diff --git a/src/Makefile.am b/src/Makefile.am
index a03232f9..f22eddae 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/Makefile.am
@@ -49,13 +49,13 @@ $(config_output): ${config_input}
 endif # BUILD_CONFIG_OUTPUT
 
 # source files always needed for compiling
-mandatory_sources = colours.c colours.h common.c common.h conky.c conky.h \
-		core.c core.h diskio.c diskio.h exec.c exec.h fs.c fs.h logging.h \
-		mail.c mail.h mixer.c mixer.h template.c template.h timed_thread.c \
-		timed_thread.h mboxscan.c mboxscan.h read_tcp.c read_tcp.h scroll.c \
-		scroll.h specials.c specials.h tailhead.c tailhead.h temphelper.c \
-		temphelper.h text_object.c text_object.h timeinfo.c timeinfo.h \
-		algebra.c algebra.h
+mandatory_sources = colours.c colours.h combine.c combine.h common.c common.h \
+		conky.c conky.h core.c core.h diskio.c diskio.h exec.c exec.h fs.c \
+		fs.h logging.h mail.c mail.h mixer.c mixer.h template.c template.h \
+		timed_thread.c timed_thread.h mboxscan.c mboxscan.h read_tcp.c \
+		read_tcp.h scroll.c scroll.h specials.c specials.h tailhead.c \
+		tailhead.h temphelper.c temphelper.h text_object.c text_object.h \
+		timeinfo.c timeinfo.h algebra.c algebra.h
 
 # source files only needed when the apropriate option is enabled
 audacious = audacious.c audacious.h
diff --git a/src/combine.c b/src/combine.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..99632623
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/combine.c
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+/* -*- mode: c; c-basic-offset: 4; tab-width: 4; indent-tabs-mode: t -*-
+ * vim: ts=4 sw=4 noet ai cindent syntax=c
+ *
+ * Conky, a system monitor, based on torsmo
+ *
+ * Any original torsmo code is licensed under the BSD license
+ *
+ * All code written since the fork of torsmo is licensed under the GPL
+ *
+ * Please see COPYING for details
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2004, Hannu Saransaari and Lauri Hakkarainen
+ * Copyright (c) 2005-2009 Brenden Matthews, Philip Kovacs, et. al.
+ *	(see AUTHORS)
+ * All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ */
+#include "core.h"
+#include "logging.h"
+#include "text_object.h"
+
+void parse_combine_arg(struct text_object *obj, const char *arg, void *free_at_crash)
+{
+	unsigned int i,j;
+	unsigned int indenting = 0;	//vars can be used as args for other vars
+	int startvar[2];
+	int endvar[2];
+	startvar[0] = endvar[0] = startvar[1] = endvar[1] = -1;
+	j=0;
+	for (i=0; arg[i] != 0 && j < 2; i++) {
+		if(startvar[j] == -1) {
+			if(arg[i] == '$') {
+				startvar[j] = i;
+			}
+		}else if(endvar[j] == -1) {
+			if(arg[i] == '{') {
+				indenting++;
+			}else if(arg[i] == '}') {
+				indenting--;
+			}
+			if (indenting == 0 && arg[i+1] < 48) {	//<48 has 0, $, and the most used chars not used in varnames but not { or }
+				endvar[j]=i+1;
+				j++;
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	if(startvar[0] >= 0 && endvar[0] >= 0 && startvar[1] >= 0 && endvar[1] >= 0) {
+		obj->data.combine.left = malloc(endvar[0]-startvar[0] + 1);
+		obj->data.combine.seperation = malloc(startvar[1] - endvar[0] + 1);
+		obj->data.combine.right= malloc(endvar[1]-startvar[1] + 1);
+
+		strncpy(obj->data.combine.left, arg + startvar[0], endvar[0] - startvar[0]);
+		obj->data.combine.left[endvar[0] - startvar[0]] = 0;
+
+		strncpy(obj->data.combine.seperation, arg + endvar[0], startvar[1] - endvar[0]);
+		obj->data.combine.seperation[startvar[1] - endvar[0]] = 0;
+
+		strncpy(obj->data.combine.right, arg + startvar[1], endvar[1] - startvar[1]);
+		obj->data.combine.right[endvar[1] - startvar[1]] = 0;
+
+		obj->sub = malloc(sizeof(struct text_object));
+		extract_variable_text_internal(obj->sub, obj->data.combine.left);
+		obj->sub->sub = malloc(sizeof(struct text_object));
+		extract_variable_text_internal(obj->sub->sub, obj->data.combine.right);
+	} else {
+		CRIT_ERR(obj, free_at_crash, "combine needs arguments: <text1> <text2>");
+	}
+}
+
+void print_combine(struct text_object *obj, char *p, struct information *cur)
+{
+	char buf[2][max_user_text];
+	int i, j;
+	long longest=0;
+	int nextstart;
+	int nr_rows[2];
+	struct llrows {
+		char* row;
+		struct llrows* next;
+	};
+	struct llrows *ll_rows[2], *current[2];
+	struct text_object * objsub = obj->sub;
+
+	if (!cd)
+		return;
+
+	p[0]=0;
+	for(i=0; i<2; i++) {
+		nr_rows[i] = 1;
+		nextstart = 0;
+		ll_rows[i] = malloc(sizeof(struct llrows));
+		current[i] = ll_rows[i];
+		for(j=0; j<i; j++) objsub = objsub->sub;
+		generate_text_internal(buf[i], max_user_text, *objsub, cur);
+		for(j=0; buf[i][j] != 0; j++) {
+			if(buf[i][j] == '\t') buf[i][j] = ' ';
+			if(buf[i][j] == '\n') {
+				buf[i][j] = 0;
+				current[i]->row = strdup(buf[i]+nextstart);
+				if(i==0 && (long)strlen(current[i]->row) > longest) longest = (long)strlen(current[i]->row);
+				current[i]->next = malloc(sizeof(struct llrows));
+				current[i] = current[i]->next;
+				nextstart = j + 1;
+				nr_rows[i]++;
+			}
+		}
+		current[i]->row = strdup(buf[i]+nextstart);
+		if(i==0 && (long)strlen(current[i]->row) > longest) longest = (long)strlen(current[i]->row);
+		current[i]->next = NULL;
+		current[i] = ll_rows[i];
+	}
+	for(j=0; j < (nr_rows[0] > nr_rows[1] ? nr_rows[0] : nr_rows[1] ); j++) {
+		if(current[0]) {
+			strcat(p, current[0]->row);
+			i=strlen(current[0]->row);
+		}else i = 0;
+		while(i < longest) {
+			strcat(p, " ");
+			i++;
+		}
+		if(current[1]) {
+			strcat(p, obj->data.combine.seperation);
+			strcat(p, current[1]->row);
+		}
+		strcat(p, "\n");
+#ifdef HAVE_OPENMP
+#pragma omp parallel for schedule(dynamic,10)
+#endif /* HAVE_OPENMP */
+		for(i=0; i<2; i++) if(current[i]) current[i]=current[i]->next;
+	}
+#ifdef HAVE_OPENMP
+#pragma omp parallel for schedule(dynamic,10)
+#endif /* HAVE_OPENMP */
+	for(i=0; i<2; i++) {
+		while(ll_rows[i] != NULL) {
+			current[i]=ll_rows[i];
+			free(current[i]->row);
+			ll_rows[i]=current[i]->next;
+			free(current[i]);
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+void free_combine(struct text_object *obj)
+{
+	free(obj->data.combine.left);
+	free(obj->data.combine.seperation);
+	free(obj->data.combine.right);
+	free_text_objects(obj->sub, 1);
+	free(obj->sub);
+}
diff --git a/src/combine.h b/src/combine.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..22042c57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/combine.h
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/* -*- mode: c; c-basic-offset: 4; tab-width: 4; indent-tabs-mode: t -*-
+ * vim: ts=4 sw=4 noet ai cindent syntax=c
+ *
+ * Conky, a system monitor, based on torsmo
+ *
+ * Any original torsmo code is licensed under the BSD license
+ *
+ * All code written since the fork of torsmo is licensed under the GPL
+ *
+ * Please see COPYING for details
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2004, Hannu Saransaari and Lauri Hakkarainen
+ * Copyright (c) 2005-2009 Brenden Matthews, Philip Kovacs, et. al.
+ *	(see AUTHORS)
+ * All rights reserved.
+ *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ */
+#ifndef _COMBINE_H
+#define _COMBINE_H
+
+void parse_combine_arg(struct text_object *, const char *, void *);
+void print_combine(struct text_object *, char *, struct information *);
+void free_combine(struct text_object *);
+
+#endif /* _COMBINE_H */
diff --git a/src/conky.c b/src/conky.c
index 4fcad2cb..fb235fa9 100644
--- a/src/conky.c
+++ b/src/conky.c
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@
 #include "algebra.h"
 #include "build.h"
 #include "colours.h"
+#include "combine.h"
 #include "diskio.h"
 #include "exec.h"
 #ifdef X11
@@ -2530,73 +2531,7 @@ void generate_text_internal(char *p, int p_max_size,
 				print_scroll(obj, p, p_max_size, cur);
 			}
 			OBJ(combine) {
-				char buf[2][max_user_text];
-				int i, j;
-				long longest=0;
-				int nextstart;
-				int nr_rows[2];
-				struct llrows {
-					char* row;
-					struct llrows* next;
-				};
-				struct llrows *ll_rows[2], *current[2];
-				struct text_object * objsub = obj->sub;
-
-				p[0]=0;
-				for(i=0; i<2; i++) {
-					nr_rows[i] = 1;
-					nextstart = 0;
-					ll_rows[i] = malloc(sizeof(struct llrows));
-					current[i] = ll_rows[i];
-					for(j=0; j<i; j++) objsub = objsub->sub;
-					generate_text_internal(buf[i], max_user_text, *objsub, cur);
-					for(j=0; buf[i][j] != 0; j++) {
-						if(buf[i][j] == '\t') buf[i][j] = ' ';
-						if(buf[i][j] == '\n') {
-							buf[i][j] = 0;
-							current[i]->row = strdup(buf[i]+nextstart);
-							if(i==0 && (long)strlen(current[i]->row) > longest) longest = (long)strlen(current[i]->row);
-							current[i]->next = malloc(sizeof(struct llrows));
-							current[i] = current[i]->next;
-							nextstart = j + 1;
-							nr_rows[i]++;
-						}
-					}
-					current[i]->row = strdup(buf[i]+nextstart);
-					if(i==0 && (long)strlen(current[i]->row) > longest) longest = (long)strlen(current[i]->row);
-					current[i]->next = NULL;
-					current[i] = ll_rows[i];
-				}
-				for(j=0; j < (nr_rows[0] > nr_rows[1] ? nr_rows[0] : nr_rows[1] ); j++) {
-					if(current[0]) {
-						strcat(p, current[0]->row);
-						i=strlen(current[0]->row);
-					}else i = 0;
-					while(i < longest) {
-						strcat(p, " ");
-						i++;
-					}
-					if(current[1]) {
-						strcat(p, obj->data.combine.seperation);
-						strcat(p, current[1]->row);
-					}
-					strcat(p, "\n");
-					#ifdef HAVE_OPENMP
-					#pragma omp parallel for schedule(dynamic,10)
-					#endif /* HAVE_OPENMP */
-					for(i=0; i<2; i++) if(current[i]) current[i]=current[i]->next;
-				}
-				#ifdef HAVE_OPENMP
-				#pragma omp parallel for schedule(dynamic,10)
-				#endif /* HAVE_OPENMP */
-				for(i=0; i<2; i++) {
-					while(ll_rows[i] != NULL) {
-						current[i]=ll_rows[i];
-						free(current[i]->row);
-						ll_rows[i]=current[i]->next;
-						free(current[i]);
-					}
-				}
+				print_combine(obj, p, cur);
 			}
 #ifdef NVIDIA
 			OBJ(nvidia) {
diff --git a/src/core.c b/src/core.c
index 51412c16..4db44eaa 100644
--- a/src/core.c
+++ b/src/core.c
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@
 #include "algebra.h"
 #include "build.h"
 #include "colours.h"
+#include "combine.h"
 #include "diskio.h"
 #include "exec.h"
 #ifdef X11
@@ -1445,50 +1446,7 @@ struct text_object *construct_text_object(const char *s, const char *arg, long
 	END OBJ(scroll, 0)
 		parse_scroll_arg(obj, arg, free_at_crash);
 	END OBJ_ARG(combine, 0, "combine needs arguments: <text1> <text2>")
-		unsigned int i,j;
-		unsigned int indenting = 0;	//vars can be used as args for other vars
-		int startvar[2];
-		int endvar[2];
-		startvar[0] = endvar[0] = startvar[1] = endvar[1] = -1;
-		j=0;
-		for (i=0; arg[i] != 0 && j < 2; i++) {
-			if(startvar[j] == -1) {
-				if(arg[i] == '$') {
-					startvar[j] = i;
-				}
-			}else if(endvar[j] == -1) {
-				if(arg[i] == '{') {
-					indenting++;
-				}else if(arg[i] == '}') {
-					indenting--;
-				}
-				if (indenting == 0 && arg[i+1] < 48) {	//<48 has 0, $, and the most used chars not used in varnames but not { or }
-					endvar[j]=i+1;
-					j++;
-				}
-			}
-		}
-		if(startvar[0] >= 0 && endvar[0] >= 0 && startvar[1] >= 0 && endvar[1] >= 0) {
-			obj->data.combine.left = malloc(endvar[0]-startvar[0] + 1);
-			obj->data.combine.seperation = malloc(startvar[1] - endvar[0] + 1);
-			obj->data.combine.right= malloc(endvar[1]-startvar[1] + 1);
-
-			strncpy(obj->data.combine.left, arg + startvar[0], endvar[0] - startvar[0]);
-			obj->data.combine.left[endvar[0] - startvar[0]] = 0;
-
-			strncpy(obj->data.combine.seperation, arg + endvar[0], startvar[1] - endvar[0]);
-			obj->data.combine.seperation[startvar[1] - endvar[0]] = 0;
-
-			strncpy(obj->data.combine.right, arg + startvar[1], endvar[1] - startvar[1]);
-			obj->data.combine.right[endvar[1] - startvar[1]] = 0;
-
-			obj->sub = malloc(sizeof(struct text_object));
-			extract_variable_text_internal(obj->sub, obj->data.combine.left);
-			obj->sub->sub = malloc(sizeof(struct text_object));
-			extract_variable_text_internal(obj->sub->sub, obj->data.combine.right);
-		} else {
-			CRIT_ERR(obj, free_at_crash, "combine needs arguments: <text1> <text2>");
-		}
+		parse_combine_arg(obj, arg, free_at_crash);
 #ifdef NVIDIA
 	END OBJ_ARG(nvidia, 0, "nvidia needs an argument")
 		if (set_nvidia_type(&obj->data.nvidia, arg)) {
@@ -2128,11 +2086,7 @@ void free_text_objects(struct text_object *root, int internal)
 				free_scroll(obj);
 				break;
 			case OBJ_combine:
-				free(data.combine.left);
-				free(data.combine.seperation);
-				free(data.combine.right);
-				free_text_objects(obj->sub, 1);
-				free(obj->sub);
+				free_combine(obj);
 				break;
 #ifdef APCUPSD
 			case OBJ_apcupsd: