diff --git a/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/KotlinXmlSerializerTest.kt b/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/KotlinXmlSerializerTest.kt
index 876d5e0ff5b9..d82b1e74e62a 100644
--- a/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/KotlinXmlSerializerTest.kt
+++ b/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/KotlinXmlSerializerTest.kt
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ class KotlinXmlSerializerTest {
 
     val data = Foo()
     data.PLACES_MAP = "new"
-    doSerializerTest("""
+    testSerializer("""
     <bean>
       <option name="PLACES_MAP" value="new" />
     </bean>""", data)
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ class KotlinXmlSerializerTest {
   @Test fun floatProperty() {
     val state = AState()
     state.floatProperty = 3.4f
-    doSerializerTest("""
+    testSerializer("""
     <AState>
       <option name="floatProperty" value="3.4" />
     </AState>
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ class KotlinXmlSerializerTest {
 
     val data = Foo()
     data.PLACES_MAP.put("", PlaceSettings())
-    doSerializerTest("""
+    testSerializer("""
     <bean>
       <option name="PLACES_MAP">
         <entry key="">
diff --git a/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerCollectionTest.kt b/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerCollectionTest.kt
index 63460139b03e..c94ebd7671bc 100644
--- a/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerCollectionTest.kt
+++ b/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerCollectionTest.kt
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerCollectionTest {
     bean.list.add("\u0001one")
     bean.list.add("two")
     bean.list.add("three")
-    doSerializerTest("<b>\n" + "  <list>\n" + "    <item value=\"one\" />\n" + "    <item value=\"two\" />\n" + "    <item value=\"three\" />\n" + "  </list>\n" + "</b>", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
+    testSerializer("<b>\n" + "  <list>\n" + "    <item value=\"one\" />\n" + "    <item value=\"two\" />\n" + "    <item value=\"three\" />\n" + "  </list>\n" + "</b>", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
   }
 
   @Test fun CollectionBean() {
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerCollectionTest {
     bean.list.add("one")
     bean.list.add("two")
     bean.list.add("three")
-    doSerializerTest("<b>\n" + "  <list>\n" + "    <item value=\"one\" />\n" + "    <item value=\"two\" />\n" + "    <item value=\"three\" />\n" + "  </list>\n" + "</b>", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
+    testSerializer("<b>\n" + "  <list>\n" + "    <item value=\"one\" />\n" + "    <item value=\"two\" />\n" + "    <item value=\"three\" />\n" + "  </list>\n" + "</b>", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
   }
 
   @Test fun CollectionBeanReadJDOMExternalizableStringList() {
@@ -58,11 +58,11 @@ internal class XmlSerializerCollectionTest {
 
     val bean = BeanWithPolymorphicArray()
 
-    doSerializerTest("<bean>\n  <option name=\"v\">\n    <array />\n  </option>\n</bean>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<bean>\n  <option name=\"v\">\n    <array />\n  </option>\n</bean>", bean)
 
     bean.v = arrayOf(BeanWithPublicFields(), BeanWithPublicFieldsDescendant(), BeanWithPublicFields())
 
-    doSerializerTest("""<bean>
+    testSerializer("""<bean>
   <option name="v">
     <array>
       <BeanWithPublicFields>
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerCollectionTest {
 
   @Test fun xCollection() {
     val bean = BeanWithArrayWithoutTagName()
-     doSerializerTest(
+     testSerializer(
      """
       <BeanWithArrayWithoutTagName>
         <option name="foo">
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerCollectionTest {
 
     val bean = Bean()
 
-    doSerializerTest("""
+    testSerializer("""
     <bean>
       <option name="v">
         <array>
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerCollectionTest {
 
     bean.v = arrayOf("1", "2", "3")
 
-    doSerializerTest(
+    testSerializer(
       "<bean>\n" + "  <option name=\"v\">\n" + "    <array>\n" + "      <vvalue v=\"1\" />\n" + "      <vvalue v=\"2\" />\n" + "      <vvalue v=\"3\" />\n" + "    </array>\n" + "  </option>\n" + "</bean>",
       bean)
   }
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerCollectionTest {
 
     val bean = Bean()
 
-    doSerializerTest("""
+    testSerializer("""
     <bean>
       <option name="INT_V" value="1" />
       <option name="v">
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerCollectionTest {
 
     bean.v = arrayOf("1", "2", "3")
 
-    doSerializerTest("""
+    testSerializer("""
     <bean>
       <option name="INT_V" value="1" />
       <option name="v">
@@ -155,12 +155,12 @@ internal class XmlSerializerCollectionTest {
 
   @Test fun array() {
     val bean = BeanWithArray()
-    doSerializerTest(
+    testSerializer(
       "<BeanWithArray>\n  <option name=\"ARRAY_V\">\n    <array>\n      <option value=\"a\" />\n      <option value=\"b\" />\n    </array>\n  </option>\n</BeanWithArray>",
       bean)
 
     bean.ARRAY_V = arrayOf("1", "2", "3", "")
-    doSerializerTest(
+    testSerializer(
       "<BeanWithArray>\n  <option name=\"ARRAY_V\">\n    <array>\n      <option value=\"1\" />\n      <option value=\"2\" />\n      <option value=\"3\" />\n      <option value=\"\" />\n    </array>\n  </option>\n</BeanWithArray>",
       bean)
   }
@@ -172,13 +172,13 @@ internal class XmlSerializerCollectionTest {
   @Test fun ListSerialization() {
     val bean = BeanWithList()
 
-    doSerializerTest(
+    testSerializer(
       "<BeanWithList>\n  <option name=\"VALUES\">\n    <list>\n      <option value=\"a\" />\n      <option value=\"b\" />\n      <option value=\"c\" />\n    </list>\n  </option>\n</BeanWithList>",
       bean)
 
     bean.VALUES = ArrayList(Arrays.asList("1", "2", "3"))
 
-    doSerializerTest(
+    testSerializer(
       "<BeanWithList>\n  <option name=\"VALUES\">\n    <list>\n      <option value=\"1\" />\n      <option value=\"2\" />\n      <option value=\"3\" />\n    </list>\n  </option>\n</BeanWithList>",
       bean)
   }
@@ -189,12 +189,12 @@ internal class XmlSerializerCollectionTest {
 
   @Test fun SetSerialization() {
     val bean = BeanWithSet()
-    doSerializerTest(
+    testSerializer(
       "<BeanWithSet>\n  <option name=\"VALUES\">\n    <set>\n      <option value=\"a\" />\n      <option value=\"b\" />\n      <option value=\"w\" />\n    </set>\n  </option>\n</BeanWithSet>",
       bean)
     bean.VALUES = LinkedHashSet(Arrays.asList("1", "2", "3"))
 
-    doSerializerTest(
+    testSerializer(
       "<BeanWithSet>\n  <option name=\"VALUES\">\n    <set>\n      <option value=\"1\" />\n      <option value=\"2\" />\n      <option value=\"3\" />\n    </set>\n  </option>\n</BeanWithSet>",
       bean)
   }
diff --git a/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerConversionTest.kt b/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerConversionTest.kt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..4f7997183190
--- /dev/null
+++ b/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerConversionTest.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+package com.intellij.configurationStore.xml
+
+import com.intellij.openapi.util.Ref
+import com.intellij.openapi.util.text.StringUtil
+import com.intellij.util.xmlb.Converter
+import com.intellij.util.xmlb.SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter
+import com.intellij.util.xmlb.annotations.Attribute
+import com.intellij.util.xmlb.annotations.OptionTag
+import com.intellij.util.xmlb.annotations.Tag
+import org.junit.Test
+
+internal class XmlSerializerConversionTest {
+  @Test
+  fun converter() {
+    val bean = BeanWithConverter()
+    testSerializer("""
+    <bean>
+      <option name="bar" />
+    </bean>""", bean)
+
+    bean.foo = Ref.create("testValue")
+    testSerializer("""
+    <bean foo="testValue">
+      <option name="bar" />
+    </bean>""", bean)
+
+    bean.foo = Ref.create<String>()
+    bean.bar = Ref.create("testValue2")
+    testSerializer("""
+    <bean foo="">
+      <option name="bar" value="testValue2" />
+    </bean>""", bean)
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  fun converterUsingSkipDefaultsFilter() {
+    val bean = BeanWithConverter()
+    testSerializer("<bean />", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
+
+    bean.foo = Ref.create("testValue")
+    testSerializer("""<bean foo="testValue" />""", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
+
+    bean.foo = Ref.create<String>()
+    bean.bar = Ref.create("testValue2")
+    testSerializer("""
+    <bean foo="">
+      <option name="bar" value="testValue2" />
+    </bean>""", bean)
+  }
+
+//  @Test
+//  fun `bean fromString`() {
+//    val bean = BeanWithConverter2()
+//    testSerializer("""
+//    <bean>
+//      <option name="bar" />
+//    </bean>""", bean)
+//
+//    bean.foo = StringRef("testValue")
+//    testSerializer("""
+//    <bean foo="testValue">
+//      <option name="bar" />
+//    </bean>""", bean)
+//
+//    bean.foo = StringRef()
+//    bean.bar = StringRef("testValue2")
+//    testSerializer("""
+//    <bean foo="">
+//      <option name="bar" value="testValue2" />
+//    </bean>""", bean)
+//  }
+}
+
+@Tag("bean")
+private class BeanWithConverter {
+  private class MyConverter : Converter<Ref<String>>() {
+    override fun fromString(value: String): Ref<String> = Ref.create(value)
+
+    override fun toString(o: Ref<String>) = StringUtil.notNullize(o.get())
+  }
+
+  @Attribute(converter = MyConverter::class)
+  var foo: Ref<String>? = null
+
+  @OptionTag(converter = MyConverter::class)
+  var bar: Ref<String>? = null
+}
+
+//private class StringRef(private var value: String? = null) : Converter<StringRef>() {
+//  companion object {
+//    @Suppress("unused")
+//    @JvmStatic
+//    fun fromText(value: String): StringRef = StringRef(value)
+//  }
+//
+//  override fun fromString(value: String) = StringRef(value)
+//
+//  override fun toString(value: StringRef) = value.value
+//}
+//
+//@Tag("bean")
+//private class BeanWithConverter2 {
+//  @Attribute
+//  var foo: StringRef? = null
+//
+//  @OptionTag
+//  var bar: StringRef? = null
+//}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerMapTest.kt b/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerMapTest.kt
index 935c681465b6..ec722481c901 100644
--- a/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerMapTest.kt
+++ b/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerMapTest.kt
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerMapTest {
     }
 
     val bean = BeanWithMapWithBeanValue2()
-    doSerializerTest("<bean />", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
+    testSerializer("<bean />", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
   }
 
   @Test fun mapAtTopLevel() {
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerMapTest {
     val bean = BeanWithMapAtTopLevel()
     bean.map.put("a", "b")
     bean.option = "xxx"
-    doSerializerTest("""
+    testSerializer("""
     <bean>
       <option name="option" value="xxx" />
       <entry key="a" value="b" />
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerMapTest {
     bean.MAP.put(BeanWithPublicFields(3, "c"), BeanWithTextAnnotation(4, "d"))
     bean.MAP.put(BeanWithPublicFields(5, "e"), BeanWithTextAnnotation(6, "f"))
 
-    doSerializerTest("""
+    testSerializer("""
     <bean>
       <map>
         <pair>
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerMapTest {
     bean.myValues.put("a", LinkedHashSet(Arrays.asList("first1", "second1")))
     bean.myValues.put("b", LinkedHashSet(Arrays.asList("first2", "second2")))
 
-    doSerializerTest("""
+    testSerializer("""
     <bean>
       <option name="myValues">
         <entry-tag key-attr="a">
@@ -153,13 +153,13 @@ internal class XmlSerializerMapTest {
 
   @Test fun serialization() {
     val bean = BeanWithMap()
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithMap>\n  <option name=\"VALUES\">\n    <map>\n      <entry key=\"a\" value=\"1\" />\n      <entry key=\"b\" value=\"2\" />\n      <entry key=\"c\" value=\"3\" />\n    </map>\n  </option>\n</BeanWithMap>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithMap>\n  <option name=\"VALUES\">\n    <map>\n      <entry key=\"a\" value=\"1\" />\n      <entry key=\"b\" value=\"2\" />\n      <entry key=\"c\" value=\"3\" />\n    </map>\n  </option>\n</BeanWithMap>", bean)
     bean.VALUES.clear()
     bean.VALUES.put("1", "a")
     bean.VALUES.put("2", "b")
     bean.VALUES.put("3", "c")
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithMap>\n  <option name=\"VALUES\">\n    <map>\n      <entry key=\"1\" value=\"a\" />\n      <entry key=\"2\" value=\"b\" />\n      <entry key=\"3\" value=\"c\" />\n    </map>\n  </option>\n</BeanWithMap>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithMap>\n  <option name=\"VALUES\">\n    <map>\n      <entry key=\"1\" value=\"a\" />\n      <entry key=\"2\" value=\"b\" />\n      <entry key=\"3\" value=\"c\" />\n    </map>\n  </option>\n</BeanWithMap>", bean)
   }
 
   private class BeanWithMapWithAnnotations {
@@ -176,13 +176,13 @@ internal class XmlSerializerMapTest {
 
   @Test fun serializationWithAnnotations() {
     val bean = BeanWithMapWithAnnotations()
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithMapWithAnnotations>\n  <option name=\"a\" value=\"1\" />\n  <option name=\"b\" value=\"2\" />\n  <option name=\"c\" value=\"3\" />\n</BeanWithMapWithAnnotations>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithMapWithAnnotations>\n  <option name=\"a\" value=\"1\" />\n  <option name=\"b\" value=\"2\" />\n  <option name=\"c\" value=\"3\" />\n</BeanWithMapWithAnnotations>", bean)
     bean.VALUES.clear()
     bean.VALUES.put("1", "a")
     bean.VALUES.put("2", "b")
     bean.VALUES.put("3", "c")
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithMapWithAnnotations>\n  <option name=\"1\" value=\"a\" />\n  <option name=\"2\" value=\"b\" />\n  <option name=\"3\" value=\"c\" />\n</BeanWithMapWithAnnotations>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithMapWithAnnotations>\n  <option name=\"1\" value=\"a\" />\n  <option name=\"2\" value=\"b\" />\n  <option name=\"3\" value=\"c\" />\n</BeanWithMapWithAnnotations>", bean)
   }
 
   private class BeanWithMapWithBeanValue {
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerMapTest {
     bean.VALUES.put("b", BeanWithProperty("Bond"))
     bean.VALUES.put("c", BeanWithProperty("Bill"))
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithMapWithBeanValue>\n  <option name=\"VALUES\">\n    <map>\n      <entry key=\"a\">\n        <value>\n          <BeanWithProperty>\n            <option name=\"name\" value=\"James\" />\n          </BeanWithProperty>\n        </value>\n      </entry>\n      <entry key=\"b\">\n        <value>\n          <BeanWithProperty>\n            <option name=\"name\" value=\"Bond\" />\n          </BeanWithProperty>\n        </value>\n      </entry>\n      <entry key=\"c\">\n        <value>\n          <BeanWithProperty>\n            <option name=\"name\" value=\"Bill\" />\n          </BeanWithProperty>\n        </value>\n      </entry>\n    </map>\n  </option>\n</BeanWithMapWithBeanValue>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithMapWithBeanValue>\n  <option name=\"VALUES\">\n    <map>\n      <entry key=\"a\">\n        <value>\n          <BeanWithProperty>\n            <option name=\"name\" value=\"James\" />\n          </BeanWithProperty>\n        </value>\n      </entry>\n      <entry key=\"b\">\n        <value>\n          <BeanWithProperty>\n            <option name=\"name\" value=\"Bond\" />\n          </BeanWithProperty>\n        </value>\n      </entry>\n      <entry key=\"c\">\n        <value>\n          <BeanWithProperty>\n            <option name=\"name\" value=\"Bill\" />\n          </BeanWithProperty>\n        </value>\n      </entry>\n    </map>\n  </option>\n</BeanWithMapWithBeanValue>", bean)
   }
 
   @Test fun setKeysInMap() {
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerMapTest {
     bean.myMap.put(LinkedHashSet(Arrays.asList("a", "b", "c")), "letters")
     bean.myMap.put(LinkedHashSet(Arrays.asList("1", "2", "3")), "numbers")
 
-    val bb = doSerializerTest("<bean>\n  <option name=\"myMap\">\n    <map>\n      <entry value=\"letters\">\n        <key>\n          <set>\n            <option value=\"a\" />\n            <option value=\"b\" />\n            <option value=\"c\" />\n          </set>\n        </key>\n      </entry>\n      <entry value=\"numbers\">\n        <key>\n          <set>\n            <option value=\"1\" />\n            <option value=\"2\" />\n            <option value=\"3\" />\n          </set>\n        </key>\n      </entry>\n    </map>\n  </option>\n</bean>", bean)
+    val bb = testSerializer("<bean>\n  <option name=\"myMap\">\n    <map>\n      <entry value=\"letters\">\n        <key>\n          <set>\n            <option value=\"a\" />\n            <option value=\"b\" />\n            <option value=\"c\" />\n          </set>\n        </key>\n      </entry>\n      <entry value=\"numbers\">\n        <key>\n          <set>\n            <option value=\"1\" />\n            <option value=\"2\" />\n            <option value=\"3\" />\n          </set>\n        </key>\n      </entry>\n    </map>\n  </option>\n</bean>", bean)
 
     for (collection in bb.myMap.keys) {
       Assertions.assertThat(collection).isInstanceOf(Set::class.java)
diff --git a/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerTest.kt b/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerTest.kt
index 55e144f9396d..b5a34d9258a4 100644
--- a/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerTest.kt
+++ b/platform/configuration-store-impl/testSrc/xml/XmlSerializerTest.kt
@@ -18,15 +18,13 @@ package com.intellij.configurationStore.xml
 import com.intellij.configurationStore.StoredPropertyStateTest
 import com.intellij.configurationStore.deserialize
 import com.intellij.configurationStore.serialize
-import com.intellij.openapi.util.JDOMUtil
-import com.intellij.openapi.util.Ref
 import com.intellij.openapi.util.text.StringUtil
 import com.intellij.testFramework.assertConcurrent
+import com.intellij.testFramework.assertions.Assertions.assertThat
 import com.intellij.util.loadElement
 import com.intellij.util.xmlb.*
 import com.intellij.util.xmlb.annotations.*
 import junit.framework.TestCase
-import org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat
 import org.intellij.lang.annotations.Language
 import org.jdom.Element
 import org.junit.Test
@@ -40,7 +38,8 @@ import java.util.*
   XmlSerializerMapTest::class,
   XmlSerializerCollectionTest::class,
   StoredPropertyStateTest::class,
-  KotlinXmlSerializerTest::class
+  KotlinXmlSerializerTest::class,
+  XmlSerializerConversionTest::class
 )
 class XmlSerializerTestSuite
 
@@ -53,7 +52,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
 
     val data = Bean()
     data.PLACES_MAP.put("foo", "bar")
-    doSerializerTest("""
+    testSerializer("""
     <Bean>
       <option name="PLACES_MAP">
         <entry key="foo" value="bar" />
@@ -64,31 +63,31 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
   @Test fun emptyBeanSerialization() {
     class EmptyBean
 
-    doSerializerTest("<EmptyBean />", EmptyBean())
+    testSerializer("<EmptyBean />", EmptyBean())
   }
 
   @Tag("Bean")
   private class EmptyBeanWithCustomName
 
   @Test fun emptyBeanSerializationWithCustomName() {
-    doSerializerTest("<Bean />", EmptyBeanWithCustomName())
+    testSerializer("<Bean />", EmptyBeanWithCustomName())
   }
 
   @Test fun publicFieldSerialization() {
     val bean = BeanWithPublicFields()
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithPublicFields>\n  <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"1\" />\n  <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"hello\" />\n</BeanWithPublicFields>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithPublicFields>\n  <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"1\" />\n  <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"hello\" />\n</BeanWithPublicFields>", bean)
 
     bean.INT_V = 2
     bean.STRING_V = "bye"
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithPublicFields>\n  <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"2\" />\n  <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"bye\" />\n</BeanWithPublicFields>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithPublicFields>\n  <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"2\" />\n  <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"bye\" />\n</BeanWithPublicFields>", bean)
   }
 
   @Test fun publicFieldSerializationWithInheritance() {
     val bean = BeanWithPublicFieldsDescendant()
 
-    doSerializerTest("""
+    testSerializer("""
     <BeanWithPublicFieldsDescendant>
       <option name="NEW_S" value="foo" />
       <option name="INT_V" value="1" />
@@ -99,7 +98,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
     bean.STRING_V = "bye"
     bean.NEW_S = "bar"
 
-    doSerializerTest("""<BeanWithPublicFieldsDescendant>
+    testSerializer("""<BeanWithPublicFieldsDescendant>
   <option name="NEW_S" value="bar" />
   <option name="INT_V" value="2" />
   <option name="STRING_V" value="bye" />
@@ -113,16 +112,16 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
 
   @Test fun subBeanSerialization() {
     val bean = BeanWithSubBean()
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithSubBean>\n" + "  <option name=\"BEAN1\">\n" + "    <Bean />\n" + "  </option>\n" + "  <option name=\"BEAN2\">\n" + "    <BeanWithPublicFields>\n" + "      <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"1\" />\n" + "      <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"hello\" />\n" + "    </BeanWithPublicFields>\n" + "  </option>\n" + "</BeanWithSubBean>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithSubBean>\n" + "  <option name=\"BEAN1\">\n" + "    <Bean />\n" + "  </option>\n" + "  <option name=\"BEAN2\">\n" + "    <BeanWithPublicFields>\n" + "      <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"1\" />\n" + "      <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"hello\" />\n" + "    </BeanWithPublicFields>\n" + "  </option>\n" + "</BeanWithSubBean>", bean)
     bean.BEAN2!!.INT_V = 2
     bean.BEAN2!!.STRING_V = "bye"
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithSubBean>\n" + "  <option name=\"BEAN1\">\n" + "    <Bean />\n" + "  </option>\n" + "  <option name=\"BEAN2\">\n" + "    <BeanWithPublicFields>\n" + "      <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"2\" />\n" + "      <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"bye\" />\n" + "    </BeanWithPublicFields>\n" + "  </option>\n" + "</BeanWithSubBean>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithSubBean>\n" + "  <option name=\"BEAN1\">\n" + "    <Bean />\n" + "  </option>\n" + "  <option name=\"BEAN2\">\n" + "    <BeanWithPublicFields>\n" + "      <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"2\" />\n" + "      <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"bye\" />\n" + "    </BeanWithPublicFields>\n" + "  </option>\n" + "</BeanWithSubBean>", bean)
   }
 
   @Test fun SubBeanSerializationAndSkipDefaults() {
     val bean = BeanWithSubBean()
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithSubBean />", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithSubBean />", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
   }
 
   @Suppress("EqualsOrHashCode")
@@ -143,26 +142,26 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
   @Test fun subBeanWithEqualsSerializationAndSkipDefaults() {
     val bean = BeanWithSubBeanWithEquals()
     val filter = SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter()
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithSubBeanWithEquals />", bean, filter)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithSubBeanWithEquals />", bean, filter)
 
     bean.BEAN2.STRING_V = "new"
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithSubBeanWithEquals />", bean, filter)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithSubBeanWithEquals />", bean, filter)
   }
 
   @Test fun nullFieldValue() {
     val bean1 = BeanWithPublicFields()
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithPublicFields>\n" + "  <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"1\" />\n" + "  <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"hello\" />\n" + "</BeanWithPublicFields>", bean1)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithPublicFields>\n" + "  <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"1\" />\n" + "  <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"hello\" />\n" + "</BeanWithPublicFields>", bean1)
 
     bean1.STRING_V = null
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithPublicFields>\n" + "  <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"1\" />\n" + "  <option name=\"STRING_V\" />\n" + "</BeanWithPublicFields>", bean1)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithPublicFields>\n" + "  <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"1\" />\n" + "  <option name=\"STRING_V\" />\n" + "</BeanWithPublicFields>", bean1)
 
     val bean2 = BeanWithSubBean()
     bean2.BEAN1 = null
     bean2.BEAN2 = null
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithSubBean>\n" + "  <option name=\"BEAN1\" />\n" + "  <option name=\"BEAN2\" />\n" + "</BeanWithSubBean>", bean2)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithSubBean>\n" + "  <option name=\"BEAN1\" />\n" + "  <option name=\"BEAN2\" />\n" + "</BeanWithSubBean>", bean2)
   }
 
   private data class BeanWithOption(@OptionTag("path") var PATH: String? = null)
@@ -170,7 +169,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
   @Test fun optionTag() {
     val bean = BeanWithOption()
     bean.PATH = "123"
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithOption>\n" + "  <option name=\"path\" value=\"123\" />\n" + "</BeanWithOption>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithOption>\n" + "  <option name=\"path\" value=\"123\" />\n" + "</BeanWithOption>", bean)
   }
 
   private data class BeanWithCustomizedOption(@OptionTag(tag = "setting", nameAttribute = "key", valueAttribute = "saved") var PATH: String? = null)
@@ -178,14 +177,14 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
   @Test fun customizedOptionTag() {
     val bean = BeanWithCustomizedOption()
     bean.PATH = "123"
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithCustomizedOption>\n" + "  <setting key=\"PATH\" saved=\"123\" />\n" + "</BeanWithCustomizedOption>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithCustomizedOption>\n" + "  <setting key=\"PATH\" saved=\"123\" />\n" + "</BeanWithCustomizedOption>", bean)
   }
 
   @Test fun propertySerialization() {
     val bean = BeanWithProperty()
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithProperty>\n" + "  <option name=\"name\" value=\"James\" />\n" + "</BeanWithProperty>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithProperty>\n" + "  <option name=\"name\" value=\"James\" />\n" + "</BeanWithProperty>", bean)
     bean.name = "Bond"
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithProperty>\n" + "  <option name=\"name\" value=\"Bond\" />\n" + "</BeanWithProperty>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithProperty>\n" + "  <option name=\"name\" value=\"Bond\" />\n" + "</BeanWithProperty>", bean)
   }
 
   private class BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation {
@@ -210,7 +209,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
   }
 
   @Test fun `self class reference deserialization`() {
-    doSerializerTest("""
+    testSerializer("""
     <Complex>
       <option name="foo" />
     </Complex>""", Complex())
@@ -218,22 +217,22 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
 
   @Test fun fieldWithTagAnnotation() {
     val bean = BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation()
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation>\n" + "  <name>hello</name>\n" + "</BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation>\n" + "  <name>hello</name>\n" + "</BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation>", bean)
     bean.STRING_V = "bye"
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation>\n" + "  <name>bye</name>\n" + "</BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation>\n" + "  <name>bye</name>\n" + "</BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation>", bean)
   }
 
   @Test fun escapeCharsInTagText() {
     val bean = BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation()
     bean.STRING_V = "a\nb\"<"
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation>\n" + "  <name>a\nb&quot;&lt;</name>\n" + "</BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation>\n" + "  <name>a\nb&quot;&lt;</name>\n" + "</BeanWithFieldWithTagAnnotation>", bean)
   }
 
   @Test fun escapeCharsInAttributeValue() {
     val bean = BeanWithPropertiesBoundToAttribute()
     bean.name = "a\nb\"<"
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithPropertiesBoundToAttribute count=\"3\" name=\"a&#10;b&quot;&lt;\" />", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithPropertiesBoundToAttribute count=\"3\" name=\"a&#10;b&quot;&lt;\" />", bean)
   }
 
   @Test fun shuffledDeserialize() {
@@ -266,7 +265,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
       @Transient fun getValue(): String = "foo"
     }
 
-    doSerializerTest("<Bean />", Bean())
+    testSerializer("<Bean />", Bean())
   }
 
   @Test fun PropertyWithoutTagWithPrimitiveType() {
@@ -277,7 +276,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
 
     val bean = BeanWithPropertyWithoutTagOnPrimitiveValue()
     try {
-      doSerializerTest("<BeanWithPropertyWithoutTagOnPrimitiveValue><name>hello</name></BeanWithPropertyWithoutTagOnPrimitiveValue>", bean)
+      testSerializer("<BeanWithPropertyWithoutTagOnPrimitiveValue><name>hello</name></BeanWithPropertyWithoutTagOnPrimitiveValue>", bean)
     }
     catch (e: XmlSerializationException) {
       return
@@ -296,7 +295,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
 
     val bean = BeanWithPropertyWithoutTag()
 
-    doSerializerTest("""<bean>
+    testSerializer("""<bean>
   <option name="INT_V" value="1" />
   <BeanWithPublicFields>
     <option name="INT_V" value="1" />
@@ -307,7 +306,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
     bean.INT_V = 2
     bean.BEAN1.STRING_V = "junk"
 
-    doSerializerTest("""<bean>
+    testSerializer("""<bean>
   <option name="INT_V" value="2" />
   <BeanWithPublicFields>
     <option name="INT_V" value="1" />
@@ -328,7 +327,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
   @Test fun arrayWithoutAllTags() {
     val bean = BeanWithArrayWithoutAllTag()
 
-    doSerializerTest("""<bean>
+    testSerializer("""<bean>
   <option name="intV" value="1" />
   <vvalue v="a" />
   <vvalue v="b" />
@@ -337,7 +336,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
     bean.intV = 2
     bean.v = arrayOf("1", "2", "3")
 
-    doSerializerTest("""<bean>
+    testSerializer("""<bean>
   <option name="intV" value="2" />
   <vvalue v="1" />
   <vvalue v="2" />
@@ -356,7 +355,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
 
     val bean = BeanWithArrayWithoutAllTag2()
 
-    doSerializerTest("""<bean>
+    testSerializer("""<bean>
   <option name="intV" value="1" />
   <vvalue>a</vvalue>
   <vvalue>b</vvalue>
@@ -365,7 +364,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
     bean.intV = 2
     bean.v = arrayOf("1", "2", "3")
 
-    doSerializerTest("""<bean>
+    testSerializer("""<bean>
   <option name="intV" value="2" />
   <vvalue>1</vvalue>
   <vvalue>2</vvalue>
@@ -391,12 +390,12 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
   @Test fun BeanWithPrimitivePropertyBoundToAttribute() {
     val bean = BeanWithPropertiesBoundToAttribute()
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithPropertiesBoundToAttribute count=\"3\" name=\"James\" />", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithPropertiesBoundToAttribute count=\"3\" name=\"James\" />", bean)
 
     bean.COUNT = 10
     bean.name = "Bond"
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithPropertiesBoundToAttribute count=\"10\" name=\"Bond\" />", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithPropertiesBoundToAttribute count=\"10\" name=\"Bond\" />", bean)
   }
 
 
@@ -413,11 +412,11 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
   @Test fun propertyFilter() {
     val bean = BeanWithPropertyFilter()
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithPropertyFilter>\n" + "  <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"hello\" />\n" + "</BeanWithPropertyFilter>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithPropertyFilter>\n" + "  <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"hello\" />\n" + "</BeanWithPropertyFilter>", bean)
 
     bean.STRING_V = "bye"
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithPropertyFilter>\n" + "  <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"bye\" />\n" + "</BeanWithPropertyFilter>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithPropertyFilter>\n" + "  <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"bye\" />\n" + "</BeanWithPropertyFilter>", bean)
 
     bean.STRING_V = "skip"
 
@@ -466,21 +465,21 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
 
     bean.actions = null
     val newText = "<BeanWithJDOMElementArray>\n" + "  <option name=\"STRING_V\" value=\"bye\" />\n" + "</BeanWithJDOMElementArray>"
-    doSerializerTest(newText, bean)
+    testSerializer(newText, bean)
 
     bean.actions = emptyArray()
-    doSerializerTest(newText, bean)
+    testSerializer(newText, bean)
   }
 
   @Test fun textAnnotation() {
     val bean = BeanWithTextAnnotation()
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithTextAnnotation>\n" + "  <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"1\" />\n" + "  hello\n" + "</BeanWithTextAnnotation>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithTextAnnotation>\n" + "  <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"1\" />\n" + "  hello\n" + "</BeanWithTextAnnotation>", bean)
 
     bean.INT_V = 2
     bean.STRING_V = "bye"
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithTextAnnotation>\n" + "  <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"2\" />\n" + "  bye\n" + "</BeanWithTextAnnotation>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithTextAnnotation>\n" + "  <option name=\"INT_V\" value=\"2\" />\n" + "  bye\n" + "</BeanWithTextAnnotation>", bean)
   }
 
   private class BeanWithEnum {
@@ -496,11 +495,11 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
   @Test fun enums() {
     val bean = BeanWithEnum()
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithEnum>\n" + "  <option name=\"FLD\" value=\"VALUE_1\" />\n" + "</BeanWithEnum>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithEnum>\n" + "  <option name=\"FLD\" value=\"VALUE_1\" />\n" + "</BeanWithEnum>", bean)
 
     bean.FLD = BeanWithEnum.TestEnum.VALUE_3
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithEnum>\n" + "  <option name=\"FLD\" value=\"VALUE_3\" />\n" + "</BeanWithEnum>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithEnum>\n" + "  <option name=\"FLD\" value=\"VALUE_3\" />\n" + "</BeanWithEnum>", bean)
   }
 
   @Tag("condition")
@@ -520,11 +519,11 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
 
     var bean = Bean()
     bean.conditionBean.oldCondition = "2+2"
-    doSerializerTest("<bean>\n  <condition>2+2</condition>\n</bean>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<bean>\n  <condition>2+2</condition>\n</bean>", bean)
 
     bean = Bean()
     bean.conditionBean.newCondition = "2+2"
-    doSerializerTest("<bean>\n  <condition expression=\"2+2\" />\n" + "</bean>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<bean>\n  <condition expression=\"2+2\" />\n" + "</bean>", bean)
   }
 
   @Test fun `no_wrap`() {
@@ -536,11 +535,11 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
 
     var bean = Bean()
     bean.conditionBean.oldCondition = "2+2"
-    doSerializerTest("<bean>2+2</bean>", bean)
+    testSerializer("<bean>2+2</bean>", bean)
 
     bean = Bean()
     bean.conditionBean.newCondition = "2+2"
-    doSerializerTest("<bean expression=\"2+2\" />", bean)
+    testSerializer("<bean expression=\"2+2\" />", bean)
   }
 
   @Test fun deserializeInto() {
@@ -553,48 +552,6 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
     assertThat(bean.STRING_V).isEqualTo("zzz")
   }
 
-  private class BeanWithConverter {
-    private class MyConverter : Converter<Ref<String>>() {
-      override fun fromString(value: String): Ref<String>? {
-        return Ref.create(value)
-      }
-
-      override fun toString(o: Ref<String>): String {
-        return StringUtil.notNullize(o.get())
-      }
-    }
-
-    @Attribute(converter = MyConverter::class)
-    var foo: Ref<String>? = null
-
-    @OptionTag(converter = MyConverter::class)
-    var bar: Ref<String>? = null
-  }
-
-  @Test fun converter() {
-    val bean = BeanWithConverter()
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithConverter>\n" + "  <option name=\"bar\" />\n" + "</BeanWithConverter>", bean)
-
-    bean.foo = Ref.create("testValue")
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithConverter foo=\"testValue\">\n" + "  <option name=\"bar\" />\n" + "</BeanWithConverter>", bean)
-
-    bean.foo = Ref.create<String>()
-    bean.bar = Ref.create("testValue2")
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithConverter foo=\"\">\n" + "  <option name=\"bar\" value=\"testValue2\" />\n" + "</BeanWithConverter>", bean)
-  }
-
-  @Test fun converterUsingSkipDefaultsFilter() {
-    val bean = BeanWithConverter()
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithConverter />", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
-
-    bean.foo = Ref.create("testValue")
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithConverter foo=\"testValue\" />", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
-
-    bean.foo = Ref.create<String>()
-    bean.bar = Ref.create("testValue2")
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithConverter foo=\"\">\n" + "  <option name=\"bar\" value=\"testValue2\" />\n" + "</BeanWithConverter>", bean)
-  }
-
   @Test fun defaultAttributeName() {
     class BeanWithDefaultAttributeName {
       @Attribute fun getFoo() = "foo"
@@ -603,7 +560,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
       }
     }
 
-    doSerializerTest("<BeanWithDefaultAttributeName foo=\"foo\" />", BeanWithDefaultAttributeName())
+    testSerializer("<BeanWithDefaultAttributeName foo=\"foo\" />", BeanWithDefaultAttributeName())
   }
 
   private class Bean2 {
@@ -621,13 +578,7 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
     val bean = Bean2()
     bean.module = "module"
     bean.ab = "ab"
-    doSerializerTest("<Bean2 ab=\"ab\" module=\"module\" />", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
-
-    checkSmartSerialization(Bean2(), "<Bean2 module=\"1\" ab=\"2\" ac=\"32\" />")
-    checkSmartSerialization(Bean2(), "<Bean2 ab=\"2\" module=\"1\" ac=\"32\" />")
-    checkSmartSerialization(Bean2(), "<Bean2 ac=\"2\" module=\"1\" ab=\"32\" />")
-    checkSmartSerialization(Bean2(), "<Bean2 ac=\"2\" ab=\"32\" />")
-    checkSmartSerialization(Bean2(), "<Bean2 ac=\"2\" ab=\"32\" module=\"\" />")
+    testSerializer("<Bean2 ab=\"ab\" module=\"module\" />", bean, SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter())
   }
 
   @Test fun cdataAfterNewLine() {
@@ -646,30 +597,17 @@ internal class XmlSerializerTest {
     bean = loadElement("""<bean><description><![CDATA[<h4>Node.js integration</h4>]]></description></bean>""").deserialize<Bean>()
     assertThat(bean.description).isEqualTo("<h4>Node.js integration</h4>")
   }
-
-  private fun checkSmartSerialization(bean: Bean2, serialized: String) {
-    val serializer = SmartSerializer()
-    serializer.readExternal(bean, JDOMUtil.load(serialized))
-    val serializedState = Element("Bean2")
-    serializer.writeExternal(bean, serializedState)
-    assertThat(JDOMUtil.writeElement(serializedState)).isEqualTo(serialized)
-  }
 }
 
-private val XML_PREFIX = "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>"
-
 internal fun assertSerializer(bean: Any, expected: String, filter: SerializationFilter?, description: String = "Serialization failure"): Element {
   val element = bean.serialize(filter, createElementIfEmpty = true)!!
-  var actual = JDOMUtil.writeElement(element).trim()
-  if (!expected.startsWith(XML_PREFIX) && actual.startsWith(XML_PREFIX)) {
-    actual = actual.substring(XML_PREFIX.length).trim()
-  }
-
-  assertThat(actual).`as`(description).isEqualTo(expected)
+  assertThat(element).`as`(description).isEqualTo(expected)
   return element
 }
 
-internal fun <T: Any> doSerializerTest(@Language("XML") expectedText: String, bean: T, filter: SerializationFilter? = null): T {
+// no filter by default
+// ? = SerializationFilter { _, _ -> true }
+internal fun <T: Any> testSerializer(@Language("XML") expectedText: String, bean: T, filter: SerializationFilter? = SerializationFilter { _, _ -> true }): T {
   val expectedTrimmed = expectedText.trimIndent()
   val element = assertSerializer(bean, expectedTrimmed, filter)
 
diff --git a/platform/lang-impl/testSources/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/HiddenSidebarButtonTest.java b/platform/lang-impl/testSources/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/HiddenSidebarButtonTest.java
index dc052f954581..737d4870869c 100644
--- a/platform/lang-impl/testSources/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/HiddenSidebarButtonTest.java
+++ b/platform/lang-impl/testSources/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/HiddenSidebarButtonTest.java
@@ -1,17 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o.
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
+ * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
  */
 package com.intellij.openapi.wm.impl;
 
@@ -26,8 +14,6 @@ import java.util.Arrays;
 /**
  * @author Vassiliy Kudryashov
  */
-
-
 public class HiddenSidebarButtonTest extends ToolWindowManagerTestCase {
   private static final String LAYOUT = "<layout>" +
                                  "<window_info id=\"TODO\" active=\"false\" anchor=\"bottom\" auto_hide=\"false\" internal_type=\"DOCKED\" type=\"DOCKED\" visible=\"false\" show_stripe_button=\"false\" weight=\"0.42947903\" sideWeight=\"0.4874552\" order=\"6\" side_tool=\"false\" content_ui=\"tabs\" x=\"119\" y=\"106\" width=\"619\" height=\"748\"/>" +
@@ -58,8 +44,8 @@ public class HiddenSidebarButtonTest extends ToolWindowManagerTestCase {
     for (int i = 0; i < IDS.length; i++) {
       assertTrue(layout.isToolWindowRegistered(IDS[i]));
       assertFalse(layout.isToolWindowUnregistered(IDS[i]));
-      assertTrue(ESTIMATED_TO_SHOW[i] == layout.getInfo(IDS[i], true).isShowStripeButton());
-      assertTrue(ESTIMATED_VISIBILITY[i] == myManager.getStripeButton(IDS[i]).isVisible());
+      assertEquals(ESTIMATED_TO_SHOW[i], layout.getInfo(IDS[i], true).isShowStripeButton());
+      assertEquals(ESTIMATED_VISIBILITY[i], myManager.getStripeButton(IDS[i]).isVisible());
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/platform/platform-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/ToolWindowAnchor.java b/platform/platform-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/ToolWindowAnchor.java
index 2e4d3d04f6c2..902777896ce8 100644
--- a/platform/platform-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/ToolWindowAnchor.java
+++ b/platform/platform-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/ToolWindowAnchor.java
@@ -1,23 +1,12 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o.
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
+ * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
  */
 package com.intellij.openapi.wm;
 
 import com.intellij.ide.ui.UISettings;
 import org.jetbrains.annotations.NonNls;
 import org.jetbrains.annotations.NotNull;
+import org.jetbrains.annotations.Nullable;
 
 import javax.swing.*;
 
@@ -34,7 +23,7 @@ public final class ToolWindowAnchor {
     myText = text;
   }
 
-  public String toString(){
+  public String toString() {
     return myText;
   }
 
@@ -64,7 +53,7 @@ public final class ToolWindowAnchor {
   }
 
   @NotNull
-  public static ToolWindowAnchor fromText(String anchor) {
+  public static ToolWindowAnchor fromText(@Nullable String anchor) {
     for (ToolWindowAnchor a : new ToolWindowAnchor[]{TOP, LEFT, BOTTOM, RIGHT}) {
       if (a.myText.equals(anchor)) {
         return a;
diff --git a/platform/platform-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/ToolWindowContentUiType.java b/platform/platform-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/ToolWindowContentUiType.java
index ca7c87dae7e8..26f52a9051eb 100644
--- a/platform/platform-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/ToolWindowContentUiType.java
+++ b/platform/platform-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/ToolWindowContentUiType.java
@@ -1,24 +1,13 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2000-2009 JetBrains s.r.o.
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
+ * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
  */
 package com.intellij.openapi.wm;
 
 import com.intellij.openapi.diagnostic.Logger;
+import org.jetbrains.annotations.NotNull;
+import org.jetbrains.annotations.Nullable;
 
 public class ToolWindowContentUiType {
-
   private static final Logger LOG = Logger.getInstance("#com.intellij.openapi.wm.ToolWindowContentUiType");
 
   public static final ToolWindowContentUiType TABBED = new ToolWindowContentUiType("tabs");
@@ -34,7 +23,8 @@ public class ToolWindowContentUiType {
     return myName;
   }
 
-  public static ToolWindowContentUiType getInstance(String name) {
+  @NotNull
+  public static ToolWindowContentUiType getInstance(@Nullable String name) {
     if (TABBED.getName().equals(name)) {
       return TABBED;
     }
diff --git a/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/DesktopLayout.java b/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/DesktopLayout.java
index a836c7a1aa31..3fd294b28c2b 100644
--- a/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/DesktopLayout.java
+++ b/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/DesktopLayout.java
@@ -1,25 +1,17 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o.
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
+ * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
  */
 package com.intellij.openapi.wm.impl;
 
+import com.intellij.configurationStore.XmlSerializer;
 import com.intellij.ide.ui.UISettings;
+import com.intellij.openapi.diagnostic.Logger;
+import com.intellij.openapi.util.JDOMUtil;
 import com.intellij.openapi.wm.ToolWindow;
 import com.intellij.openapi.wm.ToolWindowAnchor;
 import com.intellij.util.ArrayUtil;
 import com.intellij.util.containers.HashMap;
+import gnu.trove.THashMap;
 import org.jdom.Element;
 import org.jetbrains.annotations.NonNls;
 import org.jetbrains.annotations.NotNull;
@@ -27,10 +19,14 @@ import org.jetbrains.annotations.Nullable;
 
 import java.util.*;
 
+import static com.intellij.configurationStore.XmlSerializer.serialize;
+
 /**
  * @author Vladimir Kondratyev
  */
 public final class DesktopLayout {
+  private static final Logger LOG = Logger.getInstance(DesktopLayout.class);
+
   @NonNls static final String TAG = "layout";
   /**
    * Map between {@code id}s and registered {@code WindowInfo}s.
@@ -39,7 +35,7 @@ public final class DesktopLayout {
   /**
    * Map between {@code id}s and unregistered {@code WindowInfo}s.
    */
-  private final Map<String, WindowInfoImpl> myUnregisteredId2Info = new HashMap<>();
+  private final Map<String, WindowInfoImpl> myUnregisteredId2Info = new THashMap<>();
   /**
    *
    */
@@ -62,8 +58,6 @@ public final class DesktopLayout {
    * if the cached data is invalid.
    */
   private WindowInfoImpl[] myAllInfos;
-  @NonNls private static final String ID_ATTR = "id";
-
 
   /**
    * Copies itself from the passed
@@ -78,11 +72,11 @@ public final class DesktopLayout {
         continue;
       }
       info = myUnregisteredId2Info.get(info1.getId());
-      if (info != null) {
-        info.copyFrom(info1);
+      if (info == null) {
+        myUnregisteredId2Info.put(info1.getId(), info1.copy());
       }
       else {
-        myUnregisteredId2Info.put(info1.getId(), info1.copy());
+        info.copyFrom(info1);
       }
     }
     // invalidate caches
@@ -105,20 +99,22 @@ public final class DesktopLayout {
    */
   final WindowInfoImpl register(@NotNull String id, @NotNull ToolWindowAnchor anchor, final boolean splitMode) {
     WindowInfoImpl info = myUnregisteredId2Info.get(id);
-    if (info != null) { // tool window has been already registered some time
-      myUnregisteredId2Info.remove(id);
-    }
-    else { // tool window is being registered first time
-      info = new WindowInfoImpl(id);
+    if (info == null) {
+      // tool window is being registered first time
+      info = new WindowInfoImpl();
+      info.setId(id);
       info.setAnchor(anchor);
       info.setSplit(splitMode);
     }
+    else {
+      // tool window has been already registered some time
+      myUnregisteredId2Info.remove(id);
+    }
     myRegisteredId2Info.put(id, info);
     // invalidate caches
     myRegisteredInfos = null;
     myUnregisteredInfos = null;
     myAllInfos = null;
-    //
     return info;
   }
 
@@ -136,7 +132,7 @@ public final class DesktopLayout {
    *         If {@code onlyRegistered} is {@code true} then returns not {@code null}
    *         value if and only if window with {@code id} is registered one.
    */
-  final WindowInfoImpl getInfo(String id, final boolean onlyRegistered) {
+  final WindowInfoImpl getInfo(@NotNull String id, final boolean onlyRegistered) {
     final WindowInfoImpl info = myRegisteredId2Info.get(id);
     if (onlyRegistered || info != null) {
       return info;
@@ -216,11 +212,11 @@ public final class DesktopLayout {
     }
   }
 
-  final boolean isToolWindowRegistered(final String id) {
+  final boolean isToolWindowRegistered(@NotNull String id) {
     return myRegisteredId2Info.containsKey(id);
   }
 
-  final boolean isToolWindowUnregistered(final String id) {
+  final boolean isToolWindowUnregistered(@NotNull String id) {
     return myUnregisteredId2Info.containsKey(id);
   }
 
@@ -287,17 +283,18 @@ public final class DesktopLayout {
 
   public final void readExternal(@NotNull Element layoutElement) {
     myUnregisteredInfos = null;
-    for (Element e : layoutElement.getChildren()) {
-      if (WindowInfoImpl.TAG.equals(e.getName())) {
-        String id = e.getAttributeValue(ID_ATTR);
-        assert id != null;
-        final WindowInfoImpl info = new WindowInfoImpl(id);
-        info.readExternal(e);
-        if (info.getOrder() == -1) { // if order isn't defined then window's button will be the last one in the stripe
-          info.setOrder(getMaxOrder(info.getAnchor()) + 1);
-        }
-        myUnregisteredId2Info.put(info.getId(), info);
+    for (Element e : layoutElement.getChildren(WindowInfoImpl.TAG)) {
+      WindowInfoImpl info = XmlSerializer.deserialize(e, WindowInfoImpl.class);
+      if (info.getId() == null) {
+        LOG.warn("Skip invalid window info (no id): " + JDOMUtil.writeElement(e));
+        continue;
       }
+
+      if (info.getOrder() == -1) {
+        // if order isn't defined then window's button will be the last one in the stripe
+        info.setOrder(getMaxOrder(info.getAnchor()) + 1);
+      }
+      myUnregisteredId2Info.put(info.getId(), info);
     }
   }
 
@@ -310,9 +307,10 @@ public final class DesktopLayout {
 
     Element state = new Element(tagName);
     for (WindowInfoImpl info : infos) {
-      Element element = new Element(WindowInfoImpl.TAG);
-      info.writeExternal(element);
-      state.addContent(element);
+      Element element = serialize(info);
+      if (element != null) {
+        state.addContent(element);
+      }
     }
     return state;
   }
diff --git a/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/ToolWindowManagerImpl.java b/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/ToolWindowManagerImpl.java
index 14279e9848c4..924cea96efa5 100644
--- a/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/ToolWindowManagerImpl.java
+++ b/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/ToolWindowManagerImpl.java
@@ -1,17 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o.
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
+ * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
  */
 package com.intellij.openapi.wm.impl;
 
@@ -1974,7 +1962,6 @@ public final class ToolWindowManagerImpl extends ToolWindowManagerEx implements
     }
   }
 
-
   /**
    * This command creates and shows {@code FloatingDecorator}.
    */
@@ -1993,9 +1980,10 @@ public final class ToolWindowManagerImpl extends ToolWindowManagerEx implements
           bounds.width > 0 &&
           bounds.height > 0 &&
           myWindowManager.isInsideScreenBounds(bounds.x, bounds.y, bounds.width)) {
-        myFloatingDecorator.setBounds(bounds);
+        myFloatingDecorator.setBounds(new Rectangle(bounds));
       }
-      else { // place new frame at the center of main frame if there are no floating bounds
+      else {
+        // place new frame at the center of main frame if there are no floating bounds
         Dimension size = decorator.getSize();
         if (size.width == 0 || size.height == 0) {
           size = decorator.getPreferredSize();
@@ -2065,7 +2053,7 @@ public final class ToolWindowManagerImpl extends ToolWindowManagerEx implements
           bounds.width > 0 &&
           bounds.height > 0 &&
           myWindowManager.isInsideScreenBounds(bounds.x, bounds.y, bounds.width)) {
-        window.setBounds(bounds);
+        window.setBounds(new Rectangle(bounds));
       }
       else { // place new frame at the center of main frame if there are no floating bounds
         Dimension size = decorator.getSize();
diff --git a/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/WindowInfoImpl.kt b/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/WindowInfoImpl.kt
index 9cd454347f59..1bbd6776ca79 100644
--- a/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/WindowInfoImpl.kt
+++ b/platform/platform-impl/src/com/intellij/openapi/wm/impl/WindowInfoImpl.kt
@@ -1,377 +1,29 @@
-// Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+/*
+ * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+ */
 package com.intellij.openapi.wm.impl
 
-import com.intellij.openapi.util.Comparing
-import com.intellij.openapi.util.JDOMExternalizable
-import com.intellij.openapi.util.text.StringUtilRt
+import com.intellij.openapi.components.BaseState
+import com.intellij.openapi.diagnostic.logger
 import com.intellij.openapi.wm.*
+import com.intellij.util.xmlb.Converter
+import com.intellij.util.xmlb.annotations.Attribute
+import com.intellij.util.xmlb.annotations.Property
+import com.intellij.util.xmlb.annotations.Tag
 import org.jdom.Element
-import org.jetbrains.annotations.NonNls
 import java.awt.Rectangle
 
-/**
- * @author Anton Katilin
- * @author Vladimir Kondratyev
- */
-class WindowInfoImpl
-/**
- * Creates `WindowInfo` for tool window with specified `ID`.
- */
-internal constructor(id: String) : Cloneable, JDOMExternalizable, WindowInfo {
-
-  private var myActive: Boolean = false
-  private var myAnchor = ToolWindowAnchor.LEFT
-  private var myAutoHide: Boolean = false
-  /**
-   * Bounds of window in "floating" mode. It equals to `null` if
-   * floating bounds are undefined.
-   */
-  private var myFloatingBounds: Rectangle? = null
-  /**
-   * @return `ID` of the tool window.
-   */
-  internal var id: String? = null
-    private set
-  /**
-   * @return type of the tool window in internal (docked or sliding) mode. Actually the tool
-   * window can be in floating mode, but this method has sense if you want to know what type
-   * tool window had when it was internal one. The method never returns `null`.
-   */
-  internal var internalType: ToolWindowType? = null
-    private set
-  private var myType: ToolWindowType? = null
-  internal var isVisible: Boolean = false
-  private var myShowStripeButton = true
-  private var myWeight = DEFAULT_WEIGHT
-  private var mySideWeight = DEFAULT_SIDE_WEIGHT
-  private var mySplitMode: Boolean = false
-
-  private var myContentUiType = ToolWindowContentUiType.TABBED
-  /**
-   * Defines order of tool window button inside the stripe.
-   * The default value is `-1`.
-   */
-  var order = -1
-
-
-  private var myWasRead: Boolean = false
-
-  /**
-   * @return internal weight of tool window. "weigth" means how much of internal desktop
-   * area the tool window is occupied. The weight has sense if the tool window is docked or
-   * sliding.
-   */
-  /**
-   * Sets window weight and adjust it to [0..1] range if necessary.
-   */
-  internal var weight: Float
-    get() = myWeight
-    set(weight) {
-      myWeight = Math.max(0f, Math.min(1f, weight))
-    }
-
-  internal var sideWeight: Float
-    get() = mySideWeight
-    set(weight) {
-      mySideWeight = Math.max(0f, Math.min(1f, weight))
-    }
-
-  init {
-    this.id = id
-    setType(ToolWindowType.DOCKED)
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Creates copy of `WindowInfo` object.
-   */
-  fun copy(): WindowInfoImpl {
-    try {
-      val info = clone() as WindowInfoImpl
-      if (myFloatingBounds != null) {
-        info.myFloatingBounds = myFloatingBounds!!.clone() as Rectangle
-      }
-      return info
-    }
-    catch (e: CloneNotSupportedException) {
-      throw RuntimeException(e)
-    }
-
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Copies all data from the passed `WindowInfo` into itself.
-   */
-  internal fun copyFrom(info: WindowInfoImpl) {
-    myActive = info.myActive
-    myAnchor = info.myAnchor
-    myAutoHide = info.myAutoHide
-    myFloatingBounds = if (info.myFloatingBounds == null) null else info.myFloatingBounds!!.clone() as Rectangle
-    id = info.id
-    setTypeAndCheck(info.myType!!)
-    internalType = info.internalType
-    isVisible = info.isVisible
-    myWeight = info.myWeight
-    mySideWeight = info.mySideWeight
-    order = info.order
-    mySplitMode = info.mySplitMode
-    myContentUiType = info.myContentUiType
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * @return tool window's anchor in internal mode.
-   */
-  override fun getAnchor(): ToolWindowAnchor {
-    return myAnchor
-  }
-
-  override fun getContentUiType(): ToolWindowContentUiType {
-    return myContentUiType
-  }
-
-  internal fun setContentUiType(type: ToolWindowContentUiType) {
-    myContentUiType = type
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * @return bound of tool window in floating mode.
-   */
-  override fun getFloatingBounds(): Rectangle? {
-    return if (myFloatingBounds != null) Rectangle(myFloatingBounds!!) else null
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * @return current type of tool window.
-   * @see ToolWindowType.DOCKED
-   *
-   * @see ToolWindowType.FLOATING
-   *
-   * @see ToolWindowType.SLIDING
-   */
-  override fun getType(): ToolWindowType? {
-    return myType
-  }
-
-  override fun isActive(): Boolean {
-    return myActive
-  }
-
-  override fun isAutoHide(): Boolean {
-    return myAutoHide
-  }
-
-  override fun isDocked(): Boolean {
-    return ToolWindowType.DOCKED == myType
-  }
-
-  override fun isFloating(): Boolean {
-    return ToolWindowType.FLOATING == myType
-  }
-
-  override fun isWindowed(): Boolean {
-    return ToolWindowType.WINDOWED == myType
-  }
-
-  override fun isSliding(): Boolean {
-    return ToolWindowType.SLIDING == myType
-  }
-
-  override fun isShowStripeButton(): Boolean {
-    return myShowStripeButton
-  }
-
-  internal fun setShowStripeButton(showStripeButton: Boolean) {
-    myShowStripeButton = showStripeButton
-  }
-
-  override fun isSplit(): Boolean {
-    return mySplitMode
-  }
-
-  fun setSplit(sideTool: Boolean) {
-    mySplitMode = sideTool
-  }
-
-  override fun readExternal(element: Element) {
-    id = element.getAttributeValue(ID_ATTR)
-    myWasRead = true
-    myActive = java.lang.Boolean.parseBoolean(element.getAttributeValue(ACTIVE_ATTR)) && canActivateOnStart(id)
-    try {
-      myAnchor = ToolWindowAnchor.fromText(element.getAttributeValue(ANCHOR_ATTR))
-    }
-    catch (ignored: IllegalArgumentException) {
-    }
-
-    myAutoHide = java.lang.Boolean.parseBoolean(element.getAttributeValue(AUTOHIDE_ATTR))
-    try {
-      internalType = ToolWindowType.valueOf(element.getAttributeValue(INTERNAL_TYPE_ATTR))
-    }
-    catch (ignored: IllegalArgumentException) {
-    }
-
-    try {
-      setTypeAndCheck(ToolWindowType.valueOf(element.getAttributeValue(TYPE_ATTR)))
-    }
-    catch (ignored: IllegalArgumentException) {
-    }
-
-    isVisible = java.lang.Boolean.parseBoolean(element.getAttributeValue(VISIBLE_ATTR)) && canActivateOnStart(id)
-    myShowStripeButton = java.lang.Boolean.parseBoolean(element.getAttributeValue(SHOW_STRIPE_BUTTON, "true"))
-    try {
-      myWeight = java.lang.Float.parseFloat(element.getAttributeValue(WEIGHT_ATTR)!!)
-    }
-    catch (ignored: NumberFormatException) {
-    }
-
-    try {
-      val value = element.getAttributeValue(SIDE_WEIGHT_ATTR)
-      if (value != null) {
-        mySideWeight = java.lang.Float.parseFloat(value)
-      }
-    }
-    catch (ignored: NumberFormatException) {
-      mySideWeight = DEFAULT_SIDE_WEIGHT
-    }
-
-    order = StringUtilRt.parseInt(element.getAttributeValue(ORDER_ATTR), order)
-    myFloatingBounds = deserializeBounds(element)
-    mySplitMode = java.lang.Boolean.parseBoolean(element.getAttributeValue(SIDE_TOOL_ATTR))
-
-    myContentUiType = ToolWindowContentUiType.getInstance(element.getAttributeValue(CONTENT_UI_ATTR))
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Sets new anchor.
-   */
-  internal fun setAnchor(anchor: ToolWindowAnchor) {
-    myAnchor = anchor
-  }
-
-  internal fun setActive(active: Boolean) {
-    myActive = active
-  }
-
-  internal fun setAutoHide(autoHide: Boolean) {
-    myAutoHide = autoHide
-  }
-
-  internal fun setFloatingBounds(floatingBounds: Rectangle) {
-    myFloatingBounds = floatingBounds
-  }
-
-  internal fun setType(type: ToolWindowType) {
-    if (ToolWindowType.DOCKED == type || ToolWindowType.SLIDING == type) {
-      internalType = type
-    }
-    setTypeAndCheck(type)
-  }
-
-  //Hardcoded to avoid single-usage-API
-  private fun setTypeAndCheck(type: ToolWindowType) {
-    myType = if (ToolWindowId.PREVIEW === id && type == ToolWindowType.DOCKED) ToolWindowType.SLIDING else type
-  }
-
-  override fun writeExternal(element: Element) {
-    element.setAttribute(ID_ATTR, id!!)
-
-    if (myActive) {
-      element.setAttribute(ACTIVE_ATTR, java.lang.Boolean.toString(true))
-    }
-
-    element.setAttribute(ANCHOR_ATTR, myAnchor.toString())
-    if (myAutoHide) {
-      element.setAttribute(AUTOHIDE_ATTR, java.lang.Boolean.toString(true))
-    }
-    element.setAttribute(INTERNAL_TYPE_ATTR, internalType!!.toString())
-    element.setAttribute(TYPE_ATTR, myType!!.toString())
-    element.setAttribute(VISIBLE_ATTR, java.lang.Boolean.toString(isVisible))
-    if (!myShowStripeButton) {
-      element.setAttribute(SHOW_STRIPE_BUTTON, java.lang.Boolean.toString(false))
-    }
-    element.setAttribute(WEIGHT_ATTR, java.lang.Float.toString(myWeight))
-
-    if (mySideWeight != DEFAULT_SIDE_WEIGHT) {
-      element.setAttribute(SIDE_WEIGHT_ATTR, java.lang.Float.toString(mySideWeight))
-    }
-    element.setAttribute(ORDER_ATTR, Integer.toString(order))
-    element.setAttribute(SIDE_TOOL_ATTR, java.lang.Boolean.toString(mySplitMode))
-    element.setAttribute(CONTENT_UI_ATTR, myContentUiType.name)
-
-    if (myFloatingBounds != null) {
-      serializeBounds(myFloatingBounds!!, element)
-    }
-  }
-
-  override fun equals(obj: Any?): Boolean {
-    if (obj !is WindowInfoImpl) {
-      return false
-    }
-
-    val info = obj as WindowInfoImpl?
-    return myActive == info!!.myActive &&
-           myAnchor == info.myAnchor &&
-           id == info.id &&
-           myAutoHide == info.myAutoHide &&
-           Comparing.equal(myFloatingBounds, info.myFloatingBounds) &&
-           internalType == info.internalType &&
-           myType == info.myType &&
-           isVisible == info.isVisible &&
-           myShowStripeButton == info.myShowStripeButton &&
-           myWeight == info.myWeight &&
-           mySideWeight == info.mySideWeight &&
-           order == info.order &&
-           mySplitMode == info.mySplitMode &&
-           myContentUiType === info.myContentUiType
-  }
-
-  override fun hashCode(): Int {
-    return myAnchor.hashCode() + id!!.hashCode() + myType!!.hashCode() + order
-  }
-
-  override fun toString(): String {
-    return (javaClass.name + "[myId=" + id
-            + "; myVisible=" + isVisible
-            + "; myShowStripeButton=" + myShowStripeButton
-            + "; myActive=" + myActive
-            + "; myAnchor=" + myAnchor
-            + "; myOrder=" + order
-            + "; myAutoHide=" + myAutoHide
-            + "; myWeight=" + myWeight
-            + "; mySideWeight=" + mySideWeight
-            + "; myType=" + myType
-            + "; myInternalType=" + internalType
-            + "; myFloatingBounds=" + myFloatingBounds
-            + "; mySplitMode=" + mySplitMode
-            + "; myContentUiType=" + myContentUiType.name +
-            ']')
-  }
-
-  internal fun wasRead(): Boolean {
-    return myWasRead
-  }
+private val LOG = logger<WindowInfoImpl>()
 
+@Suppress("EqualsOrHashCode")
+@Tag("window_info")
+@Property(style = Property.Style.ATTRIBUTE)
+class WindowInfoImpl : Cloneable, WindowInfo, BaseState() {
   companion object {
-    /**
-     * XML tag.
-     */
-    @NonNls internal val TAG = "window_info"
-    /**
-     * Default window weight.
-     */
-    internal val DEFAULT_WEIGHT = 0.33f
-    private val DEFAULT_SIDE_WEIGHT = 0.5f
-    @NonNls private val ID_ATTR = "id"
-    @NonNls private val ACTIVE_ATTR = "active"
-    @NonNls private val ANCHOR_ATTR = "anchor"
-    @NonNls private val AUTOHIDE_ATTR = "auto_hide"
-    @NonNls private val INTERNAL_TYPE_ATTR = "internal_type"
-    @NonNls private val TYPE_ATTR = "type"
-    @NonNls private val VISIBLE_ATTR = "visible"
-    @NonNls private val WEIGHT_ATTR = "weight"
-    @NonNls private val SIDE_WEIGHT_ATTR = "sideWeight"
-    @NonNls private val ORDER_ATTR = "order"
-    @NonNls private val SIDE_TOOL_ATTR = "side_tool"
-    @NonNls private val CONTENT_UI_ATTR = "content_ui"
-    @NonNls private val SHOW_STRIPE_BUTTON = "show_stripe_button"
+    @JvmField
+    internal val TAG = "window_info"
+    @JvmField
+    val DEFAULT_WEIGHT = 0.33f
 
     private fun canActivateOnStart(id: String?): Boolean {
       for (ep in ToolWindowEP.EP_NAME.extensions) {
@@ -383,4 +35,136 @@ internal constructor(id: String) : Cloneable, JDOMExternalizable, WindowInfo {
       return true
     }
   }
+
+  override var isActive by property(false)
+
+  @get:Attribute(converter = ToolWindowAnchorConverter::class)
+  override var anchor: ToolWindowAnchor by property(ToolWindowAnchor.LEFT) { it == ToolWindowAnchor.LEFT }
+
+  @get:Attribute("auto_hide")
+  override var isAutoHide by property(false)
+
+  /**
+   * Bounds of window in "floating" mode. It equals to `null` if
+   * floating bounds are undefined.
+   */
+  @get:Property(flat = true, style = Property.Style.ATTRIBUTE)
+  override var floatingBounds by property<Rectangle?>()
+
+  /**
+   * @return `ID` of the tool window
+   */
+  var id by string()
+
+  /**
+   * @return type of the tool window in internal (docked or sliding) mode. Actually the tool
+   * window can be in floating mode, but this method has sense if you want to know what type
+   * tool window had when it was internal one.
+   */
+  @get:Attribute("internal_type")
+  var internalType by property<ToolWindowType?>()
+
+  override var type: ToolWindowType by property(ToolWindowType.DOCKED) { it == ToolWindowType.DOCKED }
+
+  @get:Attribute("visible")
+  var isVisible by property(false)
+
+  @get:Attribute("show_stripe_button")
+  override var isShowStripeButton by property(true)
+
+  /**
+   * Internal weight of tool window. "weight" means how much of internal desktop
+   * area the tool window is occupied. The weight has sense if the tool window is docked or
+   * sliding.
+   */
+  var weight by property(DEFAULT_WEIGHT) { Math.max(0f, Math.min(1f, it)) }
+
+  var sideWeight by property(0.5f) { Math.max(0f, Math.min(1f, it)) }
+
+  @get:Attribute("side_tool")
+  override var isSplit by property(false)
+
+  @get:Attribute("content_ui", converter = ContentUiTypeConverter::class)
+  override var contentUiType: ToolWindowContentUiType by property(ToolWindowContentUiType.TABBED, { it == ToolWindowContentUiType.TABBED })
+
+  /**
+   * Defines order of tool window button inside the stripe.
+   */
+  var order by property(-1)
+
+  private var wasRead: Boolean = false
+
+  init {
+    this.id = id
+  }
+
+  fun copy(): WindowInfoImpl {
+    val info = WindowInfoImpl()
+    info.copyFrom(this)
+    return info
+  }
+
+  override val isDocked: Boolean
+    get() = type == ToolWindowType.DOCKED
+
+  override val isFloating: Boolean
+    get() = type == ToolWindowType.FLOATING
+
+  override val isWindowed: Boolean
+    get() = type == ToolWindowType.WINDOWED
+
+  override val isSliding: Boolean
+    get() = type == ToolWindowType.SLIDING
+
+  fun readExternal(element: Element) {
+    wasRead = true
+
+    try {
+      setTypeAndCheck(ToolWindowType.valueOf(element.getAttributeValue("type")))
+    }
+    catch (ignored: IllegalArgumentException) {
+    }
+
+    if (isVisible && !canActivateOnStart(id)) {
+      isVisible = false
+    }
+  }
+
+  internal fun setType(type: ToolWindowType) {
+    if (ToolWindowType.DOCKED == type || ToolWindowType.SLIDING == type) {
+      internalType = type
+    }
+    setTypeAndCheck(type)
+  }
+
+  //Hardcoded to avoid single-usage-API
+  private fun setTypeAndCheck(value: ToolWindowType) {
+    type = if (ToolWindowId.PREVIEW === id && value == ToolWindowType.DOCKED) ToolWindowType.SLIDING else value
+  }
+
+  override fun hashCode(): Int {
+    return anchor.hashCode() + id!!.hashCode() + type.hashCode() + order
+  }
+
+  fun wasRead() = wasRead
 }
+
+private class ContentUiTypeConverter : Converter<ToolWindowContentUiType>() {
+  override fun fromString(value: String): ToolWindowContentUiType = ToolWindowContentUiType.getInstance(value)
+
+  override fun toString(value: ToolWindowContentUiType): String  = value.name
+}
+
+private class ToolWindowAnchorConverter : Converter<ToolWindowAnchor>() {
+  override fun fromString(value: String): ToolWindowAnchor {
+    try {
+      return ToolWindowAnchor.fromText(value)
+    }
+    catch (e: IllegalArgumentException) {
+      LOG.warn(e)
+      return ToolWindowAnchor.LEFT
+    }
+  }
+
+  override fun toString(value: ToolWindowAnchor): String  = value.toString()
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/platform/platform-tests/testSrc/com/intellij/wm/WindowInfoTest.kt b/platform/platform-tests/testSrc/com/intellij/wm/WindowInfoTest.kt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..b3ad9168669e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/platform/platform-tests/testSrc/com/intellij/wm/WindowInfoTest.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+ */
+package com.intellij.wm
+
+import com.intellij.configurationStore.deserialize
+import com.intellij.configurationStore.serialize
+import com.intellij.openapi.components.BaseState
+import com.intellij.openapi.util.JDOMUtil
+import com.intellij.openapi.wm.ToolWindowAnchor
+import com.intellij.openapi.wm.impl.WindowInfoImpl
+import com.intellij.testFramework.ProjectRule
+import com.intellij.testFramework.assertions.Assertions.assertThat
+import org.intellij.lang.annotations.Language
+import org.jdom.Element
+import org.junit.ClassRule
+import org.junit.Test
+import java.awt.Rectangle
+
+internal class WindowInfoTest {
+  companion object {
+    @JvmField
+    @ClassRule
+    val projectRule = ProjectRule()
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  fun test() {
+    val a = WindowInfoImpl()
+    a.id = "a"
+    doSerializerTest("""<window_info id="a" />""", a)
+
+    a.isActive = true
+    doSerializerTest("""<window_info active="true" id="a" />""", a)
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  fun `anchor, isAutoHide`() {
+    val a = WindowInfoImpl()
+    a.id = "a"
+    a.anchor = ToolWindowAnchor.BOTTOM
+    a.isAutoHide = false
+    doSerializerTest("""<window_info anchor="bottom" id="a" />""", a)
+
+    a.isAutoHide = true
+    doSerializerTest("""<window_info anchor="bottom" auto_hide="true" id="a" />""", a)
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  fun `floatingBounds`() {
+    val a = WindowInfoImpl()
+    a.id = "a"
+    a.floatingBounds = Rectangle(1, 42, 23, 4)
+    doSerializerTest("""<window_info x="1" y="42" width="23" height="4" id="a" />""", a)
+  }
+}
+
+private fun <T : BaseState> doSerializerTest(@Language("XML") expectedText: String, bean: T): T {
+  // test deserializer
+  val expectedTrimmed = expectedText.trimIndent()
+  val element = assertSerializer(bean, expectedTrimmed)
+
+  // test deserializer
+  val o = (element ?: Element("state")).deserialize(bean.javaClass)
+  assertSerializer(o, expectedTrimmed, "Deserialization failure")
+  return o
+}
+
+private fun assertSerializer(bean: Any, expected: String, description: String = "Serialization failure"): Element? {
+  val element = bean.serialize()
+  assertThat(element?.let { JDOMUtil.writeElement(element).trim() }).`as`(description).isEqualTo(expected)
+  return element
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/platform/projectModel-api/src/com/intellij/configurationStore/xmlSerializer.kt b/platform/projectModel-api/src/com/intellij/configurationStore/xmlSerializer.kt
index be0c6f09ab3e..c8bf116b36dd 100644
--- a/platform/projectModel-api/src/com/intellij/configurationStore/xmlSerializer.kt
+++ b/platform/projectModel-api/src/com/intellij/configurationStore/xmlSerializer.kt
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-// Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+/*
+ * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+ */
 @file:JvmName("XmlSerializer")
 package com.intellij.configurationStore
 
@@ -31,16 +33,21 @@ private fun getDefaultSerializationFilter(): SkipDefaultsSerializationFilter {
 }
 
 @JvmOverloads
-fun <T : Any> T.serialize(filter: SerializationFilter? = getDefaultSerializationFilter(), createElementIfEmpty: Boolean = false): Element? {
+fun <T : Any> T.serialize(filter: SerializationFilter? = null, createElementIfEmpty: Boolean = false): Element? {
   try {
     val clazz = javaClass
     val binding = serializer.getClassBinding(clazz)
     return if (binding is BeanBinding) {
       // top level expects not null (null indicates error, empty element will be omitted)
-      binding.serialize(this, createElementIfEmpty, filter)
+      val effectiveFilter = when {
+        filter != null -> filter
+        this !is BaseState -> getDefaultSerializationFilter()
+        else -> null /* BaseState implements SerializationFilter filter */
+      }
+      binding.serialize(this, createElementIfEmpty, effectiveFilter)
     }
     else {
-      binding.serialize(this, null, filter) as Element
+      binding.serialize(this, null, filter ?: getDefaultSerializationFilter()) as Element
     }
   }
   catch (e: XmlSerializationException) {
diff --git a/platform/projectModel-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/components/BaseState.kt b/platform/projectModel-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/components/BaseState.kt
index e152ca2faa66..e576bf4153d4 100644
--- a/platform/projectModel-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/components/BaseState.kt
+++ b/platform/projectModel-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/components/BaseState.kt
@@ -125,8 +125,8 @@ abstract class BaseState : SerializationFilter, ModificationTracker {
     return result
   }
 
-  fun property(defaultValue: Float = 0f): StoredPropertyBase<Float> {
-    val result = FloatStoredProperty(defaultValue)
+  fun property(defaultValue: Float = 0f, valueNormalizer: ((value: Float) -> Float)? = null): StoredPropertyBase<Float> {
+    val result = FloatStoredProperty(defaultValue, valueNormalizer)
     properties.add(result)
     return result
   }
diff --git a/platform/projectModel-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/components/numberStoredProperties.kt b/platform/projectModel-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/components/numberStoredProperties.kt
index f990dd42baaf..66ceefdc460e 100644
--- a/platform/projectModel-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/components/numberStoredProperties.kt
+++ b/platform/projectModel-api/src/com/intellij/openapi/components/numberStoredProperties.kt
@@ -63,15 +63,16 @@ internal class LongStoredProperty(override val defaultValue: Long) : PrimitiveSt
   }
 }
 
-internal class FloatStoredProperty(override val defaultValue: Float) : PrimitiveStoredPropertyBase<Float>() {
+internal class FloatStoredProperty(override val defaultValue: Float, private val valueNormalizer: ((value: Float) -> Float)?) : PrimitiveStoredPropertyBase<Float>() {
   override var value = defaultValue
 
   override operator fun getValue(thisRef: BaseState, property: KProperty<*>) = value
 
-  override fun setValue(thisRef: BaseState, property: KProperty<*>, value: Float) {
-    if (this.value != value) {
+  override fun setValue(thisRef: BaseState, property: KProperty<*>, @Suppress("PARAMETER_NAME_CHANGED_ON_OVERRIDE") rawNewValue: Float) {
+    val newValue = valueNormalizer?.invoke(value) ?: rawNewValue
+    if (value != newValue) {
       thisRef.ownModificationCount++
-      this.value = value
+      value = newValue
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/AccessorBindingWrapper.java b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/AccessorBindingWrapper.java
index 6577012069d8..2f6b9d72e678 100644
--- a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/AccessorBindingWrapper.java
+++ b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/AccessorBindingWrapper.java
@@ -3,22 +3,30 @@
  */
 package com.intellij.util.xmlb;
 
+import com.intellij.openapi.util.text.StringUtilRt;
+import com.intellij.util.xmlb.annotations.Property;
 import org.jdom.Element;
 import org.jetbrains.annotations.NotNull;
 import org.jetbrains.annotations.Nullable;
 
+import java.awt.*;
 import java.util.List;
 
 class AccessorBindingWrapper extends Binding implements MultiNodeBinding {
   protected final Binding myBinding;
 
   private final boolean myFlat;
+  private final Property.Style beanStyle;
 
-  public AccessorBindingWrapper(@NotNull MutableAccessor accessor, @NotNull Binding binding, boolean flat) {
+  public AccessorBindingWrapper(@NotNull MutableAccessor accessor,
+                                @NotNull Binding binding,
+                                boolean flat,
+                                Property.Style beanStyle) {
     super(accessor);
 
     myBinding = binding;
     myFlat = flat;
+    this.beanStyle = beanStyle;
   }
 
   public boolean isFlat() {
@@ -33,7 +41,18 @@ class AccessorBindingWrapper extends Binding implements MultiNodeBinding {
       throw new XmlSerializationException("Property " + myAccessor + " of object " + o + " (" + o.getClass() + ") must not be null");
     }
     if (myFlat) {
-      ((BeanBinding)myBinding).serializeInto(value, (Element)context, filter);
+      Element element = (Element)context;
+      if (beanStyle == Property.Style.ATTRIBUTE && value instanceof Rectangle) {
+        Rectangle bounds = (Rectangle)value;
+        LOG.assertTrue(element != null);
+        element.setAttribute("x", Integer.toString(bounds.x));
+        element.setAttribute("y", Integer.toString(bounds.y));
+        element.setAttribute("width", Integer.toString(bounds.width));
+        element.setAttribute("height", Integer.toString(bounds.height));
+      }
+      else {
+        ((BeanBinding)myBinding).serializeInto(value, element, filter);
+      }
       return null;
     }
     else {
@@ -53,7 +72,18 @@ class AccessorBindingWrapper extends Binding implements MultiNodeBinding {
       ((BeanBinding)myBinding).deserializeInto(currentValue, element);
     }
     else {
-      Object deserializedValue = myBinding.deserializeUnsafe(currentValue, element);
+      Object deserializedValue;
+      if (beanStyle == Property.Style.ATTRIBUTE && myBinding instanceof BeanBinding && ((BeanBinding)myBinding).myBeanClass == Rectangle.class) {
+        int x = StringUtilRt.parseInt(element.getAttributeValue("x"), 0);
+        int y = StringUtilRt.parseInt(element.getAttributeValue("y"), 0);
+        int w = StringUtilRt.parseInt(element.getAttributeValue("width"), 0);
+        int h = StringUtilRt.parseInt(element.getAttributeValue("height"), 0);
+        deserializedValue = new Rectangle(x, y, w, h);
+      }
+      else {
+        deserializedValue = myBinding.deserializeUnsafe(currentValue, element);
+      }
+
       if (currentValue != deserializedValue) {
         myAccessor.set(context, deserializedValue);
       }
diff --git a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/AttributeBinding.java b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/AttributeBinding.java
index 5c0fc9766d4a..c77a5a7bcb4b 100644
--- a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/AttributeBinding.java
+++ b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/AttributeBinding.java
@@ -1,17 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o.
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
+ * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
  */
 package com.intellij.util.xmlb;
 
@@ -22,8 +10,8 @@ import org.jetbrains.annotations.Nullable;
 class AttributeBinding extends BasePrimitiveBinding {
   private final Class<?> valueClass;
 
-  public AttributeBinding(@NotNull MutableAccessor accessor, @NotNull Attribute attribute) {
-    super(accessor, attribute.value(), attribute.converter());
+  public AttributeBinding(@NotNull MutableAccessor accessor, @Nullable Attribute attribute) {
+    super(accessor, attribute == null ? null : attribute.value(), attribute == null ? null : attribute.converter());
 
     valueClass = XmlSerializerImpl.typeToClass(accessor.getGenericType());
   }
@@ -36,12 +24,16 @@ class AttributeBinding extends BasePrimitiveBinding {
       return null;
     }
 
+    Converter<Object> converter = getConverter();
     String stringValue;
-    if (myConverter == null) {
+    if (converter == null) {
       stringValue = XmlSerializerImpl.convertToString(value);
     }
     else {
-      stringValue = myConverter.toString(value);
+      stringValue = converter.toString(value);
+      if (stringValue == null) {
+        return null;
+      }
     }
     return new org.jdom.Attribute(myName, stringValue);
   }
diff --git a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/BasePrimitiveBinding.java b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/BasePrimitiveBinding.java
index 61caf9dac3ff..7d3485625da8 100644
--- a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/BasePrimitiveBinding.java
+++ b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/BasePrimitiveBinding.java
@@ -1,17 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o.
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
+ * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
  */
 package com.intellij.util.xmlb;
 
@@ -65,4 +53,19 @@ abstract class BasePrimitiveBinding extends Binding {
   public final Object deserializeUnsafe(Object context, @NotNull Element element) {
     return deserialize(context, element);
   }
+
+  @Nullable
+  protected final Converter<Object> getConverter() {
+    //Converter<Object> converter = myConverter;
+    //if (converter == null && o instanceof Converter) {
+    //  try {
+    //    //noinspection unchecked
+    //    converter = (Converter<Object>)o;
+    //  }
+    //  catch (Exception e) {
+    //    LOG.warn(e);
+    //  }
+    //}
+    return myConverter;
+  }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/BeanBinding.java b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/BeanBinding.java
index 4eb39663ed9e..03e9eebc8950 100644
--- a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/BeanBinding.java
+++ b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/BeanBinding.java
@@ -50,10 +50,12 @@ public class BeanBinding extends NotNullDeserializeBinding {
   public synchronized void init(@NotNull Type originalType, @NotNull Serializer serializer) {
     assert myBindings == null;
 
+    Property classAnnotation = myBeanClass.getAnnotation(Property.class);
+
     List<MutableAccessor> accessors = getAccessors(myBeanClass);
     myBindings = new Binding[accessors.size()];
     for (int i = 0, size = accessors.size(); i < size; i++) {
-      Binding binding = createBinding(accessors.get(i), serializer);
+      Binding binding = createBinding(accessors.get(i), serializer, classAnnotation == null ? Property.Style.OLD : classAnnotation.style());
       binding.init(originalType, serializer);
       myBindings[i] = binding;
     }
@@ -251,6 +253,7 @@ public class BeanBinding extends NotNullDeserializeBinding {
         return name;
       }
     }
+
     String name = aClass.getSimpleName();
     if (name.isEmpty()) {
       name = aClass.getSuperclass().getSimpleName();
@@ -263,7 +266,8 @@ public class BeanBinding extends NotNullDeserializeBinding {
     return name;
   }
 
-  private static String getTagNameFromAnnotation(Class<?> aClass) {
+  @Nullable
+  private static String getTagNameFromAnnotation(@NotNull Class<?> aClass) {
     Tag tag = aClass.getAnnotation(Tag.class);
     return tag != null && !tag.value().isEmpty() ? tag.value() : null;
   }
@@ -278,11 +282,12 @@ public class BeanBinding extends NotNullDeserializeBinding {
     accessors = new ArrayList<MutableAccessor>();
 
     Map<String, Couple<Method>> nameToAccessors;
-    if (aClass != Rectangle.class) {   // special case for Rectangle.class to avoid infinite recursion during serialization due to bounds() method
-      nameToAccessors = collectPropertyAccessors(aClass, accessors);
+    // special case for Rectangle.class to avoid infinite recursion during serialization due to bounds() method
+    if (aClass == Rectangle.class) {
+      nameToAccessors = Collections.emptyMap();
     }
     else {
-      nameToAccessors = Collections.emptyMap();
+      nameToAccessors = collectPropertyAccessors(aClass, accessors);
     }
 
     int propertyAccessorCount = accessors.size();
@@ -351,6 +356,7 @@ public class BeanBinding extends NotNullDeserializeBinding {
   }
 
   private static boolean hasStoreAnnotations(@NotNull AccessibleObject object) {
+    //noinspection deprecation
     return object.getAnnotation(OptionTag.class) != null ||
            object.getAnnotation(Tag.class) != null ||
            object.getAnnotation(Attribute.class) != null ||
@@ -414,7 +420,7 @@ public class BeanBinding extends NotNullDeserializeBinding {
   }
 
   @NotNull
-  private static Binding createBinding(@NotNull MutableAccessor accessor, @NotNull Serializer serializer) {
+  private static Binding createBinding(@NotNull MutableAccessor accessor, @NotNull Serializer serializer, @NotNull Property.Style propertyStyle) {
     Binding binding = serializer.getBinding(accessor);
     if (binding instanceof JDOMElementBinding) {
       return binding;
@@ -436,7 +442,7 @@ public class BeanBinding extends NotNullDeserializeBinding {
     }
 
     if (binding instanceof CompactCollectionBinding) {
-      return new AccessorBindingWrapper(accessor, binding, false);
+      return new AccessorBindingWrapper(accessor, binding, false, Property.Style.OLD);
     }
 
     boolean surroundWithTag = true;
@@ -454,7 +460,7 @@ public class BeanBinding extends NotNullDeserializeBinding {
       if (binding == null || binding instanceof TextBinding) {
         throw new XmlSerializationException("Text-serializable properties can't be serialized without surrounding tags: " + accessor);
       }
-      return new AccessorBindingWrapper(accessor, binding, inline);
+      return new AccessorBindingWrapper(accessor, binding, inline, property.style());
     }
 
     XCollection xCollection = accessor.getAnnotation(XCollection.class);
@@ -462,6 +468,9 @@ public class BeanBinding extends NotNullDeserializeBinding {
       return new TagBinding(accessor, xCollection.propertyElementName());
     }
 
+    if (propertyStyle == Property.Style.ATTRIBUTE) {
+      return new AttributeBinding(accessor, null);
+    }
     return new OptionTagBinding(accessor, accessor.getAnnotation(OptionTag.class));
   }
 }
diff --git a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/Converter.java b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/Converter.java
index a91e7a51da63..8f07f4e0d241 100644
--- a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/Converter.java
+++ b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/Converter.java
@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ public abstract class Converter<T> {
   @Nullable
   public abstract T fromString(@NotNull String value);
 
-  @NotNull
+  @Nullable
   public abstract String toString(@NotNull T value);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/OptionTagBinding.java b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/OptionTagBinding.java
index c317d1af4f03..2337a0dc4868 100644
--- a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/OptionTagBinding.java
+++ b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/OptionTagBinding.java
@@ -1,16 +1,6 @@
-// Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o.
-//
-// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-// You may obtain a copy of the License at
-//
-// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-//
-// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-// limitations under the License.
+/*
+ * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
+ */
 package com.intellij.util.xmlb;
 
 import com.intellij.openapi.util.text.StringUtil;
@@ -62,7 +52,8 @@ class OptionTagBinding extends BasePrimitiveBinding {
       return targetElement;
     }
 
-    if (myConverter == null) {
+    Converter<Object> converter = getConverter();
+    if (converter == null) {
       if (myBinding == null) {
         targetElement.setAttribute(myValueAttribute, XmlSerializerImpl.removeControlChars(XmlSerializerImpl.convertToString(value)));
       }
@@ -77,7 +68,10 @@ class OptionTagBinding extends BasePrimitiveBinding {
       }
     }
     else {
-      targetElement.setAttribute(myValueAttribute, XmlSerializerImpl.removeControlChars(myConverter.toString(value)));
+      String text = converter.toString(value);
+      if (text != null) {
+        targetElement.setAttribute(myValueAttribute, XmlSerializerImpl.removeControlChars(text));
+      }
     }
     return targetElement;
   }
@@ -102,16 +96,20 @@ class OptionTagBinding extends BasePrimitiveBinding {
         }
       }
     }
-    else if (myConverter == null) {
-      try {
-        XmlSerializerImpl.doSet(context, valueAttribute.getValue(), myAccessor, XmlSerializerImpl.typeToClass(myAccessor.getGenericType()));
-      }
-      catch (Exception e) {
-        throw new RuntimeException("Cannot set value for field " + myName, e);
-      }
-    }
     else {
-      myAccessor.set(context, myConverter.fromString(valueAttribute.getValue()));
+      String value = valueAttribute.getValue();
+      if (myConverter == null) {
+        try {
+          XmlSerializerImpl
+            .doSet(context, value, myAccessor, XmlSerializerImpl.typeToClass(myAccessor.getGenericType()));
+        }
+        catch (Exception e) {
+          throw new RuntimeException("Cannot set value for field " + myName, e);
+        }
+      }
+      else {
+        myAccessor.set(context, myConverter.fromString(value));
+      }
     }
     return context;
   }
diff --git a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/XmlSerializerImpl.java b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/XmlSerializerImpl.java
index 70aae6ef4a35..1fc319969a54 100644
--- a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/XmlSerializerImpl.java
+++ b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/XmlSerializerImpl.java
@@ -16,10 +16,7 @@ import org.jetbrains.annotations.Nullable;
 
 import java.lang.ref.Reference;
 import java.lang.ref.SoftReference;
-import java.lang.reflect.ParameterizedType;
-import java.lang.reflect.Type;
-import java.lang.reflect.TypeVariable;
-import java.lang.reflect.WildcardType;
+import java.lang.reflect.*;
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Date;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -293,10 +290,43 @@ public final class XmlSerializerImpl {
       else if (valueClass == Float.class) {
         deserializedValue = Float.parseFloat(value);
       }
+      else if (callFromStringIfDefined(host, value, accessor, valueClass)) {
+        return;
+      }
+
       accessor.set(host, deserializedValue);
     }
   }
 
+  private static boolean callFromStringIfDefined(@NotNull Object host,
+                                                 @NotNull String value,
+                                                 @NotNull MutableAccessor accessor,
+                                                 @NotNull Class<?> valueClass) {
+    Method fromText;
+    try {
+      fromText = valueClass.getMethod("fromText", String.class);
+    }
+    catch (NoSuchMethodException ignored) {
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    try {
+      fromText.setAccessible(true);
+    }
+    catch (SecurityException ignored) {
+    }
+
+    try {
+      accessor.set(host, fromText.invoke(null, value));
+      return true;
+    }
+    catch (IllegalAccessException ignored) {
+    }
+    catch (InvocationTargetException ignored) {
+    }
+    return false;
+  }
+
   @NotNull
   static String convertToString(@NotNull Object value) {
     if (value instanceof Date) {
diff --git a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/annotations/Property.java b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/annotations/Property.java
index 88a32d2e9b94..3553cc9fdf07 100644
--- a/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/annotations/Property.java
+++ b/platform/util/src/com/intellij/util/xmlb/annotations/Property.java
@@ -1,17 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o.
- *
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
+ * Copyright 2000-2017 JetBrains s.r.o. Use of this source code is governed by the Apache 2.0 license that can be found in the LICENSE file.
  */
 package com.intellij.util.xmlb.annotations;
 
@@ -36,6 +24,12 @@ public @interface Property {
   boolean flat() default false;
 
   Class<? extends SerializationFilter> filter() default SerializationFilter.class;
-  
+
   boolean alwaysWrite() default false;
+
+  enum Style {
+    OLD, ATTRIBUTE
+  }
+
+  Style style() default Style.OLD;
 }