diff --git a/autoload/vimwiki/base.vim b/autoload/vimwiki/base.vim
index 1b7a337..deb0e9c 100644
--- a/autoload/vimwiki/base.vim
+++ b/autoload/vimwiki/base.vim
@@ -270,7 +270,6 @@ function! vimwiki#base#resolve_link(link_text, ...) "{{{
         \ 'scheme': '',
         \ 'filename': '',
         \ 'anchor': '',
-        \ 'relative': 0,
         \ }
 
 
@@ -303,12 +302,14 @@ function! vimwiki#base#resolve_link(link_text, ...) "{{{
 
   " check if absolute or relative path
   if is_wiki_link && link_text[0] == '/'
-    let link_text = link_text[1:]
-    let link_infos.relative = 0
+    if link_text != '/'
+      let link_text = link_text[1:]
+    endif
+    let is_relative = 0
   elseif !is_wiki_link && vimwiki#path#is_absolute(link_text)
-    let link_infos.relative = 0
+    let is_relative = 0
   else
-    let link_infos.relative = 1
+    let is_relative = 1
     let root_dir = fnamemodify(source_file, ':p:h') . '/'
   endif
 
@@ -321,7 +322,7 @@ function! vimwiki#base#resolve_link(link_text, ...) "{{{
       return link_infos
     endif
 
-    if !link_infos.relative || link_infos.index != source_wiki
+    if !is_relative || link_infos.index != source_wiki
       let root_dir = VimwikiGet('path', link_infos.index)
     endif
 
@@ -345,7 +346,7 @@ function! vimwiki#base#resolve_link(link_text, ...) "{{{
           \ link_text .
           \ VimwikiGet('ext', link_infos.index)
   elseif (link_infos.scheme ==# 'file' || link_infos.scheme ==# 'local')
-        \ && link_infos.relative
+        \ && is_relative
     let link_infos.filename = simplify(root_dir . link_text)
   else " absolute file link
     " collapse repeated leading "/"'s within a link
diff --git a/autoload/vimwiki/html.vim b/autoload/vimwiki/html.vim
index bc35dfc..60f77f9 100644
--- a/autoload/vimwiki/html.vim
+++ b/autoload/vimwiki/html.vim
@@ -380,12 +380,16 @@ function! s:tag_wikiincl(value) "{{{
       echom string(link_infos)
     endif
 
-    let url = link_infos.filename
-
-    " strip the .html extension when we have wiki links, so that the user can
-    " simply write {{image.png}} to include an image from the wiki directory
-    if link_infos.scheme =~# '\mwiki\d\+\|diary'
-      let url = fnamemodify(url, ':r')
+    if link_infos.scheme =~# '\mlocal\|wiki\d\+\|diary'
+      let url = vimwiki#path#relpath(fnamemodify(s:current_html_file, ':h'),
+            \ link_infos.filename)
+      " strip the .html extension when we have wiki links, so that the user can
+      " simply write {{image.png}} to include an image from the wiki directory
+      if link_infos.scheme =~# '\mwiki\d\+\|diary'
+        let url = fnamemodify(url, ':r')
+      endif
+    else
+      let url = link_infos.filename
     endif
 
     let url = escape(url, '#')
@@ -412,16 +416,17 @@ function! s:tag_wikilink(value) "{{{
   if line == ''
     let link_infos = vimwiki#base#resolve_link(url, s:current_wiki_file)
 
-    if link_infos.scheme ==# 'file' || link_infos.scheme ==# 'local'
+    if link_infos.scheme ==# 'file'
       " external file links are always absolute
       let html_link = link_infos.filename
+    elseif link_infos.scheme ==# 'local'
+      let html_link = vimwiki#path#relpath(fnamemodify(s:current_html_file,
+            \ ':h'), link_infos.filename)
     else
       " wiki links are always relative to the current file
-      echom link_infos.filename fnamemodify(s:current_wiki_file, ':h') fnamemodify(link_infos.filename, ':r')
       let html_link = vimwiki#path#relpath(
             \ fnamemodify(s:current_wiki_file, ':h'),
             \ fnamemodify(link_infos.filename, ':r'))
-      echom html_link
       if html_link !~ '\m/$'
         let html_link .= '.html'
       endif
diff --git a/doc/vimwiki.txt b/doc/vimwiki.txt
index 0c7f2d3..2e40b71 100644
--- a/doc/vimwiki.txt
+++ b/doc/vimwiki.txt
@@ -755,7 +755,7 @@ To jump from that file back to the index file, use this link: >
    [[../index]]
 or: >
    [[/index]]
-The latter works, because wiki links starting with "/" are considered to be
+The latter works because wiki links starting with "/" are considered to be
 absolute to the wiki root directory, that is, the link [[/index]] always opens
 the file /path/to/your/wiki/index.wiki, no matter in which subdirectory you
 are currently in.
@@ -776,6 +776,13 @@ Raw URLs are also supported: >
   mailto:habamax@gmail.com
   ftp://vim.org
 
+External files~
+
+You can open arbitrary files like this: >
+   [[file:/important/documents/document.pdf]]
+
+See |vimwiki-syntax-schemes|.
+
 Anchors~
 
 A URL can be followed by a '#' and the name of an anchor.  When opening a
@@ -826,11 +833,6 @@ as a wiki page.
 To scan the page for new or changed definitions for reference-links, simply
 re-open the page ":e<CR>".
 
-Typing wikilinks can be simplified by using Vim's omni completion (see
-|compl-omni|) like so: >
-  [[ind<C-X><C-O>
-which opens up a popup menu with all the wiki files starting with "ind".
-
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.3. Headers                                          *vimwiki-syntax-headers*
 
@@ -1114,24 +1116,24 @@ E.g.: >
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5.12. Schemes                                           *vimwiki-syntax-schemes*
 
-In addition to standard web schemes (e.g. `http:`, `https:`, `ftp:`, etc.) a
-number of special schemes are supported: "wiki#:", "local:", "diary:",
-"file:", and schemeless.
+In addition to standard web schemes (e.g. "http:", "https:", "ftp:", etc.) a
+number of special schemes are supported: "wikiX:", "diary:", "file:", "local:"
+and schemeless.
 
-While "wiki:#", "diary" and schemeless links are automatically opened in Vi,
+While "wikiX", "diary" and schemeless links are automatically opened in Vim,
 all other links are opened with the system command.  To customize this
 behavior, see |VimwikiLinkHandler|.
 
 Interwiki:~
 
 If you maintain more than one wiki, you can create interwiki links between them
-by adding a numbered prefix "wiki#:" in front of a link: >
-  [[wiki#:This is a link]]
+by adding a numbered prefix "wikiX:" in front of a link: >
+  [[wiki1:This is a link]]
 or: >
-  [[wiki#:This is a link source|Description of the link]]
+  [[wiki1:This is a link source|Description of the link]]
 
-The number "#", in the range 0..N-1, identifies the destination wiki in
-|g:vimwiki_list|.
+The number behind "wiki" is in the range 0..N-1 and identifies the destination
+wiki in |g:vimwiki_list|.
 
 Diary:~
 
@@ -1142,32 +1144,27 @@ This scheme precludes explicit inclusion of |vimwiki-option-diary_rel_path|,
 and is most useful on subwiki pages to avoid links such as: >
   [[../../diary/2012-03-05]]
 
-Local:~
+External files:~
 
-A local resource that is not a wiki page may be specified with a path relative
-to the current page: >
-  [[local:../assets/data.csv|data (CSV)]]
-
-When followed or converted to HTML, extensions of local-scheme links are not
-modified.
-
-File:~
-
-The file scheme allows you to directly link to arbitray resources using
-absolute paths and extensions: >
-  [[file:///home/somebody/a/b/c/music.mp3]]
+The file and local schemes allow you to directly link to arbitray resources
+using absolute or relative paths with extension: >
+  [[file:/home/somebody/a/b/c/music.mp3]]
   [[file:C:/Users/somebody/d/e/f/music.mp3]]
+  [[file:~/a/b/c/music.mp3]]
+  [[file:../assets/data.csv|data (CSV)]]
+  [[local:C:/Users/somebody/d/e/f/music.mp3]]
+
+In Vim, "file:" and "local:" behave the same, i.e. you can use them with both
+relative and absolute links. When converted to HTML, however, "file:" links
+will become absolute links, while "local:" links become relative to the HTML
+output directory. The latter can be useful if you copy your HTML files to
+another computer.
+To customize the HTML conversion of links, see |VimwikiLinkConverter|.
 
 Schemeless:~
 
-Schemeless URLs, which are the default, are treated internally as "wiki#:"
-URLs in all respects except when converted to Html.
-
-Schemeless links convert to plain relative path URLs, nearly verbatim: >
-  relpath/wikipage.html
-
-The "wiki#:", "local:", and "diary:" schemes use absolute paths as URLs: >
-  file:///abs_path_to_html#/relpath/wikipage.html
+Schemeless URLs, which are the default, are treated internally as "wikiX:"
+URLs in all respects, where X is the number of the current wiki.
 
 When |vimwiki-option-maxhi| equals 1, a distinct highlighting style is used to
 identify schemeless links whose targets are not found.  All other links appear
@@ -1188,7 +1185,7 @@ relative, and need not end with an extension.
 The primary purpose for wiki-include links is to include images.
 
 Transclude from a local URL: >
-  {{local:../../images/vimwiki_logo.png}}
+  {{file:../../images/vimwiki_logo.png}}
 or from a universal URL: >
   {{http://vimwiki.googlecode.com/hg/images/vimwiki_logo.png}}
 
@@ -2228,9 +2225,9 @@ wiki-include link or a weblink, is first passed to |VimwikiLinkHandler| to see
 if it can be handled.  The return value 1/0 indicates success.
 
 If the link is not handled successfully, the behavior of Vimwiki depends on
-the scheme.  Wiki:, diary: or schemeless links are opened in Vim.  All others,
-including local: and file: schemes, are opened with a system default handler;
-i.e. Linux (!xdg-open), Mac (!open), and Windows (!start).
+the scheme.  "wiki:", "diary:" or schemeless links are opened in Vim.  "file:"
+and "local:" links are opened with a system default handler; i.e. Linux
+(!xdg-open), Mac (!open), and Windows (!start).
 
 You can redefine |VimwikiLinkHandler| function to do something else: >
 
@@ -2245,34 +2242,31 @@ You can redefine |VimwikiLinkHandler| function to do something else: >
     return 0
   endfunction
 
-A second example handles two new schemes, 'vlocal:' and 'vfile:', which behave
-similar to 'local:' and 'file:' schemes, but are always opened with Vim: >
+A second example handles a new scheme, 'vfile:', which behaves similar to
+'file:', but the files are always opened with Vim: >
 
-  function! VimwikiLinkHandler(link) "{{{ Use Vim to open links with the
-    " 'vlocal:' or 'vfile:' schemes.  E.g.:
-    "   1) [[vfile:///~/Code/PythonProject/abc123.py]], and
-    "   2) [[vlocal:./|Wiki Home]]
+  function! VimwikiLinkHandler(link)
+    " Use Vim to open external files with the 'vfile:' scheme.  E.g.:
+    "   1) [[vfile:~/Code/PythonProject/abc123.py]]
+    "   2) [[vfile:./|Wiki Home]]
     let link = a:link
-    if link =~ "vlocal:" || link =~ "vfile:"
+    if link =~ "vfile:"
       let link = link[1:]
     else
       return 0
     endif
-    let [idx, scheme, path, subdir, lnk, ext, url, anchor] =
-         \ vimwiki#base#resolve_scheme(link, 0)
-    if g:vimwiki_debug
-      echom 'LinkHandler: idx='.idx.', scheme=[v]'.scheme.', path='.path.
-           \ ', subdir='.subdir.', lnk='.lnk.', ext='.ext.', url='.url.
-           \ ', anchor='.anchor
-    endif
-    if url == '' && anchor == ''
+    let link_infos = vimwiki#base#resolve_link(link)
+    if link_infos.filename == ''
       echom 'Vimwiki Error: Unable to resolve link!'
       return 0
     else
-      call vimwiki#base#edit_file('tabnew', url, anchor, [], 0)
+      exe 'tabnew ' . fnameescape(link_infos.filename)
       return 1
     endif
-  endfunction " }}}
+  endfunction
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+*VimwikiLinkConverter*
 
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -2291,13 +2285,12 @@ cannot otherwise convert the link.  A customized handler might look like this: >
     " complete URL
     let url_0 = matchstr(str, g:vimwiki_rxWikiInclMatchUrl)
     " URL parts
-    let [scheme, path, subdir, lnk, ext, url, anchor] =
-          \ vimwiki#base#resolve_scheme(url_0, VimwikiGet('ext'))
+    let link_infos = vimwiki#base#resolve_link(url_0)
     let arg1 = matchstr(str, VimwikiWikiInclMatchArg(1))
     let arg2 = matchstr(str, VimwikiWikiInclMatchArg(2))
 
     if arg1 =~ '#'
-      return url.'#'.arg2
+      return link_infos.filename.'#'.arg2
     endif
 
     " Return the empty string when unable to process link
@@ -2624,7 +2617,7 @@ Vim plugins: http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2226
 
 ???~
 
-    * Spport for |g:vimwiki_auto_chdir| option.
+    * Support for |g:vimwiki_auto_chdir| option.
     * Support for anchors, see |vimwiki-anchors|
         * in this context, add support for TOC, see |vimwiki-toc|
         * remove the now useless %toc placeholder
diff --git a/plugin/vimwiki.vim b/plugin/vimwiki.vim
index 09dc6ef..584f026 100644
--- a/plugin/vimwiki.vim
+++ b/plugin/vimwiki.vim
@@ -365,9 +365,15 @@ if !exists("*VimwikiLinkHandler") "{{{
   endfunction
 endif "}}}
 
+if !exists("*VimwikiLinkConverter") "{{{
+  function VimwikiLinkConverter(url, source, target)
+    " Return the empty string when unable to process link
+    return ''
+  endfunction
+endif "}}}
+
 if !exists("*VimwikiWikiIncludeHandler") "{{{
   function! VimwikiWikiIncludeHandler(value) "{{{
-    " Return the empty string when unable to process link
     return ''
   endfunction "}}}
 endif "}}}