diff --git a/js/package.json b/js/package.json
index 8f174eb3..2bac0205 100644
--- a/js/package.json
+++ b/js/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "qgrid",
-  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "version": "1.0.1",
   "description": "An Interactive Grid for Sorting and Filtering DataFrames in Jupyter Notebook",
   "author": "Quantopian Inc.",
   "main": "src/index.js",
diff --git a/js/src/index.js b/js/src/index.js
index 874bc497..65a87ddf 100644
--- a/js/src/index.js
+++ b/js/src/index.js
@@ -1,12 +1,4 @@
 // Entry point for the notebook bundle containing custom model definitions.
-//
-// Setup notebook base URL
-//
-// Some static assets may be required by the custom widget javascript. The base
-// url for the notebook is not known at build time and is therefore computed
-// dynamically.
-__webpack_public_path__ = document.querySelector('body').getAttribute('data-base-url') + 'nbextensions/qgrid/';
-
 // Export widget models and views, and the npm package version number.
 module.exports = require('./qgrid.widget.js');
 module.exports.version = require('../package.json').version;
diff --git a/js/src/qgrid.booleanfilter.js b/js/src/qgrid.booleanfilter.js
index 04a61a68..574306d2 100644
--- a/js/src/qgrid.booleanfilter.js
+++ b/js/src/qgrid.booleanfilter.js
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ class BooleanFilter extends filter_base.FilterBase {
   reset_filter() {
     this.radio_buttons.prop('checked', false);
     this.selected = null;
+    this.send_filter_changed();
   }
 
   get_filter_info() {
diff --git a/js/src/qgrid.css b/js/src/qgrid.css
index 088a52fb..b7234d36 100644
--- a/js/src/qgrid.css
+++ b/js/src/qgrid.css
@@ -284,8 +284,8 @@
 }
 
 .q-grid .slick-cell {
-  border-bottom: 1px solid #e1e8ed !important;
-  border-right: none !important;
+  border-bottom: 1px solid #e1e8ed;
+  border-right: none;
   border-top: 1px solid transparent;
   border-left: 1px solid transparent;
   font-size: 13px;
@@ -294,6 +294,32 @@
   padding-left: 0px;
 }
 
+.q-grid.highlight-selected-row .slick-cell.selected {
+  background-color: #deeaf7;
+}
+
+.q-grid.highlight-selected-cell .slick-cell.active {
+  border: 2px solid rgb(65, 165, 245);
+  padding-top: 2px;
+  padding-bottom: 1px;
+  padding-left: 3px;
+}
+
+.q-grid .slick-cell.editable:not(.idx-col) {
+  border: 2px solid rgb(65, 165, 245);
+  padding-top: 2px;
+  padding-bottom: 1px;
+  padding-left: 3px !important;
+  background-color: #FFF;
+  -webkit-box-shadow: 0 2px 5px rgba(0,0,0,0.4);
+  -moz-box-shadow: 0 2px 5px rgba(0,0,0,0.4);
+  box-shadow: 0 2px 5px rgba(0,0,0,0.4);
+}
+
+.q-grid .slick-cell.editable .editor-select:focus {
+  outline-style: none;
+}
+
 .q-grid .slick-cell.idx-col {
   font-weight: bold;
 }
@@ -304,7 +330,7 @@
 }
 
 .q-grid .slick-cell.selected {
-  background-color: #deeaf7;
+  background-color: transparent;
 }
 
 /* Filter button */
@@ -605,18 +631,6 @@ input.bool-filter-radio {
   margin-left: -23px;
 }
 
-.slick-cell.editable:not(.idx-col) {
-  background-color: rgb(255, 247, 141) !important;
-  border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.26) !important;
-  margin-top: -1px;
-  padding-top: 4px;
-  padding-bottom: 2px;
-}
-
-.slick-cell.editable:not(:last-child):not(.idx-col) {
-  margin-right: 3px;
-}
-
 .slick-cell {
   -webkit-touch-callout: none; /* iOS Safari */
     -webkit-user-select: none; /* Safari */
@@ -627,6 +641,5 @@ input.bool-filter-radio {
 }
 
 .slick-row .slick-cell:not(:first-child) {
-  margin-left: -4px;
   padding-left: 4px;
 }
diff --git a/js/src/qgrid.datefilter.js b/js/src/qgrid.datefilter.js
index d4ee941c..dc49b780 100644
--- a/js/src/qgrid.datefilter.js
+++ b/js/src/qgrid.datefilter.js
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ class DateFilter extends filter_base.FilterBase {
 
     this.filter_start_date = null;
     this.filter_end_date = null;
+    this.send_filter_changed();
   }
 
   initialize_controls() {
diff --git a/js/src/qgrid.editors.js b/js/src/qgrid.editors.js
index 89ba4a98..502efeff 100644
--- a/js/src/qgrid.editors.js
+++ b/js/src/qgrid.editors.js
@@ -16,11 +16,11 @@ class IndexEditor {
     this.$cell.tooltip();
     this.$cell.tooltip('enable');
     this.$cell.tooltip("open");
-    this.$cell.off('tooltipclose');
-    this.$cell.on("tooltipclose", (event, ui) => {
+    // automatically hide it after 4 seconds
+    setTimeout((event, ui) => {
       this.$cell.tooltip('destroy');
       args.cancelChanges();
-    });
+    }, 3000);
   }
 
   destroy() {}
diff --git a/js/src/qgrid.filterbase.js b/js/src/qgrid.filterbase.js
index 997faa19..47b41402 100644
--- a/js/src/qgrid.filterbase.js
+++ b/js/src/qgrid.filterbase.js
@@ -152,10 +152,10 @@ class FilterBase {
 
   initialize_controls() {
     this.filter_elem.find("a.reset-link").click(
-        (e) => this.handle_reset_filter_clicked(e)
+        (e) => this.reset_filter()
     );
     this.filter_elem.find("i.close-button").click(
-        (e) => this.handle_close_button_clicked(e)
+        (e) => this.hide_filter()
     );
     $(document.body).bind("mousedown",
         (e) => this.handle_body_mouse_down(e)
@@ -180,22 +180,6 @@ class FilterBase {
     this.widget_model.send(msg);
   }
 
-  handle_reset_filter_clicked(e) {
-    this.reset_filter();
-    this.send_filter_changed();
-    // The "false" parameter tells backtest_table_manager that we want to recalculate the min/max values for this filter
-    // based on the rows that are still included in the grid.  This is because if this filter was already active,
-    // its min/max could be out-of-date because we don't adjust the min/max on active filters (to prevent confusion).
-    // This is currently the only filter_changed case where it's appropriate to have this filter's min/max recalculated,
-    // because you wouldn't want to adjust a slider's min/max while the user was moving the slider, for example.
-    return false;
-  }
-
-  handle_close_button_clicked(e) {
-    this.hide_filter();
-    return false;
-  }
-
   handle_body_mouse_down(e) {
     if (this.filter_elem && this.filter_elem[0] != e.target && !$.contains(this.filter_elem[0], e.target) &&
         !$.contains(this.filter_btn[0], e.target) &&
diff --git a/js/src/qgrid.sliderfilter.js b/js/src/qgrid.sliderfilter.js
index 31837e93..82517489 100644
--- a/js/src/qgrid.sliderfilter.js
+++ b/js/src/qgrid.sliderfilter.js
@@ -100,6 +100,7 @@ class SliderFilter extends filter_base.FilterBase {
       });
       this.set_value(this.min_value, this.max_value);
     }
+    this.send_filter_changed();
   }
 
   is_active() {
diff --git a/js/src/qgrid.textfilter.js b/js/src/qgrid.textfilter.js
index 9069b7a3..bc66fb9f 100644
--- a/js/src/qgrid.textfilter.js
+++ b/js/src/qgrid.textfilter.js
@@ -355,11 +355,20 @@ class TextFilter extends filter_base.FilterBase {
   }
 
   reset_filter() {
+    this.ignore_selection_changed = true;
     this.search_string = "";
     this.excluded_rows = null;
     this.security_search.val("");
     this.row_selection_model.setSelectedRows([]);
     this.filter_list = null;
+    this.send_filter_changed();
+    var msg = {
+      'type': 'get_column_min_max',
+      'field': this.field,
+      'search_val': this.search_string
+    };
+    this.widget_model.send(msg);
+    this.ignore_selection_changed = false;
   }
 
   get_filter_info() {
diff --git a/js/src/qgrid.widget.js b/js/src/qgrid.widget.js
index f60863dc..b2b60d81 100644
--- a/js/src/qgrid.widget.js
+++ b/js/src/qgrid.widget.js
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ class QgridModel extends widgets.DOMWidgetModel {
       _view_name : 'QgridView',
       _model_module : 'qgrid',
       _view_module : 'qgrid',
-      _model_module_version : '^1.0.0',
-      _view_module_version : '^1.0.0',
+      _model_module_version : '^1.0.1',
+      _view_module_version : '^1.0.1',
       _df_json: '',
       _columns: {}
     });
@@ -370,6 +370,16 @@ class QgridView extends widgets.DOMWidgetView {
       this.grid_elem.addClass('force-fit-columns');
     }
 
+    if (this.grid_options.highlightSelectedCell) {
+      this.grid_elem.addClass('highlight-selected-cell');
+    }
+
+    // compare to false since we still want to show row
+    // selection if this option is excluded entirely
+    if (this.grid_options.highlightSelectedRow != false) {
+      this.grid_elem.addClass('highlight-selected-row');
+    }
+
     setTimeout(() => {
       this.slick_grid.init();
       this.update_size();
@@ -378,12 +388,16 @@ class QgridView extends widgets.DOMWidgetView {
     this.slick_grid.setSelectionModel(new Slick.RowSelectionModel());
     this.slick_grid.render();
 
-    this.slick_grid.onHeaderCellRendered.subscribe((e, args) => {
+    var render_header_cell = (e, args) => {
       var cur_filter = this.filters[args.column.id];
-      if (cur_filter){
-        cur_filter.render_filter_button($(args.node), this.slick_grid);
-      }
-    });
+        if (cur_filter) {
+          cur_filter.render_filter_button($(args.node), this.slick_grid);
+        }
+    };
+
+    if (this.grid_options.filterable != false) {
+      this.slick_grid.onHeaderCellRendered.subscribe(render_header_cell);
+    }
 
     // Force the grid to re-render the column headers so the
     // onHeaderCellRendered event is triggered.
@@ -396,7 +410,7 @@ class QgridView extends widgets.DOMWidgetView {
     this.slick_grid.setSortColumns([]);
 
     this.grid_header = this.$el.find('.slick-header-columns');
-    this.grid_header.click((e) => {
+    var handle_header_click = (e) => {
       if (this.resizing_column) {
         return;
       }
@@ -436,7 +450,11 @@ class QgridView extends widgets.DOMWidgetView {
         'sort_ascending': this.sort_ascending
       };
       this.send(msg);
-    });
+    };
+
+    if (this.grid_options.sortable != false) {
+      this.grid_header.click(handle_header_click)
+    }
 
     this.slick_grid.onViewportChanged.subscribe((e) => {
       if (this.viewport_timeout){
@@ -491,6 +509,18 @@ class QgridView extends widgets.DOMWidgetView {
     }, 1);
   }
 
+  processPhosphorMessage(msg) {
+    super.processPhosphorMessage(msg)
+    switch (msg.type) {
+    case 'resize':
+    case 'after-show':
+      if (this.slick_grid){
+        this.slick_grid.resizeCanvas();
+      }
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+
   has_active_filter() {
     for (var i=0; i < this.filter_list.length; i++){
       var cur_filter = this.filter_list[i];
diff --git a/qgrid/_version.py b/qgrid/_version.py
index e1b56266..ef015a50 100644
--- a/qgrid/_version.py
+++ b/qgrid/_version.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-version_info = (1, 0, 0, 'final')
+version_info = (1, 0, 1, 'final')
 
 _specifier_ = {'alpha': 'a', 'beta': 'b', 'candidate': 'rc', 'final': ''}
 
diff --git a/qgrid/grid.py b/qgrid/grid.py
index 9bc9340a..296c1d45 100644
--- a/qgrid/grid.py
+++ b/qgrid/grid.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 from IPython.display import display
 from numbers import Integral
 from traitlets import Unicode, Instance, Bool, Integer, Dict, List, Tuple, Any
+from traitlets.utils.bunch import Bunch
 
 # versions of pandas prior to version 0.20.0 don't support the orient='table'
 # when calling the 'to_json' function on DataFrames.  to get around this we
@@ -33,7 +34,11 @@ def __init__(self):
             'autoEdit': False,
             'explicitInitialization': True,
             'maxVisibleRows': 15,
-            'minVisibleRows': 8
+            'minVisibleRows': 8,
+            'sortable': True,
+            'filterable': True,
+            'highlightSelectedCell': False,
+            'highlightSelectedRow': True
         }
         self._show_toolbar = False
         self._precision = None  # Defer to pandas.get_option
@@ -216,6 +221,8 @@ def show_grid(data_frame, show_toolbar=None,
                        show_toolbar=show_toolbar)
 
 
+PAGE_SIZE = 100
+
 @widgets.register()
 class QgridWidget(widgets.DOMWidget):
     """
@@ -264,17 +271,36 @@ class QgridWidget(widgets.DOMWidget):
             'autoEdit': False,
             'explicitInitialization': True,
             'maxVisibleRows': 15,
-            'minVisibleRows': 8
+            'minVisibleRows': 8,
+            'sortable': True,
+            'filterable': True,
+            'highlightSelectedCell': False,
+            'highlightSelectedRow': True
         }
 
     Most of these options are SlickGrid options which are described
     in the `SlickGrid documentation
     <https://github.com/mleibman/SlickGrid/wiki/Grid-Options>`_. The
-    two exceptions are `maxVisibleRows` and `minVisibleRows`, which
-    are options that were added specifically for Qgrid and therefore
-    are not documented in the SlickGrid documentation.  These options
-    allow you to set an upper and lower bound on the height of your
-    Qgrid widget in terms of number of rows that are visible.
+    exceptions are the last 6 options listed, which are options that were
+    added specifically for Qgrid and therefore are not documented in the
+    SlickGrid documentation.
+
+    The first two, `maxVisibleRows` and `minVisibleRows`, allow you to set
+    an upper and lower bound on the height of your Qgrid widget in terms of
+    number of rows that are visible.
+
+    The next two, `sortable` and `filterable`, control whether qgrid will
+    allow the user to sort and filter, respectively. If you set `sortable` to
+    False nothing will happen when the column headers are clicked.
+    If you set `filterable` to False, the filter icons won't be shown for any
+    columns.
+
+    The last two, `highlightSelectedCell` and `highlightSelectedRow`, control
+    how the styling of qgrid changes when a cell is selected. If you set
+    `highlightSelectedCell` to True, the selected cell will be given
+    a light blue border. If you set `highlightSelectedRow` to False, the
+    light blue background that's shown by default for selected rows will be
+    hidden.
 
     See Also
     --------
@@ -307,12 +333,11 @@ class QgridWidget(widgets.DOMWidget):
     _model_name = Unicode('QgridModel').tag(sync=True)
     _view_module = Unicode('qgrid').tag(sync=True)
     _model_module = Unicode('qgrid').tag(sync=True)
-    _view_module_version = Unicode('1.0.0').tag(sync=True)
-    _model_module_version = Unicode('1.0.0').tag(sync=True)
+    _view_module_version = Unicode('1.0.1').tag(sync=True)
+    _model_module_version = Unicode('1.0.1').tag(sync=True)
 
     _df = Instance(pd.DataFrame)
     _df_json = Unicode('', sync=True)
-    _page_size = Integer(100, sync=True)
     _primary_key = List()
     _columns = Dict({}, sync=True)
     _filter_tables = Dict({})
@@ -403,8 +428,8 @@ def _update_table(self, update_columns=False, triggered_by=None,
                       scroll_to_row=None):
         df = self._df.copy()
 
-        from_index = max(self._viewport_range[0] - self._page_size, 0)
-        to_index = max(self._viewport_range[0] + self._page_size, 0)
+        from_index = max(self._viewport_range[0] - PAGE_SIZE, 0)
+        to_index = max(self._viewport_range[0] + PAGE_SIZE, 0)
         new_df_range = (from_index, to_index)
 
         if triggered_by is 'viewport_changed' and \
@@ -424,7 +449,7 @@ def _update_table(self, update_columns=False, triggered_by=None,
 
         if update_columns:
             self._string_columns = list(df.select_dtypes(
-                include=[np.dtype('O')]
+                include=[np.dtype('O'), 'category']
             ).columns.values)
 
         # call map(str) for all columns identified as string columns, in
@@ -649,7 +674,7 @@ def _handle_get_column_min_max(self, content):
             return
         else:
             if col_info['type'] == 'any':
-                unique_list = col_info['constraints']['enum']
+                unique_list = col_series.dtype.categories
             else:
                 if col_name in self._sorted_column_cache:
                     unique_list = self._sorted_column_cache[col_name]
@@ -724,7 +749,7 @@ def get_value_from_filter_table(k):
             if col_info['type'] == 'any':
                 col_info['value_range'] = (0, length)
             else:
-                max_items = self._page_size * 2
+                max_items = PAGE_SIZE * 2
                 range_max = length
                 if length > max_items:
                     col_info['values'] = col_info['values'][:max_items]
@@ -885,6 +910,7 @@ def _handle_qgrid_msg_helper(self, content):
                 query = self._unfiltered_df[self._index_col_name] == \
                     content['unfiltered_index']
                 self._unfiltered_df.loc[query, content['column']] = val_to_set
+                self._trigger_df_change_event()
             except (ValueError, TypeError):
                 msg = "Error occurred while attempting to edit the " \
                       "DataFrame. Check the notebook server logs for more " \
@@ -910,8 +936,8 @@ def _handle_qgrid_msg_helper(self, content):
             col_info = self._columns[col_name]
             col_filter_table = self._filter_tables[col_name]
 
-            from_index = max(content['top'] - self._page_size, 0)
-            to_index = max(content['top'] + self._page_size, 0)
+            from_index = max(content['top'] - PAGE_SIZE, 0)
+            to_index = max(content['top'] + PAGE_SIZE, 0)
 
             col_info['values'] = col_filter_table[from_index:to_index]
             col_info['value_range'] = (from_index, to_index)
@@ -927,11 +953,21 @@ def _handle_qgrid_msg_helper(self, content):
             self._sorted_column_cache = {}
             self._update_sort()
             self._update_table(triggered_by='sort_changed')
+            self._trigger_df_change_event()
         elif content['type'] == 'get_column_min_max':
             self._handle_get_column_min_max(content)
         elif content['type'] == 'filter_changed':
             self._handle_filter_changed(content)
 
+    def _trigger_df_change_event(self):
+        self.notify_change(Bunch(
+            name='_df',
+            old=None,
+            new=self._df,
+            owner=self,
+            type='change',
+        ))
+
     def get_changed_df(self):
         """
         Get a copy of the DataFrame that was used to create the current
@@ -990,6 +1026,7 @@ def add_row(self):
         self._unfiltered_df.loc[last.name] = last.values
         self._update_table(triggered_by='add_row',
                            scroll_to_row=df.index.get_loc(last.name))
+        self._trigger_df_change_event()
 
     def remove_row(self):
         """
@@ -1009,6 +1046,7 @@ def remove_row(self):
         self._unfiltered_df.drop(selected_names, inplace=True)
         self._selected_rows = []
         self._update_table(triggered_by='remove_row')
+        self._trigger_df_change_event()
 
 
 # Alias for legacy support, since we changed the capitalization
diff --git a/qgrid/tests/test_grid.py b/qgrid/tests/test_grid.py
index 56f84e07..5c486366 100644
--- a/qgrid/tests/test_grid.py
+++ b/qgrid/tests/test_grid.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 )
 import numpy as np
 import pandas as pd
+import json
 
 def create_df():
     return pd.DataFrame({
@@ -37,6 +38,15 @@ def create_interval_index_df():
 
 def test_edit_date():
     view = QgridWidget(df=create_df())
+    observer_called = False
+
+    def on_value_change(change):
+        nonlocal observer_called
+        observer_called = True
+        assert change['new']['Date'][3] == pd.Timestamp('2013-01-16 00:00:00')
+
+    view.observe(on_value_change, names=['_df'])
+
     view._handle_qgrid_msg_helper({
         'column': "Date",
         'row_index': 3,
@@ -45,12 +55,25 @@ def test_edit_date():
         'value': "2013-01-16T00:00:00.000+00:00"
     })
 
+    assert observer_called
+
 def test_add_row():
     view = QgridWidget(df=create_df())
+
+    observer_called = False
+    def on_value_change(change):
+        nonlocal observer_called
+        observer_called = True
+        assert len(change['new']) == 5
+
+    view.observe(on_value_change, names=['_df'])
+
     view._handle_qgrid_msg_helper({
         'type': 'add_row'
     })
 
+    assert observer_called
+
 def test_mixed_type_column():
     df = pd.DataFrame({'A': [1.2, 'xy', 4], 'B': [3, 4, 5]})
     df = df.set_index(pd.Index(['yz', 7, 3.2]))
@@ -201,6 +224,13 @@ def test_date_index():
 def test_multi_index():
     view = QgridWidget(df=create_multi_index_df())
 
+    observer_count = 0
+    def on_value_change(change):
+        nonlocal observer_count
+        observer_count += 1
+
+    view.observe(on_value_change, names=['_df'])
+
     view._handle_qgrid_msg_helper({
         'type': 'get_column_min_max',
         'field': 'level_0',
@@ -218,6 +248,17 @@ def test_multi_index():
         }
     })
 
+    view._handle_qgrid_msg_helper({
+        'type': 'filter_changed',
+        'field': 3,
+        'filter_info': {
+            'field': 3,
+            'type': 'slider',
+            'min': None,
+            'max': None
+        }
+    })
+
     view._handle_qgrid_msg_helper({
         'type': 'sort_changed',
         'sort_field': 3,
@@ -230,6 +271,8 @@ def test_multi_index():
         'sort_ascending': True
     })
 
+    assert observer_count == 4
+
 def test_interval_index():
     df = create_interval_index_df()
     df.set_index('time_bin', inplace=True)
@@ -274,3 +317,68 @@ def assert_widget_vals_b(widget):
     view = QgridWidget(df=df)
     assert_widget_vals_b(view)
 
+
+class MyObject(object):
+    def __init__(self, obj):
+        self.obj = obj
+
+
+my_object_vals = [MyObject(MyObject(None)), MyObject(None)]
+
+
+def test_object_dtype():
+    df = pd.DataFrame({'a': my_object_vals})
+    widget = QgridWidget(df=df)
+    grid_data = json.loads(widget._df_json)['data']
+
+    widget._handle_qgrid_msg_helper({
+        'type': 'get_column_min_max',
+        'field': 'a',
+        'search_val': None
+    })
+    widget._handle_qgrid_msg_helper({
+        'field': "a",
+        'filter_info': {
+            'field': "a",
+            'selected': [0, 1],
+            'type': "text",
+            'excluded': []
+        },
+        'type': "filter_changed"
+    })
+
+    filter_table = widget._filter_tables['a']
+    assert not isinstance(filter_table[0], dict)
+    assert not isinstance(filter_table[1], dict)
+
+    assert not isinstance(grid_data[0]['a'], dict)
+    assert not isinstance(grid_data[1]['a'], dict)
+
+
+def test_object_dtype_categorical():
+    cat_series = pd.Series(
+        pd.Categorical(my_object_vals,
+                       categories=my_object_vals)
+    )
+    widget = show_grid(cat_series)
+    constraints_enum = widget._columns[0]['constraints']['enum']
+    assert not isinstance(constraints_enum[0], dict)
+    assert not isinstance(constraints_enum[1], dict)
+
+    widget._handle_qgrid_msg_helper({
+        'type': 'get_column_min_max',
+        'field': 0,
+        'search_val': None
+    })
+    widget._handle_qgrid_msg_helper({
+        'field': 0,
+        'filter_info': {
+            'field': 0,
+            'selected': [0],
+            'type': "text",
+            'excluded': []
+        },
+        'type': "filter_changed"
+    })
+    assert len(widget._df) == 1
+    assert widget._df[0][0] == cat_series[0]