diff --git a/source/fieldeditor.dfm b/source/fieldeditor.dfm
index 9062519b..df927bd2 100644
--- a/source/fieldeditor.dfm
+++ b/source/fieldeditor.dfm
@@ -107,11 +107,12 @@ object FieldEditForm: TFieldEditForm
         Left = 88
         Top = 61
         Width = 165
-        Height = 21
-        Style = csDropDownList
+        Height = 19
+        Style = csOwnerDrawFixed
         ItemHeight = 13
         TabOrder = 2
         OnChange = ComboBoxTypeChange
+        OnDrawItem = ComboBoxTypeDrawItem
       end
       object EditFieldname: TEdit
         Left = 88
diff --git a/source/fieldeditor.pas b/source/fieldeditor.pas
index 35276731..a6d6c0b3 100644
--- a/source/fieldeditor.pas
+++ b/source/fieldeditor.pas
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ type
     procedure btnDeleteAllColumnsFromIndexClick(Sender: TObject);
     procedure CheckBoxUnsignedClick(Sender: TObject);
     procedure CheckBoxZerofillClick(Sender: TObject);
+    procedure ComboBoxTypeDrawItem(Control: TWinControl; Index: Integer; Rect:
+        TRect; State: TOwnerDrawState);
     procedure listClick(Sender: TObject);
   private
     { Private declarations }
@@ -87,6 +89,9 @@ type
     FModeWhenCalled : TFieldEditorMode;
     FFieldName : String;
     procedure ValidateControls;
+    function IsCategory(index: Integer): Boolean;
+    function IndexToType(index: Integer): Integer;
+    function TypeToIndex(t: Integer): Integer;
   public
     { Public declarations }
   end;
@@ -145,7 +150,7 @@ end;
 procedure TFieldEditForm.InitFieldEditor(Sender: TObject);
 var
   strtype        : String;
-  i              : Integer;
+  i, j           : Integer;
   ListColumns    : TVirtualStringTree;
   NodeData       : PVTreeData;
 begin
@@ -167,9 +172,13 @@ begin
 
   // re-fill datatypes-combobox
   ComboBoxType.Items.Clear;
-  for i := Low(MySqlDataTypeArray) to High(MySqlDataTypeArray) do
-  begin
-    ComboBoxType.Items.Add( MySqlDataTypeArray[i].Name );
+  for j := Low(MySqlDataTypeCategories) to High(MySqlDataTypeCategories) do begin
+    ComboBoxType.Items.Add('   ' + MySqlDataTypeCategories[j].Name);
+    for i := Low(MySqlDataTypeArray) to High(MySqlDataTypeArray) do begin
+      if MySqlDataTypeArray[i].Category = MySqlDataTypeCategories[j].Index then begin
+        ComboBoxType.Items.Add(MySqlDataTypeArray[i].Name);
+      end;
+    end;
   end;
 
   CheckBoxAutoIncrement.Enabled := true;
@@ -184,7 +193,7 @@ begin
     begin
       CheckBoxAutoIncrement.Enabled := false;
       EditFieldName.Text := 'FieldName';
-      ComboBoxType.ItemIndex := 0;
+      ComboBoxType.ItemIndex := 1;
       EditLength.Text := '';
       EditDefault.Text := '';
       EditComment.Text := '';
@@ -218,7 +227,7 @@ begin
             // enable / disable length field
             // get default length ..
           end;
-          ComboBoxType.ItemIndex := MySqlDataTypeArray[i].Index;
+          ComboBoxType.ItemIndex := TypeToIndex(MySqlDataTypeArray[i].Index);
           Break;
         end;
       end;
@@ -304,7 +313,36 @@ begin
   ValidateControls;
 end;
 
+function TFieldEditForm.IsCategory(index: Integer): Boolean;
+begin
+  Result := Copy(ComboBoxType.Items[index], 1, 2) = '  ';
+end;
 
+function TFieldEditForm.IndexToType(index: Integer): Integer;
+var
+  i: Integer;
+begin
+  for i := Low(MySqlDataTypeArray) to High(MySqlDataTypeArray) do begin
+    if ComboBoxType.Items[index] = MySqlDataTypeArray[i].Name then begin
+      Result := MySqlDataTypeArray[i].Index;
+      Exit;
+    end;
+  end;
+  raise Exception.Create('Internal error: invalid index ' + IntToStr(index) + '.');
+end;
+
+function TFieldEditForm.TypeToIndex(t: Integer): Integer;
+var
+  i: Integer;
+begin
+  for i := 0 to ComboBoxType.Items.Count - 1 do begin
+    if ComboBoxType.Items[i] = MySqlDataTypeArray[t].Name then begin
+      Result := i;
+      Exit;
+    end;
+  end;
+  raise Exception.Create('Internal error: invalid type ' + IntToStr(t) + '.');
+end;
 
 {***
   User selected a new datatype for the selected field.
@@ -317,8 +355,13 @@ var
 begin
   // Attributes
 
+  // Skip column type categories
+  if IsCategory(ComboBoxType.ItemIndex) then begin
+    ComboBoxType.ItemIndex := ComboBoxType.ItemIndex + 1;
+  end;
+
   // Detect column-type
-  FieldType := MySqlDataTypeArray[ComboBoxType.ItemIndex];
+  FieldType := MySqlDataTypeArray[IndexToType(ComboBoxType.ItemIndex)];
 
   // BINARY
   CheckBoxBinary.Enabled := FieldType.HasBinary;
@@ -1049,6 +1092,32 @@ begin
 end;
 
 
+procedure TFieldEditForm.ComboBoxTypeDrawItem(Control: TWinControl; Index:
+    Integer; Rect: TRect; State: TOwnerDrawState);
+var
+  s: string;
+begin
+  with Control as TComboBox,Canvas do begin
+    // decide colors
+    Brush.Color := clWhite;
+    Font.Color := clBlack;
+    if IsCategory(Index) or (odSelected in State) then begin
+      Font.Color := clWhite;
+      if IsCategory(Index) then Brush.Color := clBlack
+      else if odSelected in State then Brush.Color := clBlue
+    end;
+    // fill the rectangle first
+    FillRect(Rect);
+    // categories start with spaces to avoid hotkeys hitting them, reverse that
+    s := Items[Index];
+    if IsCategory(Index) then s := Copy(s, 4)
+    else s := '   ' + s;
+    // then print text
+    TextOut(Rect.Left, Rect.Top, s);
+  end;
+end;
+
+
 end.
 
 
diff --git a/source/mysql_structures.pas b/source/mysql_structures.pas
index b5532e70..5d3e6406 100644
--- a/source/mysql_structures.pas
+++ b/source/mysql_structures.pas
@@ -33,6 +33,13 @@ type
     HasBinary:       Boolean; // Can be binary?
     HasDefault:      Boolean; // Can have a default value?
     DefLengthSet:    String;  // Should be set for types which require a length/set
+    Category:        Integer;
+  end;
+
+  // MySQL Data Type category structure
+  TMysqlDataTypeCategory = record
+    Index:           Integer;
+    Name:            String[18];
   end;
 
   // MySQL Field structure
@@ -101,7 +108,59 @@ const
   tpMULTIPOLYGON       = 34;
   tpGEOMETRYCOLLECTION = 35;
 
+  // MySQL field type categorization
+const
+  catInteger       = 0;
+  catReal          = 1;
+  catTemporal      = 2;
+  catText          = 3;
+  catBinary        = 4;
+  catIntegerNamed  = 5;
+  catSet           = 6;
+  catSetNamed      = 7;
+  catSpatial       = 8;
+
 var
+  // MySQL data type categories
+  MySqlDataTypeCategories: array[0..8] of TMysqlDataTypeCategory = (
+    (
+      Index:           catInteger;
+      Name:            'Integer'
+    ),
+    (
+      Index:           catReal;
+      Name:            'Real'
+    ),
+    (
+      Index:           catText;
+      Name:            'Text'
+    ),
+    (
+      Index:           catBinary;
+      Name:            'Binary'
+    ),
+    (
+      Index:           catTemporal;
+      Name:            'Temporal (time)'
+    ),
+    (
+      Index:           catSpatial;
+      Name:            'Spatial (geometry)'
+    ),
+    (
+      Index:           catIntegerNamed;
+      Name:            'Integer, Named'
+    ),
+    (
+      Index:           catSet;
+      Name:            'Set of Bits'
+    ),
+    (
+      Index:           catSetNamed;
+      Name:            'Set of Bits, Named'
+    )
+  );
+
   // MySQL Data Type List and Properties
   MySqlDataTypeArray: array [0..35] of TMysqlDataTypeRecord =
   (
@@ -114,6 +173,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     True;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catInteger;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpSMALLINT;
@@ -124,6 +184,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     True;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catInteger;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpMEDIUMINT;
@@ -134,6 +195,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     True;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catInteger;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpINT;
@@ -144,6 +206,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     True;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catInteger;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpBIGINT;
@@ -154,6 +217,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     True;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catInteger;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpFLOAT;
@@ -164,6 +228,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     True;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catReal;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpDOUBLE;
@@ -174,6 +239,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     True;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catReal;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpDECIMAL;
@@ -184,6 +250,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     True;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catReal;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpDATE;
@@ -194,6 +261,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catTemporal;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpTIME;
@@ -204,6 +272,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catTemporal;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpYEAR;
@@ -214,6 +283,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catTemporal;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpDATETIME;
@@ -224,6 +294,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catTemporal;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpTIMESTAMP;
@@ -234,6 +305,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catTemporal;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpCHAR;
@@ -245,6 +317,7 @@ var
       HasBinary:       True;
       HasDefault:      True;
       DefLengthSet:    '50';
+      Category:        catText;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpVARCHAR;
@@ -256,6 +329,7 @@ var
       HasBinary:       True; // MySQL-Help says the opposite but it's valid for older versions at least.
       HasDefault:      True;
       DefLengthSet:    '50';
+      Category:        catText;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpTINYTEXT;
@@ -266,6 +340,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       True;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catText;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpMEDIUMTEXT;
@@ -276,6 +351,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       True;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catText;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpTEXT;
@@ -286,6 +362,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       True;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catText;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpLONGTEXT;
@@ -296,6 +373,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       True;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catText;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpBINARY;
@@ -307,6 +385,7 @@ var
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
       DefLengthSet:    '50';
+      Category:        catBinary;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpVARBINARY;
@@ -318,6 +397,7 @@ var
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
       DefLengthSet:    '50';
+      Category:        catBinary;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpTINYBLOB;
@@ -328,6 +408,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catBinary;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpBLOB;
@@ -338,6 +419,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catBinary;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpMEDIUMBLOB;
@@ -348,6 +430,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catBinary;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpLONGBLOB;
@@ -358,6 +441,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catBinary;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpENUM;
@@ -369,6 +453,7 @@ var
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
       DefLengthSet:    '''Y'',''N''';
+      Category:        catIntegerNamed;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpSET;
@@ -380,6 +465,7 @@ var
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
       DefLengthSet:    '''Value A'',''Value B''';
+      Category:        catSetNamed;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpBIT;
@@ -390,6 +476,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      True;
+      Category:        catSet;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpPOINT;
@@ -400,6 +487,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catSpatial;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpLINESTRING;
@@ -410,6 +498,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catSpatial;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpPOLYGON;
@@ -420,6 +509,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catSpatial;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpGEOMETRY;
@@ -430,6 +520,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catSpatial;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpMULTIPOINT;
@@ -440,6 +531,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catSpatial;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpMULTILINESTRING;
@@ -450,6 +542,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catSpatial;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpMULTIPOLYGON;
@@ -460,6 +553,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catSpatial;
     ),
     (
       Index:           tpGEOMETRYCOLLECTION;
@@ -470,6 +564,7 @@ var
       HasZerofill:     False;
       HasBinary:       False;
       HasDefault:      False;
+      Category:        catSpatial;
     )
   );