diff --git a/extras/the jucer/src/model/components/jucer_ComponentTypeHandler.cpp b/extras/the jucer/src/model/components/jucer_ComponentTypeHandler.cpp
index 173abc753b..e3db4f92ef 100644
--- a/extras/the jucer/src/model/components/jucer_ComponentTypeHandler.cpp	
+++ b/extras/the jucer/src/model/components/jucer_ComponentTypeHandler.cpp	
@@ -154,6 +154,7 @@ XmlElement* ComponentTypeHandler::createXmlFor (Component* comp, const Component
     e->setAttribute (T("id"), String::toHexString (getComponentId (comp)));
     e->setAttribute (T("memberName"), comp->getComponentProperty (T("memberName"), false));
     e->setAttribute (T("virtualName"), comp->getComponentProperty (T("virtualName"), false));
+    e->setAttribute (T("explicitFocusOrder"), comp->getExplicitFocusOrder());
 
     RelativePositionedRectangle pos (getComponentPosition (comp));
     pos.updateFromComponent (*comp, layout);
@@ -188,6 +189,7 @@ bool ComponentTypeHandler::restoreFromXml (const XmlElement& xml,
     setComponentId (comp, xml.getStringAttribute (T("id")).getHexValue64());
     comp->setComponentProperty (T("memberName"), xml.getStringAttribute (T("memberName")));
     comp->setComponentProperty (T("virtualName"), xml.getStringAttribute (T("virtualName")));
+    comp->setExplicitFocusOrder (xml.getIntAttribute (T("explicitFocusOrder")));
 
     RelativePositionedRectangle currentPos (getComponentPosition (comp));
     currentPos.updateFromComponent (*comp, layout);
@@ -330,7 +332,6 @@ private:
 
         String newValue, oldValue;
     };
-
 };
 
 //==============================================================================
@@ -370,6 +371,58 @@ private:
     JucerDocument& document;
 };
 
+
+//==============================================================================
+class FocusOrderProperty   : public ComponentTextProperty <Component>
+{
+public:
+    FocusOrderProperty (Component* comp, JucerDocument& document)
+        : ComponentTextProperty <Component> (T("focus order"), 8, false, comp, document)
+    {
+    }
+
+    const String getText() const
+    {
+        return String (component->getExplicitFocusOrder());
+    }
+
+    void setText (const String& newText)
+    {
+        document.perform (new SetFocusOrderAction (component, *document.getComponentLayout(), newText.getIntValue()),
+                          T("Change focus order"));
+    }
+
+private:
+    class SetFocusOrderAction  : public ComponentUndoableAction <Component>
+    {
+    public:
+        SetFocusOrderAction (Component* const comp, ComponentLayout& layout, const int newOrder_)
+            : ComponentUndoableAction <Component> (comp, layout),
+              newValue (newOrder_)
+        {
+            oldValue = comp->getExplicitFocusOrder();
+        }
+
+        bool perform()
+        {
+            showCorrectTab();
+            getComponent()->setExplicitFocusOrder (newValue);
+            changed();
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        bool undo()
+        {
+            showCorrectTab();
+            getComponent()->setExplicitFocusOrder (oldValue);
+            changed();
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        int newValue, oldValue;
+    };
+};
+
 //==============================================================================
 void ComponentTypeHandler::getEditableProperties (Component* component,
                                                   JucerDocument& document,
@@ -386,6 +439,8 @@ void ComponentTypeHandler::getEditableProperties (Component* component,
 
     if (dynamic_cast <SettableTooltipClient*> (component) != 0)
         properties.add (new TooltipProperty (component, document));
+
+    properties.add (new FocusOrderProperty (component, document));
 }
 
 void ComponentTypeHandler::addPropertiesToPropertyPanel (Component* comp,
@@ -531,6 +586,11 @@ void ComponentTypeHandler::fillInCreationCode (GeneratedCode& code, Component* c
           << ");\n";
     }
 
+    if (component->getExplicitFocusOrder() > 0)
+        s << memberVariableName << "->setExplicitFocusOrder ("
+          << component->getExplicitFocusOrder()
+          << ");\n";
+
     code.constructorCode += s;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/controls/juce_ListBox.cpp b/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/controls/juce_ListBox.cpp
index a35e324abd..fce0a75b9c 100644
--- a/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/controls/juce_ListBox.cpp
+++ b/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/controls/juce_ListBox.cpp
@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@ void ListBox::updateContent()
 
     if (selected [selected.size() - 1] >= totalItems)
     {
-        selected.removeRange (totalItems, 0x7fffffff - totalItems);
+        selected.removeRange (totalItems, INT_MAX - totalItems);
 
         if (selected.size() == 0)
             lastRowSelected = totalItems - 1;
@@ -507,7 +507,7 @@ void ListBox::deselectRow (const int row)
 void ListBox::setSelectedRows (const SparseSet<int>& setOfRowsToBeSelected)
 {
     selected = setOfRowsToBeSelected;
-    selected.removeRange (totalItems, 0x7fffffff - totalItems);
+    selected.removeRange (totalItems, INT_MAX - totalItems);
 
     if (! isRowSelected (lastRowSelected))
         lastRowSelected = -1;
diff --git a/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/controls/juce_TableHeaderComponent.cpp b/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/controls/juce_TableHeaderComponent.cpp
index 164654947b..5305f3e2b6 100644
--- a/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/controls/juce_TableHeaderComponent.cpp
+++ b/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/controls/juce_TableHeaderComponent.cpp
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ void TableHeaderComponent::addColumn (const String& columnName,
     ci->minimumWidth = minimumWidth;
     ci->maximumWidth = maximumWidth;
     if (ci->maximumWidth < 0)
-        ci->maximumWidth = 0x7fffffff;
+        ci->maximumWidth = INT_MAX;
     jassert (ci->maximumWidth >= ci->minimumWidth);
     ci->propertyFlags = propertyFlags;
 
diff --git a/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/juce_Component.cpp b/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/juce_Component.cpp
index bf7d336cfc..f3f5bfaa4e 100644
--- a/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/juce_Component.cpp
+++ b/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/juce_Component.cpp
@@ -3188,6 +3188,16 @@ bool Component::isFocusContainer() const throw()
     return flags.isFocusContainerFlag;
 }
 
+int Component::getExplicitFocusOrder() const throw()
+{
+    return getComponentPropertyInt (T("_jexfo"), false, 0);
+}
+
+void Component::setExplicitFocusOrder (const int newFocusOrderIndex) throw()
+{
+    setComponentProperty (T("_jexfo"), newFocusOrderIndex);
+}
+
 KeyboardFocusTraverser* Component::createFocusTraverser()
 {
     if (flags.isFocusContainerFlag || parentComponent_ == 0)
diff --git a/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/juce_Component.h b/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/juce_Component.h
index 96cbd0a361..c032a4d8cc 100644
--- a/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/juce_Component.h
+++ b/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/juce_Component.h
@@ -998,10 +998,7 @@ public:
     */
     bool getWantsKeyboardFocus() const throw();
 
-    void setFocusContainer (const bool isFocusContainer) throw();
-
-    bool isFocusContainer() const throw();
-
+    //==============================================================================
     /** Chooses whether a click on this component automatically grabs the focus.
 
         By default this is set to true, but you might want a component which can
@@ -1016,6 +1013,7 @@ public:
     */
     bool getMouseClickGrabsKeyboardFocus() const throw();
 
+    //==============================================================================
     /** Tries to give keyboard focus to this component.
 
         When the user clicks on a component or its grabKeyboardFocus()
@@ -1049,6 +1047,13 @@ public:
     */
     bool hasKeyboardFocus (const bool trueIfChildIsFocused) const throw();
 
+    /** Returns the component that currently has the keyboard focus.
+
+        @returns the focused component, or null if nothing is focused.
+    */
+    static Component* getCurrentlyFocusedComponent() throw();
+
+    //==============================================================================
     /** Tries to move the keyboard focus to one of this component's siblings.
 
         This will try to move focus to either the next or previous component. (This
@@ -1058,16 +1063,10 @@ public:
 
         @param moveToNext   if true, the focus will move forwards; if false, it will
                             move backwards
-        @see grabKeyboardFocus, setWantsKeyboardFocus
+        @see grabKeyboardFocus, setFocusContainer, setWantsKeyboardFocus
     */
     void moveKeyboardFocusToSibling (const bool moveToNext);
 
-    /** Returns the component that currently has the keyboard focus.
-
-        @returns the focused component, or null if nothing is focused.
-    */
-    static Component* getCurrentlyFocusedComponent() throw();
-
     /** Creates a KeyboardFocusTraverser object to use to determine the logic by
         which focus should be passed from this component.
 
@@ -1085,6 +1084,54 @@ public:
     */
     virtual KeyboardFocusTraverser* createFocusTraverser();
 
+    /** Returns the focus order of this component, if one has been specified.
+
+        By default components don't have a focus order - in that case, this
+        will return 0. Lower numbers indicate that the component will be 
+        earlier in the focus traversal order.
+
+        To change the order, call setExplicitFocusOrder().
+
+        The focus order may be used by the KeyboardFocusTraverser class as part of
+        its algorithm for deciding the order in which components should be traversed.
+        See the KeyboardFocusTraverser class for more details on this.
+
+        @see moveKeyboardFocusToSibling, createFocusTraverser, KeyboardFocusTraverser 
+    */
+    int getExplicitFocusOrder() const throw();
+
+    /** Sets the index used in determining the order in which focusable components
+        should be traversed.
+
+        A value of 0 or less is taken to mean that no explicit order is wanted, and
+        that traversal should use other factors, like the component's position.
+
+        @see getExplicitFocusOrder, moveKeyboardFocusToSibling
+    */
+    void setExplicitFocusOrder (const int newFocusOrderIndex) throw();
+
+    /** Indicates whether this component is a parent for components that can have
+        their focus traversed.
+
+        This flag is used by the default implementation of the createFocusTraverser()
+        method, which uses the flag to find the first parent component (of the currently
+        focused one) which wants to be a focus container.
+
+        So using this method to set the flag to 'true' causes this component to
+        act as the top level within which focus is passed around.
+
+        @see isFocusContainer, createFocusTraverser, moveKeyboardFocusToSibling
+    */
+    void setFocusContainer (const bool isFocusContainer) throw();
+
+    /** Returns true if this component has been marked as a focus container.
+
+        See setFocusContainer() for more details.
+
+        @see setFocusContainer, moveKeyboardFocusToSibling, createFocusTraverser
+    */
+    bool isFocusContainer() const throw();
+
     //==============================================================================
     /** Returns true if the component (and all its parents) are enabled.
 
diff --git a/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/keyboard/juce_KeyboardFocusTraverser.cpp b/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/keyboard/juce_KeyboardFocusTraverser.cpp
index 6b1826ebef..0b7ffb8419 100644
--- a/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/keyboard/juce_KeyboardFocusTraverser.cpp
+++ b/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/keyboard/juce_KeyboardFocusTraverser.cpp
@@ -56,12 +56,21 @@ public:
 
     static int compareElements (const Component* const first, const Component* const second) throw()
     {
-        int diff = first->getY() - second->getY();
+        int explicitOrder1 = first->getExplicitFocusOrder();
+        if (explicitOrder1 < 0)
+            explicitOrder1 = INT_MAX / 2;
 
-        if (diff == 0)
-            diff = first->getX() - second->getX();
+        int explicitOrder2 = second->getExplicitFocusOrder();
+        if (explicitOrder2 < 0)
+            explicitOrder2 = INT_MAX / 2;
 
-        return diff;
+        if (explicitOrder1 != explicitOrder2)
+            return explicitOrder2 - explicitOrder1;
+
+        const int diff = first->getY() - second->getY();
+
+        return (diff == 0) ? first->getX() - second->getX()
+                           : diff;
     }
 };
 
@@ -94,7 +103,7 @@ static void findAllFocusableComponents (Component* const parent, Array <Componen
     }
 }
 
-static Component* getIncrementedComponent (Component* const current, const int delta)
+static Component* getIncrementedComponent (Component* const current, const int delta) throw()
 {
     Component* focusContainer = current->getParentComponent();
 
@@ -108,9 +117,11 @@ static Component* getIncrementedComponent (Component* const current, const int d
             Array <Component*> comps;
             findAllFocusableComponents (focusContainer, comps);
 
-            const int index = comps.indexOf (current);
-
-            return comps [(index + comps.size() + delta) % comps.size()];
+            if (comps.size() > 0)
+            {
+                const int index = comps.indexOf (current);
+                return comps [(index + comps.size() + delta) % comps.size()];
+            }
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/keyboard/juce_KeyboardFocusTraverser.h b/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/keyboard/juce_KeyboardFocusTraverser.h
index 8ad085815b..4a64f93475 100644
--- a/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/keyboard/juce_KeyboardFocusTraverser.h
+++ b/src/juce_appframework/gui/components/keyboard/juce_KeyboardFocusTraverser.h
@@ -39,11 +39,21 @@ class Component;
 /**
     Controls the order in which focus moves between components.
 
-    The default implementation of this class orders the components in a left-to-right,
-    top-to-bottom order. If you need traversal in a more customised way, you
-    can create a subclass that uses your own algorithm.
-
-    @see Component::createFocusTraverser()
+    The default algorithm used by this class to work out the order of traversal 
+    is as follows:
+    - if two components both have an explicit focus order specified, then the
+      one with the lowest number comes first (see the Component::setExplicitFocusOrder()
+      method).
+    - any component with an explicit focus order greater than 0 comes before ones 
+      that don't have an order specified.
+    - any unspecified components are traversed in a left-to-right, then top-to-bottom 
+      order. 
+      
+    If you need traversal in a more customised way, you can create a subclass 
+    of KeyboardFocusTraverser that uses your own algorithm, and use 
+    Component::createFocusTraverser() to create it.
+
+    @see Component::setExplicitFocusOrder, Component::createFocusTraverser
 */
 class JUCE_API  KeyboardFocusTraverser
 {
diff --git a/src/juce_appframework/gui/graphics/fonts/juce_GlyphArrangement.cpp b/src/juce_appframework/gui/graphics/fonts/juce_GlyphArrangement.cpp
index 5255a66a56..389a48592f 100644
--- a/src/juce_appframework/gui/graphics/fonts/juce_GlyphArrangement.cpp
+++ b/src/juce_appframework/gui/graphics/fonts/juce_GlyphArrangement.cpp
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ public:
     {
         ++accessCounter;
 
-        int oldestCounter = 0x7fffffff;
+        int oldestCounter = INT_MAX;
         int oldestIndex = 0;
 
         for (int i = numGlyphs; --i >= 0;)
diff --git a/src/juce_appframework/gui/graphics/fonts/juce_Typeface.cpp b/src/juce_appframework/gui/graphics/fonts/juce_Typeface.cpp
index e1cb2aee2b..3bdcb5ec33 100644
--- a/src/juce_appframework/gui/graphics/fonts/juce_Typeface.cpp
+++ b/src/juce_appframework/gui/graphics/fonts/juce_Typeface.cpp
@@ -476,7 +476,7 @@ public:
         }
 
         int replaceIndex = 0;
-        int bestLastUsageCount = 0x7fffffff;
+        int bestLastUsageCount = INT_MAX;
 
         for (i = faces.size(); --i >= 0;)
         {
diff --git a/src/juce_core/text/juce_XmlElement.cpp b/src/juce_core/text/juce_XmlElement.cpp
index 9491b583e2..47b3adb36f 100644
--- a/src/juce_core/text/juce_XmlElement.cpp
+++ b/src/juce_core/text/juce_XmlElement.cpp
@@ -826,7 +826,7 @@ void XmlElement::insertChildElement (XmlElement* const newNode,
             else
             {
                 if (indexToInsertAt < 0)
-                    indexToInsertAt = 0x7fffffff;
+                    indexToInsertAt = INT_MAX;
 
                 XmlElement* child = firstChildElement;