diff --git a/src/Main/Base/Project/Src/Gui/Dialogs/NewProjectDialog.cs b/src/Main/Base/Project/Src/Gui/Dialogs/NewProjectDialog.cs
index 250ae5807e..2b9434b107 100644
--- a/src/Main/Base/Project/Src/Gui/Dialogs/NewProjectDialog.cs
+++ b/src/Main/Base/Project/Src/Gui/Dialogs/NewProjectDialog.cs
@@ -263,9 +263,9 @@ namespace ICSharpCode.SharpDevelop.Project.Dialogs
 			}
 			
 			
-			string solution = ((TextBox)ControlDictionary["solutionNameTextBox"]).Text;
-			string name     = ((TextBox)ControlDictionary["nameTextBox"]).Text;
-			string location = ((TextBox)ControlDictionary["locationTextBox"]).Text;
+			string solution = ((TextBox)ControlDictionary["solutionNameTextBox"]).Text.Trim();
+			string name     = ((TextBox)ControlDictionary["nameTextBox"]).Text.Trim();
+			string location = ((TextBox)ControlDictionary["locationTextBox"]).Text.Trim();
 			if (!FileUtility.IsValidFileName(solution)
 			    || solution.IndexOf(Path.DirectorySeparatorChar) >= 0
 			    || solution.IndexOf(Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar) >= 0
diff --git a/src/Main/Base/Project/Src/Internal/Templates/Project/ProjectDescriptor.cs b/src/Main/Base/Project/Src/Internal/Templates/Project/ProjectDescriptor.cs
index 78d57cddc4..648fd798df 100644
--- a/src/Main/Base/Project/Src/Internal/Templates/Project/ProjectDescriptor.cs
+++ b/src/Main/Base/Project/Src/Internal/Templates/Project/ProjectDescriptor.cs
@@ -120,21 +120,24 @@ namespace ICSharpCode.SharpDevelop.Internal.Templates
 				
 				// filter 'illegal' chars from standard namespace
 				if (newProjectName != null && newProjectName.Length > 0) {
-					char ch = newProjectName[0];
-					// can only begin with a letter or '_'
-					if (!Char.IsLetter(ch)) {
-						standardNamespace.Append('_');
-					} else {
-						standardNamespace.Append(ch);
-					}
-					for (int i = 1; i < newProjectName.Length; ++i) {
-						ch = newProjectName[i];
-						// can only contain letters, digits or '_'
-						if (!Char.IsLetterOrDigit(ch) && ch != '.') {
-							standardNamespace.Append('_');
+					char ch = '.';
+					for (int i = 0; i < newProjectName.Length; ++i) {
+						if (ch == '.') {
+							// at beginning or after '.', only a letter or '_' is allowed
+							ch = newProjectName[i];
+							if (!Char.IsLetter(ch)) {
+								standardNamespace.Append('_');
+							} else {
+								standardNamespace.Append(ch);
+							}
 						} else {
-							standardNamespace.Append(ch);
-							
+							ch = newProjectName[i];
+							// can only contain letters, digits or '_'
+							if (!Char.IsLetterOrDigit(ch) && ch != '.') {
+								standardNamespace.Append('_');
+							} else {
+								standardNamespace.Append(ch);
+							}
 						}
 					}
 				}