plugins/README.md b/plugins/README.md
index ecc46784..49842476 100644
--- a/plugins/README.md
+++ b/plugins/README.md
@@ -1,13 +1,17 @@
-Adding a Plugin
+Creating and Enabling a Plugin
 ----
 
-There are two steps required to install a new plugin:
+There are two steps required to create and enable a new JSDoc plugin:
 
 1. Create a JavaScript module to contain your plugin code.
-2. Include the name of that module in the "plugins" array of `conf.json`.
+2. Include that module in the "plugins" array of `conf.json`. You can specify
+an absolute or relative path. If you use a relative path, JSDoc searches for
+the plugin in the current working directory and the JSDoc directory, in that
+order.
 
-For example, if your plugin source code was saved in the  "plugins/shout.js"
-file, you would include it by adding a reference to it in conf.json like so:
+For example, if your plugin source code was saved in the "plugins/shout.js"
+file in the current working directory, you would include it by adding a
+reference to it in conf.json like so:
     
     ...
     "plugins": [
@@ -350,19 +354,21 @@ the `jsdoc/util/error` module:
 
     require('jsdoc/util/error').handle( new Error('I do not like green eggs and ham!') );
 
-By default this will throw the error, halting the execution of `jsdoc`. However,
-if the user used the `--lenient` switch when they ran `jsdoc` it will simply log
-the error to the console and continue.
+By default, this will throw the error, halting the execution of JSDoc. However,
+if the user enabled JSDoc's `--lenient` switch, JSDoc will simply log the error
+to the console and continue.
 
 Packaging JSDoc 3 Plugins
 ----
 
-The JSDoc 3 Jakefile has an ```install``` task that can be used to install a plugin
-into the jsdoc 3 installation.  So running the following will install the plugin:
+The JSDoc 3 Jakefile has an ```install``` task that can be used to install a
+plugin into the JSDoc directory. So running the following will install the
+plugin:
 
     $>jake install[path/to/YourPluginFolder]
 
-_note: on some systems (like MacOS X), you may need to quote the target name and parameters_:
+**Note**: On some operating systems, including OS X, you may need to quote the
+target name and parameters:
 
     $>jake 'install[path/to/YourPluginFolder]'
 
@@ -379,6 +385,3 @@ The task is passed a directory that should look something like the following:
      \- templates
          \- YourTemplate
              \- publish.js
-
-Basically everything is copied over into the jsdoc installation directory, the
-directory should contain anything you want to put there.
diff --git a/test/fixtures/testPlugin1.js b/test/fixtures/testPlugin1.js
index 9436152c..3b3e26b7 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/testPlugin1.js
+++ b/test/fixtures/testPlugin1.js
@@ -1,10 +1,25 @@
+var myGlobal = require('jsdoc/util/global');
+myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1 = {};
+
 exports.handlers = {
-    fileBegin: jasmine.createSpy('fileBegin'),
-    beforeParse: jasmine.createSpy('beforeParse'),
-    jsdocCommentFound: jasmine.createSpy('jsdocCommentFound'),
-    symbolFound: jasmine.createSpy('symbolFound'),
-    newDoclet: jasmine.createSpy('newDoclet'),
-    fileComplete: jasmine.createSpy('fileComplete')
+    fileBegin: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.fileBegin = true;
+    },
+    beforeParse: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.beforeParse = true;
+    },
+    jsdocCommentFound: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.jsdocCommentFound = true;
+    },
+    symbolFound: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.symbolFound = true;
+    },
+    newDoclet: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.newDoclet = true;
+    },
+    fileComplete: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.fileComplete = true;
+    }
 };
 
 exports.defineTags = function(dictionary) {
@@ -17,7 +32,8 @@ exports.defineTags = function(dictionary) {
 };
 
 exports.nodeVisitor = {
-    visitNode: jasmine.createSpy("plugin 1 visitNode").andCallFake(function(node, e, parser, currentSourceName) {
+    visitNode: function(node, e, parser, currentSourceName) {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.visitNode = true;
         e.stopPropagation = true;
-    })
-};
\ No newline at end of file
+    }
+};
diff --git a/test/fixtures/testPlugin2.js b/test/fixtures/testPlugin2.js
index 475999f7..bd7189f4 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/testPlugin2.js
+++ b/test/fixtures/testPlugin2.js
@@ -1,12 +1,29 @@
+var myGlobal = require('jsdoc/util/global');
+myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2 = {};
+
 exports.handlers = {
-    fileBegin: jasmine.createSpy('fileBegin'),
-    beforeParse: jasmine.createSpy('beforeParse'),
-    jsdocCommentFound: jasmine.createSpy('jsdocCommentFound'),
-    symbolFound: jasmine.createSpy('symbolFound'),
-    newDoclet: jasmine.createSpy('newDoclet'),
-    fileComplete: jasmine.createSpy('fileComplete')
+    fileBegin: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.fileBegin = true;
+    },
+    beforeParse: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.beforeParse = true;
+    },
+    jsdocCommentFound: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.jsdocCommentFound = true;
+    },
+    symbolFound: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.symbolFound = true;
+    },
+    newDoclet: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.newDoclet = true;
+    },
+    fileComplete: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.fileComplete = true;
+    }
 };
 
 exports.nodeVisitor = {
-    visitNode: jasmine.createSpy("plugin 2 visitNode")
-};
\ No newline at end of file
+    visitNode: function() {
+        myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.visitNode = true;
+    }
+};
diff --git a/test/specs/jsdoc/path.js b/test/specs/jsdoc/path.js
index 838337e7..90952b3b 100644
--- a/test/specs/jsdoc/path.js
+++ b/test/specs/jsdoc/path.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-/*global beforeEach: true, describe: true, expect: true, it: true, spyOn: true */
+/*global beforeEach: true, describe: true, expect: true, it: true, spyOn: true, xdescribe: true */
 
 describe('jsdoc/path', function() {
     var os = require('os');
@@ -24,6 +24,11 @@ describe('jsdoc/path', function() {
         expect(typeof path.commonPrefix).toEqual('function');
     });
 
+    it('should export a "getResourcePath" function', function() {
+        expect(path.getResourcePath).toBeDefined();
+        expect(typeof path.getResourcePath).toEqual('function');
+    });
+
     describe('commonPrefix', function() {
         beforeEach(function() {
             spyOn(process, 'cwd').andCallFake(function() {
@@ -83,4 +88,8 @@ describe('jsdoc/path', function() {
             }
         });
     });
+
+    xdescribe('getResourcePath', function() {
+        // TODO
+    });
 });
diff --git a/test/specs/plugins/plugins.js b/test/specs/plugins/plugins.js
index 4df84396..a989be1e 100644
--- a/test/specs/plugins/plugins.js
+++ b/test/specs/plugins/plugins.js
@@ -1,29 +1,40 @@
 /*global app: true, describe: true, expect: true, it: true, jasmine: true */
 
 describe("plugins", function() {
+    var myGlobal = require('jsdoc/util/global');
+    myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest = myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest || {};
+
     require('jsdoc/plugins').installPlugins(['test/fixtures/testPlugin1',
         'test/fixtures/testPlugin2'], app.jsdoc.parser);
 
-    var plugin1 = require('test/fixtures/testPlugin1'),
-        plugin2 = require('test/fixtures/testPlugin2'),
-        docSet;
-
-    docSet = jasmine.getDocSetFromFile("test/fixtures/plugins.js", app.jsdoc.parser);
+    var docSet = jasmine.getDocSetFromFile("test/fixtures/plugins.js", app.jsdoc.parser);
 
     it("should fire the plugin's event handlers", function() {
-        expect(plugin1.handlers.fileBegin).toHaveBeenCalled();
-        expect(plugin1.handlers.beforeParse).toHaveBeenCalled();
-        expect(plugin1.handlers.jsdocCommentFound).toHaveBeenCalled();
-        expect(plugin1.handlers.symbolFound).toHaveBeenCalled();
-        expect(plugin1.handlers.newDoclet).toHaveBeenCalled();
-        expect(plugin1.handlers.fileComplete).toHaveBeenCalled();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.fileBegin).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.fileBegin).toEqual(true);
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.beforeParse).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.beforeParse).toEqual(true);
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.jsdocCommentFound).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.jsdocCommentFound).toEqual(true);
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.symbolFound).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.symbolFound).toEqual(true);
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.newDoclet).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.newDoclet).toEqual(true);
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.fileComplete).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.fileComplete).toEqual(true);
 
-        expect(plugin2.handlers.fileBegin).toHaveBeenCalled();
-        expect(plugin2.handlers.beforeParse).toHaveBeenCalled();
-        expect(plugin2.handlers.jsdocCommentFound).toHaveBeenCalled();
-        expect(plugin2.handlers.symbolFound).toHaveBeenCalled();
-        expect(plugin2.handlers.newDoclet).toHaveBeenCalled();
-        expect(plugin2.handlers.fileComplete).toHaveBeenCalled();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.fileBegin).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.fileBegin).toEqual(true);
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.beforeParse).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.beforeParse).toEqual(true);
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.jsdocCommentFound).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.jsdocCommentFound).toEqual(true);
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.symbolFound).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.symbolFound).toEqual(true);
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.newDoclet).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.newDoclet).toEqual(true);
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.fileComplete).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.fileComplete).toEqual(true);
     });
 
     it("should add the plugin's tag definitions to the dictionary", function() {
@@ -34,10 +45,11 @@ describe("plugins", function() {
     });
 
     it("should call the plugin's visitNode function", function() {
-        expect(plugin1.nodeVisitor.visitNode).toHaveBeenCalled();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.visitNode).toBeDefined();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin1.visitNode).toEqual(true);
     });
 
     it("should not call a second plugin's visitNode function if the first stopped propagation", function() {
-        expect(plugin2.nodeVisitor.visitNode).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+        expect(myGlobal.jsdocPluginsTest.plugin2.visitNode).not.toBeDefined();
     });
-});
\ No newline at end of file
+});