diff --git a/docs/OPeNDAP.dox b/docs/OPeNDAP.dox
index 59f383953..7b17a0940 100644
--- a/docs/OPeNDAP.dox
+++ b/docs/OPeNDAP.dox
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-/*! \page dap2 DAP2 Support
+/*!
+\page dap2 DAP2 Support
 
 \tableofcontents
 
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ See the following pages for more information.
 - \subpage var_dim_trans
 - \subpage var_name_trans
 
-\page dap_accessing_data Accessing OPeNDAP Data
+\section dap_accessing_data Accessing OPeNDAP Data
 
 In order to access an OPeNDAP data source through the netCDF API, the
 file name normally used is replaced with a URL with a specific
@@ -177,13 +178,13 @@ variables:
 }
 \endcode
 
-\page dap_to_netcdf DAP to NetCDF Translation Rules
+\section dap_to_netcdf DAP to NetCDF Translation Rules
 
 Currently only one translation available: DAP 2 Protocol to netCDF-3.
 There used to be a DAP 2 Protocol to netCDF-4 translation
 but that has been removed until the DAP4 protocol is available.
 
-\section nc3_trans_rules netCDF-3 Translation Rules
+\subsection nc3_trans_rules netCDF-3 Translation Rules
 
 The current default translation code translates the OPeNDAP protocol
 to netCDF-3 (classic). This netCDF-3 translation converts an OPeNDAP
@@ -225,7 +226,7 @@ Dataset {
 } D1;
 \endcode
 
-\section var_def Variable Definition
+\subsection var_def Variable Definition
 
 The set of netCDF variables is derived from the fields with primitive
 base types as they occur in Sequences, Grids, and Structures. The
@@ -244,7 +245,7 @@ within grids are left out in order to mimic the behavior of libnc-dap.
     lon
 \endcode
 
-\page dap2_reserved_keywords DAP2 Reserved Keywords
+\section dap2_reserved_keywords DAP2 Reserved Keywords
 
 In the OPeNDAP DAP2 protocol, there are a number of reserved keywords.  These keywords are case insensitive and if you use one as a netCDF variable name, you may encounter odd behavior such as case changes (depending on the client DDS/DAS parser).  The list of reserved keywords as used by the netCDF-C library parser are as follows:
 
@@ -272,7 +273,7 @@ In the OPeNDAP DAP2 protocol, there are a number of reserved keywords.  These ke
 - program
 
 
-\page var_dim_trans Variable Dimension Translation
+\section var_dim_trans Variable Dimension Translation
 
 A variable's rank is determined from three sources.
 - The variable has the dimensions associated with the field it
@@ -287,7 +288,7 @@ containers is a DAP DDS Sequence. This is discussed more fully below.
 If the type of the netCDF variable is char, then an extra string
 dimension is added as the last dimension.
 
-\section dim_trans Dimension translation
+\subsection dim_trans Dimension translation
 
 For dimensions, the rules are as follows.
 
@@ -366,7 +367,7 @@ dimensions:
   S1.FS2.f2_0 = 2 ;
 \endcode
 
-\page var_name_trans Variable Name Translation
+\section var_name_trans Variable Name Translation
 
 The steps for variable name translation are as follows.
 
@@ -435,7 +436,7 @@ int S1.FS2.f1(lat, lat) ;
 Note that this is incorrect because it dimensions S1.FS2.f1(2,2)
 rather than S1.FS2.f1(2,3).
 
-\section dap_translation Translating DAP DDS Sequences
+\subsection dap_translation Translating DAP DDS Sequences
 
 Any variable (as determined above) that is contained directly or
 indirectly by a Sequence is subject to revision of its rank using the
@@ -552,7 +553,7 @@ performance.
 
 Currently, a limited set of client parameters is
 recognized. Parameters not listed here are ignored, but no error is
-signalled.
+signalled. All names are case insensitive.
 
 Parameter Name Legal Values Semantics
 - "log" | "log=<file>" - Turn on logging and send the log output to
@@ -568,10 +569,11 @@ Parameter Name Legal Values Semantics
   enabled, then this can be helpful in checking to see the access
   behavior of the netCDF code.
 - "stringlength=NN" - Specify the default string length to use for
-  string dimensions. The default is 64.
+  string dimensions. The default is 64. The name "maxstrlen" is an
+  alias for "stringlength".
 - "stringlength_<var>=NN" - Specify the default string length to use
   for a string dimension for the specified variable. The default is
-  64.
+  64. The name "maxstrlen_<var>" is an alias for "stringlength_<var>".
 - "cache" - This enables caching.
 - "cachelimit=NN" - Specify the maximum amount of space allowed for
   the cache.
diff --git a/libdap2/ncd2dispatch.c b/libdap2/ncd2dispatch.c
index e97c31239..ac623f720 100644
--- a/libdap2/ncd2dispatch.c
+++ b/libdap2/ncd2dispatch.c
@@ -1192,6 +1192,7 @@ constrainable(NCURI* durl)
    return 0;
 }
 
+/* Lookup a parameter key; case insensitive */
 static const char*
 paramlookup(NCDAPCOMMON* state, const char* key)
 {
@@ -1260,21 +1261,29 @@ applyclientparams(NCDAPCOMMON* nccomm)
 
     /* allow embedded _ */
     value = paramlookup(nccomm,"stringlength");
+    if(value == NULL) 
+        value = paramlookup(nccomm,"maxstrlen");
     if(value != NULL && strlen(value) != 0) {
         if(sscanf(value,"%d",&len) && len > 0) dfaltstrlen = len;
-    }
+    } 
     nccomm->cdf.defaultstringlength = dfaltstrlen;
 
     /* String dimension limits apply to variables */
     for(i=0;i<nclistlength(nccomm->cdf.ddsroot->tree->varnodes);i++) {
 	CDFnode* var = (CDFnode*)nclistget(nccomm->cdf.ddsroot->tree->varnodes,i);
-	/* Define the client param stringlength for this variable*/
+	/* Define the client param stringlength/maxstrlen for this variable*/
+	/* create the variable path name */
+	pathstr = makeocpathstring(conn,var->ocnode,".");
 	var->maxstringlength = 0; /* => use global dfalt */
 	strcpy(tmpname,"stringlength_");
-	pathstr = makeocpathstring(conn,var->ocnode,".");
 	strncat(tmpname,pathstr,NC_MAX_NAME);
-	nullfree(pathstr);
 	value = paramlookup(nccomm,tmpname);
+	if(value == NULL) {
+	    strcpy(tmpname,"maxstrlen_");
+	    strncat(tmpname,pathstr,NC_MAX_NAME);
+	    value = paramlookup(nccomm,tmpname);
+        }
+	nullfree(pathstr);
         if(value != NULL && strlen(value) != 0) {
             if(sscanf(value,"%d",&len) && len > 0) var->maxstringlength = len;
 	}
diff --git a/libdispatch/ncuri.c b/libdispatch/ncuri.c
index fe80097e7..f802e7da8 100644
--- a/libdispatch/ncuri.c
+++ b/libdispatch/ncuri.c
@@ -659,14 +659,16 @@ ncuriremoveparam(NCURI* uri, const char* key)
 #endif
 
 
-/* Internal version of lookup; returns the paired index of the key */
+/* Internal version of lookup; returns the paired index of the key;
+   case insensitive
+ */
 static int
 ncfind(char** params, const char* key)
 {
     int i;
     char** p;
     for(i=0,p=params;*p;p+=2,i++) {
-	if(strcmp(key,*p)==0) return i;
+	if(strcasecmp(key,*p)==0) return i;
     }
     return -1;
 }
diff --git a/ncdap_test/testurl.sh b/ncdap_test/testurl.sh
index 4f10caf6d..a99fa9608 100755
--- a/ncdap_test/testurl.sh
+++ b/ncdap_test/testurl.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
-#NOP=1
+#NOP=1 
 #NOS=1
 #NOB=1
 
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ PREFIX="[log][show=fetch]"
 SUFFIX="log&show=fetch"
 BOTHP="[log][show=fetch]"
 BOTHS="noprefetch&fetch=disk"
+STRLEN="[maxstrlen=16]"
 
 locreset () {
     rm -f ./tmp ./errtmp
@@ -60,6 +61,20 @@ buildurl $PREFIX ""
 echo "command: ${NCDUMP} -h $url"
 ${NCDUMP} -h "$url" >./tmp 2> ./errtmp
 if test "x${SHOW}" = x1 ; then cat ./tmp ; fi
+
+# Test that maxstrlen works as alias for stringlength
+echo "***Testing maxstrlen=stringlength alias"
+buildurl $STRLEN ""
+# Invoke ncdump to extract the URL
+echo "command: ${NCDUMP} -h $url"
+${NCDUMP} "$url" >./tmp 2> ./errtmp
+if test "x${SHOW}" = x1 ; then cat ./tmp ; fi
+# Look for the value of maxStrlen in output cdl
+if ! fgrep -i "maxstrlen = 16" ./tmp ; then
+echo "***Fail: maxStrlen not recognized"
+fgrep -i "maxstrlen16 = 16" ./tmp > ./errtmp
+fi
+
 fi
 
 locreset
@@ -90,5 +105,3 @@ if test "x$pass" = x0 ; then
 fi
 echo "***PASS"
 exit 0
-
-