diff --git a/FORMATS b/FORMATS
index 8554a41b..2a357a35 100644
--- a/FORMATS
+++ b/FORMATS
@@ -41,7 +41,10 @@ Video Disk Recorder File Formats
   The fields in a timer definition have the following meaning (from left
   to right):
 
-  - Timer active (0 = inaactive, 1 = active)
+  - Timer active (0 = inactive, 1 = active)
+    Values larger than '1' can be used by external programs to mark active timers
+    and recognize if the user has modified them. When a user modifes an active
+    timer the 'active' field will be explicitly set to '1'.
   - Program number of the channel to record
   - Day of recording, either one or more of
       M------ = Monday
diff --git a/HISTORY b/HISTORY
index 2451edf1..9b99af91 100644
--- a/HISTORY
+++ b/HISTORY
@@ -407,3 +407,5 @@ Video Disk Recorder Revision History
 - New setup parameter "PrimaryLimit" that allows to prevent timers from using the
   primary DVB interface in multi card systems. Default value is 0, which means
   that every timer may use the primary interface.
+- The 'active' field of a timer will now be explicitly set to '1' if the user
+  modifies an active timer (see FORMATS for details).
diff --git a/menu.c b/menu.c
index 651ae70c..45be9eb9 100644
--- a/menu.c
+++ b/menu.c
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
  * See the main source file 'vdr.c' for copyright information and
  * how to reach the author.
  *
- * $Id: menu.c 1.67 2001/02/24 14:03:39 kls Exp $
+ * $Id: menu.c 1.68 2001/02/24 14:53:40 kls Exp $
  */
 
 #include "menu.h"
@@ -925,6 +925,8 @@ eOSState cMenuEditTimer::ProcessKey(eKeys Key)
                         strcpy(data.file, Channels.GetChannelNameByNumber(data.channel));
                      if (timer && memcmp(timer, &data, sizeof(data)) != 0) {
                         *timer = data;
+                        if (timer->active)
+                           timer->active = 1; // allows external programs to mark active timers with values > 1 and recognize if the user has modified them
                         Timers.Save();
                         isyslog(LOG_INFO, "timer %d modified (%s)", timer->Index() + 1, timer->active ? "active" : "inactive");
                         }