diff --git a/taglib/fileref.cpp b/taglib/fileref.cpp
index 0edcd714..5d8c25de 100644
--- a/taglib/fileref.cpp
+++ b/taglib/fileref.cpp
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ namespace
 #endif
 
       const size_t pos = s.rfind(".");
-      if(pos != String::npos)
+      if(pos != String::npos())
         ext = s.substr(pos + 1).upper();
     }
 
diff --git a/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/frames/textidentificationframe.cpp b/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/frames/textidentificationframe.cpp
index 13059732..d32ecc5f 100644
--- a/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/frames/textidentificationframe.cpp
+++ b/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/frames/textidentificationframe.cpp
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ PropertyMap TextIdentificationFrame::asProperties() const
       // ID3v2 specifies ISO8601 timestamps which contain a 'T' as separator between date and time.
       // Since this is unusual in other formats, the T is removed.
       const size_t tpos = it->find("T");
-      if(tpos != String::npos)
+      if(tpos != String::npos())
         (*it)[tpos] = ' ';
     }
   }
diff --git a/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/id3v2framefactory.cpp b/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/id3v2framefactory.cpp
index 3426f30a..44da49c1 100644
--- a/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/id3v2framefactory.cpp
+++ b/taglib/mpeg/id3v2/id3v2framefactory.cpp
@@ -487,7 +487,7 @@ void FrameFactory::updateGenre(TextIdentificationFrame *frame) const
     String s = *it;
     const size_t end = s.find(")");
 
-    if(s.startsWith("(") && end != String::npos) {
+    if(s.startsWith("(") && end != String::npos()) {
       // "(12)Genre"
       String text = s.substr(end + 1);
       bool ok;
diff --git a/taglib/ogg/xiphcomment.cpp b/taglib/ogg/xiphcomment.cpp
index 5fb90c13..64e05ac0 100644
--- a/taglib/ogg/xiphcomment.cpp
+++ b/taglib/ogg/xiphcomment.cpp
@@ -376,7 +376,7 @@ void Ogg::XiphComment::parse(const ByteVector &data)
     }
 
     const size_t commentSeparatorPosition = comment.find("=");
-    if(commentSeparatorPosition == String::npos) {
+    if(commentSeparatorPosition == String::npos()) {
       break;
     }
 
diff --git a/taglib/toolkit/tstring.cpp b/taglib/toolkit/tstring.cpp
index f9aea6f2..d4bff7b9 100644
--- a/taglib/toolkit/tstring.cpp
+++ b/taglib/toolkit/tstring.cpp
@@ -139,9 +139,17 @@ public:
 
 const String String::null;
 
-// Actual value is -1.
-const size_t String::npos = std::wstring::npos;
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+// static members
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
+size_t String::npos()
+{
+  return std::wstring::npos;
+}
+
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+// public members
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
 String::String() :
@@ -303,7 +311,7 @@ StringList String::split(const String &separator) const
   StringList list;
   for(size_t index = 0;;) {
     const size_t sep = find(separator, index);
-    if(sep == npos) {
+    if(sep == npos()) {
       list.append(substr(index, size() - index));
       break;
     }
diff --git a/taglib/toolkit/tstring.h b/taglib/toolkit/tstring.h
index 6a8f0f69..4fe1cbea 100644
--- a/taglib/toolkit/tstring.h
+++ b/taglib/toolkit/tstring.h
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ namespace TagLib {
      * either from the end of the string or starting from \a offset. If the pattern
      * is not found, \a npos is returned.
      */
-    size_t rfind(const String &s, size_t offset = npos) const;
+    size_t rfind(const String &s, size_t offset = npos()) const;
 
     /*!
      * Splits the string on each occurrence of \a separator.
@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ namespace TagLib {
      * Extract a substring from this string starting at \a position and
      * continuing for \a n characters.
      */
-    String substr(size_t position, size_t n = npos) const;
+    String substr(size_t position, size_t n = npos()) const;
 
     /*!
      * Append \a s to the current string and return a reference to the current
@@ -515,11 +515,11 @@ namespace TagLib {
     static const String null;
 
     /*!
-     * When used as the value for a \a length parameter in String's member
+     * Returns a special value used for \a length parameter in String's member
      * functions, means "until the end of the string".
      * As a return value, it is usually used to indicate no matches.
      */
-    static const size_t npos;
+    static size_t npos();
 
   protected:
     /*!
diff --git a/taglib/toolkit/tstringlist.cpp b/taglib/toolkit/tstringlist.cpp
index 19fd082f..32584730 100644
--- a/taglib/toolkit/tstringlist.cpp
+++ b/taglib/toolkit/tstringlist.cpp
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ StringList StringList::split(const String &s, const String &pattern)
 
   size_t previousOffset = 0;
   for(size_t offset = s.find(pattern);
-    offset != String::npos;
+    offset != String::npos();
     offset = s.find(pattern, offset + 1))
   {
     l.append(s.substr(previousOffset, offset - previousOffset));
diff --git a/tests/test_string.cpp b/tests/test_string.cpp
index 29923a35..5afc32e5 100644
--- a/tests/test_string.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_string.cpp
@@ -218,9 +218,9 @@ public:
 
   void testRfind()
   {
-    CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(String::npos, String("foo.bar").rfind(".", 0));
-    CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(String::npos, String("foo.bar").rfind(".", 1));
-    CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(String::npos, String("foo.bar").rfind(".", 2));
+    CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(String::npos(), String("foo.bar").rfind(".", 0));
+    CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(String::npos(), String("foo.bar").rfind(".", 1));
+    CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL(String::npos(), String("foo.bar").rfind(".", 2));
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL((size_t)3, String("foo.bar").rfind(".", 3));
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL((size_t)3, String("foo.bar").rfind(".", 4));
     CPPUNIT_ASSERT_EQUAL((size_t)3, String("foo.bar").rfind(".", 5));