diff --git a/src/lay/SaltManagerDialog.ui b/src/lay/SaltManagerDialog.ui
index 9194d7715..a51993a12 100644
--- a/src/lay/SaltManagerDialog.ui
+++ b/src/lay/SaltManagerDialog.ui
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
    <item>
     <widget class="QTabWidget" name="mode_tab">
      <property name="currentIndex">
-      <number>0</number>
+      <number>1</number>
      </property>
      <widget class="QWidget" name="tab">
       <attribute name="title">
@@ -231,8 +231,8 @@
                       <rect>
                        <x>0</x>
                        <y>0</y>
-                       <width>343</width>
-                       <height>207</height>
+                       <width>537</width>
+                       <height>284</height>
                       </rect>
                      </property>
                      <layout class="QGridLayout" name="gridLayout_2">
@@ -456,11 +456,18 @@
               <item>
                <widget class="QToolButton" name="mark_button">
                 <property name="toolTip">
-                 <string>Mark for installation</string>
+                 <string>Mark or unmark for installation</string>
                 </property>
                 <property name="text">
                  <string>Mark</string>
                 </property>
+                <property name="icon">
+                 <iconset resource="layResources.qrc">
+                  <normaloff>:/marked_16.png</normaloff>:/marked_16.png</iconset>
+                </property>
+                <property name="autoRaise">
+                 <bool>true</bool>
+                </property>
                </widget>
               </item>
               <item>
diff --git a/src/lay/images/marked_16.png b/src/lay/images/marked_16.png
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..aa152411b
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/lay/images/marked_16.png differ
diff --git a/src/lay/images/marked_24.png b/src/lay/images/marked_24.png
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8a445139b
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/lay/images/marked_24.png differ
diff --git a/src/lay/images/marked_64.png b/src/lay/images/marked_64.png
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..02c23d603
Binary files /dev/null and b/src/lay/images/marked_64.png differ
diff --git a/src/lay/layResources.qrc b/src/lay/layResources.qrc
index 3ffd9e81e..52e7bc522 100644
--- a/src/lay/layResources.qrc
+++ b/src/lay/layResources.qrc
@@ -120,6 +120,9 @@
         <file alias="empty_16.png">images/empty_16.png</file>
         <file alias="error_16.png">images/error_16.png</file>
         <file alias="info_16.png">images/info_16.png</file>
+        <file alias="marked_24.png">images/marked_24.png</file>
+        <file alias="marked_64.png">images/marked_64.png</file>
+        <file alias="marked_16.png">images/marked_16.png</file>
     </qresource>
     <qresource prefix="/syntax">
         <file alias="ruby.xml">syntax/ruby.xml</file>
diff --git a/src/lay/laySaltManagerDialog.cc b/src/lay/laySaltManagerDialog.cc
index 5ce7cd4eb..57ce3fbf5 100644
--- a/src/lay/laySaltManagerDialog.cc
+++ b/src/lay/laySaltManagerDialog.cc
@@ -155,19 +155,27 @@ SaltManagerDialog::SaltManagerDialog (QWidget *parent)
   mp_salt = get_salt ();
   mp_salt_mine = get_salt_mine ();
 
-  SaltModel *model;
-
-  model = new SaltModel (this, mp_salt);
+  SaltModel *model = new SaltModel (this, mp_salt);
   salt_view->setModel (model);
   salt_view->setItemDelegate (new SaltItemDelegate (this));
 
-  model = new SaltModel (this, mp_salt_mine);
-  salt_mine_view->setModel (model);
+  SaltModel *mine_model = new SaltModel (this, mp_salt_mine);
+  salt_mine_view->setModel (mine_model);
   salt_mine_view->setItemDelegate (new SaltItemDelegate (this));
 
+  //  Establish a message saying that an update is available
+  for (Salt::flat_iterator g = mp_salt->begin_flat (); g != mp_salt->end_flat (); ++g) {
+    SaltGrain *gm = mp_salt_mine->grain_by_name ((*g)->name ());
+    if (gm && SaltGrain::compare_versions (gm->version (), (*g)->version ()) > 0) {
+      model->set_message ((*g)->name (), tl::to_string (tr ("An update to version %1 is available").arg (tl::to_qstring (gm->version ()))));
+      mine_model->set_message ((*g)->name (), tl::to_string (tr ("The installed version is outdated (%1)").arg (tl::to_qstring ((*g)->version ()))));
+    }
+  }
+
   mode_tab->setCurrentIndex (mp_salt->is_empty () ? 1 : 0);
 
   connect (mode_tab, SIGNAL (currentChanged (int)), this, SLOT (mode_changed ()));
+
   connect (mp_salt, SIGNAL (collections_changed ()), this, SLOT (salt_changed ()));
   connect (mp_salt_mine, SIGNAL (collections_changed ()), this, SLOT (salt_mine_changed ()));
 
@@ -175,12 +183,14 @@ SaltManagerDialog::SaltManagerDialog (QWidget *parent)
   salt_mine_changed ();
 
   connect (salt_view->selectionModel (), SIGNAL (currentChanged (const QModelIndex &, const QModelIndex &)), this, SLOT (current_changed ()));
-  connect (salt_mine_view->selectionModel (), SIGNAL (currentChanged (const QModelIndex &, const QModelIndex &)), this, SLOT (mine_current_changed ()));
+  connect (salt_mine_view->selectionModel (), SIGNAL (currentChanged (const QModelIndex &, const QModelIndex &)), this, SLOT (mine_current_changed ()), Qt::QueuedConnection);
 
   search_installed_edit->set_clear_button_enabled (true);
   search_new_edit->set_clear_button_enabled (true);
   connect (search_installed_edit, SIGNAL (textChanged (const QString &)), this, SLOT (search_text_changed (const QString &)));
   connect (search_new_edit, SIGNAL (textChanged (const QString &)), this, SLOT (search_text_changed (const QString &)));
+
+  connect (mark_button, SIGNAL (clicked ()), this, SLOT (mark_clicked ()));
 }
 
 void
@@ -233,6 +243,21 @@ SaltManagerDialog::search_text_changed (const QString &text)
   }
 }
 
+void
+SaltManagerDialog::mark_clicked ()
+{
+  SaltModel *model = dynamic_cast <SaltModel *> (salt_mine_view->model ());
+  if (! model) {
+    return;
+  }
+  SaltGrain *g = mine_current_grain ();
+  if (! g) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  model->set_marked (g->name (), !model->is_marked (g->name ()));
+}
+
 void
 SaltManagerDialog::edit_properties ()
 {
@@ -379,6 +404,7 @@ SaltManagerDialog::salt_mine_changed ()
 void
 SaltManagerDialog::mine_current_changed ()
 {
+
 BEGIN_PROTECTED
 
   SaltGrain *g = mine_current_grain ();
@@ -398,6 +424,22 @@ BEGIN_PROTECTED
       throw tl::Exception (tl::to_string (tr ("No download link available")));
     }
 
+    QString text = tr (
+      "<html>"
+        "<body>"
+          "<font color=\"#c0c0c0\">"
+            "<h2>Fetching Package Definition ...</h2>"
+            "<p><b>URL</b>: %1</p>"
+          "</font>"
+        "</body>"
+      "</html>"
+    )
+    .arg (tl::to_qstring (SaltGrain::spec_url (g->url ())));
+
+    details_new_text->setHtml (text);
+
+    QApplication::processEvents (QEventLoop::ExcludeUserInputEvents);
+
     tl::InputHttpStream http (SaltGrain::spec_url (g->url ()));
     tl::InputStream stream (http);
 
@@ -422,9 +464,10 @@ BEGIN_PROTECTED
       "<html>"
         "<body>"
           "<font color=\"#ff0000\">"
-          "<h2>Error Fetching Package Definition</h2>"
-          "<p><b>URL</b>: %1</p>"
-          "<p><b>Error</b>: %2</p>"
+            "<h2>Error Fetching Package Definition</h2>"
+            "<p><b>URL</b>: %1</p>"
+            "<p><b>Error</b>: %2</p>"
+          "</font>"
         "</body>"
       "</html>"
     )
diff --git a/src/lay/laySaltManagerDialog.h b/src/lay/laySaltManagerDialog.h
index 68576602a..6a5068217 100644
--- a/src/lay/laySaltManagerDialog.h
+++ b/src/lay/laySaltManagerDialog.h
@@ -75,6 +75,11 @@ private slots:
    */
   void edit_properties ();
 
+  /**
+   *  @brief Called when the "mark" button is pressed
+   */
+  void mark_clicked ();
+
   /**
    *  @brief Called when the "edit" button is pressed
    */
diff --git a/src/lay/laySaltModel.cc b/src/lay/laySaltModel.cc
index ded796c86..57dd44212 100644
--- a/src/lay/laySaltModel.cc
+++ b/src/lay/laySaltModel.cc
@@ -120,6 +120,12 @@ SaltModel::data (const QModelIndex &index, int role) const
       text += tl::escaped_to_html (g->doc ());
       text += "</p>";
     }
+
+    std::map<std::string, std::string>::const_iterator m = m_messages.find (g->name ());
+    if (m != m_messages.end ()) {
+      text += "<p><font color=\"#ff0000\"><b>" + tl::escaped_to_html (m->second) + "</b></font></p>";
+    }
+
     text += "</body></html>";
 
     return tl::to_qstring (text);
@@ -129,28 +135,39 @@ SaltModel::data (const QModelIndex &index, int role) const
     int icon_dim = 64;
 
     const lay::SaltGrain *g = mp_salt->begin_flat ()[index.row ()];
+
+    QImage img;
     if (g->icon ().isNull ()) {
-      return QIcon (":/salt_icon.png");
+      img = QImage (":/salt_icon.png");
     } else {
+      img = g->icon ();
+    }
 
-      QImage img = g->icon ();
-      if (img.width () == icon_dim && img.height () == icon_dim) {
-        return QPixmap::fromImage (img);
-      } else {
+    if (img.width () != icon_dim || img.height () != icon_dim) {
 
-        img = img.scaled (QSize (icon_dim, icon_dim), Qt::KeepAspectRatio, Qt::SmoothTransformation);
+      QImage scaled = img.scaled (QSize (icon_dim, icon_dim), Qt::KeepAspectRatio, Qt::SmoothTransformation);
 
-        QImage final_img (icon_dim, icon_dim, QImage::Format_ARGB32);
-        final_img.fill (QColor (0, 0, 0, 0));
-        QPainter painter (&final_img);
-        painter.drawImage ((icon_dim - img.width ()) / 2, (icon_dim - img.height ()) / 2, img);
-
-        return QPixmap::fromImage (final_img);
-
-      }
+      img = QImage (icon_dim, icon_dim, QImage::Format_ARGB32);
+      img.fill (QColor (0, 0, 0, 0));
+      QPainter painter (&img);
+      painter.drawImage ((icon_dim - scaled.width ()) / 2, (icon_dim - scaled.height ()) / 2, scaled);
 
     }
 
+    if (m_marked.find (g->name ()) != m_marked.end ()) {
+      QPainter painter (&img);
+      QImage warn (":/marked_64.png");
+      painter.drawImage (0, 0, warn);
+    }
+
+    if (m_messages.find (g->name ()) != m_messages.end ()) {
+      QPainter painter (&img);
+      QImage warn (":/warn_16.png");
+      painter.drawImage (0, 0, warn);
+    }
+
+    return QPixmap::fromImage (img);
+
   } else {
     return QVariant ();
   }
@@ -198,6 +215,34 @@ SaltModel::grain_from_index (const QModelIndex &index) const
   }
 }
 
+bool
+SaltModel::is_marked (const std::string &name) const
+{
+  return m_marked.find (name) != m_marked.end ();
+}
+
+void
+SaltModel::set_marked (const std::string &name, bool marked)
+{
+  if (! marked) {
+    m_marked.erase (name);
+  } else {
+    m_marked.insert (name);
+  }
+  emit dataChanged (index (0, 0, QModelIndex ()), index (rowCount (QModelIndex ()) - 1, 0, QModelIndex ()));
+}
+
+void
+SaltModel::set_message (const std::string &name, const std::string &message)
+{
+  if (message.empty ()) {
+    m_messages.erase (name);
+  } else {
+    m_messages.insert (std::make_pair (name, message));
+  }
+  emit dataChanged (index (0, 0, QModelIndex ()), index (rowCount (QModelIndex ()) - 1, 0, QModelIndex ()));
+}
+
 void 
 SaltModel::update ()
 {
diff --git a/src/lay/laySaltModel.h b/src/lay/laySaltModel.h
index 1ffa5f86e..20a537e2c 100644
--- a/src/lay/laySaltModel.h
+++ b/src/lay/laySaltModel.h
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@
 #include <QAbstractItemModel>
 #include <QStyledItemDelegate>
 #include <string>
+#include <set>
+#include <map>
 
 namespace lay
 {
@@ -86,8 +88,23 @@ public:
    */
   void update ();
 
+  /**
+   *  @brief Sets or resets the "marked" flag on the grain with the given name
+   */
+  void set_marked (const std::string &name, bool marked);
+
+  /**
+   *  @brief Installs a message on the grain with the given name
+   *  Installing an empty message basically removes the message.
+   */
+  void set_message (const std::string &name, const std::string &message);
+
 public:
   lay::Salt *mp_salt;
+  std::set<std::string> m_marked;
+  std::map<std::string, std::string> m_messages;
+
+  bool is_marked (const std::string &name) const;
 };
 
 // --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------