diff --git a/Shorewall-common/shorewall b/Shorewall-common/shorewall
index 9a5e3e99f..b92164621 100755
--- a/Shorewall-common/shorewall
+++ b/Shorewall-common/shorewall
@@ -261,8 +261,8 @@ compiler() {
 
     shift
     
-    if [ -z "$EXPORT" -a $(id -u) -ne 0 ]; then
-	startup_error "Ordinary users may only comple for export (-e option)"
+    if [ -z "$EXPORT" -a $(id -u) -ne 0 -a -z "$SHOREWALL_DIR" ]; then
+	startup_error "Ordinary users may only comple for export (-e option) or from a specified directory"
     fi
     #
     # We've now set SHOREWALL_DIR so recalculate CONFIG_PATH