diff --git a/src/Castle.MonoRail.Views.Spark/SparkViewFactory.cs b/src/Castle.MonoRail.Views.Spark/SparkViewFactory.cs
index 2dd13be8..9565d90d 100644
--- a/src/Castle.MonoRail.Views.Spark/SparkViewFactory.cs
+++ b/src/Castle.MonoRail.Views.Spark/SparkViewFactory.cs
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ public ISparkViewEngine Engine
 
                     var viewFolder = new ViewSourceLoaderWrapper(this);
 
-                    var batchCompiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler();
+                    var batchCompiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler(new SparkSettings());
 
                     this._engine =
                         new SparkViewEngine(
diff --git a/src/Spark.JsTests/Generate.ashx.cs b/src/Spark.JsTests/Generate.ashx.cs
index 586f0736..5e9b5ec8 100644
--- a/src/Spark.JsTests/Generate.ashx.cs
+++ b/src/Spark.JsTests/Generate.ashx.cs
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ public void ProcessRequest(HttpContext context)
 
             var partialProvider = new DefaultPartialProvider();
 
-            var batchCompiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler();
+            var batchCompiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler(new SparkSettings());
 
             var engine = new SparkViewEngine(
                 settings, 
diff --git a/src/Spark.Python.Tests/PythonViewCompilerTests.cs b/src/Spark.Python.Tests/PythonViewCompilerTests.cs
index 644e580a..259d984f 100644
--- a/src/Spark.Python.Tests/PythonViewCompilerTests.cs
+++ b/src/Spark.Python.Tests/PythonViewCompilerTests.cs
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ public void Init()
 
             _compiler = new PythonViewCompiler(_settings);
 
-            _languageFactory = new PythonLanguageFactory(new RoslynBatchCompiler(), _settings);
+            _languageFactory = new PythonLanguageFactory(new RoslynBatchCompiler(this._settings), _settings);
 
             // Load up assemblies
             IronPython.Hosting.Python.CreateEngine();
diff --git a/src/Spark.Python/Compiler/PythonViewCompiler.cs b/src/Spark.Python/Compiler/PythonViewCompiler.cs
index e4936fbe..f182a61f 100644
--- a/src/Spark.Python/Compiler/PythonViewCompiler.cs
+++ b/src/Spark.Python/Compiler/PythonViewCompiler.cs
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ public override void CompileView(IEnumerable<IList<Chunk>> viewTemplates, IEnume
         {
             GenerateSourceCode(viewTemplates, allResources);
 
-            var compiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler();
+            var compiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler(new SparkSettings());
             var assembly = compiler.Compile(settings.Debug, "csharp", null, new[] { SourceCode }, settings.ExcludeAssemblies);
             CompiledType = assembly.GetType(ViewClassFullName);
         }
diff --git a/src/Spark.Ruby.Tests/RubyViewCompilerTests.cs b/src/Spark.Ruby.Tests/RubyViewCompilerTests.cs
index b63b24d3..ad38a50a 100644
--- a/src/Spark.Ruby.Tests/RubyViewCompilerTests.cs
+++ b/src/Spark.Ruby.Tests/RubyViewCompilerTests.cs
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ public void Init()
                 Debug = true
             };
             _compiler = new RubyViewCompiler(this._settings);
-            _languageFactory = new RubyLanguageFactory(new RoslynBatchCompiler(), this._settings);
+            _languageFactory = new RubyLanguageFactory(new RoslynBatchCompiler(this._settings), this._settings);
 
             //load assemblies
             global::IronRuby.Ruby.CreateEngine();
diff --git a/src/Spark.Ruby/Compiler/RubyViewCompiler.cs b/src/Spark.Ruby/Compiler/RubyViewCompiler.cs
index 7ebee1d2..06f8501e 100644
--- a/src/Spark.Ruby/Compiler/RubyViewCompiler.cs
+++ b/src/Spark.Ruby/Compiler/RubyViewCompiler.cs
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ public override void CompileView(IEnumerable<IList<Chunk>> viewTemplates, IEnume
         {
             GenerateSourceCode(viewTemplates, allResources);
 
-            var compiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler();
+            var compiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler(new SparkSettings());
             var assembly = compiler.Compile(settings.Debug, "csharp", null, new[] { SourceCode }, settings.ExcludeAssemblies);
             CompiledType = assembly.GetType(ViewClassFullName);
         }
diff --git a/src/Spark.Web.Mvc.Ruby.Tests/HtmlHelperExtensionsTester.cs b/src/Spark.Web.Mvc.Ruby.Tests/HtmlHelperExtensionsTester.cs
index 60701dee..971badaa 100644
--- a/src/Spark.Web.Mvc.Ruby.Tests/HtmlHelperExtensionsTester.cs
+++ b/src/Spark.Web.Mvc.Ruby.Tests/HtmlHelperExtensionsTester.cs
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ public void BuildingScriptHeader()
         {
             var settings = new SparkSettings();
 
-            var batchCompiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler();
+            var batchCompiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler(settings);
 
             var languageFactory = new RubyLanguageFactoryWithExtensions(batchCompiler, settings);
 
diff --git a/src/Spark.Web.Mvc.Tests/Compiler/CSharpViewCompilerTester.cs b/src/Spark.Web.Mvc.Tests/Compiler/CSharpViewCompilerTester.cs
index 3b7f66a1..bd38c81a 100644
--- a/src/Spark.Web.Mvc.Tests/Compiler/CSharpViewCompilerTester.cs
+++ b/src/Spark.Web.Mvc.Tests/Compiler/CSharpViewCompilerTester.cs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ public class CSharpViewCompilerTester
         [SetUp]
         public void Init()
         {
-            this.batchCompiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler();
+            this.batchCompiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler(new SparkSettings());
         }
 
         private static void DoCompileView(ViewCompiler compiler, IList<Chunk> chunks)
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ public void LenientSilentNullDoesNotCauseWarningCS0168()
             var settings = new SparkSettings<SparkView>
             {
                 NullBehaviour = NullBehaviour.Lenient
-            }.AddAssembly(typeof(Spark.Tests.Models.Comment).Assembly.FullName);
+            }.AddAssembly(typeof(Spark.Tests.Models.Comment).Assembly);
 
             var compiler = new CSharpViewCompiler(this.batchCompiler, settings);
             
@@ -327,7 +327,7 @@ public void LenientOutputNullDoesNotCauseWarningCS0168()
             var settings = new SparkSettings<SparkView>
             {
                 NullBehaviour = NullBehaviour.Lenient
-            }.AddAssembly(typeof(Spark.Tests.Models.Comment).Assembly.FullName);
+            }.AddAssembly(typeof(Spark.Tests.Models.Comment).Assembly);
 
             var compiler = new CSharpViewCompiler(this.batchCompiler, settings);
             var chunks = new Chunk[]
diff --git a/src/Spark.Web.Mvc.Tests/Compiler/VisualBasicViewCompilerTester.cs b/src/Spark.Web.Mvc.Tests/Compiler/VisualBasicViewCompilerTester.cs
index d44bdb72..e111632d 100644
--- a/src/Spark.Web.Mvc.Tests/Compiler/VisualBasicViewCompilerTester.cs
+++ b/src/Spark.Web.Mvc.Tests/Compiler/VisualBasicViewCompilerTester.cs
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ public class VisualBasicViewCompilerTester
         public void Init()
         {
             this.batchCompiler =
-                new RoslynBatchCompiler();
+                new RoslynBatchCompiler(new SparkSettings());
         }
 
         private static void DoCompileView(ViewCompiler compiler, IList<Chunk> chunks)
diff --git a/src/Spark.Web.Tests/Compiler/SourceMappingTester.cs b/src/Spark.Web.Tests/Compiler/SourceMappingTester.cs
index 0b7eb390..ff439361 100644
--- a/src/Spark.Web.Tests/Compiler/SourceMappingTester.cs
+++ b/src/Spark.Web.Tests/Compiler/SourceMappingTester.cs
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ public void Init()
 
             _viewFolder = new InMemoryViewFolder();
 
-            var batchCompiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler();
+            var batchCompiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler(new SparkSettings());
 
             _engine = new SparkViewEngine(
                 settings,
diff --git a/src/Spark/Compiler/BatchCompiler.cs b/src/Spark/Compiler/BatchCompiler.cs
index 0cef55a4..b004cc74 100644
--- a/src/Spark/Compiler/BatchCompiler.cs
+++ b/src/Spark/Compiler/BatchCompiler.cs
@@ -185,16 +185,18 @@ public class CodeDomCompilerException(string message, CompilerResults results) :
 public class RoslynBatchCompiler : IBatchCompiler
 {
     private readonly IEnumerable<IRoslynCompilationLink> links;
+    private readonly ISparkSettings settings;
 
     private readonly IList<PortableExecutableReference> References;
 
-    public RoslynBatchCompiler() : this(new IRoslynCompilationLink[] { new CSharpLink(), new VisualBasicLink() })
+    public RoslynBatchCompiler(ISparkSettings settings) : this(new IRoslynCompilationLink[] { new CSharpLink(), new VisualBasicLink() }, settings)
     {
     }
 
-    public RoslynBatchCompiler(IEnumerable<IRoslynCompilationLink> links)
+    public RoslynBatchCompiler(IEnumerable<IRoslynCompilationLink> links, ISparkSettings settings)
     {
         this.links = links;
+        this.settings = settings;
         this.References = new List<PortableExecutableReference>();
     }
 
@@ -217,7 +219,7 @@ public bool AddAssembly(string assemblyDll)
 
         if (!File.Exists(file))
         {
-            // check framework or dedicated runtime app folder
+            // Check framework or dedicated runtime app folder
             var path = Path.GetDirectoryName(typeof(object).Assembly.Location);
             file = Path.Combine(path, assemblyDll);
             if (!File.Exists(file))
@@ -337,8 +339,16 @@ public Assembly Compile(bool debug, string languageOrExtension, string outputAss
 #endif
 
         // TODO: Is this needed?
-        this.AddAssembly(typeof(System.Drawing.Color));
-
+        //this.AddAssembly(typeof(System.Drawing.Color));
+        foreach(var assemblyLocation in settings.UseAssemblies)
+        {
+            // Assumes full path to assemblies
+            if (assemblyLocation.EndsWith(".dll"))
+            {
+                this.AddAssembly(assemblyLocation);
+            }
+        }
+        
         foreach (var currentAssembly in AppDomain.CurrentDomain.GetAssemblies())
         {
             if (currentAssembly.IsDynamic())
diff --git a/src/Spark/Compiler/CSharp/ChunkVisitors/UsingNamespaceVisitor.cs b/src/Spark/Compiler/CSharp/ChunkVisitors/UsingNamespaceVisitor.cs
index 0d6252c6..19300311 100644
--- a/src/Spark/Compiler/CSharp/ChunkVisitors/UsingNamespaceVisitor.cs
+++ b/src/Spark/Compiler/CSharp/ChunkVisitors/UsingNamespaceVisitor.cs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 // limitations under the License.
 // 
 using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Globalization;
 using System.Reflection;
 using Spark.Compiler.ChunkVisitors;
 using Spark.Parser.Code;
@@ -75,7 +76,11 @@ public void UsingAssembly(string assemblyString)
             if (_assemblyAdded.ContainsKey(assemblyString))
                 return;
 
-            var assembly = Assembly.Load(assemblyString);
+            // Works with absolute path to .dll or assembly name (including fullname)
+            var assembly = assemblyString.EndsWith(".dll", ignoreCase: true, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)
+                ? Assembly.LoadFile(assemblyString)
+                : Assembly.Load(assemblyString);
+
             _assemblyAdded.Add(assemblyString, assembly);
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/Spark/Compiler/Roslyn/CSharpLink.cs b/src/Spark/Compiler/Roslyn/CSharpLink.cs
index a86791d3..4b817a51 100644
--- a/src/Spark/Compiler/Roslyn/CSharpLink.cs
+++ b/src/Spark/Compiler/Roslyn/CSharpLink.cs
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ public static void ThrowIfCompilationNotSuccessful(EmitResult result)
 
         foreach (var diagnostic in failures)
         {
-            sb.Append(diagnostic.Id).Append(":").AppendLine(diagnostic.GetMessage());
+            sb.AppendLine(diagnostic.ToString());
         }
 
         throw new RoslynCompilerException(sb.ToString(), result);
diff --git a/src/Spark/ISparkSettings.cs b/src/Spark/ISparkSettings.cs
index eb553314..0f1392d3 100644
--- a/src/Spark/ISparkSettings.cs
+++ b/src/Spark/ISparkSettings.cs
@@ -56,6 +56,10 @@ public interface ISparkSettings : IParserSettings
         LanguageType DefaultLanguage { get; }
 
         IEnumerable<string> UseNamespaces { get; }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// A list of name, fullname or absolute paths to .dll for assemblies to load before compiling views.
+        /// </summary>
         IEnumerable<string> UseAssemblies { get; }
 
         /// <summary>
diff --git a/src/Spark/SparkSettings.cs b/src/Spark/SparkSettings.cs
index 8a57c7dd..5dcc767a 100644
--- a/src/Spark/SparkSettings.cs
+++ b/src/Spark/SparkSettings.cs
@@ -80,6 +80,10 @@ public SparkSettings(string rootPath)
         public IEnumerable<string> UseNamespaces => _useNamespaces;
 
         private readonly IList<string> _useAssemblies;
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// A list of names, full names or absolute paths to .dll for assemblies to load before compiling views.
+        /// </summary>
         public IEnumerable<string> UseAssemblies => _useAssemblies;
 
         private readonly IList<string> _excludeAssemblies;
@@ -166,7 +170,7 @@ public SparkSettings SetDefaultLanguage(LanguageType language)
         }
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Adds the full name of an assembly for the view compiler to be aware of.
+        /// Adds the name, full name or absolute path of an assembly for the view compiler to be aware of.
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="assembly">The full name of an assembly.</param>
         /// <returns></returns>
@@ -182,7 +186,7 @@ public SparkSettings AddAssembly(string assembly)
         /// </summary>
         public SparkSettings AddAssembly(Assembly assembly)
         {
-            _useAssemblies.Add(assembly.FullName);
+            _useAssemblies.Add(assembly.Location);
 
             return this;
         }
diff --git a/src/Xpark/Program.cs b/src/Xpark/Program.cs
index 95e32504..5d341bf1 100644
--- a/src/Xpark/Program.cs
+++ b/src/Xpark/Program.cs
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ The Model in the template is an XDocument loaded from the source.
 
             var partialProvider = new DefaultPartialProvider();
 
-            var batchCompiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler();
+            var batchCompiler = new RoslynBatchCompiler(new SparkSettings());
 
             var engine = new SparkViewEngine(
                 settings,