diff --git a/include/X11/extensions/XKBfile.h b/include/X11/extensions/XKBfile.h
index 1455463e6..5bcabdd14 100644
--- a/include/X11/extensions/XKBfile.h	
+++ b/include/X11/extensions/XKBfile.h
@@ -83,10 +83,15 @@ typedef void	(*XkbFileAddOnFunc)(
 #define	_XkbErrXReqFailure		25
 #define	_XkbErrBadImplementation	26
 
-extern const char *	_XkbErrMessages[];
-extern unsigned		_XkbErrCode;
-extern const char *	_XkbErrLocation;
-extern unsigned		_XkbErrData;
+#if defined(_MSC_VER) && !defined(XKBFILE_BUILD)
+#define XKBFILE_EXTERN __declspec(dllimport) extern
+#else
+#define XKBFILE_EXTERN extern
+#endif
+XKBFILE_EXTERN const char *	_XkbErrMessages[];
+XKBFILE_EXTERN unsigned		_XkbErrCode;
+XKBFILE_EXTERN const char *	_XkbErrLocation;
+XKBFILE_EXTERN unsigned		_XkbErrData;
 
 /***====================================================================***/