diff --git a/lib/tern.js b/lib/tern.js
index 82d627ab..888f50b1 100644
--- a/lib/tern.js
+++ b/lib/tern.js
@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@
     var queryType = queryTypes[query.type];
     if (queryType.takesFile) {
       if (typeof query.file != "string") return c(".query.file must be a string");
-      if (!/^#/.test(query.file)) ensureFile(srv, query.file, null);
+      if (!/^#/.test(query.file)) ensureFile(srv, srv.normalizeFilename(query.file), null);
     }
 
     analyzeAll(srv, timeBudget, function(err) {