diff --git a/src/engine/gnc-event.h b/src/engine/gnc-event.h
index 36cd1b7cce..b90aa32059 100644
--- a/src/engine/gnc-event.h
+++ b/src/engine/gnc-event.h
@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ typedef enum
 {
   GNC_EVENT_CREATE  = 1 << 0,
   GNC_EVENT_MODIFY  = 1 << 1,
-  GNC_EVENT_DESTROY = 1 << 2
+  GNC_EVENT_DESTROY = 1 << 2,
+  GNC_EVENT_ALL     = 0xff
 } GNCEngineEventType;
 
 
diff --git a/src/gnc-component-manager.c b/src/gnc-component-manager.c
index 6bd52d972b..0e6e9557e9 100644
--- a/src/gnc-component-manager.c
+++ b/src/gnc-component-manager.c
@@ -20,3 +20,590 @@
 #include "config.h"
 
 #include "gnc-component-manager.h"
+#include "gnc-engine-util.h"
+
+
+/** Declarations ****************************************************/
+
+typedef struct
+{
+  GNCIdType entity_type;
+  GNCEngineEventType event_mask;
+} EntityTypeEventInfo;
+
+typedef struct
+{
+  GNCEngineEventType trans_event_mask;
+  GNCEngineEventType account_event_mask;
+
+  GHashTable *entity_events;
+
+  gboolean match;
+} ComponentEventInfo;
+
+typedef struct
+{
+  GNCComponentRefreshHandler refresh_handler;
+  GNCComponentCloseHandler close_handler;
+  gpointer user_data;
+
+  ComponentEventInfo watch_info;
+
+  char *component_class;
+  gint component_id;
+} ComponentInfo;
+
+
+/** Static Variables ************************************************/
+static guint  suspend_counter = 0;
+static gint   next_component_id = 0;
+static GList *components = NULL;
+
+static ComponentEventInfo changes = { 0, 0, NULL };
+
+
+/* This static indicates the debugging module that this .o belongs to.  */
+static short module = MOD_GUI;
+
+
+/** Prototypes ******************************************************/
+static void gnc_gui_refresh_internal (void);
+
+
+/** Implementations *************************************************/
+
+static gboolean
+destroy_helper (gpointer key, gpointer value, gpointer user_data)
+{
+  GUID *guid = key;
+  EventInfo *ei = value;
+
+  g_free (guid);
+  g_free (ei);
+
+  return TRUE;
+}
+
+/* clear a hash table of the form GUID --> EventInfo, where
+ * both keys and values are g_malloced */
+static void
+clear_event_hash (GHashTable *hash)
+{
+  if (hash == NULL)
+    return;
+
+  g_hash_table_foreach_remove (hash, destroy_helper, NULL);
+}
+
+static void
+destroy_event_hash (GHashTable *hash)
+{
+  clear_event_hash (hash);
+  g_hash_table_destroy (hash);
+}
+
+static void
+clear_event_info (ComponentEventInfo *cei)
+{
+  if (!cei)
+    return;
+
+  cei->trans_event_mask = 0;
+  cei->account_event_mask = 0;
+
+  clear_event_hash (cei->entity_events);
+}
+
+static void
+add_event (ComponentEventInfo *cei, const GUID *entity,
+           GNCEngineEventType event_mask, gboolean or_in)
+{
+  GHashTable *hash;
+
+  if (!cei || !cei->entity_events || !entity)
+    return;
+
+  hash = cei->entity_events;
+
+  if (event_mask == 0)
+  {
+    gpointer key;
+    gpointer value;
+
+    if (or_in)
+      return;
+
+    if (g_hash_table_lookup_extended (hash, entity, &key, &value))
+    {
+      g_hash_table_remove (hash, entity);
+      g_free (key);
+      g_free (value);
+    }
+  }
+  else
+  {
+    EventInfo *ei;
+
+    ei = g_hash_table_lookup (hash, entity);
+    if (ei == NULL)
+    {
+      GUID *key;
+
+      key = g_new (GUID, 1);
+      *key = *entity;
+
+      ei = g_new (EventInfo, 1);
+      ei->event_mask = 0;
+
+      g_hash_table_insert (hash, key, ei);
+    }
+
+    if (or_in)
+      ei->event_mask |= event_mask;
+    else
+      ei->event_mask = event_mask;
+  }
+}
+
+static void
+add_event_type (ComponentEventInfo *cei, GNCIdType entity_type,
+                GNCEngineEventType event_mask, gboolean or_in)
+{
+  if (cei == NULL)
+    return;
+
+  switch (entity_type)
+  {
+    case GNC_ID_TRANS:
+      if (or_in)
+        cei->trans_event_mask |= event_mask;
+      else
+        cei->trans_event_mask = event_mask;
+      break;
+
+    case GNC_ID_ACCOUNT:
+      if (or_in)
+        cei->account_event_mask |= event_mask;
+      else
+        cei->account_event_mask = event_mask;
+      break;
+
+    default:
+      PERR ("unexpected entity type: %d", entity_type);
+      break;
+  }
+}
+
+void
+gnc_component_manager_init (void)
+{
+  if (changes.entity_events)
+  {
+    PERR ("component manager already initialized");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  changes.trans_event_mask = 0;
+  changes.account_event_mask = 0;
+  changes.entity_events = guid_hash_table_new ();
+}
+
+void
+gnc_component_manager_shutdown (void)
+{
+  if (!changes.entity_events)
+  {
+    PERR ("component manager not initialized");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  clear_event_info (&changes);
+  destroy_event_hash (changes.entity_events);
+  changes.entity_events = NULL;
+}
+
+static ComponentInfo *
+find_component (gint component_id)
+{
+  GList *node;
+
+  for (node = components; node; node = node->next)
+  {
+    ComponentInfo *ci = node->data;
+
+    if (ci->component_id == component_id)
+      return ci;
+  }
+
+  return NULL;
+}
+
+static GList *
+find_components_by_data (gpointer user_data)
+{
+  GList *list = NULL;
+  GList *node;
+
+  for (node = components; node; node = node->next)
+  {
+    ComponentInfo *ci = node->data;
+
+    if (ci->user_data == user_data)
+      list = g_list_prepend (list, ci);
+  }
+
+  return list;
+}
+
+gint
+gnc_register_gui_component (const char *component_class,
+                            GNCComponentRefreshHandler refresh_handler,
+                            GNCComponentCloseHandler close_handler,
+                            gpointer user_data)
+{
+  ComponentInfo *ci;
+  gint component_id;
+
+  /* sanity check */
+  if (!component_class)
+  {
+    PERR ("no class specified");
+    return G_MININT;
+  }
+
+  /* look for a free handler id */
+  component_id = next_component_id;
+
+  while (find_component (component_id))
+    component_id++;
+
+  /* found one, add the handler */
+  ci = g_new0 (ComponentInfo, 1);
+
+  ci->refresh_handler = refresh_handler;
+  ci->close_handler = close_handler;
+  ci->user_data = user_data;
+
+  ci->watch_info.trans_event_mask = 0;
+  ci->watch_info.account_event_mask = 0;
+  ci->watch_info.entity_events = guid_hash_table_new ();
+
+  ci->component_class = g_strdup (component_class);
+  ci->component_id = component_id;
+
+  components = g_list_prepend (components, ci);
+
+  /* update id for next registration */
+  next_component_id = component_id + 1;
+
+  return component_id;
+}
+
+void
+gnc_gui_component_watch_entity (gint component_id,
+                                const GUID *entity,
+                                GNCEngineEventType event_mask)
+{
+  ComponentInfo *ci;
+
+  if (entity == NULL)
+    return;
+
+  ci = find_component (component_id);
+  if (!ci)
+  {
+    PERR ("component not found");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  add_event (&ci->watch_info, entity, event_mask, FALSE);
+}
+
+void
+gnc_gui_component_watch_entity_type (gint component_id,
+                                     GNCIdType entity_type,
+                                     GNCEngineEventType event_mask)
+{
+  ComponentInfo *ci;
+
+  if (entity_type != GNC_ID_TRANS &&
+      entity_type != GNC_ID_ACCOUNT)
+  {
+    PERR ("bad entity type: %d", entity_type);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  ci = find_component (component_id);
+  if (!ci)
+  {
+    PERR ("component not found");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  add_event_type (&ci->watch_info, entity_type, event_mask, FALSE);
+}
+
+void
+gnc_gui_component_clear_watches (gint component_id)
+{
+  ComponentInfo *ci;
+
+  ci = find_component (component_id);
+  if (!ci)
+  {
+    PERR ("component not found");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  clear_event_info (&ci->watch_info);
+}
+
+void
+gnc_unregister_gui_component (gint component_id)
+{
+  ComponentInfo *ci;
+
+  ci = find_component (component_id);
+  if (!ci)
+  {
+    PERR ("component not found");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  gnc_gui_component_clear_watches (component_id);
+
+  components = g_list_remove (components, ci);
+
+  destroy_event_hash (ci->watch_info.entity_events);
+  ci->watch_info.entity_events = NULL;
+
+  g_free (ci->component_class);
+  ci->component_class = NULL;
+
+  g_free (ci);
+}
+
+void
+gnc_unregister_gui_component_by_data (const char *component_class,
+                                      gpointer user_data)
+{
+  GList *list;
+  GList *node;
+
+  list = find_components_by_data (user_data);
+
+  for (node = list; node; node = node->next)
+  {
+    ComponentInfo *ci = node->data;
+
+    if (component_class &&
+        safe_strcmp (component_class, ci->component_class) != 0)
+      continue;
+
+    gnc_unregister_gui_component (ci->component_id);
+  }
+
+  g_list_free (list);
+}
+
+void
+gnc_suspend_gui_refresh (void)
+{
+  suspend_counter++;
+
+  if (suspend_counter == 0)
+  {
+    PERR ("suspend counter overflow");
+  }
+}
+
+void
+gnc_resume_gui_refresh (void)
+{
+  if (suspend_counter == 0)
+  {
+    PERR ("suspend counter underflow");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  suspend_counter--;
+
+  if (suspend_counter == 0)
+    gnc_gui_refresh_internal ();
+}
+
+static void
+match_helper (gpointer key, gpointer value, gpointer user_data)
+{
+  GUID *guid = key;
+  EventInfo *ei_1 = value;
+  EventInfo *ei_2;
+  ComponentEventInfo *cei = user_data;
+
+  ei_2 = g_hash_table_lookup (cei->entity_events, guid);
+  if (!ei_2)
+    return;
+
+  if (ei_1->event_mask & ei_2->event_mask)
+    cei->match = TRUE;
+}
+
+static gboolean
+changes_match (ComponentEventInfo *cei)
+{
+  ComponentEventInfo *big_cei;
+  GHashTable *small;
+
+  if (cei == NULL)
+    return FALSE;
+
+  /* check types first, for efficiency */
+
+  if (cei->trans_event_mask & changes.trans_event_mask)
+    return TRUE;
+
+  if (cei->account_event_mask & changes.account_event_mask)
+    return TRUE;
+
+  if (g_hash_table_size (cei->entity_events) <=
+      g_hash_table_size (changes.entity_events))
+  {
+    small = cei->entity_events;
+    big_cei = &changes;
+  }
+  else
+  {
+    small = changes.entity_events;
+    big_cei = cei;
+  }
+
+  big_cei->match = FALSE;
+
+  g_hash_table_foreach (small, match_helper, big_cei);
+
+  return big_cei->match;
+}
+
+static void
+gnc_gui_refresh_internal (void)
+{
+  GList *node;
+
+  for (node = components; node; node = node->next)
+  {
+    ComponentInfo *ci = node->data;
+
+    if (!ci->refresh_handler)
+      continue;
+
+    if (changes_match (&ci->watch_info))
+      ci->refresh_handler (changes.entity_events, ci->user_data);
+  }
+
+  clear_event_info (&changes);
+}
+
+void
+gnc_gui_refresh_all (void)
+{
+  if (suspend_counter != 0)
+  {
+    PERR ("suspend counter not zero");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  gnc_gui_refresh_internal ();
+}
+
+void
+gnc_close_gui_component (gint component_id)
+{
+  ComponentInfo *ci;
+
+  ci = find_component (component_id);
+  if (!ci)
+  {
+    PERR ("component not found");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  if (!ci->close_handler)
+  {
+    PERR ("no close handler");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  ci->close_handler (ci->user_data);
+}
+
+void
+gnc_close_gui_component_by_data (const char *component_class,
+                                 gpointer user_data)
+{
+  GList *list;
+  GList *node;
+
+  list = find_components_by_data (user_data);
+
+  for (node = list; node; node = node->next)
+  {
+    ComponentInfo *ci = node->data;
+
+    if (component_class &&
+        safe_strcmp (component_class, ci->component_class) != 0)
+      continue;
+
+    gnc_close_gui_component (ci->component_id);
+  }
+
+  g_list_free (list);
+}
+
+GList *
+gnc_find_gui_components (const char *component_class,
+                         GNCComponentFindHandler find_handler,
+                         gpointer find_data)
+{
+  GList *list = NULL;
+  GList *node;
+
+  if (!component_class)
+    return NULL;
+
+  for (node = components; node; node = node->next)
+  {
+    ComponentInfo *ci = node->data;
+
+    if (safe_strcmp (component_class, ci->component_class) != 0)
+      continue;
+
+    if (find_handler && !find_handler (find_data, ci->user_data))
+      continue;
+
+    list = g_list_prepend (list, ci->user_data);
+  }
+
+  return list;
+}
+
+void
+gnc_forall_gui_components (const char *component_class,
+                           GNCComponentHandler handler,
+                           gpointer iter_data)
+{
+  GList *node;
+
+  if (!handler)
+    return;
+
+  for (node = components; node; node = node->next)
+  {
+    ComponentInfo *ci = node->data;
+
+    if (component_class &&
+        safe_strcmp (component_class, ci->component_class) != 0)
+      continue;
+
+    handler (ci->component_class, ci->component_id, iter_data);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/gnc-component-manager.h b/src/gnc-component-manager.h
index d853488a86..3cb621ba50 100644
--- a/src/gnc-component-manager.h
+++ b/src/gnc-component-manager.h
@@ -26,6 +26,12 @@
 #include "gnc-event.h"
 
 
+typedef struct
+{
+  GNCEngineEventType event_mask;
+} EventInfo;
+
+
 /* GNCComponentRefreshHandler
  *   Handler invoked to inform the component that a refresh
  *   may be needed.
@@ -33,9 +39,9 @@
  * changes: if NULL, the component should perform a refresh.
  *
  *          if non-NULL, changes is a GUID hash that maps
- *          GUIDs to GNCEngineEventType bitmasks describing
- *          which events have been received. Entities not
- *          in the hash have not generated any events.
+ *          GUIDs to EventInfo structs describing which
+ *          events have been received. Entities not in
+ *          the hash have not generated any events.
  *          Entities which have been destroyed may not
  *          exist.
  *
@@ -47,9 +53,11 @@
  *          changed.
  *
  * Notes on refreshing: when the handler is invoked any engine
- *                      entities used by the component may be
- *                      deleted. 'Refreshing' the component may
- *                      require closing the component.
+ *                      entities used by the component may have
+ *                      already been deleted. 'Refreshing' the
+ *                      component may require closing the component.
+ *                      The component must not create, modify, or
+ *                      destroy engine entities during refresh.
  *
  * user_data: user_data supplied when component was registered.
  */
@@ -82,10 +90,23 @@ typedef gboolean (*GNCComponentFindHandler) (gpointer find_data,
 /* GNCComponentHandler
  *   Generic handler used in iterating over components.
  *
- * class: class of component
- * id:    id of component
+ * component_class: class of component
+ * component_id:    id of component
+ * iter_data:       user_data supplied by caller
  */
-typedef void (*GNCComponentHandler) (const char *class, gint id);
+typedef void (*GNCComponentHandler) (const char *class,
+                                     gint component_id,
+                                     gpointer iter_data);
+
+/* gnc_component_manager_init
+ *   Initialize the component manager.
+ */
+void gnc_component_manager_init (void);
+
+/* gnc_component_manager_shutdown
+ *   Shutdown the component manager.
+ */
+void gnc_component_manager_shutdown (void);
 
 /* gnc_register_gui_component
  *   Register a GUI component with the manager.
@@ -115,8 +136,8 @@ typedef void (*GNCComponentHandler) (const char *class, gint id);
  * Return:          id of component
  */
 gint gnc_register_gui_component (const char *component_class,
-                                 GNCComponentRefreshHandler refresh_cb,
-                                 GNCComponentCloseHandler close_cb,
+                                 GNCComponentRefreshHandler refresh_handler,
+                                 GNCComponentCloseHandler close_handler,
                                  gpointer user_data);
 
 /* gnc_gui_component_watch_entity
@@ -129,14 +150,15 @@ gint gnc_register_gui_component (const char *component_class,
  *               setting the mask to 0 turns off watching for the entity.
  */
 void gnc_gui_component_watch_entity (gint component_id,
-                                     GUID *entity,
+                                     const GUID *entity,
                                      GNCEngineEventType event_mask);
 
 /* gnc_gui_component_watch_entity_type
  *   Watch all entities of a particular type.
  *
  * component_id: id of component which is watching the entity type
- * entity_type:  type of entity to watch
+ * entity_type:  type of entity to watch, either GNC_ID_TRANS or
+ *               GNC_ID_ACCOUNT
  * event_mask:   mask which determines which kinds of events are watched
  *               setting the mask to 0 turns off watching for the entity type
  */
@@ -213,18 +235,21 @@ void gnc_close_gui_component (gint component_id);
 void gnc_close_gui_component_by_data (const char *component_class,
                                       gpointer user_data);
 
-/* gnc_find_gui_component
- *   Search components in the specified class.
+/* gnc_find_gui_components
+ *   Search for components in the specified class.
  *
  * component_class:     the class to search for components in
+ *                      must be non-NULL
  * find_cb:             the handler used to search for the component
+ *                      if NULL, all components in class are returned
  * find_data:           find_data passed to find_cb
  *
- * Returns: user_data of found component, or NULL if none found
+ * Returns: GList of user_data of found components, or NULL if none found
+ *          The list should be freed with g_list_free().
  */
-GList * gnc_find_gui_component (const char *component_class,
-                                GNCComponentFindHandler find_cb,
-                                gpointer find_data);
+GList * gnc_find_gui_components (const char *component_class,
+                                 GNCComponentFindHandler find_handler,
+                                 gpointer find_data);
 
 /* gnc_forall_gui_components
  *   Invoke 'handler' for components in the database.
diff --git a/src/gnome/top-level.c b/src/gnome/top-level.c
index dd31559e08..96c7deb00c 100644
--- a/src/gnome/top-level.c
+++ b/src/gnome/top-level.c
@@ -24,42 +24,43 @@
 
 #include "config.h"
 
-#include <stdlib.h>
-#include <guile/gh.h>
 #include <gnome.h>
 #include <gtkhtml/gtkhtml.h>
+#include <guile/gh.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
 
-#include "g-wrap.h"
-#include "gnc.h"
-#include "gnucash.h"
-#include "window-main.h"
-#include "dialog-account.h"
-#include "dialog-transfer.h"
-#include "global-options.h"
-#include "gnucash-sheet.h"
-#include "gnucash-color.h"
-#include "gnucash-style.h"
-#include "gnc-ui.h"
-#include "extensions.h"
-#include "window-help.h"
-#include "window-report.h"
-#include "dialog-utils.h"
-#include "FileIO.h"
+#include "AccWindow.h"
+#include "Destroy.h"
 #include "FileBox.h"
 #include "FileDialog.h"
+#include "FileIO.h"
 #include "MainWindow.h"
-#include "Destroy.h"
 #include "Refresh.h"
-#include "messages.h"
-#include "TransLog.h"
-#include "gnc-engine-util.h"
-#include "date.h"
-#include "AccWindow.h"
 #include "SplitLedger.h"
-#include "guile-util.h"
-#include "splitreg.h"
+#include "TransLog.h"
 #include "combocell.h"
+#include "date.h"
+#include "dialog-account.h"
+#include "dialog-transfer.h"
+#include "dialog-utils.h"
+#include "extensions.h"
+#include "g-wrap.h"
+#include "global-options.h"
+#include "gnc-component-manager.h"
+#include "gnc-engine-util.h"
+#include "gnc-ui.h"
+#include "gnc.h"
+#include "gnucash-color.h"
+#include "gnucash-sheet.h"
+#include "gnucash-style.h"
+#include "gnucash.h"
+#include "guile-util.h"
+#include "messages.h"
 #include "recncell.h"
+#include "splitreg.h"
+#include "window-help.h"
+#include "window-main.h"
+#include "window-report.h"
 
 
 /** PROTOTYPES ******************************************************/
@@ -154,12 +155,14 @@ gnucash_ui_init(void)
   {
     gnome_init("GnuCash", NULL, fake_argc, fake_argv);
     gnome_is_initialized = TRUE;
-    
+
+    gnc_component_manager_init ();
+
     /* initialization required for gtkhtml */
     gdk_rgb_init ();    
     gtk_widget_set_default_colormap (gdk_rgb_get_cmap ());
     gtk_widget_set_default_visual (gdk_rgb_get_visual ());
-    
+
     app = gnome_app_new("GnuCash", "GnuCash");
 
     gnc_configure_date_format();
@@ -290,7 +293,9 @@ gnc_ui_destroy (void)
     app = NULL;
   }
 
-  gnc_extensions_shutdown();
+  gnc_extensions_shutdown ();
+
+  gnc_component_manager_shutdown ();
 }
 
 /* ============================================================== */