diff --git a/src/controllers/Document/Create.php b/src/controllers/Document/Create.php
index fbe68ed7..1126b471 100644
--- a/src/controllers/Document/Create.php
+++ b/src/controllers/Document/Create.php
@@ -44,16 +44,21 @@ protected function handlePost(Router &$router, DocumentCreateModel &$model) {
     if (!isset(Common::$database)) {
       Common::$database = DatabaseDriver::getDatabaseObject();
     }
-    $data       = $router->getRequestBodyArray();
-    $title      = (isset($data['title'     ]) ? $data['title'     ] : null);
-    $markdown   = (isset($data['markdown'  ]) ? $data['markdown'  ] : null);
-    $content    = (isset($data['content'   ]) ? $data['content'   ] : null);
-    $publish    = (isset($data['publish'   ]) ? $data['publish'   ] : null);
-    $save       = (isset($data['save'      ]) ? $data['save'      ] : null);
-
-    $model->title    = $title;
+    $data = $router->getRequestBodyArray();
+    $title = $data['title'] ?? null;
+    $markdown = $data['markdown'] ?? null;
+    $brief = $data['brief'] ?? null;
+    $content = $data['content'] ?? null;
+    $publish = $data['publish'] ?? null;
+    $save = $data['save'] ?? null;
+
+    $markdown = ($markdown ? true : false);
+    $publish = ($publish ? true : false);
+
+    $model->title = $title;
+    $model->brief = $brief;
     $model->markdown = $markdown;
-    $model->content  = $content;
+    $model->content = $content;
 
     if (empty($title)) {
       $model->error = 'EMPTY_TITLE';
@@ -61,17 +66,15 @@ protected function handlePost(Router &$router, DocumentCreateModel &$model) {
       $model->error = 'EMPTY_CONTENT';
     }
 
-    $options_bitmask = 0;
-    if ($markdown) $options_bitmask |= Document::OPTION_MARKDOWN;
-    if ($publish ) $options_bitmask |= Document::OPTION_PUBLISHED;
-
     $user_id = $model->user->getId();
 
     try {
 
       $document = new Document(null);
+      $document->setBrief($brief);
       $document->setContent($content);
-      $document->setOptions($options_bitmask);
+      $document->setMarkdown($markdown);
+      $document->setPublished($publish);
       $document->setTitle($title);
       $document->setUserId($user_id);
       $document->commit();
@@ -91,10 +94,12 @@ protected function handlePost(Router &$router, DocumentCreateModel &$model) {
       $user_id,
       getenv('REMOTE_ADDR'),
       json_encode([
-        'error'           => $model->error,
-        'options_bitmask' => $options_bitmask,
-        'title'           => $title,
-        'content'         => $content,
+        'brief'     => $brief,
+        'content'   => $content,
+        'error'     => $model->error,
+        'markdown'  => $markdown,
+        'published' => $publish,
+        'title'     => $title,
       ])
     );
   }
diff --git a/src/controllers/Document/Edit.php b/src/controllers/Document/Edit.php
index 3e85b543..a968cf9d 100644
--- a/src/controllers/Document/Edit.php
+++ b/src/controllers/Document/Edit.php
@@ -23,16 +23,10 @@
 
 class Edit extends Controller {
   public function &run(Router &$router, View &$view, array &$args) {
-    $data                = $router->getRequestQueryArray();
-    $model               = new DocumentEditModel();
-    $model->content      = null;
-    $model->document     = null;
-    $model->document_id  = (isset($data['id']) ? $data['id'] : null);
-    $model->error        = null;
-    $model->markdown     = null;
-    $model->published    = null;
-    $model->title        = null;
-    $model->user         = Authentication::$user;
+    $data = $router->getRequestQueryArray();
+    $model = new DocumentEditModel();
+    $model->document_id = (isset($data['id']) ? $data['id'] : null);
+    $model->user = Authentication::$user;
 
     $model->acl_allowed = ($model->user && $model->user->getOption(
       User::OPTION_ACL_DOCUMENT_MODIFY
@@ -50,6 +44,7 @@ public function &run(Router &$router, View &$view, array &$args) {
         $model->document_id
       );
 
+      $model->brief     = $model->document->getBrief(false);
       $model->content   = $model->document->getContent(false);
       $model->markdown  = $model->document->isMarkdown();
       $model->published = $model->document->isPublished();
@@ -74,16 +69,21 @@ protected function handlePost(Router &$router, DocumentEditModel &$model) {
       Common::$database = DatabaseDriver::getDatabaseObject();
     }
 
-    $data       = $router->getRequestBodyArray();
-    $category   = (isset($data['category'  ]) ? $data['category'  ] : null);
-    $title      = (isset($data['title'     ]) ? $data['title'     ] : null);
-    $markdown   = (isset($data['markdown'  ]) ? $data['markdown'  ] : null);
-    $content    = (isset($data['content'   ]) ? $data['content'   ] : null);
-    $publish    = (isset($data['publish'   ]) ? $data['publish'   ] : null);
-    $save       = (isset($data['save'      ]) ? $data['save'      ] : null);
+    $data = $router->getRequestBodyArray();
+    $brief = $data['brief'] ?? null;
+    $category = $data['category'] ?? null;
+    $content = $data['content'] ?? null;
+    $markdown = $data['markdown'] ?? null;
+    $publish = $data['publish'] ?? null;
+    $save = $data['save'] ?? null;
+    $title = $data['title'] ?? null;
+
+    $markdown = ($markdown ? true : false);
+    $publish = ($publish ? true : false);
 
     $model->category = $category;
     $model->title    = $title;
+    $model->brief    = $brief;
     $model->markdown = $markdown;
     $model->content  = $content;
 
@@ -98,9 +98,10 @@ protected function handlePost(Router &$router, DocumentEditModel &$model) {
     try {
 
       $model->document->setTitle($model->title);
-      $model->document->setMarkdown($model->markdown);
+      $model->document->setBrief($model->brief);
+      $model->document->setMarkdown($markdown);
       $model->document->setContent($model->content);
-      $model->document->setPublished($publish ? true : false);
+      $model->document->setPublished($publish);
 
       $model->document->incrementEdited();
       $model->document->commit();
@@ -120,11 +121,12 @@ protected function handlePost(Router &$router, DocumentEditModel &$model) {
       $user_id,
       getenv('REMOTE_ADDR'),
       json_encode([
-        'error'           => $model->error,
+        'brief'           => $model->document->getBrief(false),
+        'content'         => $model->document->getContent(false),
         'document_id'     => $model->document_id,
+        'error'           => $model->error,
         'options_bitmask' => $model->document->getOptions(),
         'title'           => $model->document->getTitle(),
-        'content'         => $model->document->getContent(false),
       ])
     );
   }
diff --git a/src/controllers/Document/Index.php b/src/controllers/Document/Index.php
index 290fb3e1..02c78fdf 100644
--- a/src/controllers/Document/Index.php
+++ b/src/controllers/Document/Index.php
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 class Index extends Controller {
   public function &run(Router &$router, View &$view, array &$args) {
     $model = new DocumentIndexModel();
-
     $query = $router->getRequestQueryArray();
 
     $model->order = (
diff --git a/src/models/Document/Create.php b/src/models/Document/Create.php
index 93c81468..e5e24384 100644
--- a/src/models/Document/Create.php
+++ b/src/models/Document/Create.php
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 class Create extends Model {
 
   public $acl_allowed;
+  public $brief;
   public $content;
   public $error;
   public $markdown;
diff --git a/src/models/Document/Edit.php b/src/models/Document/Edit.php
index ab891133..51b72345 100644
--- a/src/models/Document/Edit.php
+++ b/src/models/Document/Edit.php
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 class Edit extends Model {
 
   public $acl_allowed;
+  public $brief;
   public $category;
   public $content;
   public $document;
diff --git a/src/templates/Document/Create.phtml b/src/templates/Document/Create.phtml
index 9d1203e7..a4ae1d71 100644
--- a/src/templates/Document/Create.phtml
+++ b/src/templates/Document/Create.phtml
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ switch ($error)
   case 'INTERNAL_ERROR': $message = 'An internal error occurred while processing your request. Our staff have been notified of the issue. Try again later.'; break;
   default: $message = $error;
 }
+$form_brief = filter_var($this->getContext()->brief, FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS);
 $form_content = filter_var($this->getContext()->content, FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS);
 $form_markdown = $this->getContext()->markdown;
 $form_title = filter_var($this->getContext()->title, FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS);
diff --git a/src/templates/Document/Edit.phtml b/src/templates/Document/Edit.phtml
index 2d37ba81..1a276c55 100644
--- a/src/templates/Document/Edit.phtml
+++ b/src/templates/Document/Edit.phtml
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ switch ($error)
   case 'INTERNAL_ERROR': $message = 'An internal error occurred while processing your request. Our staff have been notified of the issue. Try again later.'; break;
   default: $message = $error;
 }
+$form_brief = filter_var($this->getContext()->brief, FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS);
 $form_content = filter_var($this->getContext()->content, FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS);
 $form_markdown = $this->getContext()->markdown;
 $form_title = filter_var($this->getContext()->title, FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS);
diff --git a/src/templates/Document/Form.inc.phtml b/src/templates/Document/Form.inc.phtml
index 82b04d9e..c9e25281 100644
--- a/src/templates/Document/Form.inc.phtml
+++ b/src/templates/Document/Form.inc.phtml
@@ -5,18 +5,22 @@ namespace BNETDocs\Templates\Document; ?>
       <label class="font-weight-bold" class="form-label" for="title">Title:</label><br/>
       <input class="border border-primary form-control bg-dark text-light" type="text" name="title" id="title" tabindex="1" required autofocus="autofocus" placeholder="Enter the document title here" value="<?=$form_title?>"/>
     </div>
+  <div class="form-group">
+    <label class="font-weight-bold" for="brief">Brief: <span class="small text-muted">(a brief description, for use in margins around the site &ndash; if blank, the first part from the content is used instead)</span></label>
+    <input class="bg-dark border border-primary form-control text-light" type="text" name="brief" id="brief" placeholder="Enter the optional brief description here" tabindex="2" value="<?=filter_var($form_brief ?? null, FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS)?>"/>
+  </div>
     <div class="form-group">
       <label class="font-weight-bold" for="content">Content:</label>
       <div class="custom-control custom-switch float-right">
-        <input class="custom-control-input" type="checkbox" name="markdown" id="markdown" tabindex="3" title="Use markdown or use raw HTML" value="1"<?=($form_markdown ? ' checked="checked"' : '')?>/>
+        <input class="custom-control-input" type="checkbox" name="markdown" id="markdown" tabindex="4" title="Use markdown or use raw HTML" value="1"<?=($form_markdown ? ' checked="checked"' : '')?>/>
         <label class="custom-control-label" for="markdown" title="Use markdown or use raw HTML">Markdown</label>
       </div>
-      <textarea class="border border-primary form-control bg-dark text-light" name="content" id="content" tabindex="2" required placeholder="Enter the document content here" style="height:200px;"><?=$form_content?></textarea>
+      <textarea class="border border-primary form-control bg-dark text-light" name="content" id="content" tabindex="3" required placeholder="Enter the document content here" style="height:200px;"><?=$form_content?></textarea>
     </div>
     <div class="form-group text-center">
-      <a class="btn btn-primary" href="<?=($document_url ?? 'javascript:history.go(-1);')?>" tabindex="4">Back</a>
+      <a class="btn btn-primary" href="<?=($document_url ?? 'javascript:history.go(-1);')?>" tabindex="5">Back</a>
       <span class="m-1"></span>
-      <input class="btn btn-secondary" type="submit" name="save" value="Save Draft" tabindex="5"/>
-      <input class="btn btn-success" type="submit" name="publish" value="Publish" tabindex="6"/>
+      <input class="btn btn-secondary" type="submit" name="save" value="Save Draft" tabindex="6"/>
+      <input class="btn btn-success" type="submit" name="publish" value="Publish" tabindex="7"/>
     </div>
   </form>
diff --git a/src/templates/Document/Index.phtml b/src/templates/Document/Index.phtml
index 484e1feb..d1cc45ad 100644
--- a/src/templates/Document/Index.phtml
+++ b/src/templates/Document/Index.phtml
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ $form_order_by = [
   'user-id-asc' => 'User Id (Ascending)',
   'user-id-desc' => 'User Id (Descending)',
 ];
+require_once('./MarkdownBootstrapFix.inc.php');
 require('./header.inc.phtml'); ?>
 <div class="container">
   <h2><?=$title?></h2>
@@ -39,13 +40,22 @@ require('./header.inc.phtml'); ?>
 <?  foreach ($this->getContext()->documents as $document)
     {
       $doc_title = filter_var($document->getTitle(), FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS);
-      $doc_brief = rtrim(Common::stripUpTo(Common::stripUpTo(trim(filter_var($document->getContent(true), FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING)), "\n", 128), '. ', 128), '.');
+      $doc_brief = $document->getBrief(true);
+      $doc_content = $document->getContent(true);
       $doc_user = $document->getUser();
       $doc_user_string = ($doc_user ?
         sprintf('<a href="%s"><img class="mr-2 rounded" src="%s"/>%s</a>',
           $doc_user->getURI(), $doc_user->getAvatarURI(40), filter_var($doc_user->getName(), FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS)
         ) : 'Anonymous'
       );
+      if (!empty($doc_brief))
+      {
+        $doc_brief = \BNETDocs\Templates\MarkdownBootstrapFix($doc_brief, true, true);
+      }
+      else
+      {
+        $doc_brief = rtrim(Common::stripUpTo(Common::stripUpTo(trim(filter_var($doc_content, FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING)), "\n", 128), '. ', 128), '.');
+      }
       printf('<tr><td><strong><a href="%s">%s</a></strong><br/><span class="text-muted">%s</span></td><td>%s</td></tr>',
         $document->getURI(), $doc_title, $doc_brief, $doc_user_string
       );
diff --git a/src/templates/Document/View.phtml b/src/templates/Document/View.phtml
index fff33a2c..250815d0 100644
--- a/src/templates/Document/View.phtml
+++ b/src/templates/Document/View.phtml
@@ -16,11 +16,18 @@ if ($object)
 {
   $url = $object->getURI();
   $title = $object->getTitle();
-  $description = Common::stripUpTo(trim(filter_var($object->getContent(true), FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING)), "\n", 300);
+  $brief = $object->getBrief(true);
+  $content = $object->getContent(true);
   $created_dt = $object->getCreatedDateTime();
   $edited_dt = $object->getEditedDateTime();
   $user = $object->getUser();
   $draft = !$object->isPublished();
+
+  $description = filter_var($brief, FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS);
+  if (empty($description))
+  {
+    $description = rtrim(Common::stripUpTo(Common::stripUpTo(trim(filter_var($content, FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING)), "\n", 300), '. ', 300), '.');
+  }
 }
 $this->opengraph->attach(new Pair('url', $url));
 $edit_url = Common::relativeUrlToAbsolute('/document/edit?id=' . rawurlencode($object_id));
@@ -43,6 +50,7 @@ require('./header.inc.phtml'); ?>
 <? } ?>
 
   <h1 class="display-4"><a href="<?=$url?>"><?=filter_var($title, FILTER_SANITIZE_FULL_SPECIAL_CHARS)?></a></h1>
+<?=(!empty($brief) ? sprintf('  <div class="alert alert-secondary"><span class="float-left font-weight-bold mr-1">Brief:</span> %s</div>', \BNETDocs\Templates\MarkdownBootstrapFix($brief, true, true)) : '')?>
   <?=\BNETDocs\Templates\MarkdownBootstrapFix($object->getContent(true), true)?>
 
   <div class="card"><div class="card-body">