diff --git a/Contrib/Library/LibraryLocal/LibraryLocal.cpp b/Contrib/Library/LibraryLocal/LibraryLocal.cpp
index fd4df0d4..83ee1607 100644
--- a/Contrib/Library/LibraryLocal/LibraryLocal.cpp
+++ b/Contrib/Library/LibraryLocal/LibraryLocal.cpp
@@ -27,12 +27,6 @@ int GetTLBVersion(tstring& filepath, DWORD& high, DWORD & low)
 {
 #ifdef _WIN32
 
-#ifdef _countof
-#define COUNTOF _countof
-#else
-#define COUNTOF(a) (sizeof(a)/sizeof(a[0]))
-#endif
-
   int found = 0;
 
   TCHAR fullpath[1024];
diff --git a/Contrib/Makensisw/makensisw.cpp b/Contrib/Makensisw/makensisw.cpp
index 269532b9..075ff752 100644
--- a/Contrib/Makensisw/makensisw.cpp
+++ b/Contrib/Makensisw/makensisw.cpp
@@ -413,6 +413,14 @@ BOOL CALLBACK DialogProc(HWND hwndDlg, UINT msg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam) {
       DragAcceptFiles(g_sdata.hwnd,TRUE);
       return TRUE;
     }
+    case MakensisAPI::QUERYHOST: {
+      if (MakensisAPI::QH_OUTPUTCHARSET) {
+        const UINT reqcp = CP_UTF8; // TODO: UTF16LE will be faster for makensis
+        SetWindowLongPtr(hwndDlg, DWLP_MSGRESULT, (LONG_PTR)(1+reqcp));
+        return TRUE;
+      }
+      return FALSE;
+    }
     case WM_NOTIFY:
       switch (((NMHDR*)lParam)->code ) {
         case EN_SELCHANGE:
@@ -712,12 +720,12 @@ BOOL CALLBACK DialogProc(HWND hwndDlg, UINT msg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam) {
 
 DWORD WINAPI MakeNSISProc(LPVOID p) {
   TCHAR eventnamebuf[100];
-  wsprintf(eventnamebuf,MakensisAPI::SigintEventNameFmt,g_sdata.hwnd);
+  wsprintf(eventnamebuf, MakensisAPI::SigintEventNameFmt, g_sdata.hwnd);
   if (g_sdata.sigint_event) CloseHandle(g_sdata.sigint_event);
-  g_sdata.sigint_event = CreateEvent(NULL,FALSE,FALSE,eventnamebuf);
+  g_sdata.sigint_event = CreateEvent(NULL, FALSE, FALSE, eventnamebuf);
   if (!g_sdata.sigint_event) {
-    ErrorMessage(g_sdata.hwnd,_T("There was an error creating the abort event."));
-    PostMessage(g_sdata.hwnd,WM_MAKENSIS_PROCESSCOMPLETE,0,0);
+    ErrorMessage(g_sdata.hwnd, _T("There was an error creating the abort event."));
+    PostMessage(g_sdata.hwnd, WM_MAKENSIS_PROCESSCOMPLETE, 0, 0);
     return 1;
   }
 
@@ -725,44 +733,21 @@ DWORD WINAPI MakeNSISProc(LPVOID p) {
   TCHAR buf[1024];
 #endif
   char iobuf[1024];           //i/o buffer
-  STARTUPINFO si={sizeof(si),};
-  SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES sa={sizeof(sa),};
-  SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR sd={0,};
-  PROCESS_INFORMATION pi={0,};
-  HANDLE newstdout=0,read_stdout=0;
-  HANDLE newstdin=0,read_stdin=0;
-  OSVERSIONINFO osv={sizeof(osv)};
-  GetVersionEx(&osv);
-  if (osv.dwPlatformId == VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_NT) {
-    InitializeSecurityDescriptor(&sd,SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR_REVISION);
-    SetSecurityDescriptorDacl(&sd,true,NULL,false);
-    sa.lpSecurityDescriptor = &sd;
-  }
-  else sa.lpSecurityDescriptor = NULL;
-  sa.bInheritHandle = true;
-  if (!CreatePipe(&read_stdout,&newstdout,&sa,0)) {
-    ErrorMessage(g_sdata.hwnd,_T("There was an error creating the output pipe."));
-    PostMessage(g_sdata.hwnd,WM_MAKENSIS_PROCESSCOMPLETE,0,0);
+  STARTUPINFO si;
+  HANDLE newstdout,read_stdout;
+  
+  if (!InitSpawn(si, read_stdout, newstdout)) {
+    ErrorMessage(g_sdata.hwnd, _T("There was an error creating the pipe."));
+    PostMessage(g_sdata.hwnd, WM_MAKENSIS_PROCESSCOMPLETE, 0, 0);
     return 1;
   }
-  if (!CreatePipe(&read_stdin,&newstdin,&sa,0)) {
-    ErrorMessage(g_sdata.hwnd,_T("There was an error creating the input pipe."));
-    PostMessage(g_sdata.hwnd,WM_MAKENSIS_PROCESSCOMPLETE,0,0);
-    return 1;
-  }
-  GetStartupInfo(&si);
-  si.dwFlags = STARTF_USESTDHANDLES|STARTF_USESHOWWINDOW;
-  si.wShowWindow = SW_HIDE;
-  si.hStdOutput = newstdout;
-  si.hStdError = newstdout;
-  si.hStdInput = newstdin;
-  if (!CreateProcess(NULL,g_sdata.compile_command,NULL,NULL,TRUE,CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE,NULL,NULL,&si,&pi)) {
-    TCHAR buf[MAX_STRING];
-    wsprintf(buf,_T("Could not execute:\r\n %s."),g_sdata.compile_command);
-    ErrorMessage(g_sdata.hwnd,buf);
-    CloseHandle(newstdout);
-    CloseHandle(read_stdout);
-    PostMessage(g_sdata.hwnd,WM_MAKENSIS_PROCESSCOMPLETE,0,0);
+  PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;
+  if (!CreateProcess(0, g_sdata.compile_command, 0, 0, TRUE, CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE, 0, 0, &si, &pi)) {
+    TCHAR buf[MAX_STRING]; // BUGBUG: TODO: Too small?
+    wsprintf(buf,_T("Could not execute:\r\n %s."), g_sdata.compile_command);
+    ErrorMessage(g_sdata.hwnd, buf);
+    FreeSpawn(0, read_stdout, newstdout);
+    PostMessage(g_sdata.hwnd, WM_MAKENSIS_PROCESSCOMPLETE, 0, 0);
     return 1;
   }
   CloseHandle(newstdout); // close this handle (duplicated in subprocess) now so we get ERROR_BROKEN_PIPE
@@ -774,8 +759,9 @@ DWORD WINAPI MakeNSISProc(LPVOID p) {
 #ifdef _UNICODE
     // this tweak is to prevent LogMessage from cutting in the middle of an UTF-8 sequence
     // we print only up to the latest \n of the buffer, and keep the remaining for the next loop
+    // BUGBUG: What if the line is longer than sizeof(iobuf)?
     char* lastLF = strrchr(iobuf,'\n');
-    if (lastLF == NULL) lastLF = iobuf+dwRead-1;
+    if (!lastLF) lastLF = iobuf+dwRead-1;
     char ch = *++lastLF;
     *lastLF = '\0';
     MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8,0,iobuf,lastLF+1-iobuf,buf,COUNTOF(buf));
@@ -794,15 +780,9 @@ DWORD WINAPI MakeNSISProc(LPVOID p) {
   MultiByteToWideChar(CP_UTF8,0,iobuf,dwRead+1,buf,COUNTOF(buf));
   LogMessage(g_sdata.hwnd, buf);
 #endif
-  DWORD dwExit;
-  GetExitCodeProcess(pi.hProcess, &dwExit);
-  g_sdata.retcode = dwExit;
-  CloseHandle(pi.hThread);
-  CloseHandle(pi.hProcess);
-  CloseHandle(read_stdout);
-  CloseHandle(newstdin);
-  CloseHandle(read_stdin);
-  PostMessage(g_sdata.hwnd,WM_MAKENSIS_PROCESSCOMPLETE,0,0);
+  FreeSpawn(&pi, read_stdout, 0);
+  g_sdata.retcode = pi.dwProcessId;
+  PostMessage(g_sdata.hwnd, WM_MAKENSIS_PROCESSCOMPLETE, 0, 0);
   return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/Contrib/Makensisw/makensisw.h b/Contrib/Makensisw/makensisw.h
index e63b3aa2..4dbb39ed 100644
--- a/Contrib/Makensisw/makensisw.h
+++ b/Contrib/Makensisw/makensisw.h
@@ -85,6 +85,12 @@ namespace MakensisAPI {
     NOTIFY_ERROR,
     NOTIFY_OUTPUT
   };
+  enum sndmsg_e {
+    QUERYHOST = WM_APP
+  };
+  enum QUERYHOST_e {
+    QH_OUTPUTCHARSET = 1
+  };
 }
 
 typedef enum {
diff --git a/Contrib/Makensisw/utils.cpp b/Contrib/Makensisw/utils.cpp
index 2bd713cb..78e4b9ea 100644
--- a/Contrib/Makensisw/utils.cpp
+++ b/Contrib/Makensisw/utils.cpp
@@ -568,57 +568,73 @@ void ResetSymbols() {
   }
 }
 
-int InitBranding() {
-  TCHAR *s;
-  TCHAR opt[] = _T(" /version");
-  s = (TCHAR *)GlobalAlloc(GPTR,(lstrlen(EXENAME)+lstrlen(opt)+1)*sizeof(TCHAR));
-  lstrcpy(s, EXENAME);
-  lstrcat(s, opt);
-  {
-    STARTUPINFO si={sizeof(si),};
-    SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES sa={sizeof(sa),};
-    SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR sd={0,};
-    PROCESS_INFORMATION pi={0,};
-    HANDLE newstdout=0,read_stdout=0; 
+void FreeSpawn(PROCESS_INFORMATION *pPI, HANDLE hRd, HANDLE hWr) {
+  if (pPI) {
+    GetExitCodeProcess(pPI->hProcess, &pPI->dwProcessId);
+    CloseHandle(pPI->hProcess);
+    CloseHandle(pPI->hThread);
+  }
+  CloseHandle(hRd);
+  CloseHandle(hWr);
+}
+BOOL InitSpawn(STARTUPINFO &si, HANDLE &hRd, HANDLE &hWr) {
+  OSVERSIONINFO osv = {sizeof(osv)};
+  GetVersionEx(&osv);
+  const bool winnt = VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_NT == osv.dwPlatformId;
 
-    OSVERSIONINFO osv={sizeof(osv)};
-    GetVersionEx(&osv);
-    if (osv.dwPlatformId == VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_NT) {
-      InitializeSecurityDescriptor(&sd,SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR_REVISION);
-      SetSecurityDescriptorDacl(&sd,true,NULL,false);
-      sa.lpSecurityDescriptor = &sd;
-    }
-    else sa.lpSecurityDescriptor = NULL;
-    sa.bInheritHandle = true;
-    if (!CreatePipe(&read_stdout,&newstdout,&sa,0)) {
+  memset(&si, 0, sizeof(STARTUPINFO));
+  si.cb = sizeof(STARTUPINFO);
+  GetStartupInfo(&si);
+  si.dwFlags = STARTF_USESTDHANDLES|STARTF_USESHOWWINDOW;
+  si.wShowWindow = SW_HIDE;
+
+  SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES sa={sizeof(sa)};
+  SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR sd;
+  if (winnt) {
+    InitializeSecurityDescriptor(&sd, SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR_REVISION);
+    SetSecurityDescriptorDacl(&sd, true, NULL, false);
+    sa.lpSecurityDescriptor = &sd;
+  }
+  sa.bInheritHandle = true;
+  BOOL okp = CreatePipe(&hRd, &hWr, &sa, 0);
+  si.hStdOutput = hWr, si.hStdError = hWr;
+  si.hStdInput = INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE;
+  return okp;
+}
+
+int InitBranding() {
+  const TCHAR *opt = _T(" /version");
+  UINT cch = lstrlen(EXENAME) + lstrlen(opt) + 1;
+  TCHAR *s = (TCHAR *)GlobalAlloc(GPTR, cch*sizeof(TCHAR));
+  if (s) {
+    lstrcpy(s, EXENAME);
+    lstrcat(s, opt);
+    STARTUPINFO si;
+    HANDLE newstdout, read_stdout;
+    if (!InitSpawn(si, read_stdout, newstdout)) return 0;
+    PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;
+    if (!CreateProcess(0, s, 0, 0, TRUE, CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE, 0, 0, &si, &pi)) {
+      FreeSpawn(0, read_stdout, newstdout);
       return 0;
     }
-    GetStartupInfo(&si);
-    si.dwFlags = STARTF_USESTDHANDLES|STARTF_USESHOWWINDOW;
-    si.wShowWindow = SW_HIDE;
-    si.hStdOutput = newstdout;
-    si.hStdError = newstdout;
-    if (!CreateProcess(NULL,s,NULL,NULL,TRUE,CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE,NULL,NULL,&si,&pi)) {
-      CloseHandle(newstdout);
-      CloseHandle(read_stdout);
-      return 0;
+    char szBuf[1024], retval = 0;
+    DWORD dwRead = 0;
+    if (WAIT_OBJECT_0 == WaitForSingleObject(pi.hProcess, 10000)) {
+      ReadFile(read_stdout, szBuf, sizeof(szBuf)-1, &dwRead, NULL);
+      retval = 1;
     }
-    char szBuf[1024];
-    DWORD dwRead = 1;
-    if (WaitForSingleObject(pi.hProcess,10000)!=WAIT_OBJECT_0) {
-      return 0;
-    }
-    ReadFile(read_stdout, szBuf, sizeof(szBuf)-1, &dwRead, NULL);
+    FreeSpawn(&pi, read_stdout, newstdout);
     szBuf[dwRead] = 0;
     int len = lstrlenA(szBuf);
-    if (len==0) return 0;
-    g_sdata.branding = (TCHAR *)GlobalAlloc(GPTR,(len+6)*sizeof(TCHAR));
-    wsprintf(g_sdata.branding,_T("NSIS %hs"),szBuf);
-    g_sdata.brandingv = (char *)GlobalAlloc(GPTR,len+1);
-    lstrcpyA(g_sdata.brandingv,szBuf);
+    if (len==0) retval = 0;
+    g_sdata.branding = (TCHAR *)GlobalAlloc(GPTR, (len+6)*sizeof(TCHAR)); // LEAKED
+    wsprintf(g_sdata.branding, _T("NSIS %hs"), szBuf);
+    g_sdata.brandingv = (char *)GlobalAlloc(GPTR, len+1); // LEAKED
+    lstrcpyA(g_sdata.brandingv, szBuf);
     GlobalFree(s);
+    return retval;
   }
-  return 1;
+  return 0;
 }
 
 
@@ -627,7 +643,7 @@ void InitTooltips(HWND h) {
   memset(&g_tip,0,sizeof(NTOOLTIP));
   g_tip.tip_p = h;
   INITCOMMONCONTROLSEX icx;
-  icx.dwSize  = sizeof(icx);
+  icx.dwSize = sizeof(icx);
   icx.dwICC  = ICC_BAR_CLASSES;
   InitCommonControlsEx(&icx);
   DWORD dwStyle = WS_POPUP | WS_BORDER | TTS_ALWAYSTIP;
diff --git a/Contrib/Makensisw/utils.h b/Contrib/Makensisw/utils.h
index 5fcbe8cf..0d294ec7 100644
--- a/Contrib/Makensisw/utils.h
+++ b/Contrib/Makensisw/utils.h
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@
 #define MRU_LIST_SIZE 5
 #define MRU_DISPLAY_LENGTH 40
 
+void FreeSpawn(PROCESS_INFORMATION *pPI, HANDLE hRd, HANDLE hWr);
+BOOL InitSpawn(STARTUPINFO &si, HANDLE &hRd, HANDLE &hWr);
+
 int SetArgv(const TCHAR *cmdLine, TCHAR ***argv);
 void SetTitle(HWND hwnd,const TCHAR *substr);
 void SetBranding(HWND hwnd);
diff --git a/Contrib/SubStart/substart.c b/Contrib/SubStart/substart.c
index 32924d36..92134811 100644
--- a/Contrib/SubStart/substart.c
+++ b/Contrib/SubStart/substart.c
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ int main( int argc, char *argv[] )
                WARNING: The subprocess can't parse GetCommandLine()
                to find its own path since we pass the wrong path! */
             if ( CreateProcess( szPath, GetCommandLine(), NULL, NULL,
-                FALSE, 0, NULL, NULL, &si, &pi ) )
+                TRUE, 0, NULL, NULL, &si, &pi ) )
             {
                 WaitForSingleObject( pi.hProcess, INFINITE );
                 GetExitCodeProcess( pi.hProcess, (DWORD*) &err );
diff --git a/Docs/src/config.but b/Docs/src/config.but
index 8dd894b2..3228ba50 100644
--- a/Docs/src/config.but
+++ b/Docs/src/config.but
@@ -12,7 +12,9 @@
 
 \define{NsisACPcp} system default ANSI codepage (ACP)
 
-\define{NsisInputCharset} ACP|OEM|CP#|UTF8|UTF16LE|UTF16BE
+\define{NsisInputCharset} ACP|OEM|CP#|UTF8|UTF16<LE|BE>
+
+\define{NsisOutputCharset} ACP|OEM|CP#|UTF8[SIG]|UTF16<LE|BE>[BOM]
 
 \define{NsisWarnBlockContainerBegin} \\<div class=\\"wb\\"\\>
 
diff --git a/Docs/src/usage.but b/Docs/src/usage.but
index 2b1ce6d0..eca32f3c 100644
--- a/Docs/src/usage.but
+++ b/Docs/src/usage.but
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ If you want to use MakeNSIS on the command line, the syntax of the makensis comm
 
 \b /INPUTCHARSET allows you to specify a specific codepage for files without a BOM. (\NsisInputCharset)
 
+\b /OUTPUTCHARSET allows you to specify the codepage used by stdout when the output is redirected. (\NsisOutputCharset)
+
 \b Using the /D switch one or more times will add to symbols to the globally defined list (See !define).
 
 \b Using the /X switch one or more times will execute the code you specify following it. Example: "/XAutoCloseWindow false"
diff --git a/Source/SConscript b/Source/SConscript
index d7e190ba..3f9af5b0 100644
--- a/Source/SConscript
+++ b/Source/SConscript
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ makensis_files = Split("""
 	tstring.cpp
 	utf.cpp
 	util.cpp
-	validateunicode.cpp
 	winchar.cpp
 	writer.cpp
 """)
@@ -71,6 +70,7 @@ AddZLib(env, env['PLATFORM'], 'install-compiler')
 
 ##### Defines
 
+env.Append(CPPDEFINES = ['MAKENSIS'])
 env.Append(CPPDEFINES = ['_WIN32_IE=0x0500'])
 
 ##### Set PCH
diff --git a/Source/build.cpp b/Source/build.cpp
index eea1de3a..1c5dd9e8 100644
--- a/Source/build.cpp
+++ b/Source/build.cpp
@@ -474,8 +474,7 @@ int CEXEBuild::add_string(const TCHAR *string, int process/*=1*/, UINT codepage/
   init_shellconstantvalues();
   if ((unsigned)-2 == codepage)
   {
-    assert(curlinereader);
-    codepage = curlinereader->StreamEncoding().GetCodepage();
+    codepage = curlinereader ? curlinereader->StreamEncoding().GetCodepage() : CP_UTF8;
     // If the current source file is Unicode we have to pick a real codepage for ANSI!
     // It might not be the correct codepage but its the best we can do.
     // Not using CP_ACP to avoid heisenbugs when compiled on a different system.
diff --git a/Source/build.h b/Source/build.h
index d38a8432..2af951eb 100644
--- a/Source/build.h
+++ b/Source/build.h
@@ -80,6 +80,14 @@ namespace MakensisAPI {
     NOTIFY_ERROR,
     NOTIFY_OUTPUT // generated .exe file
   };
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  enum sndmsg_e {
+    QUERYHOST = WM_APP // QUERYHOST_e in wParam
+  };
+  enum QUERYHOST_e {
+    QH_OUTPUTCHARSET = 1 // return (wincodepage+1) or 0 for default
+  };
+#endif
 }
 
 #define PAGE_CUSTOM 0
diff --git a/Source/makenssi.cpp b/Source/makenssi.cpp
index 17064e55..1e1ef761 100644
--- a/Source/makenssi.cpp
+++ b/Source/makenssi.cpp
@@ -36,12 +36,24 @@
 
 using namespace std;
 
-int g_noconfig=0;
+bool g_dopause=false;
 int g_display_errors=1;
-FILE *g_output=stdout;
+FILE *g_output;
+#ifdef _WIN32
+UINT g_wincon_orgoutcp;
 #ifdef _UNICODE
-UINT g_initialCodepage;
+WINSIO_OSDATA g_osdata_stdout;
 #endif
+#endif
+
+static void dopause(void)
+{
+  if (!g_dopause) return;
+  if (g_display_errors) _ftprintf(g_output,_T("MakeNSIS done - hit enter to close..."));
+  fflush(stdout);
+  int a;
+  while ((a=_gettchar()) != _T('\r') && a != _T('\n') && a != 27/*esc*/);
+}
 
 void quit()
 {
@@ -59,9 +71,7 @@ static void myatexit()
   ResetPrintColor();
   if (g_output != stdout && g_output) fclose(g_output);
 #ifdef _WIN32
-#ifdef _UNICODE
-  SetConsoleOutputCP(g_initialCodepage);
-#endif
+  SetConsoleOutputCP(g_wincon_orgoutcp);
 #endif
 }
 
@@ -160,6 +170,7 @@ static void print_usage()
          _T("  ") OPT_STR _T("NOCONFIG disables inclusion of <path to makensis.exe>") PLATFORM_PATH_SEPARATOR_STR _T("nsisconf.nsh\n")
          _T("  ") OPT_STR _T("NOCD disabled the current directory change to that of the .nsi file\n")
          _T("  ") OPT_STR _T("INPUTCHARSET <") TSTR_INPUTCHARSET _T(">\n")
+         _T("  ") OPT_STR _T("OUTPUTCHARSET <") TSTR_OUTPUTCHARSET _T(">\n")
          _T("  ") OPT_STR _T("Ddefine[=value] defines the symbol \"define\" for the script [to value]\n")
          _T("  ") OPT_STR _T("Xscriptcmd executes scriptcmd in script (i.e. \"") OPT_STR _T("XOutFile poop.exe\")\n")
          _T("  ")         _T("  parameters are processed by order (") OPT_STR _T("Ddef ins.nsi != ins.nsi ") OPT_STR _T("Ddef)\n")
@@ -242,11 +253,11 @@ static int change_to_script_dir(CEXEBuild& build, tstring& script)
   return 0;
 }
 
-static inline bool HasReqParam(TCHAR**argv,int argi,int argc)
+static inline bool HasReqParam(TCHAR**argv,int argi,int argc,bool silent=false)
 {
   if (argi>=argc || !*argv[argi])
   {
-    PrintColorFmtMsg_ERR(_T("Error: Missing required parameter!\n"));
+    if (!silent) PrintColorFmtMsg_ERR(_T("Error: Missing required parameter!\n"));
     return false;
   }
   return true;
@@ -263,29 +274,111 @@ int _tmain(int argc, TCHAR **argv)
 #ifdef NSIS_HPUX_ALLOW_UNALIGNED_DATA_ACCESS
   allow_unaligned_data_access();
 #endif
+  assert(sizeof(wchar_t) > 1 && sizeof(wchar_t) <= 4 && sizeof(WORD) == 2);
+
+  HWND hostnotifyhandle=0;
+  const TCHAR*stdoutredirname=0;
+  NStreamEncoding inputenc, outputenc;
+  int argpos=0;
+  bool in_files=false;
+  bool do_cd=true;
+  bool no_logo=false;
+  bool initialparsefail=false;
+  bool noconfig=false;
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  signed char outputbom=1;
+#endif
+
+  // Some parameters have to be parsed early so we can initialize stdout and the "host API".
+  while (++argpos < argc && !initialparsefail)
+  {
+    if (!IS_OPT(argv[argpos])) break; // must be a filename, stop parsing
+    if (!_tcscmp(argv[argpos], _T("--"))) break; // stop parsing
+    if (_T('-') == argv[argpos][0] && !argv[argpos][1]) continue; // stdin
+
+    const TCHAR *swname = &argv[argpos][1];
+    if (!_tcsicmp(swname,_T("VERSION"))) argc=0;
+    else if (!_tcsicmp(swname,_T("NOTIFYHWND")))
+    {
+      initialparsefail=!HasReqParam(argv,++argpos,argc,true);
+      if (initialparsefail) break;
+      hostnotifyhandle=(HWND)_ttol(argv[argpos]);
+#ifdef _WIN32
+      if (!IsWindow(hostnotifyhandle)) hostnotifyhandle=0;
+#endif
+    }
+    else if (!_tcsicmp(swname,_T("OUTPUTCHARSET")) || !_tcsicmp(swname,_T("OCS")))
+    {
+      initialparsefail=!HasReqParam(argv,++argpos,argc,true);
+      if (initialparsefail) break;
+#ifdef _WIN32
+      bool bom;
+      WORD cp=GetEncodingFromString(argv[argpos],bom);
+      if (NStreamEncoding::UNKNOWN == cp)
+      {
+        ++initialparsefail;
+      }
+      else
+      {
+        outputbom=bom ? 1 : -1;
+        outputenc.SetCodepage(cp);
+      }
+#else
+      outputenc.SetCodepage(NStreamEncoding::UNKNOWN);
+#endif
+    }
+#ifdef _WIN32
+    else if (!_tcsicmp(swname,_T("RAW")))
+    {
+      // Emulate the scratchpaper.com fork and its /RAW switch.
+      // NOTE: Unlike the fork, we print \r\n and not just \n.
+      outputbom=0;
+      outputenc.SetCodepage(NStreamEncoding::UTF16LE);
+    }
+#endif
+    else if (S7IsChEqualI('v',swname[0]) && swname[1] && !swname[2])
+    {
+      no_logo=swname[1] >= _T('0') && swname[1] <= _T('2');
+    }
+    // This must be parsed last because it will eat other switches
+    else if (S7IsChEqualI('o',swname[0]) && swname[1]) stdoutredirname=swname+1;
+  }
+
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  g_wincon_orgoutcp = GetConsoleOutputCP();
+#endif
+
+  init_signals(hostnotifyhandle);
+
+
+  FILE*stdoutredir=stdout;
+  if (stdoutredirname) stdoutredir=my_fopen(stdoutredirname,"w");
+  g_output=stdoutredir;
+  if (!g_output) g_output=stdout;
+#if defined(_WIN32) && defined(_UNICODE)
+  if (hostnotifyhandle)
+  {
+    // The host can override the output format if they want to
+    LPARAM lp=MAKELONG(outputenc.GetCodepage(),outputbom);
+    LRESULT mr=SendMessage(hostnotifyhandle,MakensisAPI::QUERYHOST,MakensisAPI::QH_OUTPUTCHARSET,lp);
+    if (mr) outputenc.SetCodepage((WORD)--mr), outputbom = -1;
+  }
+
+  if (!WinStdIO_OStreamInit(g_osdata_stdout,g_output,outputenc.GetCodepage(),outputbom))
+  {
+    assert(!"StdIO init failed");
+    return 1;
+  }
+#endif
+  // g_output is now initialized and Print*/_[f]tprintf can be used
+  if (!stdoutredir) PrintColorFmtMsg_WARN(_T("Error opening output log for writing! Using stdout.\n"));
+
+  unsigned int nousage=0;
+  unsigned int files_processed=0;
+  unsigned int cmds_processed=0;
 
   CEXEBuild build;
-  NStreamEncoding inputenc;
-  bool outputtried=0;
-  bool in_files=0;
-  bool do_cd=1;
-  bool no_logo=0;
-  int nousage=0;
-  int argpos=1;
-  int tmpargpos=1;
-  int files_processed=0;
-  int cmds_processed=0;
-
-#ifdef _UNICODE
-#ifndef _O_U8TEXT
-  const int _O_U8TEXT=0x40000; // BUGBUG: This is bogus (Makensis will ONLY work on NT6)
-#endif
-  _setmode(_fileno(stdout), _O_U8TEXT); // set stdout to UTF-8
-#ifdef _WIN32
-  g_initialCodepage = GetConsoleOutputCP();
-  SetConsoleOutputCP(CP_UTF8); // set console output to UTF-8 (especially useful for subprocesses like !system)
-#endif
-#endif
   try
   {
     build.initialize(argv[0]);
@@ -296,66 +389,107 @@ int _tmain(int argc, TCHAR **argv)
     return 1;
   }
 
-  if (argc > 1 && IS_OPT(argv[tmpargpos]) && !_tcsicmp(&argv[tmpargpos][1],_T("VERSION")))
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  build.notify_hwnd=hostnotifyhandle;
+#else
+  const TCHAR*const badnonwinswitchfmt=OPT_STR _T("%s is disabled for non Win32 platforms.");
+  if (hostnotifyhandle)
+    build.warning(badnonwinswitchfmt,_T("NOTIFYHWND"));
+  if (NStreamEncoding::UNKNOWN==outputenc.GetCodepage())
+    build.warning(badnonwinswitchfmt,_T("OUTPUTCHARSET"));
+#endif // ~_WIN32
+
+  if (!argc)
   {
     _ftprintf(g_output,NSIS_VERSION);
     fflush(g_output);
     return 0;
   }
-  if (argc > 1 && IS_OPT(argv[tmpargpos]) && S7IsChEqualI('v',argv[tmpargpos][1]))
-  {
-    if (argv[tmpargpos][2] <= _T('2') && argv[tmpargpos][2] >= _T('0'))
-    {
-      no_logo=1;
-    }
-    tmpargpos++;
-  }
-  
-  if (!no_logo)
-  {
-    if (argc > tmpargpos && IS_OPT(argv[tmpargpos]) && S7IsChEqualI('o',argv[tmpargpos][1]) && argv[tmpargpos][2])
-    {
-      g_output=FOPENTEXT(argv[tmpargpos]+2,"w");
-      if (!g_output) 
-      {
-        g_output=stdout; // Needs to be set before calling PrintColorFmtMsg*
-        PrintColorFmtMsg_WARN(_T("Error opening output log for writing. Using stdout.\n"));
-      }
-      outputtried=1;
-    }
-    print_logo();
-  }
-  if (!g_output) g_output=stdout;
-  
-  // Look for /NOTIFYHWND so we can init_signals()
-  const int orgargpos=argpos;
-  while (argpos < argc)
-  {
-    if (!_tcscmp(argv[argpos], _T("--"))) break;
-    if (!IS_OPT(argv[argpos]) || !_tcscmp(argv[argpos], _T("-"))) break;
-    if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("NOTIFYHWND")))
-    {
-      if (!HasReqParam(argv, ++argpos, argc)) break;
-#ifdef _WIN32
-      build.notify_hwnd=(HWND)_ttol(argv[argpos]);
-      if (!IsWindow(build.notify_hwnd)) build.notify_hwnd=0;
-#else
-      build.warning(OPT_STR _T("NOTIFYHWND is disabled for non Win32 platforms."));
-#endif
-    }
-    argpos++;
-  }
-  argpos=orgargpos;
+  if (!no_logo) print_logo();
 
-  init_signals(build.notify_hwnd);
 
+  argpos=initialparsefail ? argc : 1;
   while (argpos < argc)
   {
     if (!_tcscmp(argv[argpos], _T("--")))
       in_files=1;
     else if (IS_OPT(argv[argpos]) && _tcscmp(argv[argpos], _T("-")) && !in_files)
     {
-      if (S7IsChEqualI('d',argv[argpos][1]) && argv[argpos][2])
+      if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("NOCD"))) do_cd=false;
+      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("NOCONFIG"))) noconfig=true;
+      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("PAUSE"))) g_dopause=true;
+      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("LICENSE"))) 
+      {
+        if (build.display_info) print_license();
+        nousage++;
+      }
+      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("CMDHELP")))
+      {
+        if (argpos < argc-1)
+          build.print_help(argv[++argpos]);
+        else
+          build.print_help(NULL);
+        nousage++;
+      }
+      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("HDRINFO")))
+      {
+        print_stub_info(build);
+        nousage++;
+      }
+      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("INPUTCHARSET")) || !_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("ICS")))
+      {
+        if (!HasReqParam(argv, ++argpos, argc)) break;
+        WORD cp = GetEncodingFromString(argv[argpos]);
+        if (NStreamEncoding::UNKNOWN == cp)
+        {
+          if (_tcsicmp(argv[argpos], _T("AUTO")))
+            build.warning(OPT_STR _T("INPUTCHARSET: Ignoring invalid charset %s"), argv[argpos]);
+          cp = NStreamEncoding::AUTO;
+        }
+        inputenc.SafeSetCodepage(cp);
+      }
+      else if (S7IsChEqualI('v',argv[argpos][1]) && 
+               argv[argpos][2] >= _T('0') && argv[argpos][2] <= _T('4') && !argv[argpos][3])
+      {
+        int v=argv[argpos][2]-_T('0');
+        build.display_script=v>3;
+        build.display_info=v>2;
+        build.display_warnings=v>1;
+        build.display_errors=v>0;
+        g_display_errors=build.display_errors;
+      }
+      else if (S7IsChEqualI('p',argv[argpos][1]) &&
+               argv[argpos][2] >= _T('0') && argv[argpos][2] <= _T('5') && !argv[argpos][3])
+      {
+#ifdef _WIN32
+        // priority setting added 01-2007 by Comm@nder21
+        int p=argv[argpos][2]-_T('0');
+        HANDLE hProc = GetCurrentProcess();
+        struct
+        {
+          DWORD priority, fallback;
+        } static const classes[] = {
+          {IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS,         IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS},
+          {BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS, IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS},
+          {NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS,       NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS},
+          {ABOVE_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS, HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS},
+          {HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS,         HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS},
+          {REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS,     REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS}
+        };
+        if (SetPriorityClass(hProc, classes[p].priority) == FALSE)
+        {
+          SetPriorityClass(hProc, classes[p].fallback);
+        }
+        if (p == 5) build.warning(_T("makensis is running in REALTIME priority mode!"));
+#else
+        build.warning(badnonwinswitchfmt,_T("Px"));
+#endif
+      }
+      // Already parsed these (must adjust argpos)
+      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("NOTIFYHWND"))) ++argpos;
+      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("OUTPUTCHARSET")) || !_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("OCS"))) ++argpos;
+      // These must be parsed last because they will eat other switches
+      else if (S7IsChEqualI('d',argv[argpos][1]) && argv[argpos][2])
       {
         TCHAR *p=argv[argpos]+2;
         TCHAR *s=_tcsdup(p),*v;
@@ -373,102 +507,12 @@ int _tmain(int argc, TCHAR **argv)
         }
         cmds_processed++;
       }
-      else if (S7IsChEqualI('o',argv[argpos][1]) && argv[argpos][2])
-      {
-        if (!outputtried)
-        {
-          g_output=FOPENTEXT(argv[argpos]+2,"w");
-          if (!g_output) 
-          {
-            g_output=stdout; // Needs to be set before calling PrintColorFmtMsg*
-            if (build.display_errors) PrintColorFmtMsg_WARN(_T("Error opening output log for writing. Using stdout.\n"));
-          }
-          outputtried=1;
-        }
-      }
-      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("NOCD"))) do_cd=0;
-      else if (S7IsChEqualI('v',argv[argpos][1]) && 
-               argv[argpos][2] >= _T('0') && argv[argpos][2] <= _T('4') && !argv[argpos][3])
-      {
-        int v=argv[argpos][2]-_T('0');
-        build.display_script=v>3;
-        build.display_info=v>2;
-        build.display_warnings=v>1;
-        build.display_errors=v>0;
-        g_display_errors=build.display_errors;
-      }
-      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("NOCONFIG"))) g_noconfig=1;
-      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("PAUSE"))) g_dopause=1;
-      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("LICENSE"))) 
-      {
-        if (build.display_info) 
-        {
-          print_license();
-        }
-        nousage++;
-      }
-      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("CMDHELP")))
-      {
-        if (argpos < argc-1)
-          build.print_help(argv[++argpos]);
-        else
-          build.print_help(NULL);
-        nousage++;
-      }
-      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("NOTIFYHWND")))
-      {
-        ++argpos; // already parsed this
-      }
-      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("HDRINFO")))
-      {
-        print_stub_info(build);
-        nousage++;
-      }
-      else if (S7IsChEqualI('p',argv[argpos][1]) &&
-               argv[argpos][2] >= _T('0') && argv[argpos][2] <= _T('5') && !argv[argpos][3])
-      {
+      // Already parsed these
 #ifdef _WIN32
-        // priority setting added 01-2007 by Comm@nder21
-        int p=argv[argpos][2]-_T('0');
-        HANDLE hProc = GetCurrentProcess();
-        
-        struct
-        {
-          DWORD priority;
-          DWORD fallback;
-        } classes[] = {
-          {IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS,         IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS},
-          {BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS, IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS},
-          {NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS,       NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS},
-          {ABOVE_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS, HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS},
-          {HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS,         HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS},
-          {REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS,     REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS}
-        };
-
-        if (SetPriorityClass(hProc, classes[p].priority) == FALSE)
-        {
-          SetPriorityClass(hProc, classes[p].fallback);
-        }
-
-        if (p == 5)
-          build.warning(_T("makensis is running in REALTIME priority mode!"));
-
-#else
-        build.warning(OPT_STR _T("Px is disabled for non Win32 platforms."));
+      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("RAW"))) {}
 #endif
-      }
-      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("INPUTCHARSET")) || !_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("ICS")))
-      {
-        if (!HasReqParam(argv, ++argpos, argc)) break;
-        WORD cp = GetEncodingFromString(argv[argpos]);
-        if (NStreamEncoding::UNKNOWN == cp)
-        {
-          if (_tcsicmp(argv[argpos], _T("AUTO")))
-            build.warning(OPT_STR _T("INPUTCHARSET: Ignoring invalid charset %s"), argv[argpos]);
-          cp = NStreamEncoding::AUTO;
-        }
-        inputenc.SafeSetCodepage(cp);
-      }
+      else if (!_tcsicmp(&argv[argpos][1],_T("VERSION"))) {}
+      else if (S7IsChEqualI('o',argv[argpos][1]) && argv[argpos][2]) {} 
       else
         break;
     }
@@ -476,10 +520,10 @@ int _tmain(int argc, TCHAR **argv)
     {
       files_processed++;
       if (!_tcscmp(argv[argpos],_T("-")) && !in_files)
-        g_dopause=0;
-      if (!g_noconfig)
+        g_dopause=false;
+      if (!noconfig)
       {
-        g_noconfig=1;
+        noconfig=true;
         tstring main_conf;
         TCHAR* env_var = _tgetenv(_T("NSISCONFDIR"));
         if(env_var == NULL)
diff --git a/Source/script.cpp b/Source/script.cpp
index 4feecac4..76e44d51 100644
--- a/Source/script.cpp
+++ b/Source/script.cpp
@@ -3241,6 +3241,9 @@ int CEXEBuild::doCommand(int which_token, LineParser &line)
         TCHAR *exec=line.gettoken_str(1);
         SCRIPT_MSG(_T("!execute: \"%s\"\n"),exec);
 #ifdef _WIN32
+#ifdef _UNICODE
+        RunChildProcessRedirected(0,exec);
+#else
         PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;
         STARTUPINFO si={sizeof(STARTUPINFO),};
         if (CreateProcess(NULL,exec,NULL,NULL,FALSE,0,NULL,NULL,&si,&pi))
@@ -3249,6 +3252,7 @@ int CEXEBuild::doCommand(int which_token, LineParser &line)
           CloseHandle(pi.hThread);
           CloseHandle(pi.hProcess);
         }
+#endif
 #else
         TCHAR *execfixed = my_convert(exec);
         system(execfixed);
diff --git a/Source/tstring.cpp b/Source/tstring.cpp
index c9b08e8d..56f0da75 100644
--- a/Source/tstring.cpp
+++ b/Source/tstring.cpp
@@ -15,91 +15,10 @@
 #ifdef _UNICODE
 
 #include "tstring.h"
-#include "validateunicode.h"
 #include "util.h"
 #include <vector>
 #include <stdio.h>
 
-FILE* FileOpenUnicodeText(const TCHAR* file, const TCHAR* mode, BOOL* unicode)
-{
-	extern FILE *g_output;
-	CValidateUnicode::FILE_TYPE ftype = CValidateUnicode::UTF_8; // default file format is UTF-8
-	if (unicode) *unicode = TRUE;
-
-	// If we are reading an existing file, check to see what type of file it
-	// is first.
-	if (_tcsstr(mode, _T("w+")) ||
-	    _tcsstr(mode, _T("r")))
-	{
-		FILE* fp = _tfopen(file, _T("rb"));
-
-		if (fp)
-		{
-			MANAGE_WITH(fp, fclose);
-			fseek(fp, 0, SEEK_END);
-			size_t fileSize = ftell(fp);
-			if (fileSize == 0)
-			{
-				// Empty files are treated as UTF-8.
-				ftype = CValidateUnicode::UTF_8;
-			}
-			else
-			{
-				std::vector<unsigned char> buffer(fileSize);
-				fseek(fp, 0, SEEK_SET);
-				fread(&buffer[0], sizeof(unsigned char), fileSize, fp);
-
-				ftype = CValidateUnicode::CheckBOM(&buffer[0], buffer.size());
-
-				switch (ftype)
-				{
-				case CValidateUnicode::UTF_8:
-				case CValidateUnicode::UTF_16LE:
-				case CValidateUnicode::UTF_16BE:
-					break;
-				case CValidateUnicode::UTF_32LE:
-				case CValidateUnicode::UTF_32BE:
-					PrintColorFmtMsg_ERR(_T("File '%s' has a BOM marked as %s which is not supported at this time.\n"),
-					   file, CValidateUnicode::TypeToName(ftype));
-					exit(-1);
-					break;
-				case CValidateUnicode::UNKNOWN:
-					// If unknown, let's see if it's not just UTF_8 without a BOM.
-					if (CValidateUnicode::ValidateUTF8(&buffer[0], buffer.size()) == 2)
-					{
-						// contains UTF-8 characters sequences
-						_ftprintf(g_output, _T("File '%s' has no BOM but seems to be UTF-8.\n"), file);
-						ftype = CValidateUnicode::UTF_8;
-					}
-					break;
-				default:
-					PrintColorFmtMsg_ERR(_T("CValidateUnicode::CheckBOM() for file '%s' returned an unknown return value: %d\n"),
-					   file, ftype);
-					exit(-1);
-					break;
-				}
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	tstring strMode(mode);
-
-	switch (ftype)
-	{
-		case CValidateUnicode::UTF_8:
-			strMode.append(_T(", ccs=UTF-8"));
-			break;
-		case CValidateUnicode::UTF_16LE:
-			strMode.append(_T(", ccs=UTF-16LE"));
-			break;
-		default:
-			// Looks like fopen() doesn't support other encodings of Unicode.
-			if (unicode) *unicode = FALSE;
-			break;
-	}
-
-	return _tfopen(file, strMode.c_str());
-}
 
 CtoTString::CtoTString(const char* str)
 {
diff --git a/Source/tstring.h b/Source/tstring.h
index e8fd0e75..0094ae72 100644
--- a/Source/tstring.h
+++ b/Source/tstring.h
@@ -28,17 +28,10 @@
 typedef std::wstring     tstring;
 typedef std::wofstream   tofstream;
 typedef std::wifstream   tifstream;
-// Use the following macros to open text files.
-FILE* FileOpenUnicodeText(const TCHAR* file, const TCHAR* mode, BOOL* unicode);
-#define FOPENTEXT(file, mode)           FileOpenUnicodeText(file, _T(mode), NULL)
-#define FOPENTEXT2(file, mode, unicode) FileOpenUnicodeText(file, _T(mode), unicode)
 #else
 typedef std::string      tstring;
 typedef std::ofstream    tofstream;
 typedef std::ifstream    tifstream;
-// Use the following macros to open text files.
-#define FOPENTEXT(file, mode)           fopen(file, mode)
-#define FOPENTEXT2(file, mode, unicode) (*(unicode)=FALSE, fopen(file, mode))
 #endif
 
 #ifndef _UNICODE
diff --git a/Source/utf.cpp b/Source/utf.cpp
index 7557b6d6..b901f2ad 100644
--- a/Source/utf.cpp
+++ b/Source/utf.cpp
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
  */
 
 #include "utf.h"
+#include "util.h"
 
 #define FIX_ENDIAN_INT16LETOHOST_INPLACE FIX_ENDIAN_INT16_INPLACE
 
@@ -259,10 +260,27 @@ bool WCToUTF16LEHlpr::Create(const TCHAR*in)
 }
 #endif
 
+UINT DetectUTFBOM(void*Buffer, UINT cb)
+{
+  unsigned char *b = (unsigned char*) Buffer;
+  if (cb >= 3 && 0xef == b[0] && 0xbb == b[1] && 0xbf == b[2])
+    return NStreamEncoding::UTF8;
+  if (cb >= 2)
+  {
+    if (cb >= 4 && !b[0] && !b[1] && 0xfe == b[2] && 0xff == b[3])
+      return NStreamEncoding::UTF32BE;
+    if (0xff == b[0] && 0xfe == b[1])
+      return (cb >= 4 && !b[2] && !b[3]) ? NStreamEncoding::UTF32LE : NStreamEncoding::UTF16LE;
+    if (0xfe == b[0] && 0xff == b[1])
+      return NStreamEncoding::UTF16BE;
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
 UINT DetectUTFBOM(FILE*strm)
 {
   /*\
-  Tries to detect a BOM at the start of a stream. If a BOM is found it is eaten.
+  Tries to detect a BOM at the current position in a stream.
+  If a BOM is found it is eaten.
   NOTE: ungetc is only guaranteed to support 1 pushback, 
   lets hope no MBCS file starts with parts of a BOM.
   \*/
@@ -358,7 +376,8 @@ bool NBaseStream::Attach(FILE*hFile, WORD enc, bool Seek /*= true*/)
 {
   Close();
   m_hFile = hFile;
-  if (!m_hFile || !NStream::SetBinaryMode(m_hFile)) return false;
+  if (!m_hFile) return false;
+  if (!NStream::SetBinaryMode(m_hFile) && m_hFile != stdin) return false;
   fpos_t pos;
   if (Seek && !fgetpos(m_hFile, &pos)) rewind(m_hFile); else Seek = false;
   WORD cp = DetectUTFBOM(m_hFile);
@@ -377,10 +396,36 @@ bool NOStream::WriteString(const wchar_t*Str, size_t cch /*= -1*/)
   CharEncConv cec;
   if (!cec.Initialize(m_Enc.GetCodepage(), -1)) return false;
   cec.SetAllowOptimizedReturn(true);
+  if ((unsigned)-1 != cch) cch *= sizeof(wchar_t); // cec.Convert wants byte count
   size_t cbConv;
   char *p = (char*) cec.Convert(Str, cch, &cbConv);
   return p && WriteOctets(p, cbConv);
 }
+bool NOStream::WritePlatformNLString(const wchar_t*Str, size_t cch /*= -1*/)
+{
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  size_t cch2 = 0, nlcount = 0;
+  for(; cch2 < cch && Str[cch2]; ++cch2) if (L'\n' == Str[cch2]) ++nlcount;
+  if (nlcount)
+  {
+    cch = cch2 + nlcount;
+    wchar_t chPrev = 0, *buf = (wchar_t*) malloc(cch * sizeof(wchar_t));
+    if (!buf) return false;
+    for(size_t s = 0, d = 0; d < cch; ++s, ++d)
+    {
+      if (L'\n' == Str[s])
+      {
+        if (L'\r' != chPrev) buf[d++] = L'\r'; else --cch;
+      }
+      buf[d] = chPrev = Str[s];
+    }
+    bool retval = WriteString(buf, cch);
+    free(buf);
+    return retval;
+  }
+#endif
+  return WriteString(Str, cch);
+}
 
 tstring NStreamLineReader::GetErrorMessage(UINT Error, const TCHAR*Filename, UINT Line)
 {
@@ -450,26 +495,7 @@ l_restart:
       else
 #endif
       {
-        if (0xC0 == (0xC0 & chU8[0]))
-        {
-          ++cb;
-          if (0xE0 == (0xE0 & chU8[0]))
-          {
-            ++cb;
-            if (0xF0 == (0xF0 & chU8[0]))
-            {
-              ++cb;
-              if (0xF8 == (0xF8 & chU8[0]))
-              {
-                ++cb;
-                if (0xFC == (0xFE & chU8[0]))
-                  ++cb; 
-                else 
-                  goto l_badutf;
-              }
-            }
-          }
-        }
+        if (!UTF8_GetTrailCount(chU8[0], cb)) goto l_badutf;
         for(BYTE moreU8 = 0; moreU8 < cb;) 
         {
           BYTE b;
diff --git a/Source/utf.h b/Source/utf.h
index 5512a5b5..2d4ef44e 100644
--- a/Source/utf.h
+++ b/Source/utf.h
@@ -19,22 +19,12 @@
 #define NSIS_UTF_H
 
 #include "Platform.h"
-#include <stdlib.h>
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include "util.h" // For my_fopen
-#ifdef _WIN32
-#include <io.h> // For _setmode
-#include <fcntl.h> // For _O_BINARY
-#endif
 
 const WORD UNICODE_REPLACEMENT_CHARACTER = 0xfffd;
 
 #define TSTR_INPUTCHARSET _T("ACP|OEM|CP#|UTF8|UTF16<LE|BE>")
 #define TSTR_OUTPUTCHARSET _T("ACP|OEM|CP#|UTF8[SIG]|UTF16<LE|BE>[BOM]")
 
-
-void RawTStrToASCII(const TCHAR*in,char*out,UINT maxcch);
-
 template<typename T> T S7ChLwr(T c) { return c>='A' && c<='Z' ? (T)(c|32) : c; }
 template<typename T> T S7ChUpr(T c) { return c>='a' && c<='z' ? (T)(c-'a'+'A') : c; }
 template<typename T> bool S7IsChEqualI(char ch,T cmp)
@@ -58,12 +48,51 @@ inline UINT32 CodePointFromUTF16SurrogatePair(unsigned short lea,unsigned short
   return ((UINT32)lea << 10) + tra + surrogate_offset;
 }
 
+inline bool UTF8_GetTrailCount(unsigned char chFirst, unsigned char &cb)
+{
+  // This function should only be used to get a rough idea of how large the encoded
+  // codepoint is, just because it returns true does not mean that it is valid UTF-8!
+  cb = 0;
+  if (0xC0 == (0xC0 & chFirst))
+  {
+    ++cb;
+    if (0xE0 == (0xE0 & chFirst))
+    {
+      ++cb;
+      if (0xF0 == (0xF0 & chFirst))
+      {
+        ++cb;
+        if (0xF8 == (0xF8 & chFirst))
+        {
+          ++cb;
+          if (0xFC == (0xFE & chFirst)) ++cb; else return false;
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return true;
+}
+
+#ifdef MAKENSIS
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include "tstring.h"
+#ifdef _WIN32
+#include <io.h> // For _setmode
+#include <fcntl.h> // For _O_BINARY
+#endif
+
+FILE* my_fopen(const TCHAR *path, const char *mode); // from util.h
+
+void RawTStrToASCII(const TCHAR*in,char*out,UINT maxcch);
+
 void UTF16InplaceEndianSwap(void*Buffer, UINT cch);
 UINT StrLenUTF16(const void*str);
 bool StrSetUTF16LE(tstring&dest, const void*src);
 
 UINT WCFromCodePoint(wchar_t*Dest,UINT cchDest,UINT32 CodPt);
 wchar_t* DupWCFromBytes(void*Buffer,UINT cbBuffer,WORD SrcCP);
+UINT DetectUTFBOM(void*Buffer,UINT cb);
 UINT DetectUTFBOM(FILE*strm);
 WORD GetEncodingFromString(const TCHAR*s, bool&BOM);
 WORD GetEncodingFromString(const TCHAR*s);
@@ -220,8 +249,9 @@ protected:
   NStreamEncoding m_Enc;
 
 public:
-  NBaseStream() : m_hFile(0) {}
+  NBaseStream(FILE *hFile = 0) : m_hFile(hFile) {}
   ~NBaseStream() { Close(); }
+
   FILE* GetHandle() const { return m_hFile; }
   NStreamEncoding& StreamEncoding() { return m_Enc; }
   bool IsEOF() const { return feof(m_hFile) != 0; }
@@ -280,6 +310,8 @@ public:
 
 class NOStream : public NBaseStream {
 public:
+  NOStream(FILE *hFile = 0) : NBaseStream(hFile) {}
+
   bool CreateFileForWriting(const TCHAR* Path, WORD enc = NStreamEncoding::AUTO)
   {
     return Attach(my_fopen(Path, "w+b"), enc);
@@ -314,6 +346,7 @@ public:
     return false;
   }
   bool WriteString(const wchar_t*Str, size_t cch = -1);
+  bool WritePlatformNLString(const wchar_t*Str, size_t cch = -1);
 };
 
 class NStreamLineReader {
@@ -343,4 +376,5 @@ protected:
   }
 };
 
+#endif // MAKENSIS
 #endif // NSIS_UTF_H
diff --git a/Source/util.cpp b/Source/util.cpp
index 973f62af..96d33c81 100644
--- a/Source/util.cpp
+++ b/Source/util.cpp
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 #include "util.h"
 #include "strlist.h"
 #include "winchar.h"
+#include "utf.h"
 
 #ifndef _WIN32
 #  include <ctype.h>
@@ -50,21 +51,9 @@ namespace Apple { // defines struct section
 
 using namespace std;
 
-int g_dopause=0;
 extern int g_display_errors;
 extern FILE *g_output;
 
-void dopause(void)
-{
-  if (g_dopause)
-  {
-    if (g_display_errors) _ftprintf(g_output,_T("MakeNSIS done - hit enter to close..."));
-    fflush(stdout);
-    int a;
-    while ((a=_gettchar()) != _T('\r') && a != _T('\n') && a != 27/*esc*/);
-  }
-}
-
 double my_wtof(const wchar_t *str) 
 {
   char buf[100];
@@ -639,8 +628,119 @@ size_t ExpandoStrFmtVaList(wchar_t*Stack, size_t cchStack, wchar_t**ppMalloc, co
   return cch;
 }
 
+#if defined(_WIN32) && defined(_UNICODE)
+int RunChildProcessRedirected(LPCWSTR cmdprefix, LPCWSTR cmdmain)
+{
+  // We have to deliver the requested output encoding to our host (if any) and the 
+  // only way to do that is to convert the pipe content from what we hope is UTF-8.
+  // The reason we need a pipe in the first place is because we cannot trust the 
+  // child to call GetConsoleOutputCP(), and even if we could, UTF-16 is not valid there.
+  UINT cp = CP_UTF8, mbtwcf = MB_ERR_INVALID_CHARS;
+  errno = ENOMEM;
+  if (!cmdprefix) cmdprefix = _T("");
+  UINT cch1 = _tcslen(cmdprefix), cch2 = _tcslen(cmdmain);
+  WCHAR *cmd = (WCHAR*) malloc( (cch1 + cch2 + 1) * sizeof(WCHAR) );
+  if (!cmd) return -1;
+  _tcscpy(cmd, cmdprefix);
+  _tcscat(cmd, cmdmain);
+  SECURITY_DESCRIPTOR sd = {1, 0, SE_DACL_PRESENT, NULL, };
+  SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES sa = {sizeof(sa), &sd, true};
+  const UINT orgwinconcp = GetConsoleCP(), orgwinconoutcp = GetConsoleOutputCP(); 
+  HANDLE hPipRd, hPipWr;
+  PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;
+  BOOL ok = CreatePipe(&hPipRd, &hPipWr, &sa, 0);
+  if (!ok)
+    hPipRd = 0, hPipWr = 0;
+  else
+  {
+    STARTUPINFO si = {sizeof(si)};
+    si.dwFlags = STARTF_USESTDHANDLES|STARTF_USESHOWWINDOW;
+    si.wShowWindow = SW_HIDE;
+    si.hStdOutput = si.hStdError = hPipWr;
+    si.hStdInput = INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE;
+    errno = ECHILD;
+    SetConsoleOutputCP(cp);
+    ok = CreateProcess(0, cmd, 0, 0, TRUE, 0, 0, 0, &si, &pi);
+    CloseHandle(hPipWr); // We want ERROR_BROKEN_PIPE when the child is done
+  }
+  free(cmd);
+  DWORD childec = -1;
+  if (ok)
+  {
+    bool utf8 = true, okt;
+    char iobuf[512];
+    DWORD cbRead, cbOfs = 0, cchwb = 0;
+    WCHAR wbuf[100], wchbuf[2+1]; // A surrogate pair + \0
+    for(;;)
+    {
+      BOOL okr = ReadFile(hPipRd, iobuf+cbOfs, sizeof(iobuf)-cbOfs, &cbRead, 0);
+      cbRead += cbOfs, cbOfs = 0;
+      unsigned char cbTrail, cch;
+      for(DWORD i = 0; i < cbRead;)
+      {
+        cch = 0;
+        if (utf8)
+        {
+          okt = UTF8_GetTrailCount(iobuf[i], cbTrail);
+          if (!okt) // Not UTF-8? Switching to ACP
+          {
+switchtoacp:cp = CP_ACP, mbtwcf = 0, utf8 = false;
+            SetConsoleOutputCP(cp);
+            continue;
+          }
+          if (!cbTrail) cch++, wchbuf[0] = iobuf[i]; // ASCII
+        }
+        else
+        {
+          cbTrail = !!IsDBCSLeadByteEx(cp, iobuf[i]);
+        }
+        if (i+cbTrail >= cbRead) // Read more first?
+        {
+          memmove(iobuf, iobuf+i, cbOfs = cbRead - i);
+          if (okr) break; else i = 0;
+        }
+        if (!cch)
+        {
+          cch = MultiByteToWideChar(cp, mbtwcf, &iobuf[i], 1+cbTrail, wchbuf, COUNTOF(wchbuf)-1);
+          if (!cch)
+          {
+            if (utf8) goto switchtoacp;
+            cch++, wchbuf[0] = UNICODE_REPLACEMENT_CHARACTER;
+          }
+        }
+        i += 1+cbTrail;
+        if (0xfeff == wchbuf[0] && 1 == cch) cch = 0; // MakeNsisW is not a fan of the BOM, eat it.
+        if (!cch) continue;
+        wbuf[cchwb++] = wchbuf[0];
+        if (--cch) wbuf[cchwb++] = wchbuf[1];
+        const bool fullbuf = cchwb+cch >= COUNTOF(wbuf)-1; // cch is 1 for surrogate pairs
+        if (!okr || fullbuf || L'\n' == wchbuf[0]) // Stop on \n so \r\n conversion has enough context (...\r\n vs ...\n)
+        {
+#ifdef MAKENSIS
+          extern WINSIO_OSDATA g_osdata_stdout;
+          WinStdIO_OStreamWrite(g_osdata_stdout, wbuf, cchwb); // Faster than _ftprintf
+#else
+          wbuf[cchwb] = L'\0';
+          _ftprintf(g_output, _T("%s"), wbuf);
+#endif
+          cchwb = 0;
+        }
+      }
+      if (!okr) break;
+    }
+    WaitForSingleObject(pi.hProcess, INFINITE);
+    GetExitCodeProcess(pi.hProcess, &childec);
+    CloseHandle(pi.hThread);
+    CloseHandle(pi.hProcess);
+  }
+  SetConsoleCP(orgwinconcp); SetConsoleOutputCP(orgwinconoutcp);
+  CloseHandle(hPipRd);
+  return childec;
+}
+#endif
 
-int sane_system(const TCHAR *command) {
+int sane_system(const TCHAR *command)
+{
 #ifdef _WIN32
 
   // workaround for bug #1509909
@@ -653,17 +753,119 @@ int sane_system(const TCHAR *command) {
   //   `program files\nsis\makensis.exe" "args`
   // which obviously fails...
   //
-  // to avoid the stripping, a harmless string is prefixed
-  // to the command line.
-  tstring command_s = _T("IF 1==1 ");
-  command_s += command;
-  return _tsystem(command_s.c_str());
+  // to avoid the stripping, a harmless string is prefixed to the command line.
+  const TCHAR* prefix = _T("IF 1==1 ");
+#ifdef _UNICODE
+  if (!command) return 0;
+  if (!*command) return 1;
+  tstring fixedcmd = _tgetenv(_T("COMSPEC"));
+  if (!fixedcmd.length()) fixedcmd = _T("CMD.EXE");
+  fixedcmd += _T(" /C ");
+  fixedcmd += prefix;
+  return RunChildProcessRedirected(fixedcmd.c_str(), command);
+#else
+  tstring fixedcmd = prefix + _T("") + command;
+  return _tsystem(fixedcmd.c_str());
+#endif
 
 #else
   return _tsystem(command);
 #endif
 }
 
+#ifdef _WIN32
+bool GetFileSize64(HANDLE hFile, ULARGE_INTEGER &uli)
+{
+  uli.LowPart = GetFileSize(hFile, &uli.HighPart);
+  return INVALID_FILE_SIZE != uli.LowPart || !GetLastError();
+}
+#endif
+#if defined(_WIN32) && defined(_UNICODE) && defined(MAKENSIS)
+#include <io.h> // for _get_osfhandle
+bool WINAPI WinStdIO_OStreamInit(WINSIO_OSDATA&osd, FILE*strm, WORD cp, int bom)
+{
+  // bom < 0: override cp if UTF detected but never write BOM
+  // bom = 0: ignore BOM and force cp
+  // bom > 0: override cp if UTF detected, write BOM if it does not already exist
+  const int fd = _fileno(strm);
+  osd.mode = 0, osd.hCRT = strm, osd.hNative = (HANDLE) _get_osfhandle(fd);
+  if (INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE == osd.hNative) return false;
+  DWORD conmode;
+  if (GetConsoleMode(osd.hNative, &conmode)) osd.mode++; else osd.mode--;
+  bool succ = NStream::SetBinaryMode(fd);
+  DWORD cbio = 0;
+  ULARGE_INTEGER uli;
+  if (succ && GetFileSize64(osd.hNative, uli) && uli.QuadPart)
+  {
+    OVERLAPPED olap = {0}; // Used to read from start of file
+    unsigned char bufbom[4];
+    if (ReadFile(osd.hNative, bufbom, sizeof(bufbom), &cbio, &olap))
+    {
+      UINT detbom = DetectUTFBOM(bufbom, cbio);
+      if (detbom) cp = (WORD) detbom, bom = 0;
+    }
+    SetFilePointer(osd.hNative, 0, 0, FILE_END);
+  }
+  osd.mustwritebom = bom > 0 && !cbio, osd.cp = cp;
+  return succ || (sizeof(TCHAR)-1 && WinStdIO_IsConsole(osd)); // Don't care about BOM for WriteConsoleW
+}
+bool WINAPI WinStdIO_OStreamWrite(WINSIO_OSDATA&osd, const wchar_t *Str, UINT cch)
+{
+  if ((unsigned)-1 == cch) cch = _tcslen(Str);
+  DWORD cbio;
+  if (WinStdIO_IsConsole(osd))
+    return !!WriteConsoleW(osd.hNative, Str, cch, &cbio, 0) || !cch;
+  NOStream strm(osd.hCRT);
+  NStreamEncoding &enc = strm.StreamEncoding();
+  enc.SetCodepage(osd.cp);
+  bool retval = false;
+  if (osd.mustwritebom)
+  {
+    osd.mustwritebom = false;
+    if (enc.IsUnicode() && !strm.WriteBOM(enc))
+    {
+      osd.mode = 1, osd.hNative = 0; // Something is wrong, stop writing!
+      goto end;
+    }
+  }
+  retval = strm.WritePlatformNLString(Str, cch);
+end:
+  strm.Detach();
+  return retval;
+}
+int WINAPI WinStdIO_vfwprintf(FILE*strm, const wchar_t*Fmt, va_list val)
+{
+  if (g_output == strm && Fmt)
+  {
+    extern WINSIO_OSDATA g_osdata_stdout;
+    ExpandoString<wchar_t, NSIS_MAX_STRLEN> buf;
+    errno = ENOMEM;
+    UINT cch = buf.StrFmt(Fmt, val, false);
+    if (cch && !WinStdIO_OStreamWrite(g_osdata_stdout, buf, cch))
+    {
+      cch = 0, errno = EIO;
+    }
+    return cch ? cch : (*Fmt ? -1 : 0);
+  }
+  return vfwprintf(strm, Fmt, val);
+}
+int WinStdIO_fwprintf(FILE*strm, const wchar_t*Fmt, ...)
+{
+  va_list val;
+  va_start(val, Fmt);
+  int rv = _vftprintf(strm, Fmt, val);
+  va_end(val);
+  return rv;
+}
+int WinStdIO_wprintf(const wchar_t*Fmt, ...)
+{
+  va_list val;
+  va_start(val, Fmt);
+  int rv = _vftprintf(g_output, Fmt, val);
+  va_end(val);
+  return rv;
+}
+#endif
 
 void PrintColorFmtMsg(unsigned int type, const TCHAR *fmtstr, va_list args)
 {
@@ -693,6 +895,9 @@ gottxtattrbak:
     case 1: txtattr = FOREGROUND_INTENSITY|FOREGROUND_GREEN|FOREGROUND_RED; break;
     case 2: txtattr = FOREGROUND_INTENSITY|FOREGROUND_RED; break;
     }
+    // Use original background color if our text will still be readable
+    if ((contxtattrbak & 0xF0) != (txtattr<<4)) txtattr |= (contxtattrbak & 0xF0);
+    if ((txtattr & 0xFF) == 0xFE) txtattr &= ~FOREGROUND_INTENSITY; // BrightYellow on BrightWhite is hard to read
     SetConsoleTextAttribute(hWin32Con, txtattr);
   }
 #endif
diff --git a/Source/util.h b/Source/util.h
index 0df8227f..9b945143 100644
--- a/Source/util.h
+++ b/Source/util.h
@@ -30,13 +30,9 @@
 #  include <unistd.h>
 #endif
 
- #include <stdarg.h>
+#include <stdarg.h>
 
 
-// these are the standard pause-before-quit stuff.
-extern int g_dopause;
-extern void dopause(void);
-
 extern double my_wtof(const wchar_t *str);
 extern unsigned int my_strncpy(TCHAR*Dest, const TCHAR*Src, unsigned int cchMax);
 
@@ -72,10 +68,10 @@ public:
     if (!p) throw std::bad_alloc();
     m_heap = (T*) p;
   }
-  size_t StrFmt(const T*FmtStr, va_list Args)
+  size_t StrFmt(const T*FmtStr, va_list Args, bool throwonerr = true)
   {
     size_t n = ExpandoStrFmtVaList(m_stack, COUNTOF(m_stack), &m_heap, FmtStr, Args);
-    if (!n && *FmtStr) throw std::bad_alloc();
+    if (throwonerr && !n && *FmtStr) throw std::bad_alloc();
     return n;
   }
   T* GetPtr() { return m_heap ? m_heap : m_stack; }
@@ -87,6 +83,34 @@ int sane_system(const TCHAR *command);
 void PrintColorFmtMsg(unsigned int type, const TCHAR *fmtstr, va_list args);
 void FlushOutputAndResetPrintColor();
 #ifdef _WIN32
+#ifdef _UNICODE
+int RunChildProcessRedirected(LPCWSTR cmdprefix, LPCWSTR cmdmain);
+#ifdef MAKENSIS
+typedef struct {
+  HANDLE hNative;
+  FILE*hCRT;
+  WORD cp;
+  signed char mode; // -1 = redirected, 0 = unknown, 1 = console
+  bool mustwritebom;
+} WINSIO_OSDATA;
+inline bool WinStdIO_IsConsole(WINSIO_OSDATA&osd) { return osd.mode > 0; }
+inline bool WinStdIO_IsRedirected(WINSIO_OSDATA&osd) { return osd.mode < 0; }
+bool WINAPI WinStdIO_OStreamInit(WINSIO_OSDATA&osd, FILE*strm, WORD cp, int bom = 1);
+bool WINAPI WinStdIO_OStreamWrite(WINSIO_OSDATA&osd, const wchar_t *Str, UINT cch = -1);
+int WINAPI WinStdIO_vfwprintf(FILE*strm, const wchar_t*Fmt, va_list val);
+int WinStdIO_fwprintf(FILE*strm, const wchar_t*Fmt, ...);
+int WinStdIO_wprintf(const wchar_t*Fmt, ...);
+// We don't hook fflush since the native handle is only used with WriteConsoleW
+#undef _vsntprintf
+#define _vsntprintf Error: TODO
+#undef _tprintf
+#define _tprintf WinStdIO_wprintf
+#undef _ftprintf
+#define _ftprintf WinStdIO_fwprintf
+#undef _vftprintf
+#define _vftprintf WinStdIO_vfwprintf
+#endif // ~MAKENSIS
+#endif // ~_UNICODE
 #define ResetPrintColor() FlushOutputAndResetPrintColor() // For reset ONLY use PrintColorFmtMsg(0,NULL ...
 #define SetPrintColorWARN() PrintColorFmtMsg(1|0x10, NULL, (va_list)NULL)
 #define SetPrintColorERR() PrintColorFmtMsg(2|0x10, NULL, (va_list)NULL)
@@ -94,7 +118,7 @@ void FlushOutputAndResetPrintColor();
 #define ResetPrintColor()
 #define SetPrintColorWARN()
 #define SetPrintColorERR()
-#endif
+#endif // ~_WIN32
 inline void PrintColorFmtMsg_WARN(const TCHAR *fmtstr, ...)
 {
   va_list val;