diff --git a/apps/common/conf/settings.py b/apps/common/conf/settings.py
index 2ebac90201..d97cad6b06 100644
--- a/apps/common/conf/settings.py
+++ b/apps/common/conf/settings.py
@@ -1,14 +1,33 @@
-from django.conf import settings
+"""Configuration options for the common app"""
+
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 
+from main.api import register_setting
+
 from common.literals import PAGE_SIZE_LETTER, PAGE_ORIENTATION_PORTRAIT
 
-TEMPORARY_DIRECTORY = getattr(settings, 'COMMON_TEMPORARY_DIRECTORY', u'/tmp')
+TEMPORARY_DIRECTORY = register_setting(
+    namespace=u'common',
+    module=u'common.conf.settings',
+    name=u'TEMPORARY_DIRECTORY',
+    global_name=u'COMMON_TEMPORARY_DIRECTORY',
+    default=u'/tmp',
+    description=_(u'Temporary directory used site wide to store thumbnails, previews and temporary files.  If none is specified, one will be created using tempfile.mkdtemp()'),
+    exists=True
+)
 
-setting_description = {
-    'COMMON_TEMPORARY_DIRECTORY': _(u'Temporary directory used site wide to store thumbnails, previews and temporary files.  If none is specified, one will be created using tempfile.mkdtemp()')
-}
+DEFAULT_PAPER_SIZE = register_setting(
+    namespace=u'common',
+    module=u'common.conf.settings',
+    name=u'DEFAULT_PAPER_SIZE',
+    global_name=u'COMMON_DEFAULT_PAPER_SIZE',
+    default=PAGE_SIZE_LETTER,
+)
 
-# Printing
-DEFAULT_PAPER_SIZE = getattr(settings, 'COMMON_DEFAULT_PAPER_SIZE', PAGE_SIZE_LETTER)
-DEFAULT_PAGE_ORIENTATION = getattr(settings, 'COMMON_DEFAULT_PAGE_ORIENTATION', PAGE_ORIENTATION_PORTRAIT)
+DEFAULT_PAGE_ORIENTATION = register_setting(
+    namespace=u'common',
+    module=u'common.conf.settings',
+    name=u'DEFAULT_PAGE_ORIENTATION',
+    global_name=u'COMMON_DEFAULT_PAGE_ORIENTATION',
+    default=PAGE_ORIENTATION_PORTRAIT,
+)
diff --git a/apps/converter/conf/settings.py b/apps/converter/conf/settings.py
index 7b23e72243..bdfe8a9b31 100644
--- a/apps/converter/conf/settings.py
+++ b/apps/converter/conf/settings.py
@@ -1,26 +1,23 @@
-from django.conf import settings
+"""Configuration options for the converter app"""
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 
+from main.api import register_settings
 
-IM_CONVERT_PATH = getattr(settings, 'CONVERTER_IM_ONVERT_PATH', u'/usr/bin/convert')
-IM_IDENTIFY_PATH = getattr(settings, 'CONVERTER_IM_IDENTIFY_PATH', u'/usr/bin/identify')
-UNPAPER_PATH = getattr(settings, 'CONVERTER_UNPAPER_PATH', u'/usr/bin/unpaper')
-GM_PATH = getattr(settings, 'CONVERTER_GM_PATH', u'/usr/bin/gm')
-GM_SETTINGS = getattr(settings, 'CONVERTER_GM_SETTINGS', u'')
-GRAPHICS_BACKEND = getattr(settings, 'CONVERTER_GRAPHICS_BACKEND', u'converter.backends.imagemagick')
-UNOCONV_PATH = getattr(settings, 'CONVERTER_UNOCONV_PATH', u'/usr/bin/unoconv')
-
-OCR_OPTIONS = getattr(settings, 'CONVERTER_OCR_OPTIONS', u'-colorspace Gray -depth 8 -resample 200x200')
-DEFAULT_OPTIONS = getattr(settings, 'CONVERTER_DEFAULT_OPTIONS', u'')
-LOW_QUALITY_OPTIONS = getattr(settings, 'CONVERTER_LOW_QUALITY_OPTIONS', u'')
-HIGH_QUALITY_OPTIONS = getattr(settings, 'CONVERTER_HIGH_QUALITY_OPTIONS', u'-density 400')
-PRINT_QUALITY_OPTIONS = getattr(settings, 'CONVERTER_HIGH_QUALITY_OPTIONS', u'-density 500')
-
-
-setting_description = {
-    'CONVERTER_IM_CONVERT_PATH': _(u'File path to imagemagick\'s convert program.'),
-    'CONVERTER_IM_IDENTIFY_PATH': _(u'File path to imagemagick\'s identify program.'),
-    'CONVERTER_GM_PATH': _(u'File path to graphicsmagick\'s program.'),
-    'CONVERTER_UNPAPER_PATH': _(u'File path to unpaper program.'),
-    'CONVERTER_GRAPHICS_BACKEND': _(u'Graphics conversion backend to use.  Options are: converter.backends.imagemagick and converter.backends.graphicsmagick.'),
-}
+register_settings(
+    namespace=u'converter',
+    module=u'converter.conf.settings',
+    settings=[
+        {'name': u'IM_CONVERT_PATH', 'global_name': u'CONVERTER_IM_CONVERT_PATH', 'default': u'/usr/bin/convert', 'description': _(u'File path to imagemagick\'s convert program.'), 'exists': True},
+        {'name': u'IM_IDENTIFY_PATH', 'global_name': u'CONVERTER_IM_IDENTIFY_PATH', 'default': u'/usr/bin/identify', 'description': _(u'File path to imagemagick\'s identify program.'), 'exists': True},
+        {'name': u'UNPAPER_PATH', 'global_name': u'CONVERTER_UNPAPER_PATH', 'default': u'/usr/bin/unpaper', 'description': _(u'File path to unpaper program.'), 'exists': True},
+        {'name': u'GM_PATH', 'global_name': u'CONVERTER_GM_PATH', 'default': u'/usr/bin/gm', 'description': _(u'File path to graphicsmagick\'s program.'), 'exists': True},
+        {'name': u'GM_SETTINGS', 'global_name': u'CONVERTER_GM_SETTINGS', 'default': u''},
+        {'name': u'GRAPHICS_BACKEND', 'global_name': u'CONVERTER_GRAPHICS_BACKEND', 'default': u'converter.backends.imagemagick', 'description': _(u'Graphics conversion backend to use.  Options are: converter.backends.imagemagick and converter.backends.graphicsmagick.')},
+        {'name': u'UNOCONV_PATH', 'global_name': u'CONVERTER_UNOCONV_PATH', 'default': u'/usr/bin/unoconv', 'exists': True},
+        {'name': u'OCR_OPTIONS', 'global_name': u'CONVERTER_OCR_OPTIONS', 'default': u'-colorspace Gray -depth 8 -resample 200x200'},
+        {'name': u'DEFAULT_OPTIONS', 'global_name': u'CONVERTER_DEFAULT_OPTIONS', 'default': u''},
+        {'name': u'LOW_QUALITY_OPTIONS', 'global_name': u'CONVERTER_LOW_QUALITY_OPTIONS', 'default': u''},
+        {'name': u'HIGH_QUALITY_OPTIONS', 'global_name': u'CONVERTER_HIGH_QUALITY_OPTIONS', 'default': u'-density 400'},
+        {'name': u'PRINT_QUALITY_OPTIONS', 'global_name': u'CONVERTER_HIGH_QUALITY_OPTIONS', 'default': u'-density 500'},
+    ]
+)
diff --git a/apps/documents/conf/settings.py b/apps/documents/conf/settings.py
index 6ea4c16070..50dbd06ccc 100644
--- a/apps/documents/conf/settings.py
+++ b/apps/documents/conf/settings.py
@@ -1,14 +1,15 @@
+"""Configuration options for the documents app"""
+
 import datetime
 import hashlib
 import uuid
 
-from django.conf import settings
-from django.contrib.auth.models import User
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
+from django.contrib.auth.models import User
 
 from common.utils import proper_name
-
 from storage.backends.filebasedstorage import FileBasedStorage
+from main.api import register_settings
 
 
 def default_checksum(x):
@@ -36,45 +37,42 @@ available_indexing_functions = {
     'proper_name': proper_name
 }
 
-# Definition
-AVAILABLE_FUNCTIONS = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_METADATA_AVAILABLE_FUNCTIONS', default_available_functions)
-AVAILABLE_MODELS = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_METADATA_AVAILABLE_MODELS', default_available_models)
-AVAILABLE_INDEXING_FUNCTIONS = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_INDEXING_AVAILABLE_FUNCTIONS', available_indexing_functions)
-
-# Upload
-USE_STAGING_DIRECTORY = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_USE_STAGING_DIRECTORY', False)
-STAGING_DIRECTORY = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_STAGING_DIRECTORY', u'/tmp/mayan/staging')
-DELETE_STAGING_FILE_AFTER_UPLOAD = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_DELETE_STAGING_FILE_AFTER_UPLOAD', False)
-STAGING_FILES_PREVIEW_SIZE = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_STAGING_FILES_PREVIEW_SIZE', '640x480')
-ENABLE_SINGLE_DOCUMENT_UPLOAD = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_ENABLE_SINGLE_DOCUMENT_UPLOAD', True)
-UNCOMPRESS_COMPRESSED_LOCAL_FILES = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_UNCOMPRESS_COMPRESSED_LOCAL_FILES', True)
-UNCOMPRESS_COMPRESSED_STAGING_FILES = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_UNCOMPRESS_COMPRESSED_STAGING_FILES', True)
-
-# Saving
-CHECKSUM_FUNCTION = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_CHECKSUM_FUNCTION', default_checksum)
-UUID_FUNCTION = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_UUID_FUNCTION', default_uuid)
-
-# Storage
-STORAGE_BACKEND = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_STORAGE_BACKEND', FileBasedStorage)
-
-# Usage
-PREVIEW_SIZE = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_PREVIEW_SIZE', '640x480')
-PRINT_SIZE = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_PREVIEW_SIZE', '1400')
-MULTIPAGE_PREVIEW_SIZE = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_MULTIPAGE_PREVIEW_SIZE', '160x120')
-THUMBNAIL_SIZE = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_THUMBNAIL_SIZE', '50x50')
-DISPLAY_SIZE = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_DISPLAY_SIZE', '1200')
-RECENT_COUNT = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_RECENT_COUNT', 40)
-ZOOM_PERCENT_STEP = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_ZOOM_PERCENT_STEP', 50)
-ZOOM_MAX_LEVEL = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_ZOOM_MAX_LEVEL', 200)
-ZOOM_MIN_LEVEL = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_ZOOM_MIN_LEVEL', 50)
-ROTATION_STEP = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_ROTATION_STEP', 90)
-
-# Transformations
-AVAILABLE_TRANSFORMATIONS = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_AVAILABLE_TRANSFORMATIONS', available_transformations)
-DEFAULT_TRANSFORMATIONS = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_DEFAULT_TRANSFORMATIONS', [])
-
-#Groups
-GROUP_SHOW_EMPTY = getattr(settings, 'DOCUMENTS_GROUP_SHOW_EMPTY', True)
-
-setting_description = {
-}
+register_settings(
+    namespace=u'documents',
+    module=u'documents.conf.settings',
+    settings=[
+        # Definition
+        {'name': u'AVAILABLE_FUNCTIONS', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_METADATA_AVAILABLE_FUNCTIONS', 'default': default_available_functions},
+        {'name': u'AVAILABLE_MODELS', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_METADATA_AVAILABLE_MODELS', 'default': default_available_models},
+        {'name': u'AVAILABLE_INDEXING_FUNCTIONS', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_INDEXING_AVAILABLE_FUNCTIONS', 'default': available_indexing_functions},
+        # Upload
+        {'name': u'USE_STAGING_DIRECTORY', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_USE_STAGING_DIRECTORY', 'default': False},
+        {'name': u'STAGING_DIRECTORY', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_STAGING_DIRECTORY', 'default': u'/tmp/mayan/staging', 'exists': True},
+        {'name': u'DELETE_STAGING_FILE_AFTER_UPLOAD', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_DELETE_STAGING_FILE_AFTER_UPLOAD', 'default': False},
+        {'name': u'STAGING_FILES_PREVIEW_SIZE', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_STAGING_FILES_PREVIEW_SIZE', 'default': u'640x480'},
+        {'name': u'ENABLE_SINGLE_DOCUMENT_UPLOAD', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_ENABLE_SINGLE_DOCUMENT_UPLOAD', 'default': True},
+        {'name': u'UNCOMPRESS_COMPRESSED_LOCAL_FILES', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_UNCOMPRESS_COMPRESSED_LOCAL_FILES', 'default': True},
+        {'name': u'UNCOMPRESS_COMPRESSED_STAGING_FILES', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_UNCOMPRESS_COMPRESSED_STAGING_FILES', 'default': True},
+        # Saving
+        {'name': u'CHECKSUM_FUNCTION', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_CHECKSUM_FUNCTION', 'default': default_checksum},
+        {'name': u'UUID_FUNCTION', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_UUID_FUNCTION', 'default': default_uuid},
+        # Storage
+        {'name': u'STORAGE_BACKEND', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_STORAGE_BACKEND', 'default': FileBasedStorage},
+        # Transformations
+        {'name': u'AVAILABLE_TRANSFORMATIONS', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_AVAILABLE_TRANSFORMATIONS', 'default': available_transformations},
+        {'name': u'DEFAULT_TRANSFORMATIONS', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_DEFAULT_TRANSFORMATIONS', 'default': []},
+        # Usage
+        {'name': u'PREVIEW_SIZE', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_PREVIEW_SIZE', 'default': u'640x480'},
+        {'name': u'PRINT_SIZE', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_PRINT_SIZE', 'default': u'1400'},
+        {'name': u'MULTIPAGE_PREVIEW_SIZE', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_MULTIPAGE_PREVIEW_SIZE', 'default': u'160x120'},
+        {'name': u'THUMBNAIL_SIZE', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_THUMBNAIL_SIZE', 'default': u'50x50'},
+        {'name': u'DISPLAY_SIZE', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_DISPLAY_SIZE', 'default': u'1200'},
+        {'name': u'RECENT_COUNT', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_RECENT_COUNT', 'default': 40, 'description': _(u'Maximum number of recent (created, edited, viewed) documents to remember per user.')},
+        {'name': u'ZOOM_PERCENT_STEP', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_ZOOM_PERCENT_STEP', 'default': 50, 'description': _(u'Amount in percent zoom in or out a document page per user interaction.')},
+        {'name': u'ZOOM_MAX_LEVEL', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_ZOOM_MAX_LEVEL', 'default': 200, 'description': _(u'Maximum amount in percent (%) to allow user to zoom in a document page interactively.')},
+        {'name': u'ZOOM_MIN_LEVEL', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_ZOOM_MIN_LEVEL', 'default': 50, 'description': _(u'Minimum amount in percent (%) to allow user to zoom out a document page interactively.')},
+        {'name': u'ROTATION_STEP', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_ROTATION_STEP', 'default': 90, 'description': _(u'Amount in degrees to rotate a document page per user interaction.')},
+        #Groups
+        {'name': u'GROUP_SHOW_EMPTY', 'global_name': u'DOCUMENTS_GROUP_SHOW_EMPTY', 'default': True},
+    ]
+)
diff --git a/apps/dynamic_search/conf/settings.py b/apps/dynamic_search/conf/settings.py
index abaa481659..d710be81d6 100644
--- a/apps/dynamic_search/conf/settings.py
+++ b/apps/dynamic_search/conf/settings.py
@@ -1,4 +1,15 @@
-from django.conf import settings
+"""Configuration options for the dynamic_search app"""
+
+from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
+
+from main.api import register_settings
+
+register_settings(
+    namespace=u'dynamic_search',
+    module=u'dynamic_search.conf.settings',
+    settings=[
+        {'name': u'SHOW_OBJECT_TYPE', 'global_name': u'SEARCH_SHOW_OBJECT_TYPE', 'default': True, 'hidden': True},
+        {'name': u'LIMIT', 'global_name': u'SEARCH_LIMIT', 'default': 100, 'description': _(u'Maximum amount search hits to fetch and display.')},
+    ]
+)
 
-SHOW_OBJECT_TYPE = getattr(settings, 'SEARCH_SHOW_OBJECT_TYPE', True)
-LIMIT = getattr(settings, 'SEARCH_LIMIT', 100)
diff --git a/apps/dynamic_search/views.py b/apps/dynamic_search/views.py
index 11896180d2..b7b935a29f 100644
--- a/apps/dynamic_search/views.py
+++ b/apps/dynamic_search/views.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from django.shortcuts import render_to_response
 from django.template import RequestContext
-from django.utils.translation import ugettext as _
+from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 from django.contrib import messages
 from django.conf import settings
 
diff --git a/apps/filesystem_serving/conf/settings.py b/apps/filesystem_serving/conf/settings.py
index 2e9e3c340c..91bee7fece 100644
--- a/apps/filesystem_serving/conf/settings.py
+++ b/apps/filesystem_serving/conf/settings.py
@@ -1,11 +1,15 @@
-'''Configuration options for the filesystem_serving app
-'''
+"""Configuration options for the filesystem_serving app"""
 
-from django.conf import settings
+from main.api import register_settings
 
+register_settings(
+    namespace=u'filesystem_serving',
+    module=u'filesystem_serving.conf.settings',
+    settings=[
+        {'name': u'SLUGIFY_PATHS', 'global_name': u'FILESYSTEM_SLUGIFY_PATHS', 'default': False},
+        {'name': u'MAX_RENAME_COUNT', 'global_name': u'FILESYSTEM_MAX_RENAME_COUNT', 'default': 200},
+        {'name': u'FILESERVING_PATH', 'global_name': u'FILESYSTEM_FILESERVING_PATH', 'default': u'/tmp/mayan/documents', 'exists': True},
+        {'name': u'FILESERVING_ENABLE', 'global_name': u'FILESYSTEM_FILESERVING_ENABLE', 'default': True}
+    ]
+)
 
-# Serving
-FILESERVING_ENABLE = getattr(settings, 'FILESYSTEM_FILESERVING_ENABLE', True)
-FILESERVING_PATH = getattr(settings, 'FILESYSTEM_FILESERVING_PATH', u'/tmp/mayan/documents')
-SLUGIFY_PATHS = getattr(settings, 'FILESYSTEM_SLUGIFY_PATHS', False)
-MAX_RENAME_COUNT = getattr(settings, 'FILESYSTEM_MAX_RENAME_COUNT', 200)
diff --git a/apps/main/__init__.py b/apps/main/__init__.py
index ffec7d64b1..dd2c85ca39 100644
--- a/apps/main/__init__.py
+++ b/apps/main/__init__.py
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ from permissions import role_list
 from user_management import user_list
 
 from main.conf.settings import SIDE_BAR_SEARCH
+from main.conf import settings as main_settings
+from main.api import register_setting
 
 
 def is_superuser(context):
@@ -58,3 +60,6 @@ def get_version():
     return ''.join(vers)
 
 __version__ = get_version()
+
+
+#register_setting(u'main', main_settings, u'SIDE_BAR_SEARCH', u'MAIN_SIDE_BAR_SEARCH')
diff --git a/apps/main/api.py b/apps/main/api.py
index 81678000e5..9fd56a64d0 100644
--- a/apps/main/api.py
+++ b/apps/main/api.py
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 from django.core.urlresolvers import reverse
 from django.utils.functional import lazy
+from django.conf import settings as django_settings
+from django.utils.importlib import import_module
 
 diagnostics = {}
 tools = {}
 reverse_lazy = lazy(reverse, str)
+settings = {}
 
 
 def register_diagnostic(namespace, title, link):
@@ -20,3 +23,47 @@ def register_tool(link, title=None, namespace=None):
     link['url'] = link.get('url', reverse_lazy(link['view']))
     namespace_dict['links'].append(link)
     tools[namespace] = namespace_dict
+
+
+def register_setting(namespace, module, name, global_name, default, exists=False, description=u'', hidden=False):
+    # Create namespace if it doesn't exists
+    settings.setdefault(namespace, [])
+    
+    # If passed a string and not a module, import it
+    if isinstance(module, basestring):
+        module = import_module(module)
+    
+    setting = {
+        'module': module,
+        'name': name,
+        'global_name': global_name,
+        'exists': exists,
+        'description': description,
+        'default': default,
+        'hidden': hidden,
+    }
+    
+    # Avoid multiple appends
+    if setting not in settings[namespace]:
+        settings[namespace].append(setting)
+        
+    # Get the global value
+    value = getattr(django_settings, global_name, default)
+    
+    # Create the local entity
+    setattr(module, name, value)
+    return value
+
+
+def register_settings(namespace, module, settings):
+    for setting in settings:
+        register_setting(
+            namespace,
+            module,
+            setting['name'],
+            setting['global_name'],
+            setting['default'],
+            setting.get('exists', False),
+            setting.get('description', u''),
+            setting.get('hidden', False),
+        )
diff --git a/apps/main/conf/settings.py b/apps/main/conf/settings.py
index 8a7cf11bfd..1285a1cb56 100644
--- a/apps/main/conf/settings.py
+++ b/apps/main/conf/settings.py
@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
-'''Configuration options for the main app
-'''
+"""Configuration options for the main app"""
 
-from django.conf import settings
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
+from main.api import register_setting
 
-SIDE_BAR_SEARCH = getattr(settings, 'MAIN_SIDE_BAR_SEARCH', False)
-
-setting_description = {
-    'MAIN_SIDE_BAR_SEARCH': _(u'Controls whether the search\
-     functionality is provided by a sidebar widget or by a menu entry.')
-}
+register_setting(
+    namespace=u'main',
+    module=u'main.conf.settings',
+    name=u'SIDE_BAR_SEARCH',
+    global_name=u'MAIN_SIDE_BAR_SEARCH',
+    default=False,
+    description=_(u'Controls whether the search functionality is provided by a sidebar widget or by a menu entry.')
+)
diff --git a/apps/main/views.py b/apps/main/views.py
index f2ff510bb7..9d342456dd 100644
--- a/apps/main/views.py
+++ b/apps/main/views.py
@@ -4,18 +4,18 @@ from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 from django.core.exceptions import PermissionDenied
 
 from common.utils import exists_with_famfam, return_type
-from common.conf import settings as common_settings
-from documents.conf import settings as documents_settings
-from documents.statistics import get_statistics as documents_statistics
-from converter.conf import settings as converter_settings
-from ocr.conf import settings as ocr_settings
-from ocr.statistics import get_statistics as ocr_statistics
-from filesystem_serving.conf import settings as filesystem_serving_settings
-from dynamic_search.conf import settings as search_settings
+#from common.conf import settings as common_settings
+#from documents.conf import settings as documents_settings
+#from documents.statistics import get_statistics as documents_statistics
+#from converter.conf import settings as converter_settings
+#from ocr.conf import settings as ocr_settings
+#from ocr.statistics import get_statistics as ocr_statistics
+#from filesystem_serving.conf import settings as filesystem_serving_settings
+#from dynamic_search.conf import settings as search_settings
 from permissions.api import check_permissions
 
 from main.conf import settings as main_settings
-from main.api import diagnostics, tools
+from main.api import diagnostics, tools, settings
 
 
 def home(request):
@@ -24,11 +24,9 @@ def home(request):
 
 
 def check_settings(request):
+    """
     settings = [
-        {'name': 'MAIN_SIDE_BAR_SEARCH',
-            'value': main_settings.SIDE_BAR_SEARCH,
-            'description': main_settings.setting_description},
-
+        
         {'name': 'DOCUMENTS_METADATA_AVAILABLE_FUNCTIONS', 'value': documents_settings.AVAILABLE_FUNCTIONS},
         {'name': 'DOCUMENTS_METADATA_AVAILABLE_MODELS', 'value': documents_settings.AVAILABLE_MODELS},
         {'name': 'DOCUMENTS_INDEXING_AVAILABLE_INDEXING_FUNCTIONS', 'value': documents_settings.AVAILABLE_INDEXING_FUNCTIONS},
@@ -106,17 +104,30 @@ def check_settings(request):
         # Search
         {'name': 'SEARCH_LIMIT', 'value': search_settings.LIMIT},
     ]
-
+    """
+    new_settings = []
+    for namespace, sub_settings in settings.items():
+        for sub_setting in sub_settings:
+            if not sub_setting.get('hidden', False):
+                new_settings.append({
+                    'module': sub_setting['module'],
+                    'name': sub_setting['name'],
+                    'global_name': sub_setting['global_name'],
+                    'description': sub_setting.get('description', None),
+                    'exists': sub_setting.get('exists', False),
+                    'default': sub_setting['default'],
+                    })
     context = {
         'title': _(u'settings'),
-        'object_list': settings,
+        'object_list': new_settings,
         'hide_link': True,
         'hide_object': True,
         'extra_columns': [
-            {'name': _(u'name'), 'attribute': 'name'},
-            {'name': _(u'value'), 'attribute': lambda x: return_type(x['value'])},
-            {'name': _(u'description'), 'attribute': lambda x: x.get('description', {}).get(x['name'], '')},
-            {'name': _(u'exists'), 'attribute': lambda x: exists_with_famfam(x['value']) if 'exists' in x else ''},
+            {'name': _(u'name'), 'attribute': 'global_name'},
+            {'name': _(u'default'), 'attribute': lambda x: return_type(x['default'])},
+            {'name': _(u'value'), 'attribute': lambda x: return_type(getattr(x['module'], x['name']))},
+            {'name': _(u'description'), 'attribute': 'description'},
+            {'name': _(u'exists'), 'attribute': lambda x: exists_with_famfam(getattr(x['module'], x['name'])) if x['exists'] else ''},
         ]
     }
 
diff --git a/apps/ocr/conf/settings.py b/apps/ocr/conf/settings.py
index c1a745443d..309d68ac04 100644
--- a/apps/ocr/conf/settings.py
+++ b/apps/ocr/conf/settings.py
@@ -1,11 +1,21 @@
-from django.conf import settings
+"""Configuration options for the ocr app"""
 
+from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
+
+from main.api import register_settings
+
+register_settings(
+    namespace=u'ocr',
+    module=u'ocr.conf.settings',
+    settings=[
+        {'name': u'TESSERACT_PATH', 'global_name': u'OCR_TESSERACT_PATH', 'default': u'/usr/bin/tesseract', 'exists': True},
+        {'name': u'TESSERACT_LANGUAGE', 'global_name': u'OCR_TESSERACT_LANGUAGE', 'default': u'eng'},
+        {'name': u'REPLICATION_DELAY', 'global_name': u'OCR_REPLICATION_DELAY', 'default': 10, 'description': _(u'Amount of seconds to delay OCR of documents to allow for the node\'s storage replication overhead.')},
+        {'name': u'NODE_CONCURRENT_EXECUTION', 'global_name': u'OCR_NODE_CONCURRENT_EXECUTION', 'default': 1, 'description': _(u'Maximum amount of concurrent document OCRs a node can perform.')},
+        {'name': u'AUTOMATIC_OCR', 'global_name': u'OCR_AUTOMATIC_OCR', 'default': False, 'description': _(u'Automatically queue newly created documents for OCR.')},
+        {'name': u'PDFTOTEXT_PATH', 'global_name': u'OCR_PDFTOTEXT_PATH', 'default': u'/usr/bin/pdftotext', 'exists': True},
+        {'name': u'QUEUE_PROCESSING_INTERVAL', 'global_name': u'OCR_QUEUE_PROCESSING_INTERVAL', 'default': 10},
+        {'name': u'CACHE_URI', 'global_name': u'OCR_CACHE_URI', 'default': None, 'description': _(u'URI in the form: "memcached://127.0.0.1:11211/" to specify a cache backend to use for locking. Multiple hosts can be specified separated by a semicolon.')}
+    ]
+)
 
-TESSERACT_PATH = getattr(settings, 'OCR_TESSERACT_PATH', u'/usr/bin/tesseract')
-TESSERACT_LANGUAGE = getattr(settings, 'OCR_TESSERACT_LANGUAGE', u'eng')
-REPLICATION_DELAY = getattr(settings, 'OCR_REPLICATION_DELAY', 10)  # In seconds
-NODE_CONCURRENT_EXECUTION = getattr(settings, 'OCR_NODE_CONCURRENT_EXECUTION', 1)
-AUTOMATIC_OCR = getattr(settings, 'OCR_AUTOMATIC_OCR', False)
-PDFTOTEXT_PATH = getattr(settings, 'OCR_PDFTOTEXT_PATH', u'/usr/bin/pdftotext')
-QUEUE_PROCESSING_INTERVAL = getattr(settings, 'OCR_QUEUE_PROCESSING_INTERVAL', 10)  # In seconds
-CACHE_URI = getattr(settings, 'OCR_CACHE_URI', None)
diff --git a/apps/ocr/views.py b/apps/ocr/views.py
index 87026f1d0a..c689e00060 100644
--- a/apps/ocr/views.py
+++ b/apps/ocr/views.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ from django.template import RequestContext
 from django.contrib import messages
 from django.views.generic.list_detail import object_list
 from django.core.urlresolvers import reverse
-from django.utils.translation import ugettext as _
+from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 from django.conf import settings
 
 from celery.task.control import inspect
diff --git a/apps/permissions/conf/settings.py b/apps/permissions/conf/settings.py
index af5146cc0f..16ec61ae15 100644
--- a/apps/permissions/conf/settings.py
+++ b/apps/permissions/conf/settings.py
@@ -1,3 +1,12 @@
-from django.conf import settings
+"""Configuration options for the permissions app"""
+from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 
-DEFAULT_ROLES = getattr(settings, 'ROLES_DEFAULT_ROLES', [])
+from main.api import register_settings
+
+register_settings(
+    namespace=u'permissions',
+    module=u'permissions.conf.settings',
+    settings=[
+        {'name': u'DEFAULT_ROLES', 'global_name': u'ROLES_DEFAULT_ROLES', 'default': [], 'description': _('A list of existing roles that are automatically assigned to newly created users')},
+    ]
+)
diff --git a/apps/storage/conf/settings.py b/apps/storage/conf/settings.py
index 958144d38e..7ef087d111 100644
--- a/apps/storage/conf/settings.py
+++ b/apps/storage/conf/settings.py
@@ -1,8 +1,15 @@
-from django.conf import settings
+"""Configuration options for the storage app"""
+from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 
+from main.api import register_settings
 
-GRIDFS_HOST = getattr(settings, 'STORAGE_GRIDFS_HOST', u'localhost')
-GRIDFS_PORT = getattr(settings, 'STORAGE_GRIDFS_PORT', 27017)
-GRIDFS_DATABASE_NAME = getattr(settings, 'STORAGE_GRIDFS_DATABASE_NAME', u'document_storage')
-
-FILESTORAGE_LOCATION = getattr(settings, 'STORAGE_FILESTORAGE_LOCATION', u'document_storage')
+register_settings(
+    namespace=u'storage',
+    module=u'storage.conf.settings',
+    settings=[
+        {'name': u'GRIDFS_HOST', 'global_name': u'STORAGE_GRIDFS_HOST', 'default': u'localhost'},
+        {'name': u'GRIDFS_PORT', 'global_name': u'STORAGE_GRIDFS_PORT', 'default': 27017},
+        {'name': u'GRIDFS_DATABASE_NAME', 'global_name': u'STORAGE_GRIDFS_DATABASE_NAME', 'default': u'document_storage'},
+        {'name': u'FILESTORAGE_LOCATION', 'global_name': u'STORAGE_FILESTORAGE_LOCATION', 'default': u'document_storage', 'exists': True},
+    ]
+)
diff --git a/apps/web_theme/conf/settings.py b/apps/web_theme/conf/settings.py
index 31f2b6045a..8370914cb6 100644
--- a/apps/web_theme/conf/settings.py
+++ b/apps/web_theme/conf/settings.py
@@ -1,8 +1,13 @@
-from django.conf import settings
+"""Configuration options for the web_theme app"""
+from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 
-#Theme options are:
-#amro, bec, bec-green, blue, default, djime-cerulean, drastic-dark,
-#kathleene, olive, orange, red, reidb-greenish, warehouse
+from main.api import register_settings
 
-THEME = getattr(settings, 'WEB_THEME', 'default')
-ENABLE_SCROLL_JS = getattr(settings, 'WEB_THEME_ENABLE_SCROLL_JS', True)
+register_settings(
+    namespace=u'web_theme',
+    module=u'web_theme.conf.settings',
+    settings=[
+        {'name': u'THEME', 'global_name': u'WEB_THEME_THEME', 'default': u'default', 'description': _(u'CSS theme to apply, options are: amro, bec, bec-green, blue, default, djime-cerulean, drastic-dark, kathleene, olive, orange, red, reidb-greenish and warehouse.')},
+        {'name': u'ENABLE_SCROLL_JS', 'global_name': u'WEB_THEME_ENABLE_SCROLL_JS', 'default': True, 'hidden': True},
+    ]
+)
diff --git a/settings.py b/settings.py
index 77f94d3d46..383ace3c2c 100644
--- a/settings.py
+++ b/settings.py
@@ -197,6 +197,7 @@ TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS = (
 
 # Usage
 #DOCUMENTS_PREVIEW_SIZE = '640x480'
+#DOCUMENTS_PRINT_SIZE = '640x480'
 #DOCUMENTS_THUMBNAIL_SIZE = '50x50'
 #DOCUMENTS_DISPLAY_SIZE = '1200'
 #DOCUMENTS_MULTIPAGE_PREVIEW_SIZE = '160x120'