diff --git a/src/RichText.js b/src/RichText.js
index 073d873945..aebd6f5765 100644
--- a/src/RichText.js
+++ b/src/RichText.js
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ const MARKDOWN_REGEX = {
     LINK: /(?:\[([^\]]+)\]\(([^\)]+)\))|\<(\w+:\/\/[^\>]+)\>/g,
     ITALIC: /([\*_])([\w\s]+?)\1/g,
     BOLD: /([\*_])\1([\w\s]+?)\1\1/g,
+    HR: /(\n|^)((-|\*|_) *){3,}(\n|$)/g,
+    CODE: /`[^`]*`/g,
 };
 
 const USERNAME_REGEX = /@\S+:\S+/g;
@@ -119,7 +121,7 @@ export function getScopedRTDecorators(scope: any): CompositeDecorator {
 }
 
 export function getScopedMDDecorators(scope: any): CompositeDecorator {
-    let markdownDecorators = ['BOLD', 'ITALIC'].map(
+    let markdownDecorators = ['HR', 'BOLD', 'ITALIC', 'CODE'].map(
         (style) => ({
             strategy: (contentBlock, callback) => {
                 return findWithRegex(MARKDOWN_REGEX[style], contentBlock, callback);
diff --git a/src/UserSettingsStore.js b/src/UserSettingsStore.js
index f4eb4f0d83..3e0c7127c1 100644
--- a/src/UserSettingsStore.js
+++ b/src/UserSettingsStore.js
@@ -130,9 +130,9 @@ module.exports = {
         return event ? event.getContent() : {};
     },
 
-    getSyncedSetting: function(type) {
+    getSyncedSetting: function(type, defaultValue = null) {
         var settings = this.getSyncedSettings();
-        return settings[type];
+        return settings.hasOwnProperty(type) ? settings[type] : null;
     },
 
     setSyncedSetting: function(type, value) {
diff --git a/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposer.js b/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposer.js
index dbc970511a..971024eb57 100644
--- a/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposer.js
+++ b/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposer.js
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ var Modal = require('../../../Modal');
 var sdk = require('../../../index');
 var dis = require('../../../dispatcher');
 import Autocomplete from './Autocomplete';
+import classNames from 'classnames';
 
 import UserSettingsStore from '../../../UserSettingsStore';
 
@@ -48,9 +49,10 @@ export default class MessageComposer extends React.Component {
             inputState: {
                 style: [],
                 blockType: null,
-                isRichtextEnabled: true,
+                isRichtextEnabled: UserSettingsStore.getSyncedSetting('MessageComposerInput.isRichTextEnabled', true),
+                wordCount: 0,
             },
-            showFormatting: false,
+            showFormatting: UserSettingsStore.getSyncedSetting('MessageComposer.showFormatting', false),
         };
 
     }
@@ -168,17 +170,20 @@ export default class MessageComposer extends React.Component {
         }
     }
 
-    onFormatButtonClicked(name: "bold" | "italic" | "strike" | "quote" | "bullet" | "numbullet", event) {
+    onFormatButtonClicked(name: "bold" | "italic" | "strike" | "code" | "underline" | "quote" | "bullet" | "numbullet", event) {
         event.preventDefault();
         this.messageComposerInput.onFormatButtonClicked(name, event);
     }
 
     onToggleFormattingClicked() {
+        UserSettingsStore.setSyncedSetting('MessageComposer.showFormatting', !this.state.showFormatting);
         this.setState({showFormatting: !this.state.showFormatting});
+        this.messageComposerInput.focus();
     }
 
     onToggleMarkdownClicked() {
         this.messageComposerInput.enableRichtext(!this.state.inputState.isRichtextEnabled);
+        this.messageComposerInput.focus();
     }
 
     render() {
@@ -238,7 +243,8 @@ export default class MessageComposer extends React.Component {
                      title="Show Text Formatting Toolbar"
                      src="img/button-text-formatting.svg"
                      onClick={this.onToggleFormattingClicked}
-                     style={{visibility: this.state.showFormatting ? 'hidden' : 'visible'}}
+                     style={{visibility: this.state.showFormatting ||
+                       !UserSettingsStore.isFeatureEnabled('rich_text_editor') ? 'hidden' : 'visible'}}
                      key="controls_formatting" />
             );
 
@@ -281,12 +287,21 @@ export default class MessageComposer extends React.Component {
 
 
         const {style, blockType} = this.state.inputState;
-        const formatButtons = ["bold", "italic", "strike", "quote", "bullet", "numbullet"].map(
+        const formatButtons = ["bold", "italic", "strike", "underline", "code", "quote", "bullet", "numbullet"].map(
             name => {
                 const active = style.includes(name) || blockType === name;
                 const suffix = active ? '-o-n' : '';
                 const onFormatButtonClicked = this.onFormatButtonClicked.bind(this, name);
-                return <img className="mx_MessageComposer_format_button" title={name} onClick={onFormatButtonClicked} key={name} src={`img/button-text-${name}${suffix}.svg`} height="17" />;
+                const disabled = !this.state.inputState.isRichtextEnabled && ['strike', 'underline'].includes(name);
+                const className = classNames("mx_MessageComposer_format_button", {
+                    mx_MessageComposer_format_button_disabled: disabled,
+                });
+                return <img className={className}
+                            title={name}
+                            onClick={disabled ? null : onFormatButtonClicked}
+                            key={name}
+                            src={`img/button-text-${name}${suffix}.svg`}
+                            height="17" />;
             },
         );
 
@@ -299,18 +314,21 @@ export default class MessageComposer extends React.Component {
                     </div>
                 </div>
                 {UserSettingsStore.isFeatureEnabled('rich_text_editor') ?
-                    <div className="mx_MessageComposer_formatbar" style={this.state.showFormatting ? {} : {display: 'none'}}>
-                        {formatButtons}
-                        <div style={{flex: 1}}></div>
-                        <img title={`Turn Markdown ${this.state.inputState.isRichtextEnabled ? 'on' : 'off'}`}
-                             onClick={this.onToggleMarkdownClicked}
-                            className="mx_MessageComposer_formatbar_markdown"
-                            src={`img/button-md-${!this.state.inputState.isRichtextEnabled}.png`} />
-                        <img title="Hide Text Formatting Toolbar"
-                             onClick={this.onToggleFormattingClicked}
-                             className="mx_MessageComposer_formatbar_cancel"
-                             src="img/icon-text-cancel.svg" />
-                    </div> : null
+                    <div className="mx_MessageComposer_formatbar_wrapper">
+                        <div className="mx_MessageComposer_formatbar" style={this.state.showFormatting ? {} : {display: 'none'}}>
+                            {formatButtons}
+                            <div style={{flex: 1}}></div>
+                            <strong>{this.state.inputState.wordCount}</strong>
+                            <img title={`Turn Markdown ${this.state.inputState.isRichtextEnabled ? 'on' : 'off'}`}
+                                 onClick={this.onToggleMarkdownClicked}
+                                className="mx_MessageComposer_formatbar_markdown"
+                                src={`img/button-md-${!this.state.inputState.isRichtextEnabled}.png`} />
+                            <img title="Hide Text Formatting Toolbar"
+                                 onClick={this.onToggleFormattingClicked}
+                                 className="mx_MessageComposer_formatbar_cancel"
+                                 src="img/icon-text-cancel.svg" />
+                        </div>
+                    </div>: null
                 }
             </div>
         );
diff --git a/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposerInput.js b/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposerInput.js
index 49b0706499..32f4497326 100644
--- a/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposerInput.js
+++ b/src/components/views/rooms/MessageComposerInput.js
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ export default class MessageComposerInput extends React.Component {
     constructor(props, context) {
         super(props, context);
         this.onAction = this.onAction.bind(this);
-        this.onInputClick = this.onInputClick.bind(this);
+        this.focus = this.focus.bind(this);
         this.handleReturn = this.handleReturn.bind(this);
         this.handleKeyCommand = this.handleKeyCommand.bind(this);
         this.setEditorState = this.setEditorState.bind(this);
@@ -91,8 +91,9 @@ export default class MessageComposerInput extends React.Component {
         this.onDownArrow = this.onDownArrow.bind(this);
         this.onTab = this.onTab.bind(this);
         this.onConfirmAutocompletion = this.onConfirmAutocompletion.bind(this);
+        this.onMarkdownToggleClicked = this.onMarkdownToggleClicked.bind(this);
 
-        const isRichtextEnabled = UserSettingsStore.isFeatureEnabled('rich_text_editor');
+        const isRichtextEnabled = UserSettingsStore.getSyncedSetting('MessageComposerInput.isRichTextEnabled', true);
 
         this.state = {
             isRichtextEnabled,
@@ -240,6 +241,7 @@ export default class MessageComposerInput extends React.Component {
         if (this.props.onInputStateChanged && nextState !== this.state) {
             const state = this.getSelectionInfo(nextState.editorState);
             state.isRichtextEnabled = nextState.isRichtextEnabled;
+            state.wordCount = nextState.editorState.getCurrentContent().getPlainText().split(' ').filter(w => !!w).length;
             this.props.onInputStateChanged(state);
         }
     }
@@ -377,7 +379,7 @@ export default class MessageComposerInput extends React.Component {
         }
     }
 
-    onInputClick(ev) {
+    focus(ev) {
         this.refs.editor.focus();
     }
 
@@ -410,11 +412,11 @@ export default class MessageComposerInput extends React.Component {
             this.setEditorState(this.createEditorState(enabled, contentState));
         }
 
-        window.localStorage.setItem('mx_editor_rte_enabled', enabled);
-
         this.setState({
-            isRichtextEnabled: enabled
+            isRichtextEnabled: enabled,
         });
+
+        UserSettingsStore.setSyncedSetting('MessageComposerInput.isRichTextEnabled', enabled);
     }
 
     handleKeyCommand(command: string): boolean {
@@ -426,7 +428,17 @@ export default class MessageComposerInput extends React.Component {
         let newState: ?EditorState = null;
 
         // Draft handles rich text mode commands by default but we need to do it ourselves for Markdown.
-        if (!this.state.isRichtextEnabled) {
+        if (this.state.isRichtextEnabled) {
+            // These are block types, not handled by RichUtils by default.
+            const blockCommands = ['code-block', 'blockquote', 'unordered-list-item', 'ordered-list-item'];
+
+            if (blockCommands.includes(command)) {
+                this.setEditorState(RichUtils.toggleBlockType(this.state.editorState, command));
+            } else if (command === 'strike') {
+                // this is the only inline style not handled by Draft by default
+                this.setEditorState(RichUtils.toggleInlineStyle(this.state.editorState, 'STRIKETHROUGH'));
+            }
+        } else {
             let contentState = this.state.editorState.getCurrentContent(),
                 selection = this.state.editorState.getSelection();
 
@@ -435,6 +447,9 @@ export default class MessageComposerInput extends React.Component {
                 italic: text => `*${text}*`,
                 underline: text => `_${text}_`, // there's actually no valid underline in Markdown, but *shrug*
                 code: text => `\`${text}\``,
+                blockquote: text => text.split('\n').map(line => `> ${line}\n`).join(''),
+                'unordered-list-item': text => text.split('\n').map(line => `- ${line}\n`).join(''),
+                'ordered-list-item': text => text.split('\n').map((line, i) => `${i+1}. ${line}\n`).join(''),
             }[command];
 
             if (modifyFn) {
@@ -573,30 +588,14 @@ export default class MessageComposerInput extends React.Component {
         setTimeout(() => this.refs.editor.focus(), 50);
     }
 
-    onFormatButtonClicked(name: "bold" | "italic" | "strike" | "quote" | "bullet" | "numbullet", e) {
-        const style = {
-            bold: 'BOLD',
-            italic: 'ITALIC',
-            strike: 'STRIKETHROUGH',
-        }[name];
-
-        if (style) {
-            e.preventDefault();
-            this.setEditorState(RichUtils.toggleInlineStyle(this.state.editorState, style));
-        } else {
-            const blockType = {
-                quote: 'blockquote',
-                bullet: 'unordered-list-item',
-                numbullet: 'ordered-list-item',
-            }[name];
-
-            if (blockType) {
-                e.preventDefault();
-                this.setEditorState(RichUtils.toggleBlockType(this.state.editorState, blockType));
-            } else {
-                console.error(`Unknown formatting style "${name}", ignoring.`);
-            }
-        }
+    onFormatButtonClicked(name: "bold" | "italic" | "strike" | "code" | "underline" | "quote" | "bullet" | "numbullet", e) {
+        const command = {
+            code: 'code-block',
+            quote: 'blockquote',
+            bullet: 'unordered-list-item',
+            numbullet: 'ordered-list-item',
+        }[name] || name;
+        this.handleKeyCommand(command);
     }
 
     /* returns inline style and block type of current SelectionState so MessageComposer can render formatting
@@ -606,6 +605,7 @@ export default class MessageComposerInput extends React.Component {
             BOLD: 'bold',
             ITALIC: 'italic',
             STRIKETHROUGH: 'strike',
+            UNDERLINE: 'underline',
         };
 
         const originalStyle = editorState.getCurrentInlineStyle().toArray();
@@ -614,6 +614,7 @@ export default class MessageComposerInput extends React.Component {
                 .filter(styleName => !!styleName);
 
         const blockName = {
+            'code-block': 'code',
             blockquote: 'quote',
             'unordered-list-item': 'bullet',
             'ordered-list-item': 'numbullet',
@@ -629,6 +630,10 @@ export default class MessageComposerInput extends React.Component {
         };
     }
 
+    onMarkdownToggleClicked() {
+        this.enableRichtext(!this.state.isRichtextEnabled);
+    }
+
     render() {
         const {editorState} = this.state;
 
@@ -649,8 +654,9 @@ export default class MessageComposerInput extends React.Component {
 
         return (
             <div className={className}
-                 onClick={ this.onInputClick }>
+                 onClick={ this.focus }>
                 <img className="mx_MessageComposer_input_markdownIndicator"
+                     onClick={this.onMarkdownToggleClicked}
                      title={`Markdown is ${this.state.isRichtextEnabled ? 'disabled' : 'enabled'}`}
                      src={`img/button-md-${!this.state.isRichtextEnabled}.png`} />
                 <Editor ref="editor"