diff --git a/pcbnew/dialogs/dialog_export_step.cpp b/pcbnew/dialogs/dialog_export_step.cpp
index d489b39dbf..c26a4db8be 100644
--- a/pcbnew/dialogs/dialog_export_step.cpp
+++ b/pcbnew/dialogs/dialog_export_step.cpp
@@ -34,13 +34,13 @@
 #include "class_board.h"
 #include "dialog_export_step_base.h"
 
-#define OPTKEY_STEP_USE_DRILL_ORG wxT( "STEP_UseDrillOrigin" )
-#define OPTKEY_STEP_USE_AUX_ORG wxT( "STEP_UseAuxOrigin" )
-#define OPTKEY_STEP_USE_USER_ORG wxT( "STEP_UseUserOrigin" )
-#define OPTKEY_STEP_UORG_UNITS wxT( "STEP_UserOriginUnits" )
-#define OPTKEY_STEP_UORG_X wxT( "STEP_UserOriginX" )
-#define OPTKEY_STEP_UORG_Y wxT( "STEP_UserOriginY" )
-#define OPTKEY_STEP_NOVIRT wxT( "STEP_NoVirtual" )
+#define OPTKEY_STEP_USE_DRILL_ORG   "STEP_UseDrillOrigin"
+#define OPTKEY_STEP_USE_AUX_ORG     "STEP_UseAuxOrigin"
+#define OPTKEY_STEP_USE_USER_ORG    "STEP_UseUserOrigin"
+#define OPTKEY_STEP_UORG_UNITS      "STEP_UserOriginUnits"
+#define OPTKEY_STEP_UORG_X          "STEP_UserOriginX"
+#define OPTKEY_STEP_UORG_Y          "STEP_UserOriginY"
+#define OPTKEY_STEP_NOVIRT          "STEP_NoVirtual"
 
 
 class DIALOG_EXPORT_STEP: public DIALOG_EXPORT_STEP_BASE
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ public:
         wxString tmpStr;
         tmpStr << m_XOrg;
         m_STEP_Xorg->SetValue( tmpStr );
-        tmpStr = wxT( "" );
+        tmpStr = "";
         tmpStr << m_YOrg;
         m_STEP_Yorg->SetValue( tmpStr );
 
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ void PCB_EDIT_FRAME::OnExportSTEP( wxCommandEvent& event )
 {
 
     wxFileName brdFile = GetBoard()->GetFileName();
-    wxString brdName = brdFile.GetFullPath();
+    wxString brdName;
 
     if( GetScreen()->IsModify() || brdFile.GetFullPath().empty() )
     {
@@ -200,13 +200,16 @@ void PCB_EDIT_FRAME::OnExportSTEP( wxCommandEvent& event )
         brdName = GetAutoSaveFilePrefix();
         brdName.append( brdFile.GetName() );
         brdFile.SetName( brdName );
-        brdName = brdFile.GetFullPath();
     }
 
+    brdName = "\"";
+    brdName.Append( brdFile.GetFullPath() );
+    brdName.Append( "\"" );
+
     // Build default output file name
     brdFile = GetBoard()->GetFileName();
     wxString brdExt = brdFile.GetExt();
-    brdFile.SetExt( wxT( "stp" ) );
+    brdFile.SetExt( "stp" );
 
     DIALOG_EXPORT_STEP dlg( this );
     dlg.FilePicker()->SetPath( brdFile.GetFullPath() );
@@ -249,6 +252,8 @@ void PCB_EDIT_FRAME::OnExportSTEP( wxCommandEvent& event )
         }
     }
 
+    outputFile.Prepend( "\"" );
+    outputFile.Append( "\"" );
     bool   aUseDrillOrg = dlg.GetDrillOrgOption();
     bool   aUseAuxOrg   = dlg.GetAuxOrgOption();
     bool   aUseUserOrg  = dlg.GetUserOrgOption();
@@ -269,11 +274,12 @@ void PCB_EDIT_FRAME::OnExportSTEP( wxCommandEvent& event )
         }
     }
 
-    wxBusyCursor dummy;
     wxFileName appK2S( wxStandardPaths::Get().GetExecutablePath() );
     appK2S.SetName( "kicad2step" );
 
-    wxString cmdK2S = appK2S.GetFullPath();
+    wxString cmdK2S = "\"";
+    cmdK2S.Append( appK2S.GetFullPath() );
+    cmdK2S.Append( "\"" );
 
     if( aNoVirtual )
         cmdK2S.Append( " --no-virtual" );
@@ -293,10 +299,20 @@ void PCB_EDIT_FRAME::OnExportSTEP( wxCommandEvent& event )
     cmdK2S.Append( " " );
     cmdK2S.Append( brdName );
 
-    if( wxExecute( cmdK2S, wxEXEC_SYNC | wxEXEC_HIDE_CONSOLE ) )
+    std::cerr << "Executing kicad2step:\n  " << cmdK2S.ToUTF8() << "\n";
+    int result = 0;
+
+    do
     {
-        wxMessageBox( _( "Unable to create STEP file." ),
-            _( "STEP EXPORT" ), wxOK );
+        wxBusyCursor dummy;
+        result = wxExecute( cmdK2S, wxEXEC_SYNC | wxEXEC_HIDE_CONSOLE );
+    } while( 0 );
+
+    if( result )
+    {
+        wxMessageBox(
+            _( "Unable to create STEP file; check that the board has a valid outline and models." ),
+            _( "STEP Export" ), wxOK );
     }
 
     return;
diff --git a/pcbnew/pcbframe.cpp b/pcbnew/pcbframe.cpp
index 84f7582ba4..183f9290e0 100644
--- a/pcbnew/pcbframe.cpp
+++ b/pcbnew/pcbframe.cpp
@@ -471,12 +471,6 @@ PCB_EDIT_FRAME::PCB_EDIT_FRAME( KIWAY* aKiway, wxWindow* aParent ) :
 
     // disable Export STEP item if kicad2step does not exist
     wxString strK2S = Pgm().GetExecutablePath();
-
-    #ifdef _WIN32
-    // translate from KiCad's internal UNIX-like path to MSWin paths
-    strK2S.Replace( "/", "\\" );
-    #endif
-
     wxFileName appK2S( strK2S, "kicad2step" );
 
     #ifdef _WIN32
diff --git a/utils/kicad2step/pcb/3d_resolver.cpp b/utils/kicad2step/pcb/3d_resolver.cpp
index c20bf52754..7c104a394f 100644
--- a/utils/kicad2step/pcb/3d_resolver.cpp
+++ b/utils/kicad2step/pcb/3d_resolver.cpp
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
 
 // configuration file version
 #define CFGFILE_VERSION 1
-#define S3D_RESOLVER_CONFIG wxT( "3Dresolver.cfg" )
+#define S3D_RESOLVER_CONFIG "3Dresolver.cfg"
 
 // flag bits used to track different one-off messages to users
 #define ERRFLG_ALIAS    (1)
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ bool S3D_RESOLVER::SetProjectDir( const wxString& aProjDir, bool* flgChanged )
     if( aProjDir.empty() )
         return false;
 
-    wxFileName projdir( aProjDir, wxT( "" ) );
+    wxFileName projdir( aProjDir, "" );
     projdir.Normalize();
 
     if( false == projdir.DirExists() )
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ wxString S3D_RESOLVER::ResolvePath( const wxString& aFileName )
 
     #ifdef _WIN32
     // translate from KiCad's internal UNIX-like path to MSWin paths
-    tname.Replace( wxT( "/" ), wxT( "\\" ) );
+    tname.Replace( "/", "\\" );
     #endif
 
     // Note: variable expansion must preferably be performed via a
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ wxString S3D_RESOLVER::ResolvePath( const wxString& aFileName )
     // wxFileName::Normalize() routine to perform expansion then
     // we will have a race condition since wxWidgets does not assure
     // a threadsafe wrapper for getenv().
-    if( tname.StartsWith( wxT( "${" ) ) || tname.StartsWith( wxT( "$(" ) ) )
+    if( tname.StartsWith( "${" ) || tname.StartsWith( "$(" ) )
         tname = expandVars( tname );
 
     wxFileName tmpFN( tname );
@@ -530,24 +530,24 @@ bool S3D_RESOLVER::addPath( const S3D_ALIAS& aPath )
     S3D_ALIAS tpath = aPath;
 
     #ifdef _WIN32
-    while( tpath.m_pathvar.EndsWith( wxT( "\\" ) ) )
+    while( tpath.m_pathvar.EndsWith( "\\" ) )
         tpath.m_pathvar.erase( tpath.m_pathvar.length() - 1 );
     #else
-    while( tpath.m_pathvar.EndsWith( wxT( "/" ) ) &&  tpath.m_pathvar.length() > 1 )
+    while( tpath.m_pathvar.EndsWith( "/" ) &&  tpath.m_pathvar.length() > 1 )
         tpath.m_pathvar.erase( tpath.m_pathvar.length() - 1 );
     #endif
 
-    wxFileName path( tpath.m_pathvar, wxT( "" ) );
+    wxFileName path( tpath.m_pathvar, "" );
     path.Normalize();
 
     if( !path.DirExists() )
     {
         // suppress the message if the missing pathvar is the
         // legacy KISYS3DMOD variable
-        if( aPath.m_pathvar.compare( wxT( "${KISYS3DMOD}" ) ) )
+        if( aPath.m_pathvar.compare( "${KISYS3DMOD}" ) )
         {
             wxString msg = _( "The given path does not exist" );
-            msg.append( wxT( "\n" ) );
+            msg.append( "\n" );
             msg.append( tpath.m_pathvar );
             wxLogMessage( "%s\n", msg.ToUTF8() );
         }
@@ -559,10 +559,10 @@ bool S3D_RESOLVER::addPath( const S3D_ALIAS& aPath )
         tpath.m_pathexp = path.GetFullPath();
 
         #ifdef _WIN32
-        while( tpath.m_pathexp.EndsWith( wxT( "\\" ) ) )
+        while( tpath.m_pathexp.EndsWith( "\\" ) )
         tpath.m_pathexp.erase( tpath.m_pathexp.length() - 1 );
         #else
-        while( tpath.m_pathexp.EndsWith( wxT( "/" ) ) &&  tpath.m_pathexp.length() > 1 )
+        while( tpath.m_pathexp.EndsWith( "/" ) &&  tpath.m_pathexp.length() > 1 )
             tpath.m_pathexp.erase( tpath.m_pathexp.length() - 1 );
         #endif
     }
@@ -577,10 +577,10 @@ bool S3D_RESOLVER::addPath( const S3D_ALIAS& aPath )
         {
             wxString msg = _( "Alias: " );
             msg.append( tpath.m_alias );
-            msg.append( wxT( "\n" ) );
+            msg.append( "\n" );
             msg.append( _( "This path: " ) );
             msg.append( tpath.m_pathvar );
-            msg.append( wxT( "\n" ) );
+            msg.append( "\n" );
             msg.append( _( "Existing path: " ) );
             msg.append( sPL->m_pathvar );
             wxMessageBox( msg, _( "Bad alias (duplicate name)" ) );
@@ -678,7 +678,7 @@ bool S3D_RESOLVER::readPathList( void )
             continue;
 
         // never add on KISYS3DMOD from a config file
-        if( !al.m_alias.Cmp( wxT( "KISYS3DMOD" ) ) )
+        if( !al.m_alias.Cmp( "KISYS3DMOD" ) )
             continue;
 
         if( !getHollerith( cfgLine, idx, al.m_pathvar ) )
@@ -912,7 +912,7 @@ wxString S3D_RESOLVER::ShortenPath( const wxString& aFullPathName )
             continue;
         }
 
-        wxFileName fpath( sL->m_pathexp, wxT( "" ) );
+        wxFileName fpath( sL->m_pathexp, "" );
         wxString fps = fpath.GetPathWithSep();
         wxString tname;
 
@@ -924,7 +924,7 @@ wxString S3D_RESOLVER::ShortenPath( const wxString& aFullPathName )
 
             #ifdef _WIN32
             // ensure only the '/' separator is used in the internal name
-            fname.Replace( wxT( "\\" ), wxT( "/" ) );
+            fname.Replace( "\\", "/" );
             #endif
 
             if( sL->m_alias.StartsWith( "${" ) || sL->m_alias.StartsWith( "$(" ) )
@@ -954,7 +954,7 @@ wxString S3D_RESOLVER::ShortenPath( const wxString& aFullPathName )
     // UNIX separator but this is done for consistency and can
     // be helpful even when transferring project files from
     // MSWin to *NIX.
-    fname.Replace( wxT( "\\" ), wxT( "/" ) );
+    fname.Replace( "\\", "/" );
 #endif
 
     return fname;
@@ -974,10 +974,10 @@ bool S3D_RESOLVER::SplitAlias( const wxString& aFileName,
     anAlias.clear();
     aRelPath.clear();
 
-    if( !aFileName.StartsWith( wxT( ":" ) ) )
+    if( !aFileName.StartsWith( ":" ) )
         return false;
 
-    size_t tagpos = aFileName.find( wxT( ":" ), 1 );
+    size_t tagpos = aFileName.find( ":", 1 );
 
     if( wxString::npos ==  tagpos || 1 == tagpos )
         return false;
@@ -1092,7 +1092,7 @@ bool S3D_RESOLVER::ValidateFileName( const wxString& aFileName, bool& hasAlias )
     // Rules:
     // 1. The generic form of an aliased 3D relative path is:
     //    ALIAS:relative/path
-    // 2. ALIAS is a UTF string excluding wxT( "{}[]()%~<>\"='`;:.,&?/\\|$" )
+    // 2. ALIAS is a UTF string excluding "{}[]()%~<>\"='`;:.,&?/\\|$"
     // 3. The relative path must be a valid relative path for the platform
     hasAlias = false;
 
@@ -1105,12 +1105,12 @@ bool S3D_RESOLVER::ValidateFileName( const wxString& aFileName, bool& hasAlias )
 
     // ensure that the file separators suit the current platform
     #ifdef __WINDOWS__
-    filename.Replace( wxT( "/" ), wxT( "\\" ) );
+    filename.Replace( "/", "\\" );
 
     // if we see the :\ pattern then it must be a drive designator
     if( pos0 != wxString::npos )
     {
-        size_t pos1 = aFileName.find( wxT( ":\\" ) );
+        size_t pos1 = aFileName.find( ":\\" );
 
         if( pos1 != wxString::npos && ( pos1 != pos0 || pos1 != 1 ) )
             return false;
@@ -1120,7 +1120,7 @@ bool S3D_RESOLVER::ValidateFileName( const wxString& aFileName, bool& hasAlias )
             pos0 = wxString::npos;
     }
     #else
-    filename.Replace( wxT( "\\" ), wxT( "/" ) );
+    filename.Replace( "\\", "/" );
     #endif
 
     // names may not end with ':'
@@ -1136,7 +1136,7 @@ bool S3D_RESOLVER::ValidateFileName( const wxString& aFileName, bool& hasAlias )
         lpath = filename.substr( 0, pos0 );
 
         // check the alias for restricted characters
-        if( wxString::npos != lpath.find_first_of( wxT( "{}[]()%~<>\"='`;:.,&?/\\|$" ) ) )
+        if( wxString::npos != lpath.find_first_of( "{}[]()%~<>\"='`;:.,&?/\\|$" ) )
             return false;
 
         hasAlias = true;
diff --git a/utils/kicad2step/pcb/kicadpcb.cpp b/utils/kicad2step/pcb/kicadpcb.cpp
index 77860583e7..29564d37a5 100644
--- a/utils/kicad2step/pcb/kicadpcb.cpp
+++ b/utils/kicad2step/pcb/kicadpcb.cpp
@@ -56,10 +56,10 @@ static wxString GetKicadConfigPath()
 #if !defined( __WINDOWS__ ) && !defined( __WXMAC__ )
     wxString envstr;
 
-    if( !wxGetEnv( wxT( "XDG_CONFIG_HOME" ), &envstr ) || envstr.IsEmpty() )
+    if( !wxGetEnv( "XDG_CONFIG_HOME", &envstr ) || envstr.IsEmpty() )
     {
         // XDG_CONFIG_HOME is not set, so use the fallback
-        cfgpath.AppendDir( wxT( ".config" ) );
+        cfgpath.AppendDir( ".config" );
     }
     else
     {
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ static wxString GetKicadConfigPath()
     }
 #endif
 
-    cfgpath.AppendDir( wxT( "kicad" ) );
+    cfgpath.AppendDir( "kicad" );
 
     if( !cfgpath.DirExists() )
     {