diff --git a/qrenderdoc/Code/Interface/PersistantConfig.h b/qrenderdoc/Code/Interface/PersistantConfig.h
index 22fae0edd..ebed727c2 100644
--- a/qrenderdoc/Code/Interface/PersistantConfig.h
+++ b/qrenderdoc/Code/Interface/PersistantConfig.h
@@ -308,6 +308,8 @@ DECLARE_REFLECTION_STRUCT(BugReport);
                                                                                            \
   CONFIG_SETTING_VAL(public, int, int, LocalProxyAPI, -1)                                  \
                                                                                            \
+  CONFIG_SETTING_VAL(public, bool, bool, BufferFormatter_ShowHelp, true)                   \
+                                                                                           \
   CONFIG_SETTING_VAL(public, int, TimeUnit, EventBrowser_TimeUnit, TimeUnit::Microseconds) \
                                                                                            \
   CONFIG_SETTING_VAL(public, bool, bool, EventBrowser_AddFake, true)                       \
@@ -551,6 +553,12 @@ For more information about some of these settings that are user-facing see
 
   Defaults to ``-1``.
 
+.. data:: BufferFormatter_ShowHelp
+
+  ``True`` if the buffer formatter's help section should be shown.
+
+  Defaults to ``True``.
+
 .. data:: EventBrowser_TimeUnit
 
   The :class:`TimeUnit` to use to display the duration column in the :class:`EventBrowser`.
diff --git a/qrenderdoc/Widgets/BufferFormatSpecifier.cpp b/qrenderdoc/Widgets/BufferFormatSpecifier.cpp
index a8c6d914e..6121f7d2a 100644
--- a/qrenderdoc/Widgets/BufferFormatSpecifier.cpp
+++ b/qrenderdoc/Widgets/BufferFormatSpecifier.cpp
@@ -41,9 +41,17 @@ BufferFormatSpecifier::BufferFormatSpecifier(QWidget *parent)
 
 BufferFormatSpecifier::~BufferFormatSpecifier()
 {
+  if(m_Ctx)
+    m_Ctx->Config().BufferFormatter_ShowHelp = ui->helpText->isVisible();
   delete ui;
 }
 
+void BufferFormatSpecifier::setContext(ICaptureContext *ctx)
+{
+  m_Ctx = ctx;
+  showHelp(m_Ctx->Config().BufferFormatter_ShowHelp);
+}
+
 void BufferFormatSpecifier::toggleHelp()
 {
   ui->helpText->setVisible(!ui->helpText->isVisible());
diff --git a/qrenderdoc/Widgets/BufferFormatSpecifier.h b/qrenderdoc/Widgets/BufferFormatSpecifier.h
index ae660854a..abdfcd809 100644
--- a/qrenderdoc/Widgets/BufferFormatSpecifier.h
+++ b/qrenderdoc/Widgets/BufferFormatSpecifier.h
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
 
 #include <QWidget>
 
+struct ICaptureContext;
+
 namespace Ui
 {
 class BufferFormatSpecifier;
@@ -39,6 +41,8 @@ public:
   explicit BufferFormatSpecifier(QWidget *parent = 0);
   ~BufferFormatSpecifier();
 
+  void setContext(ICaptureContext *ctx);
+
 signals:
   void processFormat(const QString &format);
 
@@ -53,4 +57,5 @@ private slots:
 
 private:
   Ui::BufferFormatSpecifier *ui;
+  ICaptureContext *m_Ctx;
 };
diff --git a/qrenderdoc/Widgets/BufferFormatSpecifier.ui b/qrenderdoc/Widgets/BufferFormatSpecifier.ui
index fe8296432..5df1e84f8 100644
--- a/qrenderdoc/Widgets/BufferFormatSpecifier.ui
+++ b/qrenderdoc/Widgets/BufferFormatSpecifier.ui
@@ -75,7 +75,10 @@
    <item row="0" column="0" colspan="2">
     <widget class="QLabel" name="helpText">
      <property name="text">
-      <string>Type in a buffer format declaration, including struct definitions. Comments and {} braces are skipped, : semantics are ignored.
+      <string>Type in a buffer format declaration. C and C++ comments are skipped, semantics are ignored.
+
+Structs can be defined and nested, and if no variables are 'loose' the last struct specified will be used.
+
 Declare each element as an hlsl/glsl variable, e.g: &quot;float4 first; float2 second; uint2 third;&quot; or vec4/vec2.
 
 Basic types accepted: bool, byte, short, int, half, float, double.
diff --git a/qrenderdoc/Windows/BufferViewer.cpp b/qrenderdoc/Windows/BufferViewer.cpp
index 058aa96c3..d7898cb12 100644
--- a/qrenderdoc/Windows/BufferViewer.cpp
+++ b/qrenderdoc/Windows/BufferViewer.cpp
@@ -1730,6 +1730,8 @@ BufferViewer::BufferViewer(ICaptureContext &ctx, bool meshview, QWidget *parent)
 
   m_MeshView = meshview;
 
+  ui->formatSpecifier->setContext(&m_Ctx);
+
   m_Flycam = new FlycamWrapper();
   m_Arcball = new ArcballWrapper();
   m_CurrentCamera = m_Arcball;
diff --git a/qrenderdoc/Windows/ConstantBufferPreviewer.cpp b/qrenderdoc/Windows/ConstantBufferPreviewer.cpp
index 7e2f21fe5..238e881d5 100644
--- a/qrenderdoc/Windows/ConstantBufferPreviewer.cpp
+++ b/qrenderdoc/Windows/ConstantBufferPreviewer.cpp
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ ConstantBufferPreviewer::ConstantBufferPreviewer(ICaptureContext &ctx, const Sha
   QObject::connect(ui->formatSpecifier, &BufferFormatSpecifier::processFormat, this,
                    &ConstantBufferPreviewer::processFormat);
 
-  ui->formatSpecifier->showHelp(false);
+  ui->formatSpecifier->setContext(&m_Ctx);
 
   ui->splitter->setCollapsible(1, true);
   ui->splitter->setSizes({1, 0});