diff --git a/processing/build/windows/dist.sh b/processing/build/windows/dist.sh
index 7c13d0149..45d076bc2 100755
--- a/processing/build/windows/dist.sh
+++ b/processing/build/windows/dist.sh
@@ -34,6 +34,11 @@ cd ../..
 # new style reference
 cd processing
 unzip -q reference.zip
+# necessary for launching reference from shell/command prompt
+# which is done internally to view reference
+cd reference
+chmod -R +x *.html
+cd ..
 rm reference.zip
 cd ..
 
diff --git a/processing/build/windows/make.sh b/processing/build/windows/make.sh
index bfb0d26d4..93816d0e7 100755
--- a/processing/build/windows/make.sh
+++ b/processing/build/windows/make.sh
@@ -21,6 +21,13 @@ else
   echo Extracting reference...
   cd work
   unzip -q reference.zip
+
+  # necessary for launching reference from shell/command prompt
+  # which is done internally to view reference
+  cd reference
+  chmod -R +x *.html
+  cd ..
+
   rm reference.zip
   cd ..