diff --git a/gtk2_ardour/ardour_ui.cc b/gtk2_ardour/ardour_ui.cc
index fdd680a669..865fba97db 100644
--- a/gtk2_ardour/ardour_ui.cc
+++ b/gtk2_ardour/ardour_ui.cc
@@ -3802,7 +3802,22 @@ static MessageDialog *scan_dlg = NULL;
 void
 ARDOUR_UI::plugin_scan_dialog (std::string type, std::string plugin, bool can_cancel)
 {
-	if (!Config->get_show_plugin_scan_window()) { return; }
+	if (type == X_("closeme") && !(scan_dlg && scan_dlg->is_mapped())) {
+		return;
+	}
+
+	const bool cancelled = PluginManager::instance().cancelled();
+	if (type != X_("closeme") && !Config->get_show_plugin_scan_window()) {
+		if (cancelled && scan_dlg->is_mapped()) {
+			scan_dlg->hide();
+			gui_idle_handler();
+			return;
+		}
+		if (cancelled || !can_cancel) {
+			return;
+		}
+	}
+
 	static Gtk::Button *cancel_button;
 	if (!scan_dlg) {
 		scan_dlg = new MessageDialog("", false, MESSAGE_INFO, BUTTONS_NONE);
@@ -3823,19 +3838,16 @@ ARDOUR_UI::plugin_scan_dialog (std::string type, std::string plugin, bool can_ca
 		scan_dlg->set_message(type + ": " + Glib::path_get_basename(plugin));
 		scan_dlg->show_all();
 	}
-	cancel_button->set_sensitive(can_cancel);
+	cancel_button->set_sensitive(can_cancel && !cancelled);
 
-	/* due to idle calls, gtk_events_pending() may always return true */
-	int timeout = 30;
-	while (gtk_events_pending() && --timeout) {
-		gtk_main_iteration ();
-	}
+	gui_idle_handler();
 }
 
 void
 ARDOUR_UI::gui_idle_handler ()
 {
 	int timeout = 30;
+	/* due to idle calls, gtk_events_pending() may always return true */
 	while (gtk_events_pending() && --timeout) {
 		gtk_main_iteration ();
 	}
diff --git a/gtk2_ardour/rc_option_editor.cc b/gtk2_ardour/rc_option_editor.cc
index b3f95f4547..f465aade1d 100644
--- a/gtk2_ardour/rc_option_editor.cc
+++ b/gtk2_ardour/rc_option_editor.cc
@@ -999,7 +999,7 @@ class PluginOptions : public OptionEditorBox
 public:
 	PluginOptions (RCConfiguration* c)
 		: _rc_config (c)
-		, _display_plugin_scan_progress (_("Display Plugin Scan Progress"))
+		, _display_plugin_scan_progress (_("Always Display Plugin Scan Progress"))
 		, _discover_vst_on_start (_("Scan for new VST Plugins on Application Start"))
 	{
 		Label *l;
@@ -1015,16 +1015,17 @@ public:
 		t->attach (*manage (new Label ("")), 0, 3, n, n+1, FILL | EXPAND); ++n;
 		t->attach (*l, 0, 2, n, n+1, FILL | EXPAND); ++n;
 
-		b = manage (new Button (_("Refresh Plugin List")));
+		b = manage (new Button (_("Scan for Plugins")));
 		b->signal_clicked().connect (sigc::mem_fun (*this, &PluginOptions::refresh_clicked));
 		t->attach (*b, 0, 2, n, n+1, FILL); ++n;
 
 		t->attach (_display_plugin_scan_progress, 0, 2, n, n+1); ++n;
 		_display_plugin_scan_progress.signal_toggled().connect (sigc::mem_fun (*this, &PluginOptions::display_plugin_scan_progress_toggled));
 		Gtkmm2ext::UI::instance()->set_tip (_display_plugin_scan_progress,
-					    _("<b>When enabled</b> display a popup window showing plugin scan progress."));
+					    _("<b>When enabled</b> a popup window showing plugin scan progress is displayed for indexing (cache load) and discovery (detect new plugins)"));
 
 
+		ss.str("");
 		ss << "<b>" << _("VST") << "</b>";
 		l = manage (left_aligned_label (ss.str()));
 		l->set_use_markup (true);
@@ -1043,7 +1044,7 @@ public:
 		t->attach (_discover_vst_on_start, 0, 2, n, n+1); ++n;
 		_discover_vst_on_start.signal_toggled().connect (sigc::mem_fun (*this, &PluginOptions::discover_vst_on_start_toggled));
 		Gtkmm2ext::UI::instance()->set_tip (_discover_vst_on_start,
-					    _("<b>When enabled</b> VST plugins are searched and tested on application start. When disabled they a Refresh will have to be tiggered manually"));
+					    _("<b>When enabled</b> new VST plugins are searched, tested and added to the cache index on application start. When disabled new plugins will only be available after triggering a 'Scan' manually"));
 
 #ifdef WINDOWS_VST_SUPPORT
 		t->attach (*manage (left_aligned_label (_("Windows VST Path:"))), 0, 1, n, n+1);