diff --git a/AUTHORS b/AUTHORS
index d29a78df57..23314bba9c 100644
--- a/AUTHORS
+++ b/AUTHORS
@@ -1311,6 +1311,11 @@ Nix <nix[AT]esperi.demon.co.uk> {
 	Expand the plugin directory path at install time
 }
 
+Liviu Daia <Liviu.Daia[AT]imar.ro> {
+	Fix to eliminate crash when setting "column.format" preference
+	    from the command line
+}
+
 Alain Magloire <alainm[AT]rcsm.ece.mcgill.ca> was kind enough to
 give his permission to use his version of snprintf.c.
 
diff --git a/doc/ethereal.pod.template b/doc/ethereal.pod.template
index d62fcbcafe..aff991dbc2 100644
--- a/doc/ethereal.pod.template
+++ b/doc/ethereal.pod.template
@@ -1459,6 +1459,7 @@ B<http://www.ethereal.com>.
   Anand V. Narwani         <anarwani[AT]cisco.com>
   Christopher K. St. John  <cks[AT]distributopia.com>
   Nix                      <nix[AT]esperi.demon.co.uk>
+  Liviu Daia               <Liviu.Daia[AT]imar.ro>
 
 Alain Magloire <alainm[AT]rcsm.ece.mcgill.ca> was kind enough to give his
 permission to use his version of snprintf.c.
diff --git a/gtk/main.c b/gtk/main.c
index 7f1e6b88bd..32fecf4b0d 100644
--- a/gtk/main.c
+++ b/gtk/main.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /* main.c
  *
- * $Id: main.c,v 1.253 2002/07/06 16:47:17 gerald Exp $
+ * $Id: main.c,v 1.254 2002/07/07 21:52:51 guy Exp $
  *
  * Ethereal - Network traffic analyzer
  * By Gerald Combs <gerald@ethereal.com>
@@ -1401,7 +1401,6 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
   cfile.has_snap	= FALSE;
   cfile.snap		= WTAP_MAX_PACKET_SIZE;
   cfile.count		= 0;
-  col_init(&cfile.cinfo, prefs->num_cols);
 
   /* Assemble the compile-time options */
   comp_info_str = g_string_new("");
@@ -1748,7 +1747,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
   /* Notify all registered modules that have had any of their preferences
      changed either from one of the preferences file or from the command
-     line that its preferences have changed. */
+     line that their preferences have changed. */
   prefs_apply_all();
 
 #ifndef HAVE_LIBPCAP
@@ -1797,6 +1796,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 #endif
 
   /* Build the column format array */  
+  col_init(&cfile.cinfo, prefs->num_cols);
   for (i = 0; i < cfile.cinfo.num_cols; i++) {
     cfile.cinfo.col_fmt[i] = get_column_format(i);
     cfile.cinfo.col_title[i] = g_strdup(get_column_title(i));
diff --git a/tethereal.c b/tethereal.c
index 0292e0bbbd..7ded2b48ac 100644
--- a/tethereal.c
+++ b/tethereal.c
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /* tethereal.c
  *
- * $Id: tethereal.c,v 1.146 2002/06/30 20:26:45 guy Exp $
+ * $Id: tethereal.c,v 1.147 2002/07/07 21:52:48 guy Exp $
  *
  * Ethereal - Network traffic analyzer
  * By Gerald Combs <gerald@ethereal.com>
@@ -403,7 +403,6 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
   cfile.has_snap	= FALSE;
   cfile.snap		= WTAP_MAX_PACKET_SIZE;
   cfile.count		= 0;
-  col_init(&cfile.cinfo, prefs->num_cols);
 
   /* Assemble the compile-time options */
   comp_info_str = g_string_new("");
@@ -742,7 +741,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
   /* Notify all registered modules that have had any of their preferences
      changed either from one of the preferences file or from the command
-     line that its preferences have changed. */
+     line that their preferences have changed. */
   prefs_apply_all();
 
 #ifndef HAVE_LIBPCAP
@@ -755,6 +754,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
   }
 
   /* Build the column format array */  
+  col_init(&cfile.cinfo, prefs->num_cols);
   for (i = 0; i < cfile.cinfo.num_cols; i++) {
     cfile.cinfo.col_fmt[i] = get_column_format(i);
     cfile.cinfo.col_title[i] = g_strdup(get_column_title(i));