diff --git a/src/backends/R/CMakeLists.txt b/src/backends/R/CMakeLists.txt
index ff77af16..d4485615 100644
--- a/src/backends/R/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/backends/R/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,29 +1,30 @@
 include_directories(${R_INCLUDEDIR})
 LINK_DIRECTORIES(${R_SHAREDLIBDIR})
 
 add_subdirectory(rserver)
 
 set( RBackend_SRCS
   rbackend.cpp
   rsession.cpp
   rexpression.cpp
   rextensions.cpp
   rcompletionobject.cpp
   rhighlighter.cpp
   rkeywords.cpp
   rsettingswidget.cpp
+  rvariablemodel.cpp
 )
 
 kconfig_add_kcfg_files(RBackend_SRCS rserver/settings.kcfgc)
 
 set(network_xml rserver/org.kde.Cantor.R.xml)
 QT5_ADD_DBUS_INTERFACE(RBackend_SRCS ${network_xml} rserver_interface )
 
 ki18n_wrap_ui(RBackend_SRCS settings.ui)
 
 add_backend(rbackend ${RBackend_SRCS})
 
 set_target_properties( cantor_rbackend PROPERTIES INSTALL_RPATH_USE_LINK_PATH false)
 target_link_libraries( cantor_rbackend ${R_USED_LIBS} KF5::SyntaxHighlighting)
 
 install( FILES cantor_r.knsrc  DESTINATION  ${KDE_INSTALL_CONFDIR} )
diff --git a/src/backends/R/rhighlighter.cpp b/src/backends/R/rhighlighter.cpp
index 9ae67936..076baacf 100644
--- a/src/backends/R/rhighlighter.cpp
+++ b/src/backends/R/rhighlighter.cpp
@@ -1,92 +1,124 @@
 /*
     This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
     modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
     as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
     of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 
     This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
     but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
     MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
     GNU General Public License for more details.
 
     You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
     along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
     Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
     Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
 
     ---
     Copyright (C) 2009 Alexander Rieder <alexanderrieder@gmail.com>
     Copyright (C) 2010 Oleksiy Protas <elfy.ua@gmail.com>
  */
 
 #include "rhighlighter.h"
 #include "rkeywords.h"
 
 #include <QTextEdit>
 #include <QDebug>
 
 const QStringList RHighlighter::operators_list=QStringList()
    << QLatin1String("(\\+|\\-|\*{1,2}|/|&lt;=?|&gt;=?|={1,2}|\\!=?|\|{1,2}|&amp;{1,2}|:{1,3}|\^|@|\\$|~)")
    << QLatin1String("%[^%]*%"); // Taken in r.xml syntax file from KSyntaxHighlighter
 
 const QStringList RHighlighter::specials_list=QStringList()
     << QLatin1String("BUG") << QLatin1String("TODO") << QLatin1String("FIXME") << QLatin1String("NB") << QLatin1String("WARNING") << QLatin1String("ERROR");
 
 RHighlighter::RHighlighter(QObject* parent) : Cantor::DefaultHighlighter(parent)
 {
     addKeywords(RKeywords::instance()->keywords());
 
     foreach (const QString& s, operators_list)
         operators.append(QRegExp(s));
     foreach (const QString& s, specials_list)
         specials.append(QRegExp(QLatin1String("\\b")+s+QLatin1String("\\b")));
 }
 
-void RHighlighter::refreshSyntaxRegExps()
-{
-    emit syntaxRegExps(variables,functions);
-}
-
 // FIXME: due to lack of lookbehinds in QRegExp here we use a flag showing if we need to shift the boundary of formatting
 // to make up for the accidentally matched character
 void RHighlighter::formatRule(const QRegExp &p, const QTextCharFormat &fmt, const QString& text,bool shift)
 {
     int index = p.indexIn(text);
     while (index >= 0) {
         int length = p.matchedLength();
         setFormat(index+(shift?1:0),  length-(shift?1:0),  fmt);
        index = p.indexIn(text,  index + length);
     }
 }
 
 void RHighlighter::massFormat(const QVector<QRegExp> &p, const QTextCharFormat &fmt, const QString& text,bool shift)
 {
     foreach (const QRegExp &rule, p)
         formatRule(rule,fmt,text,shift);
 }
 
 
 void RHighlighter::highlightBlock(const QString& text)
 {
     if(text.isEmpty())
         return;
 
     //Do some backend independent highlighting (brackets etc.)
     DefaultHighlighter::highlightBlock(text);
 
     //Let's mark every functionlike call as an error, then paint right ones in their respective format
     // TODO: find more elegant solution not involving double formatting
     formatRule(QRegExp(QLatin1String("\\b[A-Za-z0-9_]+(?=\\()")),errorFormat(),text);
 
     //formatRule(QRegExp("[^A-Za-z_]-?([0-9]+)?(((e|i)?-?)|\\.)[0-9]*L?"),numberFormat(),text,true); // TODO: erroneous number formats, refine
     massFormat(operators,operatorFormat(),text);
     massFormat(specials,commentFormat(),text); // FIXME must be distinct
     massFormat(functions,functionFormat(),text);
     massFormat(variables,variableFormat(),text);
     formatRule(QRegExp(QLatin1String("\"[^\"]+\"")),stringFormat(),text); // WARNING a bit redundant
 }
 
-void RHighlighter::updateHighlighting()
+void RHighlighter::addUserStuff(const QStringList& names, QVector<QRegExp>& vector)
 {
+    for (const QString s : names)
+        if (!s.contains(QRegExp(QLatin1String("[^A-Za-z0-9_.]"))))
+            vector.append(QRegExp(QLatin1String("\\b")+s+QLatin1String("\\b")));
+
     emit rulesChanged();
 }
+
+void RHighlighter::removeUserStuff(const QStringList& names, QVector<QRegExp>& vector)
+{
+    for (const QString var : names)
+        for (int i = 0; i < vector.size(); i++)
+            if (vector[i].pattern() == QLatin1String("\\b")+var+QLatin1String("\\b"))
+            {
+                vector.remove(i);
+                break;
+            }
+
+    emit rulesChanged();
+}
+
+void RHighlighter::addUserVariable(const QStringList& vars)
+{
+    addUserStuff(vars, variables);
+}
+
+void RHighlighter::removeUserVariable(const QStringList& vars)
+{
+    removeUserStuff(vars, variables);
+}
+
+void RHighlighter::removeUserFunction(const QStringList& funcs)
+{
+    removeUserStuff(funcs, functions);
+}
+
+void RHighlighter::addUserFunction(const QStringList& funcs)
+{
+    addUserStuff(funcs, functions);
+}
diff --git a/src/backends/R/rhighlighter.h b/src/backends/R/rhighlighter.h
index a08a6548..527af824 100644
--- a/src/backends/R/rhighlighter.h
+++ b/src/backends/R/rhighlighter.h
@@ -1,56 +1,58 @@
 /*
     This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
     modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
     as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
     of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 
     This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
     but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
     MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
     GNU General Public License for more details.
 
     You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
     along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
     Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
     Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
 
     ---
     Copyright (C) 2010 Oleksiy Protas <elfy.ua@gmail.com>
  */
 
 #ifndef _RHIGHLIGHTER_H
 #define _RHIGHLIGHTER_H
 
 #include "defaulthighlighter.h"
 
 class RHighlighter : public Cantor::DefaultHighlighter
 {
   Q_OBJECT
 
   public:
     explicit RHighlighter( QObject* parent);
     ~RHighlighter() override = default;
 
   protected:
     void highlightBlock(const QString &text) override;
 
   public Q_SLOTS:
-    void refreshSyntaxRegExps();
-    void updateHighlighting();
-
-  Q_SIGNALS:
-    void syntaxRegExps(QVector<QRegExp>&,QVector<QRegExp>&);
+    void addUserVariable(const QStringList& vars);
+    void removeUserVariable(const QStringList& vars);
+    void addUserFunction(const QStringList& funcs);
+    void removeUserFunction(const QStringList& funcs);
 
   private:
     inline void formatRule(const QRegExp &p, const QTextCharFormat &fmt, const QString& text,bool shift=false);
     inline void massFormat(const QVector<QRegExp>& rules, const QTextCharFormat &fmt, const QString& text,bool shift=false);
 
+    void addUserStuff(const QStringList& names, QVector<QRegExp>& vector);
+    void removeUserStuff(const QStringList& names, QVector<QRegExp>& vector);
+
     static const QStringList operators_list;
     static const QStringList specials_list;
     QVector<QRegExp> operators;
     QVector<QRegExp> specials;
     QVector<QRegExp> functions;
     QVector<QRegExp> variables;
 };
 
 #endif /* _RHIGHLIGHTER_H */
diff --git a/src/backends/R/rserver/rserver.cpp b/src/backends/R/rserver/rserver.cpp
index 6ebb36bb..b99f0714 100644
--- a/src/backends/R/rserver/rserver.cpp
+++ b/src/backends/R/rserver/rserver.cpp
@@ -1,521 +1,514 @@
 /*
     This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
     modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
     as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
     of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 
     This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
     but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
     MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
     GNU General Public License for more details.
 
     You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
     along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
     Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
     Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
 
     ---
     Copyright (C) 2009 Alexander Rieder <alexanderrieder@gmail.com>
     Copyright (C) 2010 Oleksiy Protas <elfy.ua@gmail.com>
  */
 
 // TODO: setStatus in syntax and completions, to be or not to be?
 // on the one hand comme il faut, on another, causes flickering in UI
 
 #include "rserver.h"
 #include <KIOCore/KIO/DeleteJob>
 #include "radaptor.h"
 #include "rcallbacks.h"
 #include "settings.h"
 
 #include <QDir>
 #include <QUrl>
 #include <QDebug>
 #include <KLocalizedString>
 
 #include <unistd.h>
 
 //R includes
 #include <R.h>
 #include <Rembedded.h>
 #include <Rversion.h>
 #include <Rdefines.h>
 #define R_INTERFACE_PTRS
 #include <R_ext/Parse.h>
 
 
 RServer::RServer() : m_isInitialized(false),m_isCompletionAvailable(false)
 {
     new RAdaptor(this);
 
     m_tmpDir = QDir::tempPath() + QString::fromLatin1("/cantor_rserver-%1").arg(getpid());
     QDir dir;
     dir.mkdir(m_tmpDir);
     qDebug()<<"storing plots at "<<m_tmpDir;
 
     initR();
     m_status=RServer::Idle;
     m_isInitialized=true;
 }
 
 RServer::~RServer()
 {
     //delete the directory with old plots
     KIO::del(QUrl(m_tmpDir));
 }
 
 void RServer::initR()
 {
     //Setup environment variables
     // generated as littler.h via from svn/littler/littler.R
     #include "renvvars.h"
 
     for (int i = 0; R_VARS[i] != nullptr; i+= 2)
     {
         if (setenv(R_VARS[i], R_VARS[i+1], 1) != 0)
             qDebug()<<"ERROR: couldn't set/replace an R environment variable";
     }
 
     //R_SignalHandlers = 0;               // Don't let R set up its own signal handlers
 
     const char *R_argv[] = {"Cantor",  "--no-save",  "--no-readline",  "",  ""}; //--gui=none
     const char *R_argv_opt[] = {"--vanilla",  "--slave"};
     int R_argc = (sizeof(R_argv) - sizeof(R_argv_opt) ) / sizeof(R_argv[0]);
 
     Rf_initEmbeddedR(R_argc,  (char**) R_argv);
 
     R_ReplDLLinit();            // this is to populate the repl console buffers
 
     setupCallbacks(this);
 
     autoload();
 
     // Set gui editor for R
     runCommand(QLatin1String("options(editor = 'cantor_scripteditor') \n"),true);
 
     //Setting up some settings dependent stuff
     if(RServerSettings::self()->integratePlots())
     {
         qDebug()<<"integrating plots";
         newPlotDevice();
     }
 
     //Loading automatic run scripts
     foreach (const QString& path, RServerSettings::self()->autorunScripts())
     {
         int errorOccurred=0;
         if (QFile::exists(path))
             R_tryEval(lang2(install("source"),mkString(path.toUtf8().data())),nullptr,&errorOccurred);
         // TODO: error handling
         else
         {
             qDebug()<<(QLatin1String("Script ")+path+QLatin1String(" not found")); // FIXME: or should we throw a messagebox
         }
     }
 
     qDebug()<<"done initializing";
-
-    // FIXME: other way to search symbols, see listSymbols for details
-    listSymbols();
 }
 
 //Code from the RInside library
 void RServer::autoload()
 {
     #include "rautoloads.h"
 
     /* Autoload default packages and names from autoloads.h
      *
      * This function behaves in almost every way like
      * R's autoload:
      * function (name, package, reset = FALSE, ...)
      * {
      *     if (!reset && exists(name, envir = .GlobalEnv, inherits = FALSE))
      *        stop("an object with that name already exists")
      *     m <- match.call()
      *     m[[1]] <- as.name("list")
      *     newcall <- eval(m, parent.frame())
      *     newcall <- as.call(c(as.name("autoloader"), newcall))
      *     newcall$reset <- NULL
      *     if (is.na(match(package, .Autoloaded)))
      *        assign(".Autoloaded", c(package, .Autoloaded), env = .AutoloadEnv)
      *     do.call("delayedAssign", list(name, newcall, .GlobalEnv,
      *                                                         .AutoloadEnv))
      *     invisible()
      * }
      *
      * What's missing is the updating of the string vector .Autoloaded with
      * the list of packages, which by my code analysis is useless and only
      * for informational purposes.
      *
      */
     //void autoloads(void){
 
     SEXP da, dacall, al, alcall, AutoloadEnv, name, package;
     int i,j, idx=0, errorOccurred, ptct;
 
     /* delayedAssign call*/
     PROTECT(da = Rf_findFun(Rf_install("delayedAssign"), R_GlobalEnv));
     PROTECT(AutoloadEnv = Rf_findVar(Rf_install(".AutoloadEnv"), R_GlobalEnv));
     if (AutoloadEnv == R_NilValue){
         qDebug()<<"Cannot find .AutoloadEnv";
         //exit(1);
     }
     PROTECT(dacall = allocVector(LANGSXP,5));
     SETCAR(dacall,da);
     /* SETCAR(CDR(dacall),name); */          /* arg1: assigned in loop */
     /* SETCAR(CDR(CDR(dacall)),alcall); */  /* arg2: assigned in loop */
     SETCAR(CDR(CDR(CDR(dacall))),R_GlobalEnv); /* arg3 */
     SETCAR(CDR(CDR(CDR(CDR(dacall)))),AutoloadEnv); /* arg3 */
 
     /* autoloader call */
     PROTECT(al = Rf_findFun(Rf_install("autoloader"), R_GlobalEnv));
     PROTECT(alcall = allocVector(LANGSXP,3));
     SET_TAG(alcall, R_NilValue); /* just like do_ascall() does */
     SETCAR(alcall,al);
     /* SETCAR(CDR(alcall),name); */          /* arg1: assigned in loop */
     /* SETCAR(CDR(CDR(alcall)),package); */  /* arg2: assigned in loop */
 
     ptct = 5;
     for(i = 0; i < packc; ++i){
         idx += (i != 0)? packobjc[i-1] : 0;
         for (j = 0; j < packobjc[i]; ++j){
             /*printf("autload(%s,%s)\n",packobj[idx+j],pack[i]);*/
 
             PROTECT(name = NEW_CHARACTER(1));
             PROTECT(package = NEW_CHARACTER(1));
             SET_STRING_ELT(name, 0, COPY_TO_USER_STRING(packobj[idx+j]));
             SET_STRING_ELT(package, 0, COPY_TO_USER_STRING(pack[i]));
 
             /* Set up autoloader call */
             PROTECT(alcall = allocVector(LANGSXP,3));
             SET_TAG(alcall, R_NilValue); /* just like do_ascall() does */
             SETCAR(alcall,al);
             SETCAR(CDR(alcall),name);
             SETCAR(CDR(CDR(alcall)),package);
 
             /* Setup delayedAssign call */
             SETCAR(CDR(dacall),name);
             SETCAR(CDR(CDR(dacall)),alcall);
 
             R_tryEval(dacall,R_GlobalEnv,&errorOccurred);
             if (errorOccurred){
                 qDebug()<<"Error calling delayedAssign!";
                 //exit(1);
             }
 
             ptct += 3;
         }
     }
     UNPROTECT(ptct);
 
     /* Initialize the completion libraries if needed, adapted from sys-std.c of R */
     // TODO: should we do this or init on demand?
     // if (completion is needed) // TODO: discuss how to pass parameter
     {
         /* First check if namespace is loaded */
         if  (findVarInFrame(R_NamespaceRegistry,install("utils"))==R_UnboundValue)
         { /* Then try to load it */
             SEXP cmdSexp, cmdexpr;
             ParseStatus status;
             int i;
             const char *p="try(loadNamespace('rcompgen'), silent=TRUE)";
 
             PROTECT(cmdSexp=mkString(p));
             cmdexpr=PROTECT(R_ParseVector(cmdSexp,-1,&status,R_NilValue));
             if(status==PARSE_OK)
             {
                 for(i=0;i<length(cmdexpr);++i)
                     eval(VECTOR_ELT(cmdexpr,i),R_GlobalEnv);
             }
             UNPROTECT(2);
             /* Completion is available if the namespace is correctly loaded */
             m_isCompletionAvailable= (findVarInFrame(R_NamespaceRegistry,install("utils"))!=R_UnboundValue);
         }
     }
 }
 
 void RServer::endR()
 {
    Rf_endEmbeddedR(0);
 }
 
 void RServer::runCommand(const QString& cmd, bool internal)
 {
     qDebug()<<"running command "<<cmd;
     Expression* expr=new Expression;
     expr->cmd=cmd;
     expr->hasOtherResults=false;
 
     setStatus(RServer::Busy);
 
     setCurrentExpression(expr);
 
     expr->std_buffer.clear();
     expr->err_buffer.clear();
 
     ReturnCode returnCode=RServer::SuccessCode;
     QString returnText;
     QStringList neededFiles;
 
     //Code to evaluate an R function (taken from RInside library)
     ParseStatus status;
     SEXP cmdSexp,  cmdexpr = R_NilValue;
     SEXP result;
     int i,  errorOccurred;
     QByteArray memBuf;
 
     memBuf.append(cmd.toUtf8());
 
     PROTECT(cmdSexp = allocVector(STRSXP,  1));
     SET_STRING_ELT(cmdSexp,  0,  mkChar((char*)memBuf.data()));
 
     cmdexpr = PROTECT(R_ParseVector(cmdSexp,  -1,  &status,  R_NilValue));
     switch (status)
     {
         case PARSE_OK:
             qDebug()<<"PARSING "<<cmd<<" went OK";
             /* Loop is needed here as EXPSEXP might be of length > 1 */
             for (i = 0; i < length(cmdexpr); ++i) {
 
                 result = R_tryEval(VECTOR_ELT(cmdexpr,  i), nullptr, &errorOccurred);
                 if (errorOccurred)
                 {
                     qDebug()<<"Error occurred.";
                     break;
                 }
                 // TODO: multiple results
             }
             memBuf.clear();
             break;
         case PARSE_INCOMPLETE:
             /* need to read another line */
             qDebug()<<"parse incomplete..";
             break;
         case PARSE_NULL:
             qDebug()<<"ParseStatus is null: "<<status;
             break;
         case PARSE_ERROR:
             qDebug()<<"Parse Error: "<<cmd;
             break;
         case PARSE_EOF:
             qDebug()<<"ParseStatus is eof: "<<status;
             break;
         default:
             qDebug()<<"Parse status is not documented: "<<status;
             break;
     }
     UNPROTECT(2);
 
     if(status==PARSE_OK)
     {
         qDebug()<<"done running";
 
         qDebug()<<"std: "<<expr->std_buffer<<" err: "<<expr->err_buffer;
         //if the command didn't print anything on its own, print the result
 
 
         //TODO: handle some known result types like lists, matrices separately
         //      to make the output look better, by using html (tables etc.)
         if(expr->std_buffer.isEmpty()&&expr->err_buffer.isEmpty())
         {
             qDebug()<<"printing result...";
             SEXP count=PROTECT(R_tryEval(lang2(install("length"),result),nullptr,&errorOccurred)); // TODO: error checks
             if (*INTEGER(count)==0)
                 qDebug() << "no result, so show nothing";
             else
                 Rf_PrintValue(result);
             UNPROTECT(1);
         }
 
 
         setCurrentExpression(nullptr); //is this save?
 
         if(!expr->err_buffer.isEmpty())
         {
             returnCode=RServer::ErrorCode;
             returnText=expr->err_buffer;
         }
         else
         {
             returnCode=RServer::SuccessCode;
             returnText=expr->std_buffer;
 
         }
     }else
     {
         returnCode=RServer::ErrorCode;
         returnText=i18n("Error Parsing Command");
     }
 
     if(internal)
     {
         qDebug()<<"internal result: "<<returnCode<<" :: "<<returnText;
         return;
     }
 
     QFileInfo f(m_curPlotFile);
     qDebug()<<"file: "<<m_curPlotFile<<" exists: "<<f.exists()<<" size: "<<f.size();
     if(f.exists())
     {
         expr->hasOtherResults=true;
         newPlotDevice();
         neededFiles<<f.filePath();
     }
 
     //Check if the expression got results other than plain text (like files,etc)
     if(!expr->hasOtherResults)
         emit expressionFinished(returnCode, returnText);
     else
         showFiles(neededFiles);
 
     setStatus(Idle);
-
-    // FIXME: Calling this every evaluation is probably ugly
-    listSymbols();
 }
 
 void RServer::completeCommand(const QString& cmd)
 {
 //     setStatus(RServer::Busy);
 
     // TODO: is static okay? guess RServer is a singletone, but ...
     // TODO: error handling?
     // TODO: investigate encoding problem
     // TODO: propage the flexibility of token selection upward
     // TODO: what if install() fails? investigate
     // TODO: investigate why errors break the whole foodchain of RServer callbacks in here
     static SEXP comp_env=R_FindNamespace(mkString("utils"));
     static SEXP tokenizer_func=install(".guessTokenFromLine");
     static SEXP linebuffer_func=install(".assignLinebuffer");
     static SEXP buffer_end_func=install(".assignEnd");
     static SEXP complete_func=install(".completeToken");
     static SEXP retrieve_func=install(".retrieveCompletions");
 
     /* Setting buffer parameters */
     int errorOccurred=0; // TODO: error cheks, too lazy to do it now
     R_tryEval(lang2(linebuffer_func,mkString(cmd.toUtf8().data())),comp_env,&errorOccurred);
     R_tryEval(lang2(buffer_end_func,ScalarInteger(cmd.size())),comp_env,&errorOccurred);
 
     /* Passing the tokenizing work to professionals */
     SEXP token=PROTECT(R_tryEval(lang1(tokenizer_func),comp_env,&errorOccurred));
 
     /* Doing the actual stuff */
     R_tryEval(lang1(complete_func),comp_env,&errorOccurred);
     SEXP completions=PROTECT(R_tryEval(lang1(retrieve_func),comp_env,&errorOccurred));
 
     /* Populating the list of completions */
     QStringList completionOptions;
     for (int i=0;i<length(completions);i++)
         completionOptions<<QLatin1String(translateCharUTF8(STRING_ELT(completions,i)));
     QString qToken=QLatin1String(translateCharUTF8(STRING_ELT(token,0)));
     UNPROTECT(2);
 
     emit completionFinished(qToken,completionOptions);
 
 //     setStatus(RServer::Idle);
 }
 
 // FIXME: This scheme is somewhat placeholder, I honestly don't like it too much
 // I am not sure whether or not asking the server with each keypress if what he typed was
 // acceptable or not is a good idea. I'll leave it under investigation, let it be this way just for now
 // ~Landswellsong
 
 void RServer::listSymbols()
 {
-//     setStatus(RServer::Busy);
+    setStatus(RServer::Busy);
 
     QStringList vars, values, funcs;
     int errorOccurred; // TODO: error checks
 
     /* Obtaining a list of user namespace objects */
     SEXP usr=PROTECT(R_tryEval(lang1(install("ls")),nullptr,&errorOccurred));
     for (int i=0;i<length(usr);i++)
     {
         SEXP object = STRING_ELT(usr,i);
         const QString& name = QString::fromUtf8(translateCharUTF8(object));
         SEXP value = findVar(installChar(object), R_GlobalEnv);
 
         if (Rf_isFunction(value))
             funcs << name;
         else
         {
             int convertStatus;
             SEXP valueAsString = PROTECT(R_tryEval(lang2(install("toString"),value),nullptr,&convertStatus));
             if (convertStatus == 0)
             {
                 vars << name;
                 values << QString::fromUtf8(translateCharUTF8(asChar(valueAsString)));
             }
         }
     }
     UNPROTECT(1);
 
     /* Obtaining a list of active packages */
     SEXP packages=PROTECT(R_tryEval(lang1(install("search")),nullptr,&errorOccurred));
     //int i=1; // HACK to prevent scalability issues
     for (int i=1;i<length(packages);i++) // Package #0 is user environment, so starting with 1
     {
         char pos[32];
         sprintf(pos,"%d",i+1);
         SEXP f=PROTECT(R_tryEval(lang2(install("ls"),ScalarInteger(i+1)),nullptr,&errorOccurred));
         for (int i=0;i<length(f);i++)
             funcs<<QString::fromUtf8(translateCharUTF8(STRING_ELT(f,i)));
         UNPROTECT(1);
     }
     UNPROTECT(1);
 
     emit symbolList(vars, values, funcs);
-
-//     setStatus(RServer::Idle);
+    setStatus(Idle);
 }
 
 void RServer::setStatus(Status status)
 {
     if(m_status!=status)
     {
         m_status=status;
         if(m_isInitialized)
             emit statusChanged(status);
     }
 }
 
 QString RServer::requestInput(const QString& prompt)
 {
     emit inputRequested(prompt);
 
     //Wait until the input arrives over dbus
     QEventLoop loop;
     connect(this, SIGNAL(requestAnswered()), &loop, SLOT(quit()));
     loop.exec();
 
     return m_requestCache;
 }
 
 void RServer::answerRequest(const QString& answer)
 {
     m_requestCache=answer;
     emit requestAnswered();
 }
 
 void RServer::showFiles(const QStringList& files)
 {
     if(m_isInitialized)
         emit showFilesNeeded(files);
 }
 
 void RServer::newPlotDevice()
 {
     static int deviceNum=0;
     //For some reason, the PostScript returned by R doesn't seem to render,
     //so fallback to png
 
     /*static const QString psCommand=QString("pdf(horizontal = FALSE, onefile = TRUE, " \
                                            "paper=\"special\", width=5, height=4,"\
                                            "print.it=FALSE, bg=\"white\", file=\"%1\" )");*/
     static const QString command=QLatin1String("png(filename=\"%1\", width = 480, height = 480, units = \"px\")");
     m_curPlotFile=QString::fromLatin1("%1/Rplot%2.png").arg(m_tmpDir, QString::number(deviceNum++));
     if(m_isInitialized)
         runCommand(QLatin1String("dev.off()"), true);
     runCommand(command.arg(m_curPlotFile), true);
 }
diff --git a/src/backends/R/rsession.cpp b/src/backends/R/rsession.cpp
index 7ba31630..291138e3 100644
--- a/src/backends/R/rsession.cpp
+++ b/src/backends/R/rsession.cpp
@@ -1,217 +1,208 @@
 /*
     This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
     modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
     as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
     of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 
     This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
     but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
     MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
     GNU General Public License for more details.
 
     You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
     along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
     Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
     Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
 
     ---
     Copyright (C) 2009 Alexander Rieder <alexanderrieder@gmail.com>
     Copyright (C) 2018 Alexander Semke <alexander.semke@web.de>
  */
 
 #include "rsession.h"
 #include "rexpression.h"
 #include "rcompletionobject.h"
 #include "rhighlighter.h"
+#include "rvariablemodel.h"
 #include <defaultvariablemodel.h>
 
 #include <QTimer>
 #include <QDebug>
 #include <KProcess>
 
 #ifndef Q_OS_WIN
 #include <signal.h>
 #endif
 
-RSession::RSession(Cantor::Backend* backend) : Session(backend), m_process(nullptr), m_rServer(nullptr), m_variableModel(new Cantor::DefaultVariableModel(this))
+RSession::RSession(Cantor::Backend* backend) : Session(backend),
+m_process(nullptr),
+m_rServer(nullptr),
+m_variableModel(new RVariableModel(this)),
+m_needUpdate(false)
 {
 }
 
 RSession::~RSession()
 {
     if (m_process)
         m_process->terminate();
 }
 
 void RSession::login()
 {
     qDebug()<<"login";
     emit loginStarted();
 
     if(m_process)
         m_process->deleteLater();
 
     m_process = new QProcess(this);
     m_process->start(QStandardPaths::findExecutable(QLatin1String("cantor_rserver")));
+
     m_process->waitForStarted();
     m_process->waitForReadyRead();
     qDebug()<<m_process->readAllStandardOutput();
 
     m_rServer = new org::kde::Cantor::R(QString::fromLatin1("org.kde.Cantor.R-%1").arg(m_process->pid()),  QLatin1String("/"), QDBusConnection::sessionBus(), this);
 
     connect(m_rServer, SIGNAL(statusChanged(int)), this, SLOT(serverChangedStatus(int)));
-    connect(m_rServer, SIGNAL(symbolList(QStringList,QStringList,QStringList)),this,SLOT(receiveSymbols(QStringList,QStringList,QStringList)));
 
     changeStatus(Session::Done);
     emit loginDone();
     qDebug()<<"login done";
 }
 
 void RSession::logout()
 {
     qDebug()<<"logout";
     m_process->terminate();
 
     m_variableModel->clearVariables();
-    m_variables.clear();
-    m_functions.clear();
+    m_variableModel->clearFunctions();
     emit symbolsChanged();
 
     changeStatus(Status::Disable);
 }
 
 void RSession::interrupt()
 {
     if(!expressionQueue().isEmpty())
     {
         qDebug()<<"interrupting " << expressionQueue().first()->command();
         if(m_process->state() != QProcess::NotRunning)
         {
 #ifndef Q_OS_WIN
             const int pid=m_process->pid();
             kill(pid, SIGINT);
 #else
             ; //TODO: interrupt the process on windows
 #endif
         }
         expressionQueue().first()->interrupt();
         expressionQueue().removeFirst();
         foreach (Cantor::Expression* expression, expressionQueue())
             expression->setStatus(Cantor::Expression::Done);
         expressionQueue().clear();
 
         qDebug()<<"done interrupting";
     }
 
     changeStatus(Cantor::Session::Done);
 }
 
 Cantor::Expression* RSession::evaluateExpression(const QString& cmd, Cantor::Expression::FinishingBehavior behave, bool internal)
 {
     qDebug()<<"evaluating: "<<cmd;
     RExpression* expr=new RExpression(this, internal);
     expr->setFinishingBehavior(behave);
     expr->setCommand(cmd);
 
     expr->evaluate();
 
     return expr;
 }
 
 Cantor::CompletionObject* RSession::completionFor(const QString& command, int index)
 {
     RCompletionObject *cmp=new RCompletionObject(command, index, this);
     connect(m_rServer,SIGNAL(completionFinished(QString,QStringList)),cmp,SLOT(receiveCompletions(QString,QStringList)));
     connect(cmp,SIGNAL(requestCompletion(QString)),m_rServer,SLOT(completeCommand(QString)));
     return cmp;
 }
 
 QSyntaxHighlighter* RSession::syntaxHighlighter(QObject* parent)
 {
     RHighlighter *h=new RHighlighter(parent);
-    connect(h,SIGNAL(syntaxRegExps(QVector<QRegExp>&,QVector<QRegExp>&)),this,SLOT(fillSyntaxRegExps(QVector<QRegExp>&,QVector<QRegExp>&)));
-    connect(this,SIGNAL(symbolsChanged()),h,SLOT(refreshSyntaxRegExps()));
-    connect(this,SIGNAL(syntaxRegExpsFilled()), h, SLOT(updateHighlighting()));
+    connect(m_variableModel, &Cantor::DefaultVariableModel::variablesAdded, h, &RHighlighter::addUserVariable);
+    connect(m_variableModel, &Cantor::DefaultVariableModel::variablesRemoved, h, &RHighlighter::removeUserVariable);
+    connect(m_variableModel, &RVariableModel::functionsAdded, h, &RHighlighter::addUserFunction);
+    connect(m_variableModel, &RVariableModel::functionsRemoved, h, &RHighlighter::removeUserFunction);
     return h;
 }
 
-void RSession::fillSyntaxRegExps(QVector<QRegExp>& v, QVector<QRegExp>& f)
-{
-    // WARNING: current implementation as-in-maxima is a performance hit
-    // think about grouping expressions together or only fetching needed ones
-    v.clear(); f.clear();
-
-    foreach (const QString s, m_variables)
-        if (!s.contains(QRegExp(QLatin1String("[^A-Za-z0-9_.]"))))
-            v.append(QRegExp(QLatin1String("\\b")+s+QLatin1String("\\b")));
-    foreach (const QString s, m_functions)
-        if (!s.contains(QRegExp(QLatin1String("[^A-Za-z0-9_.]"))))
-            f.append(QRegExp(QLatin1String("\\b")+s+QLatin1String("\\b")));
-
-    emit syntaxRegExpsFilled();
-}
-
-void RSession::receiveSymbols(const QStringList& vars, const QStringList& values, const QStringList & funcs)
-{
-    m_variables = vars;
-    for (int i = 0; i < vars.count(); i++)
-        {
-        m_variableModel->addVariable(vars[i], values[i]);
-        }
-    m_functions = funcs;
-
-    emit symbolsChanged();
-}
-
 void RSession::serverChangedStatus(int status)
 {
     qDebug()<<"changed status to "<<status;
     if(status==0)
     {
         if(!expressionQueue().isEmpty())
         {
             RExpression* expr = static_cast<RExpression*>(expressionQueue().takeFirst());
+            m_needUpdate |= !expr->isInternal();
             qDebug()<<"done running "<<expr<<" "<<expr->command();
         }
 
         if(expressionQueue().isEmpty())
-            changeStatus(Cantor::Session::Done);
+            if (m_needUpdate)
+            {
+                m_needUpdate = false;
+                m_variableModel->update();
+            }
+            else
+                changeStatus(Cantor::Session::Done);
         else
             runFirstExpression();
     }
     else
         changeStatus(Cantor::Session::Running);
 }
 
 void RSession::runFirstExpression()
 {
     if (expressionQueue().isEmpty())
         return;
 
     disconnect(m_rServer,  SIGNAL(expressionFinished(int,QString)),  nullptr,  nullptr);
     disconnect(m_rServer, SIGNAL(inputRequested(QString)), nullptr, nullptr);
     disconnect(m_rServer, SIGNAL(showFilesNeeded(QStringList)), nullptr, nullptr);
     qDebug()<<"size: "<<expressionQueue().size();
     RExpression* expr = static_cast<RExpression*>(expressionQueue().first());
     qDebug()<<"running expression: "<<expr->command();
 
     connect(m_rServer, SIGNAL(expressionFinished(int,QString)), expr, SLOT(finished(int,QString)));
     connect(m_rServer, SIGNAL(inputRequested(QString)), expr, SIGNAL(needsAdditionalInformation(QString)));
     connect(m_rServer, SIGNAL(showFilesNeeded(QStringList)), expr, SLOT(showFilesAsResult(QStringList)));
 
     expr->setStatus(Cantor::Expression::Computing);
     m_rServer->runCommand(expr->command());
 }
 
 void RSession::sendInputToServer(const QString& input)
 {
     QString s=input;
     if(!input.endsWith(QLatin1Char('\n')))
         s+=QLatin1Char('\n');
     m_rServer->answerRequest(s);
 }
 
 QAbstractItemModel* RSession::variableModel()
 {
     return m_variableModel;
 }
+
+void RSession::updateSymbols(const RVariableModel* model)
+{
+    disconnect(m_rServer, SIGNAL(symbolList(QStringList,QStringList,QStringList)));
+    connect(m_rServer, SIGNAL(symbolList(QStringList,QStringList,QStringList)), model, SLOT(parseResult(QStringList,QStringList,QStringList)));
+    m_rServer->listSymbols();
+}
diff --git a/src/backends/R/rsession.h b/src/backends/R/rsession.h
index 1fdc51d4..c186b7fe 100644
--- a/src/backends/R/rsession.h
+++ b/src/backends/R/rsession.h
@@ -1,75 +1,72 @@
 /*
     This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
     modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
     as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
     of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 
     This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
     but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
     MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
     GNU General Public License for more details.
 
     You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
     along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
     Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
     Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
 
     ---
     Copyright (C) 2009 Alexander Rieder <alexanderrieder@gmail.com>
  */
 
 #ifndef _RSESSION_H
 #define _RSESSION_H
 
 #include <QRegExp>
 #include <QStringList>
 
 #include "session.h"
 #include "rserver_interface.h"
 
 class RExpression;
 class QProcess;
+class RVariableModel;
 
 namespace Cantor {
 class DefaultVariableModel;
 }
 
 class RSession : public Cantor::Session
 {
   Q_OBJECT
   public:
     explicit RSession( Cantor::Backend* backend);
     ~RSession() override;
 
     void login() override;
     void logout() override;
 
     void interrupt() override;
 
     Cantor::Expression* evaluateExpression(const QString& command, Cantor::Expression::FinishingBehavior behave = Cantor::Expression::FinishingBehavior::DoNotDelete, bool internal = false) override;
     Cantor::CompletionObject* completionFor(const QString& command, int index=-1) override;
     QSyntaxHighlighter* syntaxHighlighter(QObject* parent) override;
     QAbstractItemModel* variableModel() override;
-    void sendInputToServer(const QString& input);
     void runFirstExpression() override;
 
+    void sendInputToServer(const QString& input);
+    void updateSymbols(const RVariableModel* model);
   protected Q_SLOTS:
     void serverChangedStatus(int status);
-    void receiveSymbols(const QStringList& vars, const QStringList& values, const QStringList & funcs);
-    void fillSyntaxRegExps(QVector<QRegExp>& v, QVector<QRegExp>& f);
 
   Q_SIGNALS:
     void symbolsChanged();
-    void syntaxRegExpsFilled();
 
   private:
     QProcess* m_process;
     org::kde::Cantor::R* m_rServer;
 
-    /* Available variables and functions, TODO make full classes and type info */
-    Cantor::DefaultVariableModel* m_variableModel;
-    QStringList m_variables;
-    QStringList m_functions;
+    RVariableModel* m_variableModel;
+    bool m_needUpdate;
 };
 
 #endif /* _RSESSION_H */
diff --git a/src/backends/R/rvariablemodel.cpp b/src/backends/R/rvariablemodel.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bfde75de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/backends/R/rvariablemodel.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+/*
+    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+    modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
+    as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
+    of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+    GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+    along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+    Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
+    Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
+
+    ---
+    Copyright (C) 2018 Nikita Sirgienko <warquark@gmail.com>
+*/
+
+#include "rvariablemodel.h"
+#include "rsession.h"
+
+using namespace Cantor;
+
+RVariableModel::RVariableModel(RSession* session):
+    DefaultVariableModel(session)
+{
+}
+
+void RVariableModel::update()
+{
+    static_cast<RSession*>(session())->updateSymbols(this);
+}
+
+void RVariableModel::parseResult(const QStringList& names, const QStringList& values, const QStringList& funcs)
+{
+    QList<Variable> vars;
+    for (int i = 0; i < names.size(); i++)
+        vars.append(Variable{names[i], values[i]});
+    setVariables(vars);
+
+    // Handle functions
+    QStringList addedFuncs;
+    QStringList removedFuncs;
+
+    int i = 0;
+    while (i < m_functions.size())
+        if (!funcs.contains(m_functions[i]))
+        {
+            removedFuncs << m_functions[i];
+            m_functions.removeAt(i);
+        }
+        else
+            i++;
+
+    for (const QString newFunc : funcs)
+        if(!m_functions.contains(newFunc))
+        {
+            addedFuncs << newFunc;
+            m_functions << newFunc;
+        }
+
+    if (!addedFuncs.isEmpty())
+        emit functionsAdded(addedFuncs);
+
+    if (!removedFuncs.isEmpty())
+        emit functionsRemoved(removedFuncs);
+}
+
+void RVariableModel::clearFunctions()
+{
+    emit functionsRemoved(m_functions);
+    m_functions.clear();
+}
diff --git a/src/backends/R/rvariablemodel.h b/src/backends/R/rvariablemodel.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bcd53bd3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/backends/R/rvariablemodel.h
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+/*
+    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+    modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
+    as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
+    of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+    GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+    along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+    Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
+    Boston, MA  02110-1301, USA.
+
+    ---
+    Copyright (C) 2018 Nikita Sirgienko <warquark@gmail.com>
+*/
+
+#ifndef _RVARIABLEMODEL_H
+#define _RVARIABLEMODEL_H
+
+#include "defaultvariablemodel.h"
+
+class RSession;
+
+class RVariableModel : public Cantor::DefaultVariableModel
+{
+  Q_OBJECT
+  public:
+    RVariableModel( RSession* session);
+    ~RVariableModel() override = default;
+
+    void update() override;
+    void clearFunctions();
+
+  Q_SIGNALS:
+    void functionsAdded(const QStringList& names);
+    void functionsRemoved(const QStringList& names);
+
+  public Q_SLOTS:
+    void parseResult(const QStringList& names, const QStringList& values, const QStringList& funcs);
+
+  private:
+    QStringList m_functions;
+};
+
+#endif /* _RVARIABLEMODEL_H */