diff --git a/genapp/plugin.jelly b/genapp/plugin.jelly
index dbbf132a..7d467839 100644
--- a/genapp/plugin.jelly
+++ b/genapp/plugin.jelly
@@ -25,18 +25,20 @@
           <i:ask question="${maven.genapp.prompt.template}" answer="template" default="${maven.genapp.default.template}"/>
         </j:if>
       
+        <!-- Search the template in the plugin resources at first place -->
+        <u:available file="${plugin.resources}/${template}">
+          <j:set var="maven.genapp.template.dir" value="${plugin.resources}/${template}"/>
+        </u:available>
+      
         <!-- If template is in the user's home directory, use it -->    
         <u:available file="${user.home}/.maven/template/${template}">
           <j:set var="maven.genapp.template.dir" value="${user.home}/.maven/template/${template}"/>
         </u:available>
       
-        <j:set var="currenttemplatedir" value="${maven.genapp.template.dir}"/>
-        <j:if test="${empty(currenttemplatedir)}">
-          <!-- The template was not found in user.home, check in the plugin resources -->
-          <u:available file="${plugin.resources}/${template}">
-            <j:set var="maven.genapp.template.dir" value="${plugin.resources}/${template}"/>
-          </u:available>
-        </j:if>
+        <!-- If template is in a given template repository, use it -->    
+        <u:available file="${maven.genapp.template.repository}/${template}">
+          <j:set var="maven.genapp.template.dir" value="${maven.genapp.template.repository}/${template}"/>
+        </u:available>
       </j:if>
       
       <j:set var="currenttemplatedir" value="${maven.genapp.template.dir}"/>
@@ -64,34 +66,46 @@
       <u:available file="${maven.genapp.template.dir}/template.properties">
         <u:properties file="${maven.genapp.template.dir}/template.properties"/>
       </u:available>
-      
-      <!-- Ensure we have a project id, name, and package -->
-      
-      <j:set var="presetid" value="${maven.genapp.template.id}"/>
-      <j:if test="${empty(presetid)}">
-        <i:ask question="${maven.genapp.prompt.id}" answer="maven.genapp.template.id" default="${maven.genapp.default.id}"/>
-      </j:if>
-      
-      <j:set var="presetname" value="${maven.genapp.template.name}"/>
-      <j:if test="${empty(presetname)}">
-        <i:ask question="${maven.genapp.prompt.name}" answer="maven.genapp.template.name" default="${maven.genapp.default.name}"/>
-      </j:if>
-      
-      <j:set var="presetpackage" value="${maven.genapp.template.package}"/>
-      <j:if test="${empty(presetpackage)}">
-        <i:ask question="${maven.genapp.prompt.package}" answer="maven.genapp.template.package" default="${maven.genapp.default.package}"/>
-      </j:if>
-      
+
+      <!-- Split variables manually, since jelly does not support this currently. -->
+      <u:tokenize var="maven.genapp.param.split" delim=",">${maven.genapp.param}</u:tokenize>
+
+      <j:forEach var="var" items="${maven.genapp.param.split}">
+        <j:set var="varname">maven.genapp.template.${var}</j:set>
+        <j:set var="presetval" value="${context.findVariable(varname)}"/>
+        <j:if test="${empty(presetval)}">
+          <j:set var="varname">maven.genapp.default.${var}</j:set>
+          <j:set var="defaultval" value="${context.findVariable(varname)}"/>
+          <j:set var="varname">maven.genapp.prompt.${var}</j:set>
+          <j:set var="prompt" value="${context.findVariable(varname)}"/>
+          <j:if test="${empty(prompt)}">
+            <j:set var="maven.genapp.template.${var}" value="${defaultval}"/>
+          </j:if>
+          <j:if test="${!empty(prompt)}">
+            <i:ask question="${prompt}" answer="maven.genapp.template.${var}" default="${defaultval}"/>
+          </j:if>
+        </j:if>
+        <j:invoke method="toUpperCase" on="${var}" var="placeholder" />
+        <j:set var="varname">maven.genapp.template.${var}</j:set>
+        <j:set var="value" value="${context.findVariable(varname)}"/>
+        <filter token="${placeholder}" value="${value}"/>
+      </j:forEach>
+
+      <!-- Show used variables for template -->
+      <ant:echo>Parameters used in template:</ant:echo>
+      <j:forEach var="var" items="${maven.genapp.param.split}">
+        <j:set var="varname">maven.genapp.template.${var}</j:set>
+        <j:set var="value" value="${context.findVariable(varname)}"/>
+        <j:invoke method="toUpperCase" on="${var}" var="placeholder" />
+        <ant:echo>${varname} (${placeholder}):${value}</ant:echo>
+      </j:forEach>
+
       <!-- Turn the specified package into a path -->
       <u:replace var="appPath" oldChar="." newChar="/" value="${maven.genapp.template.package}"/>
-      
-      <!-- We want to substitute in the id, name, and package name. -->
-      <filter token="ID" value="${maven.genapp.template.id}"/>
-      <filter token="NAME" value="${maven.genapp.template.name}"/>
-      <filter token="PACKAGE" value="${maven.genapp.template.package}"/>
-  
-      <!-- split the list of dirs that need repackaged -->
+
+      <!-- split variables manually, since jelly does not support this currently. -->
       <u:tokenize var="maven.genapp.repackage.split" delim=",">${maven.genapp.repackage}</u:tokenize>
+      <u:tokenize var="maven.genapp.filter.split" delim=",">${maven.genapp.filter}</u:tokenize>
   
       <!-- copy resources that need repackaged, eg java files -->
       <j:forEach var="res" items="${maven.genapp.repackage.split}">
@@ -104,7 +118,7 @@
       <!-- copy resources that just need filtered, eg project.xml -->
       <ant:copy todir="${basedir}" filtering="true">      
         <ant:fileset dir="${maven.genapp.resources}">
-          <j:forEach var="res" items="${maven.genapp.filter}">
+          <j:forEach var="res" items="${maven.genapp.filter.split}">
             <include name="${res}"/>
           </j:forEach>
         </ant:fileset>
diff --git a/genapp/plugin.properties b/genapp/plugin.properties
index c9415205..5b7818e0 100644
--- a/genapp/plugin.properties
+++ b/genapp/plugin.properties
@@ -1,13 +1,15 @@
-maven.genapp.resources=${plugin.resources}/default
-
 maven.genapp.prompt.template=Enter a project template to use:
-
-maven.genapp.prompt.id=Please specify an id for your application: 
-maven.genapp.prompt.name=Please specify a name for your application: 
-maven.genapp.prompt.package=Please specify the package for your application: 
-
 maven.genapp.default.template=default
 
+maven.genapp.param=id,name,package,user
+
 maven.genapp.default.id=app
+maven.genapp.prompt.id=Please specify an id for your application: 
+
 maven.genapp.default.name=Example Application
-maven.genapp.default.package=example.app
\ No newline at end of file
+maven.genapp.prompt.name=Please specify a name for your application: 
+
+maven.genapp.default.package=example.app
+maven.genapp.prompt.package=Please specify the package for your application: 
+
+maven.genapp.default.user=${user.name}
diff --git a/genapp/project.xml b/genapp/project.xml
index 08477779..ffd0b259 100644
--- a/genapp/project.xml
+++ b/genapp/project.xml
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
 
 <project>
   <extend>../project.xml</extend>
   <pomVersion>3</pomVersion>
   <id>maven-genapp-plugin</id>
   <name>Maven Genapp Plugin</name>
-  <currentVersion>2.0</currentVersion>
+  <currentVersion>2.1-SNAPSHOT</currentVersion>
   <shortDescription>A collection of example projects showing how to use maven in different situations</shortDescription>
   <url>http://maven.apache.org/reference/plugins/genapp/</url>
   <siteDirectory>/www/maven.apache.org/reference/plugins/genapp/</siteDirectory>
@@ -39,6 +39,12 @@
       <name>Ryan Hoegg</name>
       <email>rhoegg@isisnetworks.net</email>
     </contributor>
+    <contributor>
+      <name>Jörg Schaible</name>
+      <id>joehni</id>
+      <email>joerg.schaible@elsag-solutions.com</email>
+      <organization>Elsag-Solutions AG</organization>
+    </contributor>
   </contributors>
   <dependencies>
     <dependency>
diff --git a/genapp/xdocs/changes.xml b/genapp/xdocs/changes.xml
index fbcd4389..5e5fd030 100644
--- a/genapp/xdocs/changes.xml
+++ b/genapp/xdocs/changes.xml
@@ -5,6 +5,37 @@
     <author email="dion@apache.org">dIon Gillard</author>
   </properties>
   <body>
+    <release version="2.1" date="SNAPSHOT">
+      <action dev="joehni" type="add">
+        Support of configuration files in the template starting 
+        with a dot (e.g. .cvsignore).
+      </action>
+      <action dev="joehni" type="fix">
+        Fix usage of explicit template provided with the property
+        maven.genapp.template.dir. Suppress question for template
+        name, since it is implicit.
+      </action>
+      <action dev="joehni" type="add">
+        Add property maven.genapp.template.repository to support
+        a user-defined location for own templates. This allows a
+        CVS-based template management for a company.
+      </action>
+      <action dev="joehni" type="fix">
+        Fix usage of a comma-separated string as value for property
+        maven.genapp.filter to define multiple files.
+      </action>
+      <action dev="joehni" type="add">
+        Add property maven.genapp.template.user to support the
+        user's account name in the filter with @USER@. The default
+        value is the system property user.name.
+      </action>
+      <action dev="joehni" type="add">
+        Support user-defined parameters for filtering.
+      </action>
+      <action dev="joehni" type="update">
+        Update and improve documentation for properties.
+      </action>
+    </release>
     <release version="2.0" date="2003-09-29">
       <action dev="evenisse" type="update">
         Add a taglib for use the generation in other plugins.
diff --git a/genapp/xdocs/properties.xml b/genapp/xdocs/properties.xml
index 986cae78..bd61895d 100644
--- a/genapp/xdocs/properties.xml
+++ b/genapp/xdocs/properties.xml
@@ -7,68 +7,133 @@
   </properties>
 
   <body>
-    <section name="Application Generation Settings">
-      <div>Some of these properties are prompted for when the plugin runs, if not already specified.</div>
+    <section name="General Application Generation Settings">
+      <p>
+        In addition to the default property files read while processing a
+        plugin, genapp uses on top a template specific property file.  This
+        will be read after the plugin has found the template specified by
+        the user.  Since all the property files share the same namespace
+        you can define any of the properties below anywhere. But typically
+        you will have properties specific for each template.
+      </p>
       <table>
-        <tr><th>Property</th><th>Optional?</th><th>Description</th><th>Default</th></tr>
+        <tr><th>Property</th><th>Description</th><th>Default</th></tr>
+        <tr>
+          <td>maven.genapp.filter</td>
+          <td>
+            Specifies the files (comma-separated list) that have to be copied
+            into the new project after they have been filtered.  The filtering
+            replaces placeholders with properties (see below).
+          </td>
+          <td>java,test</td>
+        </tr>
+        <tr>
+          <td>maven.genapp.param</td>
+          <td>
+            Specifies the filter parameters (comma-separated list).  See
+            filtering rules below and a descitpion of the default parameters.
+          </td>
+          <td>id,name,package,user</td>
+        </tr>
+        <tr>
+          <td>maven.genapp.repackage</td>
+          <td>
+            Specifies the directories (comma-separated list) with files to
+            build a Java package.  Genapp will copy the files into the new 
+            project according the path rules for packages.  The package is
+            defined with the property maven.genapp.template.package. The
+			files are not only copied, but also filtered.
+          </td>
+          <td>project.xml</td>
+        </tr>
         <tr>
           <td>maven.genapp.template</td>
-          <td>Yes</td>
           <td>
             Specifies the template to use when generating the application.
-            If this property is not defined, the user will be prompted.
-          </td>
-          <td>
-          	default
+            If this property is not defined, the user will be prompted with
+            the default value from property maven.genapp.default.template.
           </td>
+          <td>default</td>
         </tr>
         <tr>
           <td>maven.genapp.template.dir</td>
-          <td>No</td>
           <td>
             Specifies the template directory to use when generating the application.
-            Usually set based on the maven.genapp.template chosen.  Users can override
-            this property and maven.genapp.template (which will then go unused)
-            in order to use a custom template directory.  This can be useful for other
-            plugins.
-          </td>
-          <td>
-          	Specified by the template.
+            Usually set based on the maven.template.repository and maven.genapp.template
+            chosen.  Users can override this property in order to use a custom template
+            directory.  meven.template.repository and maven.genapp.template will then go
+            unused.  This can be useful for other plugins.
           </td>
+          <td>n/a</td>
         </tr>
+        <tr>
+          <td>maven.genapp.template.repository</td>
+          <td>
+            Specifies a directory that has additional templates. If this property
+            is not defined, the template will be searched in the local Maven directory
+            or in the resources of the plugin itself.
+          </td>
+          <td>
+            ${maven.home.local}/template
+          </td>
+        </tr>
+      </table>
+    </section>
+    <section name="Application Generation Filter Settings">
+      <p>
+        Generating a project from a template a lot of parameters can be useful for the
+        template depending on the organisation using them.  Genapp has some predefined
+        parameters described in the table below.  Each parameter makes usage of some
+        properties following a naming scheme and can be declared interactive i.e. the
+        user generating an application from a template will be asked for the parameter's
+        value.  The property maven.genapp.param declares all available parameters for
+        the filtering.  During the project generation the filter uses the properties 
+        that follow the naming scheme maven.genapp.template.&lt;param&gt;. It is always
+        possible to overwrite these values.  The default value is always defined by a
+        property named maven.genapp.default.&lt;param&gt;.  If the value should be
+        enetered interactive, you can define the prompt with a property
+        maven.genapp.prompt.&lt;param&gt;.  The filter itself is used copying the files
+        defined by maven.genapp.repackage and maven.genapp.filter and will replace any
+        occurrence of @&lt;PARAM&gt;@ in the files with the value of
+        maven.genapp.template.&lt;param&gt;.
+      </p>
+      <table>
+        <tr><th>Property</th><th>Description</th><th>Default</th><th>Prompted</th></tr>
         <tr>
           <td>maven.genapp.template.id</td>
-          <td>Yes</td>
           <td>
             Specifies the id of the application to be generated
             If this property is not defined, the user will be prompted.
           </td>
-          <td>
-            app
-          </td>
+          <td>app</td>
+          <td>Yes</td>
         </tr>
         <tr>
           <td>maven.genapp.template.name</td>
-          <td>Yes</td>
           <td>
             Specifies the name of the application to be generated
             If this property is not defined, the user will be prompted.
           </td>
-          <td>
-            Example Application
-          </td>
+          <td>Example Application</td>
+          <td>Yes</td>
         </tr>
         <tr>
           <td>maven.genapp.template.package</td>
-          <td>Yes</td>
           <td>
             Specifies the name of the Java package that code will be
             generated for.
             If this property is not defined, the user will be prompted.
           </td>
+          <td>example.app</td>
+          <td>Yes</td>
+        </tr>
+        <tr>
+          <td>maven.genapp.template.user</td>
           <td>
-            example.app
+            Specifies the user's account name.
           </td>
+          <td>${user.name}</td>
+          <td>No</td>
         </tr>
       </table>
     </section>