diff --git a/src/AddIns/Misc/StartPage/Project/Src/StartPageControl.xaml b/src/AddIns/Misc/StartPage/Project/Src/StartPageControl.xaml
index f827b61327..2165aa8164 100644
--- a/src/AddIns/Misc/StartPage/Project/Src/StartPageControl.xaml
+++ b/src/AddIns/Misc/StartPage/Project/Src/StartPageControl.xaml
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 					Stretch="Fill"
 					Source="../Resources/balken_mitte.gif" />
 			</DockPanel>
+			<TextBlock Grid.Row="0" Margin="4" TextAlignment="Right" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" Name="versionTextBlock" />
 			<ItemsControl
 				Name="startPageItems"
 				Focusable="False"
diff --git a/src/AddIns/Misc/StartPage/Project/Src/StartPageControl.xaml.cs b/src/AddIns/Misc/StartPage/Project/Src/StartPageControl.xaml.cs
index d807df7503..be0778e328 100644
--- a/src/AddIns/Misc/StartPage/Project/Src/StartPageControl.xaml.cs
+++ b/src/AddIns/Misc/StartPage/Project/Src/StartPageControl.xaml.cs
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ namespace ICSharpCode.StartPage
 			
 			var aca = (AssemblyCopyrightAttribute)typeof(CommonAboutDialog).Assembly.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(AssemblyCopyrightAttribute), false)[0];
 			copyrightText.Text = aca.Copyright;
+			
+			versionTextBlock.Text = "SharpDevelop " + RevisionClass.FullVersion;
 		}
 		
 		sealed class BoxEntry
diff --git a/src/Main/GlobalAssemblyInfo.template b/src/Main/GlobalAssemblyInfo.template
index 2f2c5757a9..7f8649caa5 100644
--- a/src/Main/GlobalAssemblyInfo.template
+++ b/src/Main/GlobalAssemblyInfo.template
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ internal static class RevisionClass
 	public const string Minor = "1";
 	public const string Build = "0";
 	public const string Revision = "$INSERTREVISION$";
+	public const string VersionName = "alpha";
 	
-	public const string FullVersion = Major + "." + Minor + "." + Build + ".$INSERTREVISION$$INSERTBRANCHPOSTFIX$";
+	public const string FullVersion = Major + "." + Minor + "." + Build + ".$INSERTREVISION$$INSERTBRANCHPOSTFIX$$INSERTVERSIONNAMEPOSTFIX$";
 }
diff --git a/src/Setup/Files.wxs b/src/Setup/Files.wxs
index 0df9d748b4..edb6ce57df 100644
--- a/src/Setup/Files.wxs
+++ b/src/Setup/Files.wxs
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 			<!-- SharpDevelop installation directory and files -->
 			<Directory Id="ProgramFilesFolder" Name="PFiles">
 				<Directory Id="SharpDevelopFolder" Name="SharpDevelop">
-					<Directory Id="INSTALLDIR" Name="4.1">
+					<Directory Id="INSTALLDIR" Name="$(var.PRODUCTMAJORVERSION)">
 						<Directory Id="BinFolder" Name="bin">
 							<Component Id="SharpDevelopExe" Guid="F632C62C-A4DD-4507-9678-C7DCFF4DBC8C" DiskId="1">
 								<File Id="SharpDevelop.exe" Name="SharpDevelop.exe" Source="..\..\bin\SharpDevelop.exe" Assembly=".net" AssemblyApplication="SharpDevelop.exe" AssemblyManifest="SharpDevelop.exe" KeyPath="yes">
@@ -1528,24 +1528,24 @@
 			</Directory>
 			<!-- SharpDevelop Start menu folder -->
 			<Directory Id="ProgramMenuFolder" Name="Programs">
-				<Component Id="SharpDevelopProgramMenuItems" Guid="A505F0F2-5971-436D-8E3E-ABDDC0B59BF7">
+				<Component Id="SharpDevelopProgramMenuItems" Guid="212A9717-E2C6-4522-AB76-9B92B7FB7FB6">
 					<!--
 										Fix ICE 38 by adding a dummy registry key that is the key for this shortcut.
 										http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/msi/setup/ice38.asp
 									-->
-					<RegistryValue Id="SharpDevelopExeStartMenuShortcutRegistryKey" Root="HKCU" Type="string" KeyPath="yes" Key="Software\SharpDevelop4" Name="ProgramFilesShortcut" Value="1" />
-					<Shortcut Name="SharpDevelop 4.1" Target="[!SharpDevelop.exe]" Id="SharpDevelopExeStartMenuShortcut" WorkingDirectory="BinFolder" Icon="SharpDevelopIcon.exe" Directory="ProgramMenuFolder" />
+					<RegistryValue Id="SharpDevelopExeStartMenuShortcutRegistryKey" Root="HKCU" Type="string" KeyPath="yes" Key="Software\SharpDevelop\$(var.PRODUCTMAJORVERSION)" Name="ProgramFilesShortcut" Value="1" />
+					<Shortcut Name="SharpDevelop $(var.PRODUCTDISPLAYVERSION)" Target="[!SharpDevelop.exe]" Id="SharpDevelopExeStartMenuShortcut" WorkingDirectory="BinFolder" Icon="SharpDevelopIcon.exe" Directory="ProgramMenuFolder" />
 				</Component>
 			</Directory>
 			<!-- Desktop shortcuts -->
 			<Directory Id="DesktopFolder" Name="Desktop">
-				<Component Id="DesktopFolderItems" Guid="F2FF4C2F-6282-4ABA-8DBB-E50E81B5920D">
+				<Component Id="DesktopFolderItems" Guid="03C3A248-04B0-4DE7-B4BA-C2D7275AA9FA">
 					<!--
 										Fix ICE 38 by adding a dummy registry key that is the key for this shortcut.
 										http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/msi/setup/ice38.asp
 									-->
-					<RegistryValue Id="SharpDevelopExeDesktopShortcutRegistryKey" Type="string" Root="HKCU" KeyPath="yes" Key="Software\SharpDevelop4" Name="DesktopShortcut" Value="1" />
-					<Shortcut Id="SharpDevelopExeDesktopShortcut" Directory="DesktopFolder" Target="[!SharpDevelop.exe]" Name="SharpDevelop 4.1" Icon="SharpDevelopIcon.exe" WorkingDirectory="BinFolder" />
+					<RegistryValue Id="SharpDevelopExeDesktopShortcutRegistryKey" Type="string" Root="HKCU" KeyPath="yes" Key="Software\SharpDevelop\$(var.PRODUCTMAJORVERSION)" Name="DesktopShortcut" Value="1" />
+					<Shortcut Id="SharpDevelopExeDesktopShortcut" Directory="DesktopFolder" Target="[!SharpDevelop.exe]" Name="SharpDevelop $(var.PRODUCTDISPLAYVERSION)" Icon="SharpDevelopIcon.exe" WorkingDirectory="BinFolder" />
 				</Component>
 			</Directory>
 		</DirectoryRef>
diff --git a/src/Setup/Setup.wxs b/src/Setup/Setup.wxs
index aca4a4d432..80ee81ac9c 100644
--- a/src/Setup/Setup.wxs
+++ b/src/Setup/Setup.wxs
@@ -4,18 +4,26 @@
 <Wix xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/wix/2006/wi">
 	<!--
 		Windows Installer only recognises 3 digits for the product version (Major.Minor.Build) 
-		so the third digit must be the Subversion revision. 
+		so the third digit must be the revision number. 
 	-->
 
+	<!-- PRODUCTMAJORVERSION is major.minor (e.g. 4.1), retrieved from GlobalAssemblyInfo.template -->
+	<!-- PRODUCTBUILDVERSION is the revision number (e.g. 6963), calculated from git -->
+	<!-- PRODUCTDISPLAYVERSION is a string like "4.1 Beta 1" (version name retrieved from GlobalAssemblyInfo.template) -->
+	
 	<Product Id="*" 
-		Name="SharpDevelop 4.1"
+		Name="SharpDevelop $(var.PRODUCTDISPLAYVERSION)"
 		Manufacturer="ic#code"
 		Language="1033"
 		Codepage="1252"
 		UpgradeCode="53805F5D-AC04-4592-8078-6EB7164D8C15"
-		Version="4.1.$(var.PRODUCTBUILDVERSION)">
+		Version="$(var.PRODUCTMAJORVERSION).$(var.PRODUCTBUILDVERSION)">
+		
+		<!-- When a new major SharpDevelop version should be allowed to be installed in parallel to old versions,
+			 we need a new upgrade code (2 occurrences!), and the "Minimum Version" for upgrades needs to be adjusted.
+		-->
 
-		<Package Description="SharpDevelop 4.1.0.$(var.PRODUCTBUILDVERSION)"
+		<Package Description="SharpDevelop $(var.PRODUCTDISPLAYVERSION)"
 			InstallerVersion="300"
 			Compressed="yes"/>
 		
@@ -26,13 +34,13 @@
 			<!-- Checks for older versions -->
 			<UpgradeVersion Minimum="4.1.0"
 				IncludeMinimum="yes"
-				Maximum="4.1.$(var.PRODUCTBUILDVERSION)"
+				Maximum="$(var.PRODUCTMAJORVERSION).$(var.PRODUCTBUILDVERSION)"
 				IncludeMaximum="no" 
 				Property="PREVIOUSVERSIONFOUND"/>
 			<!-- Checks for newer versions -->
 			<UpgradeVersion OnlyDetect="yes"
 				Property="NEWERVERSIONFOUND"
-        		Minimum="4.1.$(var.PRODUCTBUILDVERSION)"
+				Minimum="$(var.PRODUCTMAJORVERSION).$(var.PRODUCTBUILDVERSION)"
 				IncludeMinimum="no"/>
 		</Upgrade>
 		
@@ -145,7 +153,7 @@
 			each be a feature if the user wants to heavily customise the installation.
 		-->
 		<Feature Id="Complete"
-		         Title="SharpDevelop 4.1"
+		         Title="SharpDevelop $(var.PRODUCTMAJORVERSION)"
 		         Description="Installs SharpDevelop and registers file associations"
 		         Level="1"
 		         ConfigurableDirectory="INSTALLDIR"
@@ -601,8 +609,7 @@
 		<UIRef Id="WixUI_FeatureTree"/>
 		
 		<!--
-			If a newer version of SharpDevelop 4.1 is installed show an
-			error message.
+			If a newer version of SharpDevelop is installed, show an error message.
 	
 			This message is not displayed immediately, the FindRelatedProducts 
 			action occurs well into the installation after the user has
@@ -615,13 +622,16 @@
 			<!--
 				Display an error message if a newer version found.
 				
-				Since the installer completely removes the existing SharpDevelop 4.1
+				Since the installer completely removes the existing SharpDevelop installation,
 				downgrades would work without any problems, but for now we 
 				inform the user that a newer version already exists.
+				-> Actually, there's trouble with downgrades because Windows Installer first determines
+					the existing components before removing the old installation; so all versioned
+					libraries will get removed instead of downgraded.
  			-->
 			<Custom Action="NoDowngrade" After="FindRelatedProducts">NEWERVERSIONFOUND</Custom>
 			<!--
-				Removes the older version of SharpDevelop 4.1, if we are upgrading,
+				Removes the older version of SharpDevelop, if we are upgrading,
 				before installing the new version.
 
 				Unfortunately the user is not informed of this upgrade. I think
diff --git a/src/Setup/SharpDevelop.Setup.wixproj.user.template b/src/Setup/SharpDevelop.Setup.wixproj.user.template
index a5901a87e9..5aabd59fc7 100644
--- a/src/Setup/SharpDevelop.Setup.wixproj.user.template
+++ b/src/Setup/SharpDevelop.Setup.wixproj.user.template
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 <Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003" ToolsVersion="4.0">
   <PropertyGroup>
+    <SetupProductMajorVersion>$INSERTMAJORVERSION$</SetupProductMajorVersion>
     <SetupProductBuildVersion>$INSERTREVISION$</SetupProductBuildVersion>
-    <DefineConstants>PRODUCTBUILDVERSION=$(SetupProductBuildVersion)</DefineConstants>
+    <SetupProductDisplayVersion>$INSERTMAJORVERSION$ $INSERTVERSIONNAME$</SetupProductDisplayVersion>
+    <DefineConstants>PRODUCTMAJORVERSION=$(SetupProductMajorVersion);PRODUCTBUILDVERSION=$(SetupProductBuildVersion);PRODUCTDISPLAYVERSION=$(SetupProductDisplayVersion)</DefineConstants>
   </PropertyGroup>
 </Project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/Tools/UpdateAssemblyInfo/Main.cs b/src/Tools/UpdateAssemblyInfo/Main.cs
index 3b3a7bfd56..7995c6a15b 100644
--- a/src/Tools/UpdateAssemblyInfo/Main.cs
+++ b/src/Tools/UpdateAssemblyInfo/Main.cs
@@ -92,7 +92,8 @@ namespace UpdateAssemblyInfo
 							new XElement("version", fullVersionNumber),
 							new XElement("revision", revisionNumber),
 							new XElement("commitHash", gitCommitHash),
-							new XElement("branchName", gitBranchName)
+							new XElement("branchName", gitBranchName),
+							new XElement("versionName", versionName)
 						));
 						doc.Save("REVISION");
 					}
@@ -112,6 +113,7 @@ namespace UpdateAssemblyInfo
 					content = r.ReadToEnd();
 				}
 				content = content.Replace("$INSERTVERSION$", fullVersionNumber);
+				content = content.Replace("$INSERTMAJORVERSION$", majorVersionNumber);
 				content = content.Replace("$INSERTREVISION$", revisionNumber);
 				content = content.Replace("$INSERTCOMMITHASH$", gitCommitHash);
 				content = content.Replace("$INSERTSHORTCOMMITHASH$", gitCommitHash.Substring(0, 8));
@@ -120,6 +122,10 @@ namespace UpdateAssemblyInfo
 				content = content.Replace("$INSERTBRANCHNAME$", gitBranchName);
 				bool isDefaultBranch = string.IsNullOrEmpty(gitBranchName) || gitBranchName == "master" || char.IsDigit(gitBranchName, 0);
 				content = content.Replace("$INSERTBRANCHPOSTFIX$", isDefaultBranch ? "" : ("-" + gitBranchName));
+				
+				content = content.Replace("$INSERTVERSIONNAME$", versionName ?? "");
+				content = content.Replace("$INSERTVERSIONNAMEPOSTFIX$", string.IsNullOrEmpty(versionName) ? "" : "-" + versionName);
+				
 				if (File.Exists(file.Output)) {
 					using (StreamReader r = new StreamReader(file.Output)) {
 						if (r.ReadToEnd() == content) {
@@ -135,9 +141,11 @@ namespace UpdateAssemblyInfo
 			}
 		}
 		
-		static string GetMajorVersion()
+		static void GetMajorVersion()
 		{
-			string version = "?";
+			majorVersionNumber = "?";
+			fullVersionNumber = "?";
+			versionName = null;
 			// Get main version from startup
 			using (StreamReader r = new StreamReader(globalAssemblyInfoTemplateFile)) {
 				string line;
@@ -146,23 +154,28 @@ namespace UpdateAssemblyInfo
 					int pos = line.IndexOf(search);
 					if (pos >= 0) {
 						int e = line.IndexOf('"', pos + search.Length + 1);
-						version = line.Substring(pos + search.Length, e - pos - search.Length);
+						majorVersionNumber = line.Substring(pos + search.Length, e - pos - search.Length);
 					}
 					search = "string Minor = \"";
 					pos = line.IndexOf(search);
 					if (pos >= 0) {
 						int e = line.IndexOf('"', pos + search.Length + 1);
-						version = version + "." + line.Substring(pos + search.Length, e - pos - search.Length);
+						majorVersionNumber = majorVersionNumber + "." + line.Substring(pos + search.Length, e - pos - search.Length);
 					}
 					search = "string Build = \"";
 					pos = line.IndexOf(search);
 					if (pos >= 0) {
 						int e = line.IndexOf('"', pos + search.Length + 1);
-						version = version + "." + line.Substring(pos + search.Length, e - pos - search.Length);
+						fullVersionNumber = majorVersionNumber + "." + line.Substring(pos + search.Length, e - pos - search.Length) + "." + revisionNumber;
+					}
+					search = "string VersionName = \"";
+					pos = line.IndexOf(search);
+					if (pos >= 0) {
+						int e = line.IndexOf('"', pos + search.Length + 1);
+						versionName = line.Substring(pos + search.Length, e - pos - search.Length);
 					}
 				}
 			}
-			return version;
 		}
 		
 		static void SetVersionInfo(string fileName, Regex regex, string replacement)
@@ -181,7 +194,12 @@ namespace UpdateAssemblyInfo
 		
 		#region Retrieve Revision Number
 		static string revisionNumber;
+		static string majorVersionNumber;
 		static string fullVersionNumber;
+		/// <summary>
+		/// Descriptive version name, e.g. 'Beta 3'
+		/// </summary>
+		static string versionName;
 		static string gitCommitHash;
 		static string gitBranchName;
 		
@@ -199,7 +217,7 @@ namespace UpdateAssemblyInfo
 			if (revisionNumber == null) {
 				ReadRevisionFromFile();
 			}
-			fullVersionNumber = GetMajorVersion() + "." + revisionNumber;
+			GetMajorVersion();
 		}
 		
 		static void ReadRevisionNumberFromGit()