diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 244cfac7..6873a39d 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -47,13 +47,12 @@ CVS code -
 	  write_file(), write_marked(), die(), do_spell(), and
 	  do_exit(). (DLR)
 	- Remove the -R/--regexp command line option and enable the
-	  toggle at the search promptin tiny mode, as it already
+	  toggle at the search prompt in tiny mode, as it already
 	  allows the prepend and append toggles at the search prompt.
 	  For consistency, rename TOGGLE_REGEXP_KEY to NANO_REGEXP_KEY,
 	  and move it out of the toggles block to where NANO_PREPEND_KEY
 	  and NANO_APPEND_KEY are.  Changes to shortcut_init(), usage(),
-	  main(), search_init(), nanorc.sample, nano.1, nanorc.5,
-	  nano.texi, etc. (DLR)
+	  main(), search_init(), nano.1, nano.texi, etc. (DLR)
 	- Various cleanups and improvements in chars.c.  Remove some
 	  unnecessary w?ctype wrappers; change the wctype wrappers to
 	  take wint_t instead of wchar_t to match the functions they
@@ -95,9 +94,14 @@ CVS code -
 	  toggle_init(), usage(), do_tab(), main(), nanorc.sample,
 	  nano.1, nanorc.5, and nano.texi. (DLR, suggested by many
 	  people)
+	- Change the REVERSE_SEARCH flag to the BACKWARDS_SEARCH flag.
+	  (DLR)
 	- Change the SMOOTHSCROLL flag to the SMOOTH_SCROLL flag. (DLR)
 	- Change the NO_UTF8 flag to the USE_UTF8 flag, and reverse its
 	  meaning. (DLR)
+	- Add rcfile options "casesensitive" and "backwards", to do
+	  case sensitive and backwards searches by default.  Changes to
+	  nanorc.sample and nanorc.5. (DLR)
 - chars.c:
   make_mbstring()
 	- Change erroneous ENABLE_EXTRA #ifdef to NANO_EXTRA to fix a
@@ -157,6 +161,8 @@ CVS code -
 	- Allow the mark to be used in view mode, as Pico does. (DLR)
 	- Clarify the description of ^X when --enable-multibuffer is
 	  used. (DLR)
+	- Change the description of the Meta-B toggle at the search
+	  prompt from "Direction" to "Backwards", for consistency. (DLR)
   thanks_for_all_the_fish()
 	- Remove free_toggles() and move its code here verbatim, as it's
 	  only called here anyway. (David Benbennick)
diff --git a/doc/man/nanorc.5 b/doc/man/nanorc.5
index 517a22e1..912cdcf5 100644
--- a/doc/man/nanorc.5
+++ b/doc/man/nanorc.5
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 .\" Public License for copying conditions.  There is NO warranty.
 .\"
 .\" $Id$
-.TH NANORC 5 "version 1.3.8" "June 15, 2005"
+.TH NANORC 5 "version 1.3.8" "June 16, 2005"
 .\" Please adjust this date whenever revising the manpage.
 .\"
 .SH NAME
@@ -51,11 +51,18 @@ Create backup files in
 \fBset backupdir "\fIdirectory\fP"\fP
 Set the directory where \fBnano\fP puts unique backup files if file
 backups are enabled.
+.TP
+\fBset/unset backwards\fP 	 
+Do backwards searches by default.
+.TP
 \fBset brackets "\fIstring\fP"\fP
 Set the characters treated as closing brackets.  They cannot contain
 tabs or spaces.  Only closing punctuation, optionally followed by
 closing brackets, can end sentences.
 .TP
+\fBset/unset casesensitive\fP 	 
+Do case sensitive searches by default.
+.TP
 \fBset/unset const\fP
 Constantly display the cursor position in the status bar.
 .TP
@@ -122,6 +129,9 @@ Interpret the Delete key differently so that both Backspace and Delete
 work properly.  You should only need to use this option if Backspace
 acts like Delete on your system.
 .TP
+\fBset/unset regexp\fP 	 
+Do regular expression searches by default.
+.TP
 \fBset/unset smarthome\fP
 Make the Home key smarter.  When Home is pressed anywhere but at the
 very beginning of non-whitespace characters on a line, the cursor will
diff --git a/doc/nanorc.sample b/doc/nanorc.sample
index 120eb3e0..8c87776c 100644
--- a/doc/nanorc.sample
+++ b/doc/nanorc.sample
@@ -17,12 +17,18 @@
 ## The directory to put unique backup files in.
 # set backupdir ""
 
+## Do backwards searches by default.
+# set backwards
+
 ## The characters treated as closing brackets.  They cannot contain tabs
 ## or spaces.  Only closing punctuation, optionally followed by closing
 ## brackets, can end sentences.
 ##
 # set brackets "'")}]>"
 
+## Do case sensitive searches by default.
+# set casesensitive
+
 ## Constantly display the cursor position in the status bar.
 # set const
 
@@ -91,6 +97,9 @@
 ## Fix Backspace/Delete confusion problem.
 # set rebinddelete
 
+## Do extended regular expression searches by default.
+# set regexp
+
 ## Make the Home key smarter.  When Home is pressed anywhere but at the
 ## very beginning of non-whitespace characters on a line, the cursor
 ## will jump to that beginning (either forwards or backwards).  If the
diff --git a/src/global.c b/src/global.c
index f705f763..ce6dd575 100644
--- a/src/global.c
+++ b/src/global.c
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ void shortcut_init(bool unjustify)
 #endif
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
     const char *case_sens_msg = N_("Case Sens");
-    const char *direction_msg = N_("Direction");
+    const char *backwards_msg = N_("Backwards");
 #endif
 #ifdef HAVE_REGEX_H
     const char *regexp_msg = N_("Regexp");
@@ -679,7 +679,7 @@ void shortcut_init(bool unjustify)
 	NANO_NO_KEY, VIEW, NULL);
 
     /* Translators: try to keep this string under 10 characters long */
-    sc_init_one(&whereis_list, NANO_NO_KEY, direction_msg,
+    sc_init_one(&whereis_list, NANO_NO_KEY, backwards_msg,
 	IFHELP(nano_reverse_msg, TOGGLE_BACKWARDS_KEY), NANO_NO_KEY,
 	NANO_NO_KEY, VIEW, NULL);
 #endif
@@ -748,7 +748,7 @@ void shortcut_init(bool unjustify)
 	IFHELP(nano_case_msg, TOGGLE_CASE_KEY), NANO_NO_KEY,
 	NANO_NO_KEY, VIEW, NULL);
 
-    sc_init_one(&replace_list, NANO_NO_KEY, direction_msg,
+    sc_init_one(&replace_list, NANO_NO_KEY, backwards_msg,
 	IFHELP(nano_reverse_msg, TOGGLE_BACKWARDS_KEY), NANO_NO_KEY,
 	NANO_NO_KEY, VIEW, NULL);
 #endif
diff --git a/src/nano.c b/src/nano.c
index 372113c7..d319004f 100644
--- a/src/nano.c
+++ b/src/nano.c
@@ -1955,7 +1955,7 @@ bool do_int_spell_fix(const char *word)
 	/* The return value. */
     bool case_sens_set = ISSET(CASE_SENSITIVE);
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
-    bool reverse_search_set = ISSET(REVERSE_SEARCH);
+    bool backwards_search_set = ISSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH);
 #endif
 #ifdef HAVE_REGEX_H
     bool regexp_set = ISSET(USE_REGEXP);
@@ -1976,7 +1976,7 @@ bool do_int_spell_fix(const char *word)
 
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
     /* Make sure spell-check goes forward only. */
-    UNSET(REVERSE_SEARCH);
+    UNSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH);
 #endif
 #ifdef HAVE_REGEX_H
     /* Make sure spell-check doesn't use regular expressions. */
@@ -2091,8 +2091,8 @@ bool do_int_spell_fix(const char *word)
 
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
     /* Restore search/replace direction. */
-    if (reverse_search_set)
-	SET(REVERSE_SEARCH);
+    if (backwards_search_set)
+	SET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH);
 #endif
 #ifdef HAVE_REGEX_H
     /* Restore regular expression usage setting. */
diff --git a/src/nano.h b/src/nano.h
index 00564344..9574de9a 100644
--- a/src/nano.h
+++ b/src/nano.h
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ typedef struct syntaxtype {
 #define USE_REGEXP		(1<<11)
 #define TEMP_FILE		(1<<12)
 #define CUT_TO_END		(1<<13)
-#define REVERSE_SEARCH		(1<<14)
+#define BACKWARDS_SEARCH	(1<<14)
 #define MULTIBUFFER		(1<<15)
 #define SMOOTH_SCROLL		(1<<16)
 #define DISABLE_CURPOS		(1<<17)	/* Damn, we still need it. */
diff --git a/src/rcfile.c b/src/rcfile.c
index f1808ac1..8cfedd54 100644
--- a/src/rcfile.c
+++ b/src/rcfile.c
@@ -41,9 +41,13 @@ const static rcoption rcopts[] = {
     {"autoindent", AUTOINDENT},
     {"backup", BACKUP_FILE},
     {"backupdir", 0},
+    {"backwards", BACKWARDS_SEARCH},
 #endif
 #ifndef DISABLE_JUSTIFY
     {"brackets", 0},
+#endif
+#ifndef NANO_SMALL
+    {"casesensitive", CASE_SENSITIVE},
 #endif
     {"const", CONSTUPDATE},
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
@@ -79,6 +83,9 @@ const static rcoption rcopts[] = {
     {"quotestr", 0},
 #endif
     {"rebinddelete", REBIND_DELETE},
+#ifdef HAVE_REGEX_H
+    {"regexp", USE_REGEXP},
+#endif
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
     {"smarthome", SMART_HOME},
     {"smooth", SMOOTH_SCROLL},
diff --git a/src/search.c b/src/search.c
index 7cc135bf..dbfe89b0 100644
--- a/src/search.c
+++ b/src/search.c
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ int search_init(bool replacing, bool use_answer)
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
 	/* This string is just a modifier for the search prompt; no
 	 * grammar is implied. */
-	ISSET(REVERSE_SEARCH) ? _(" [Backwards]") :
+	ISSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH) ? _(" [Backwards]") :
 #endif
 		"",
 
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ int search_init(bool replacing, bool use_answer)
 		backupstring = mallocstrcpy(backupstring, answer);
 		return 1;
 	    case TOGGLE_BACKWARDS_KEY:
-		TOGGLE(REVERSE_SEARCH);
+		TOGGLE(BACKWARDS_SEARCH);
 		backupstring = mallocstrcpy(backupstring, answer);
 		return 1;
 #endif
@@ -311,7 +311,7 @@ bool findnextstr(bool can_display_wrap, bool wholeword, bool
      * previous or next line. */
     rev_start =
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
-	ISSET(REVERSE_SEARCH) ? fileptr->data + (current_x - 1) :
+	ISSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH) ? fileptr->data + (current_x - 1) :
 #endif
 	fileptr->data + (current_x + 1);
 
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ bool findnextstr(bool can_display_wrap, bool wholeword, bool
 	}
 
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
-	if (ISSET(REVERSE_SEARCH)) {
+	if (ISSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH)) {
 	    fileptr = fileptr->prev;
 	    current_y_find--;
 	} else {
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ bool findnextstr(bool can_display_wrap, bool wholeword, bool
 		return FALSE;
 
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
-	    if (ISSET(REVERSE_SEARCH)) {
+	    if (ISSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH)) {
 		fileptr = filebot;
 		current_y_find = editwinrows - 1;
 	    } else {
@@ -398,7 +398,7 @@ bool findnextstr(bool can_display_wrap, bool wholeword, bool
 
 	rev_start = fileptr->data;
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
-	if (ISSET(REVERSE_SEARCH))
+	if (ISSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH))
 	    rev_start += strlen(fileptr->data);
 #endif
     }
@@ -409,8 +409,8 @@ bool findnextstr(bool can_display_wrap, bool wholeword, bool
     /* Ensure we haven't wrapped around again! */
     if (search_last_line &&
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
-	((!ISSET(REVERSE_SEARCH) && current_x_find > beginx) ||
-	(ISSET(REVERSE_SEARCH) && current_x_find < beginx))
+	((!ISSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH) && current_x_find > beginx) ||
+	(ISSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH) && current_x_find < beginx))
 #else
 	current_x_find > beginx
 #endif
@@ -825,7 +825,7 @@ ssize_t do_replace_loop(const char *needle, const filestruct
 	     * text.  Note that current_x might be set to (size_t)-1
 	     * here. */
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
-	    if (!ISSET(REVERSE_SEARCH))
+	    if (!ISSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH))
 #endif
 		current_x += match_len + length_change - 1;
 
@@ -1073,12 +1073,12 @@ void do_find_bracket(void)
 	/* On a left bracket. */
 	regexp_pat[1] = wanted_ch;
 	regexp_pat[2] = ch_under_cursor;
-	UNSET(REVERSE_SEARCH);
+	UNSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH);
     } else {
 	/* On a right bracket. */
 	regexp_pat[1] = ch_under_cursor;
 	regexp_pat[2] = wanted_ch;
-	SET(REVERSE_SEARCH);
+	SET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH);
     }
 
     regexp_init(regexp_pat);
diff --git a/src/utils.c b/src/utils.c
index 2069e1f5..83374f28 100644
--- a/src/utils.c
+++ b/src/utils.c
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ const char *strstrwrapper(const char *haystack, const char *needle,
 #ifdef HAVE_REGEX_H
     if (ISSET(USE_REGEXP)) {
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
-	if (ISSET(REVERSE_SEARCH)) {
+	if (ISSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH)) {
 	    if (regexec(&search_regexp, haystack, 1, regmatches, 0) == 0
 		&& haystack + regmatches[0].rm_so <= start) {
 		const char *retval = haystack + regmatches[0].rm_so;
@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@ const char *strstrwrapper(const char *haystack, const char *needle,
 #if !defined(NANO_SMALL) || !defined(DISABLE_SPELLER)
     if (ISSET(CASE_SENSITIVE)) {
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
-	if (ISSET(REVERSE_SEARCH))
+	if (ISSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH))
 	    return revstrstr(haystack, needle, start);
 	else
 #endif
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ const char *strstrwrapper(const char *haystack, const char *needle,
     }
 #endif /* !DISABLE_SPELLER || !NANO_SMALL */
 #ifndef NANO_SMALL
-    else if (ISSET(REVERSE_SEARCH))
+    else if (ISSET(BACKWARDS_SEARCH))
 	return mbrevstrcasestr(haystack, needle, start);
 #endif
     return mbstrcasestr(start, needle);