diff --git a/src/core/qgspallabeling.cpp b/src/core/qgspallabeling.cpp
@@ -3049,6 +3049,7 @@ QgsPalLabeling::QgsPalLabeling()
   mShowingCandidates = false;
   mShowingShadowRects = false;
   mShowingAllLabels = false;
+  mShowingPartialsLabels = p.getShowPartial();
 
   mLabelSearchTree = new QgsLabelSearchTree();
 }
@@ -3444,6 +3445,8 @@ void QgsPalLabeling::init( QgsMapRenderer* mr )
   mPal->setLineP( mCandLine );
   mPal->setPolyP( mCandPolygon );
 
+  mPal->setShowPartial( mShowingPartialsLabels );
+
   clearActiveLayers(); // free any previous QgsDataDefined objects
   mActiveDiagramLayers.clear();
 }
@@ -4812,6 +4815,8 @@ void QgsPalLabeling::loadEngineSettings()
                           "PAL", "/ShowingShadowRects", false, &saved );
   mShowingAllLabels = QgsProject::instance()->readBoolEntry(
                         "PAL", "/ShowingAllLabels", false, &saved );
+  mShowingPartialsLabels = QgsProject::instance()->readBoolEntry(
+                        "PAL", "/ShowingPartialsLabels", p.getShowPartial(), &saved );
   mSavedWithProject = saved;
 }
 
@@ -4824,6 +4829,7 @@ void QgsPalLabeling::saveEngineSettings()
   QgsProject::instance()->writeEntry( "PAL", "/ShowingCandidates", mShowingCandidates );
   QgsProject::instance()->writeEntry( "PAL", "/ShowingShadowRects", mShowingShadowRects );
   QgsProject::instance()->writeEntry( "PAL", "/ShowingAllLabels", mShowingAllLabels );
+  QgsProject::instance()->writeEntry( "PAL", "/ShowingPartialsLabels", mShowingPartialsLabels );
   mSavedWithProject = true;
 }
 
@@ -4836,6 +4842,7 @@ void QgsPalLabeling::clearEngineSettings()
   QgsProject::instance()->removeEntry( "PAL", "/ShowingCandidates" );
   QgsProject::instance()->removeEntry( "PAL", "/ShowingShadowRects" );
   QgsProject::instance()->removeEntry( "PAL", "/ShowingAllLabels" );
+  QgsProject::instance()->removeEntry( "PAL", "/ShowingPartialsLabels" );
   mSavedWithProject = false;
 }
 
@@ -4845,5 +4852,6 @@ QgsLabelingEngineInterface* QgsPalLabeling::clone()
   lbl->mShowingAllLabels = mShowingAllLabels;
   lbl->mShowingCandidates = mShowingCandidates;
   lbl->mShowingShadowRects = mShowingShadowRects;
+  lbl->mShowingPartialsLabels = mShowingPartialsLabels;  
   return lbl;
 }
diff --git a/src/core/qgspallabeling.h b/src/core/qgspallabeling.h
@@ -685,6 +685,9 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsPalLabeling : public QgsLabelingEngineInterface
     bool isShowingAllLabels() const { return mShowingAllLabels; }
     void setShowingAllLabels( bool showing ) { mShowingAllLabels = showing; }
 
+    bool isShowingPartialsLabels() const { return mShowingPartialsLabels; }
+    void setShowingPartialsLabels( bool showing ) { mShowingPartialsLabels = showing; }
+
     // implemented methods from labeling engine interface
 
     //! called when we're going to start with rendering
@@ -781,6 +784,7 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsPalLabeling : public QgsLabelingEngineInterface
     bool mShowingAllLabels; // whether to avoid collisions or not
     bool mSavedWithProject; // whether engine settings have been read from project file
     bool mShowingShadowRects; // whether to show debugging rectangles for drop shadows
+    bool mShowingPartialsLabels; // whether to avoid partials labels or not
 
     QgsLabelSearchTree* mLabelSearchTree;
 };

diff --git a/src/gui/attributetable/qgsattributetablemodel.cpp b/src/gui/attributetable/qgsattributetablemodel.cpp
@@ -646,4 +646,6 @@ void QgsAttributeTableModel::prefetchColumnData( int column )
 void QgsAttributeTableModel::setRequest( const QgsFeatureRequest& request )
 {
   mFeatureRequest = request;
+  if( layer() && !layer()->hasGeometryType() )
+    mFeatureRequest.setFlags( mFeatureRequest.flags() | QgsFeatureRequest::NoGeometry );
 }
diff --git a/src/gui/qgshighlight.cpp b/src/gui/qgshighlight.cpp
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 #include "qgshighlight.h"
 #include "qgsgeometry.h"
 #include "qgsmapcanvas.h"
+#include "qgsmaplayer.h"
 #include "qgsmaprenderer.h"
 #include "qgscoordinatetransform.h"
 #include "qgsvectorlayer.h"
@@ -25,14 +26,27 @@
   \brief The QgsHighlight class provides a transparent overlay widget
   for highlightng features on the map.
 */
-QgsHighlight::QgsHighlight( QgsMapCanvas* mapCanvas, QgsGeometry *geom, QgsVectorLayer *layer )
+QgsHighlight::QgsHighlight( QgsMapCanvas* mapCanvas, QgsGeometry *geom, QgsMapLayer *layer )
     : QgsMapCanvasItem( mapCanvas )
     , mLayer( layer )
 {
   mGeometry = geom ? new QgsGeometry( *geom ) : 0;
-  if ( mapCanvas->mapRenderer()->hasCrsTransformEnabled() )
+  init();
+}
+
+QgsHighlight::QgsHighlight( QgsMapCanvas* mapCanvas, QgsGeometry *geom, QgsVectorLayer *layer )
+    : QgsMapCanvasItem( mapCanvas )
+    , mLayer( static_cast<QgsMapLayer *>( layer ) )
+{
+  mGeometry = geom ? new QgsGeometry( *geom ) : 0;
+  init();
+}
+
+void QgsHighlight::init()
+{
+  if ( mMapCanvas->mapRenderer()->hasCrsTransformEnabled() )
   {
-    QgsCoordinateTransform transform( mLayer->crs(), mapCanvas->mapRenderer()->destinationCrs() );
+    QgsCoordinateTransform transform( mLayer->crs(), mMapCanvas->mapRenderer()->destinationCrs() );
     mGeometry->transform( transform );
   }
   updateRect();

diff --git a/src/gui/qgshighlight.h b/src/gui/qgshighlight.h
@@ -23,13 +23,15 @@
 #include <QPainter>
 #include <QPainterPath>
 
+class QgsMapLayer;
 class QgsVectorLayer;
 
 /** A class for highlight features on the map.
  */
 class GUI_EXPORT QgsHighlight: public QgsMapCanvasItem
 {
   public:
+    QgsHighlight( QgsMapCanvas *mapCanvas, QgsGeometry *geom, QgsMapLayer *layer );
     QgsHighlight( QgsMapCanvas *mapCanvas, QgsGeometry *geom, QgsVectorLayer *layer );
     ~QgsHighlight();
 
@@ -43,6 +45,7 @@ class GUI_EXPORT QgsHighlight: public QgsMapCanvasItem
     void updateRect();
 
   private:
+    void init();
     void paintPoint( QPainter *p, QgsPoint point );
     void paintLine( QPainter *p, QgsPolyline line );
     void paintPolygon( QPainter *p, QgsPolygon polygon );
@@ -52,7 +55,7 @@ class GUI_EXPORT QgsHighlight: public QgsMapCanvasItem
     QBrush mBrush;
     QPen mPen;
     QgsGeometry *mGeometry;
-    QgsVectorLayer *mLayer;
+    QgsMapLayer *mLayer;
 };
 
 #endif
diff --git a/src/mapserver/qgsprojectparser.cpp b/src/mapserver/qgsprojectparser.cpp
@@ -3661,5 +3661,12 @@ void QgsProjectParser::loadLabelSettings( QgsLabelingEngineInterface* lbl )
     {
       pal->setShowingAllLabels( showAllLabelsElem.text().compare( "true", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) == 0 );
     }
+
+    //mShowingPartialsLabels
+    QDomElement showPartialsLabelsElem = palElem.firstChildElement( "ShowingPartialsLabels" );
+    if ( !showPartialsLabelsElem.isNull() )
+    {
+      pal->setShowingPartialsLabels( showPartialsLabelsElem.text().compare( "true", Qt::CaseInsensitive ) == 0 );
+    }
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/providers/spatialite/qgsspatialitefeatureiterator.cpp b/src/providers/spatialite/qgsspatialitefeatureiterator.cpp
@@ -145,7 +145,10 @@ bool QgsSpatiaLiteFeatureIterator::close()
 bool QgsSpatiaLiteFeatureIterator::prepareStatement( QString whereClause )
 {
   if ( !( mRequest.flags() & QgsFeatureRequest::NoGeometry ) && P->mGeometryColumn.isNull() )
+  {
+    QgsMessageLog::logMessage( QObject::tr( "Trying to fetch geometry on a layer without geometry." ), QObject::tr( "SpatiaLite" ) );
     return false;
+  }
 
   try
   {

diff --git a/src/ui/qgsengineconfigdialog.ui b/src/ui/qgsengineconfigdialog.ui
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
    </size>
   </property>
   <property name="windowTitle">
-   <string>Dialog</string>
+   <string>Automated Placement Engine</string>
   </property>
   <layout class="QVBoxLayout" name="verticalLayout">
    <item>
@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@
      <property name="verticalSpacing">
       <number>6</number>
      </property>
-     <item row="1" column="0">
+     <item row="2" column="0">
       <spacer name="horizontalSpacer_3">
        <property name="orientation">
         <enum>Qt::Horizontal</enum>
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@
        </property>
       </spacer>
      </item>
-     <item row="0" column="0" colspan="3">
+     <item row="1" column="0" colspan="3">
       <widget class="QCheckBox" name="chkShowAllLabels">
        <property name="sizePolicy">
         <sizepolicy hsizetype="Maximum" vsizetype="Fixed">
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@
        </property>
       </widget>
      </item>
-     <item row="4" column="0" colspan="3">
+     <item row="5" column="0" colspan="3">
       <widget class="QCheckBox" name="mSaveWithProjectChkBox">
        <property name="layoutDirection">
         <enum>Qt::LeftToRight</enum>
@@ -257,14 +257,14 @@
        </property>
       </widget>
      </item>
-     <item row="2" column="0" colspan="3">
+     <item row="3" column="0" colspan="3">
       <widget class="QCheckBox" name="chkShowCandidates">
        <property name="text">
         <string>Show candidates (for debugging)</string>
        </property>
       </widget>
      </item>
-     <item row="1" column="1">
+     <item row="2" column="1">
       <widget class="QLabel" name="label_6">
        <property name="sizePolicy">
         <sizepolicy hsizetype="Maximum" vsizetype="Preferred">
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@
        </property>
       </widget>
      </item>
-     <item row="1" column="2">
+     <item row="2" column="2">
       <spacer name="horizontalSpacer_4">
        <property name="orientation">
         <enum>Qt::Horizontal</enum>
@@ -290,13 +290,20 @@
        </property>
       </spacer>
      </item>
-     <item row="3" column="0" colspan="3">
+     <item row="4" column="0" colspan="3">
       <widget class="QCheckBox" name="mShadowDebugRectChkBox">
        <property name="text">
         <string>Show shadow rectangles (for debugging)</string>
        </property>
       </widget>
      </item>
+     <item row="0" column="0" colspan="3">
+      <widget class="QCheckBox" name="chkShowPartialsLabels">
+       <property name="text">
+        <string>Show partials labels</string>
+       </property>
+      </widget>
+     </item>
     </layout>
    </item>
    <item>

diff --git a/tests/src/python/test_qgspallabeling_base.py b/tests/src/python/test_qgspallabeling_base.py
@@ -106,13 +106,18 @@ def setUpClass(cls):
         cls._MapRenderer.setDestinationCrs(cls._CRS)
         # use platform's native logical output dpi for QgsMapRenderer on launch
 
-        cls._Pal = QgsPalLabeling()
-        cls._MapRenderer.setLabelingEngine(cls._Pal)
-        cls._PalEngine = cls._MapRenderer.labelingEngine()
+        cls.setDefaultEngineSettings()
         msg = ('\nCould not initialize PAL labeling engine, '
                'SKIPPING TEST SUITE')
         assert cls._PalEngine, msg
 
+    @classmethod
+    def setDefaultEngineSettings(cls):
+        """Restore default settings for pal labelling"""
+        cls._Pal = QgsPalLabeling()
+        cls._MapRenderer.setLabelingEngine(cls._Pal)
+        cls._PalEngine = cls._MapRenderer.labelingEngine()
+
     @classmethod
     def tearDownClass(cls):
         """Run after all tests"""
@@ -294,6 +299,24 @@ def test_write_read_settings(self):
 
         msg = '\nLayer settings read not same as settings written'
         self.assertDictEqual(lyr1dict, lyr2dict, msg)
+
+    def test_default_partials_labels_enabled(self):
+        # Verify ShowingPartialsLabels is enabled for PAL by default
+        pal = QgsPalLabeling()
+        self.assertTrue(pal.isShowingPartialsLabels())
+
+    def test_partials_labels_activate(self):
+        pal = QgsPalLabeling()
+         # Enable partials labels
+        pal.setShowingPartialsLabels(True)
+        self.assertTrue(pal.isShowingPartialsLabels())
+
+    def test_partials_labels_deactivate(self):
+        pal = QgsPalLabeling()
+        # Disable partials labels
+        pal.setShowingPartialsLabels(False)
+        self.assertFalse(pal.isShowingPartialsLabels())
+
 
 
 def runSuite(module, tests):

diff --git a/tests/src/python/test_qgspallabeling_canvas.py b/tests/src/python/test_qgspallabeling_canvas.py
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ def setUpClass(cls):
     def setUp(self):
         """Run before each test."""
         self.configTest('pal_canvas', 'sp')
+        TestQgsPalLabeling.setDefaultEngineSettings()
         self.lyr = self.defaultSettings()
 
     def tearDown(self):

diff --git a/tests/src/python/test_qgspallabeling_server.py b/tests/src/python/test_qgspallabeling_server.py
@@ -151,6 +151,7 @@ def setUpClass(cls):
     def setUp(self):
         """Run before each test."""
         self.configTest('pal_server', 'sp')
+        TestQgsPalLabeling.setDefaultEngineSettings()
         self.lyr = self.defaultSettings()
         self.params = self.defaultWmsParams('point')
         self._TestImage = ''

diff --git a/tests/src/python/test_qgspallabeling_tests.py b/tests/src/python/test_qgspallabeling_tests.py
@@ -51,6 +51,26 @@ def test_text_color(self):
         # Label color change
         self.lyr.textColor = Qt.blue
         self.checkTest()
+
+    def test_partials_labels_enabled(self):
+        # Set Big font size
+        font = QFont(self._TestFont)
+        font.setPointSizeF(90)
+        self.lyr.textFont = font
+        # Enable partials labels
+        self._PalEngine.setShowingPartialsLabels(True)
+        # Check
+        self.checkTest()
+
+    def test_partials_labels_disabled(self):
+        # Set Big font size
+        font = QFont(self._TestFont)
+        font.setPointSizeF(90)
+        self.lyr.textFont = font
+        # Disable partials labels
+        self._PalEngine.setShowingPartialsLabels(False)
+        # Check
+        self.checkTest()
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':

diff --git a/...expected_pal_canvas/sp_partials_labels_disabled/sp_partials_labels_disabled.png b/...expected_pal_canvas/sp_partials_labels_disabled/sp_partials_labels_disabled.png
diff --git a/...s/expected_pal_canvas/sp_partials_labels_enabled/sp_partials_labels_enabled.png b/...s/expected_pal_canvas/sp_partials_labels_enabled/sp_partials_labels_enabled.png