diff --git a/direct/src/plugin/p3dMultifileReader.cxx b/direct/src/plugin/p3dMultifileReader.cxx
index e96ce50f00..2d665a9e15 100644
--- a/direct/src/plugin/p3dMultifileReader.cxx
+++ b/direct/src/plugin/p3dMultifileReader.cxx
@@ -158,12 +158,42 @@ read_header(const string &pathname) {
     return false;
   }
 
-  for (size_t i = 0; i < _header_size; ++i) {
-    int ch = _in.get();
-    if (ch != _header[i]) {
-      nout << "Failed header check: " << pathname << "\n";
-      return false;
+  char this_header[_header_size];
+  _in.seekg(0);
+  _in.read(this_header, _header_size);
+  if (_in.fail() || _in.gcount() != (unsigned)_header_size) {
+    nout
+      << "Unable to read Multifile header " << pathname << ".\n";
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  // Here's a special case: if the multifile begins with a hash
+  // character, then we skip at least 6 characters, and continue
+  // reading and discarding lines of ASCII text, until we come across
+  // a nonempty line that does not begin with a hash character.  This
+  // allows a P3D application (which is a multifile) to be run
+  // directly on the command line on Unix-based systems.
+  if (this_header[0] == '#') {
+    int ch = '#';
+    while (ch != EOF && ch == '#') {
+      // Skip to the end of the line.
+      while (ch != EOF && ch != '\n') {
+        ch = _in.get();
+      }
+      // Skip to the first non-whitespace character of the line.
+      while (ch != EOF && (isspace(ch) || ch == '\r')) {
+        ch = _in.get();
+      }
     }
+
+    // Now fill up the header.
+    this_header[0] = ch;
+    _in.read(this_header + 1, _header_size - 1);
+  }
+
+  if (memcmp(this_header, _header, _header_size) != 0) {
+    nout << "Failed header check: " << pathname << "\n";
+    return false;
   }
 
   unsigned int major = read_uint16();
diff --git a/direct/src/showutil/Packager.py b/direct/src/showutil/Packager.py
index 82890d2c91..d840a646fb 100644
--- a/direct/src/showutil/Packager.py
+++ b/direct/src/showutil/Packager.py
@@ -174,10 +174,14 @@ class Packager:
             if self.dryRun:
                 self.multifile = None
             else:
+                self.multifile = Multifile()
+
+                if self.p3dApplication:
+                    self.multifile.setHeaderPrefix('#! /usr/bin/env panda3d\n')
+
                 # Write the multifile to a temporary filename until we
                 # know enough to determine the output filename.
                 multifileFilename = Filename.temporary('', self.packageName)
-                self.multifile = Multifile()
                 self.multifile.openReadWrite(multifileFilename)
 
             self.extracts = []
@@ -252,7 +256,7 @@ class Packager:
                     xmodule.SetAttribute('forbid', '1')
                 if mdef.exclude and mdef.allowChildren:
                     xmodule.SetAttribute('allowChildren', '1')
-                self.components.append((newName.lower(), xmodule))
+                self.components.append(('m', newName.lower(), xmodule))
 
             # Now look for implicit shared-library dependencies.
             if PandaSystem.getPlatform().startswith('win'):
@@ -356,10 +360,14 @@ class Packager:
 
                 multifileFilename.renameTo(self.packageFullpath)
 
-                if not self.p3dApplication:
+                if self.p3dApplication:
+                    # Make the application file executable.
+                    os.chmod(self.packageFullpath.toOsSpecific(), 0755)
+                else:
                     self.compressMultifile()
                     self.writeDescFile()
                     self.writeImportDescFile()
+                
 
             # Now that all the files have been packed, we can delete
             # the temporary files.
@@ -757,7 +765,7 @@ class Packager:
                 xpackage.InsertEndChild(xrequires)
 
             self.components.sort()
-            for name, xcomponent in self.components:
+            for type, name, xcomponent in self.components:
                 xpackage.InsertEndChild(xcomponent)
 
             doc.InsertEndChild(xpackage)
@@ -935,7 +943,7 @@ class Packager:
             
             xcomponent = TiXmlElement('component')
             xcomponent.SetAttribute('filename', newName)
-            self.components.append((newName.lower(), xcomponent))
+            self.components.append(('c', newName.lower(), xcomponent))
 
         def addFoundTexture(self, filename):
             """ Adds the newly-discovered texture to the output, if it has
@@ -979,7 +987,7 @@ class Packager:
 
             xcomponent = TiXmlElement('component')
             xcomponent.SetAttribute('filename', file.newName)
-            self.components.append((file.newName.lower(), xcomponent))
+            self.components.append(('c', file.newName.lower(), xcomponent))
 
         def requirePackage(self, package):
             """ Indicates a dependency on the given package.  This
diff --git a/direct/src/showutil/packp3d.py b/direct/src/showutil/packp3d.py
index 045aa930c7..d896c60669 100755
--- a/direct/src/showutil/packp3d.py
+++ b/direct/src/showutil/packp3d.py
@@ -7,12 +7,12 @@ tree of .py files and models, into a p3d file for convenient
 distribution.  The resulting p3d file can be run by the Panda3D
 runtime executable, or by the Panda3D web browser plugin.
 
-Also see ppackage.py, which can be used to build p3d files more
+Also see ppackage, which can be used to build p3d files more
 generally, using a pdef description file.
 
 Usage:
 
-  packp3d.py [opts] app.p3d
+  %s [opts] app.p3d
 
 Options:
 
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ def makePackedApp(args):
         elif option == '-x':
             versionIndependent = True
         elif option == '-h':
-            print __doc__
+            print __doc__ % (os.path.split(sys.argv[0])[1])
             sys.exit(1)
 
     if not args:
diff --git a/direct/src/showutil/ppackage.py b/direct/src/showutil/ppackage.py
index a42be43610..fa67d2947a 100755
--- a/direct/src/showutil/ppackage.py
+++ b/direct/src/showutil/ppackage.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ This script is actually a wrapper around Panda's Packager.py.
 
 Usage:
 
-  ppackage.py [opts] package.pdef
+  %s [opts] package.pdef
 
 Required:
 
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ from direct.showutil import make_contents
 from pandac.PandaModules import *
 
 def usage(code, msg = ''):
-    print >> sys.stderr, __doc__
+    print >> sys.stderr, __doc__ % (os.path.split(sys.argv[0])[1])
     print >> sys.stderr, msg
     sys.exit(code)