diff --git a/doc/040_backup.rst b/doc/040_backup.rst
index 1655e7eed..12a617665 100644
--- a/doc/040_backup.rst
+++ b/doc/040_backup.rst
@@ -45,6 +45,17 @@ size of the files and directories in ``~/work`` on the local file system. It
 also tells us that only 1.200 GiB was added to the repository. This means that
 some of the data was duplicate and restic was able to efficiently reduce it.
 
+We just attached the absolute path ``~/work`` to the backup, so the path
+within the repository is ``/home/user/work``, depending on your user name.
+
+If we attach a relative path ``work``, the path within the repository is ``/work``.
+
+For example ``restic backup work`` run from ``/home/user`` crates a snapshot
+with a attached path ``/home/user/work`` that contains the path ``/work``
+within the repository. This path-related discrepancy applies to each command
+that tries to access data within a snapshot. You can lookup the paths within
+a repository using the ``ls latest /`` command.
+
 If you don't pass the ``--verbose`` option, restic will print less data. You'll
 still get a nice live status display. Be aware that the live status shows the
 processed files and not the transferred data. Transferred volume might be lower
diff --git a/doc/045_working_with_repos.rst b/doc/045_working_with_repos.rst
index 82a20bac4..da599cc5f 100644
--- a/doc/045_working_with_repos.rst
+++ b/doc/045_working_with_repos.rst
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ Now, you can list all the snapshots stored in the repository:
     590c8fc8  2015-05-08 21:47:38  kazik          /srv
     9f0bc19e  2015-05-08 21:46:11  luigi          /srv
 
+The Directory column shows the attached path, which may differ
+from the path within the repository, see https://restic.readthedocs.io/en/stable/040_backup.html#backing-up for details of this discrepancy.
+
 You can filter the listing by directory path:
 
 .. code-block:: console
diff --git a/doc/050_restore.rst b/doc/050_restore.rst
index 6978acb91..d87df4f1d 100644
--- a/doc/050_restore.rst
+++ b/doc/050_restore.rst
@@ -156,8 +156,21 @@ e.g.:
 
     $ restic -r /srv/restic-repo dump --path /production.sql latest production.sql | mysql
 
-For a local repository, the "Directory" path can result in the error message ``cannot dump file: path "/home" not found in snapshot``
-In this case, you can query the absolute path within the repository using the ```ls`` command:
+This example assumes you attached an absolute path, which means it coincides with the
+path within the repository.
+See https://restic.readthedocs.io/en/stable/040_backup.html#backing-up for the difference
+between attached path and path within the repository.
+
+If you attached a relative path, the ``dump`` command would look like:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+    $ restic -r /srv/restic-repo dump latest /work/README.md
+
+
+If dump results in the error message ``cannot dump file: path "/home" not found in snapshot``
+first double check you used the path within the repository, using the ``ls latest /`` command,
+which for the repository above results in:
 
 .. code-block:: console
 
@@ -167,12 +180,6 @@ In this case, you can query the absolute path within the repository using the ``
     /work
 
 
-and use the latter absolute path for the ``dump`` command:
-
-.. code-block:: console
-
-    $ restic -r /srv/restic-repo dump latest /work/README.md
-
 
 It is also possible to ``dump`` the contents of a whole folder structure to
 stdout. To retain the information about the files and folders Restic will