diff --git a/perltest.sh b/perltest.sh
index 44a29b901..9b6a52dba 100755
--- a/perltest.sh
+++ b/perltest.sh
@@ -15,12 +15,19 @@
 # a script to Perl through a pipe. See comments below about the data for the
 # Perl script. If the next argument of this script is "-utf8", a suitable
 # prefix for the Perl script is set up.
-
-# If the next argument of this script is -locale, it must be followed by the
-# name of a locale, which is then set when running the tests. Setting a locale
-# implies -utf8. For example:
 #
-#   ./perltest.sh -locale tr_TR.utf8 some-file
+# A similar process is used to indicate the desire to set a specific locale
+# tables per pattern in a similar way to pcre2test through a locale modifier,
+# by using the -locale argument. This can be optionally combined with the
+# previous arguments; for example, to process an UTF-8 test file in Turkish,
+# add the locale=tr_TR.utf8 modifier to the pattern and -locale to perltest,
+# or invoke something like (the specific names of the locale might vary):
+#
+#   ./perltest.sh -utf8 -locale=tr_TR.utf8 some-file
+#
+# If the -locale argument has no setting, a suitable default locale is used
+# when possible and reported at startup, it can be always overriden using the
+# locale modifier for each pattern.
 #
 # The remaining arguments of this script, if any, are passed to Perl. They are
 # an input file and an output file. If there is one argument, the output is
@@ -33,7 +40,7 @@
 
 perl=perl
 perlarg=""
-prefix=''
+prefix=""
 spc=""
 
 if [ $# -gt 0 -a "$1" = "-perl" ] ; then
@@ -53,27 +60,37 @@ if [ $# -gt 0 -a "$1" = "-w" ] ; then
 fi
 
 if [ $# -gt 0 -a "$1" = "-utf8" ] ; then
-  prefix="use utf8; require Encode;"
+  default_locale="C.utf8"
+  prefix="\
+  use utf8;\
+  require Encode;"
   perlarg="$perlarg$spc-CSD"
-
   shift
 fi
 
-if [ $# -gt 0 -a "$1" = "-locale" ] ; then
-  if [ $# -lt 2 ] ; then
-    echo "perltest.sh: Missing locale name - abandoned"
-    exit 1
+if [ $# -gt 0 ] ; then
+  case "$1" in
+  -locale=*)
+    default_locale=${1#-locale=}
+    ;;
+  -locale)
+    default_locale=${default_locale:-C}
+    ;;
+  *)
+    skip=1
+  esac
+  if [ -z "$skip" ] ; then
+    prefix="\
+    use POSIX qw(locale_h);\
+    use locale qw(:ctype);\
+    \
+    \$default_locale = setlocale(LC_CTYPE, \"$default_locale\");\
+    if (\"\$default_locale\" eq \"\")\
+      { die \"perltest: Failed to set locale \\\"$default_locale\\\"\\n\"; }\
+    print \"Locale: \$default_locale\\n\";\
+    $prefix"
+    shift
   fi
-  prefix="use utf8;\
-  use POSIX qw(locale_h);\
-  use locale;\
-  \$loc=setlocale(LC_ALL, \"$2\");\
-  if (\"\$loc\" eq \"\")\
-    { die \"perltest.sh: Failed to set locale \\\"$2\\\" - abandoned\\n\";}\
-  print \"Locale: \$loc\\n\";\
-  require Encode;"
-  shift
-  shift
 fi
 
 
@@ -87,6 +104,7 @@ fi
 #   dupnames           ignored (Perl always allows)
 #   hex                preprocess pattern with embedded octets
 #   jitstack           ignored
+#   locale             use a specific locale tables
 #   mark               show mark information
 #   no_auto_possess    ignored
 #   no_start_optimize  insert (??{""}) at pattern start (disables optimizing)
@@ -146,7 +164,7 @@ else
   {
   foreach $c (split(//, $_[0]))
     {
-    if (ord $c >= 32 && ord $c < 127) { $t .= $c; }
+    if ($c =~ /^[[:print:]]$/) { $t .= $c; }
       else { $t .= sprintf("\\x%02x", ord $c); }
     }
   }
@@ -190,6 +208,12 @@ $default_show_mark = 0;
 NEXT_RE:
 for (;;)
   {
+  if (defined $locale && defined $default_locale)
+    {
+    setlocale(LC_CTYPE, $default_locale);
+    undef $locale;
+    }
+
   printf "  re> " if $interact;
   last if ! ($_ = <$infile>);
   printf $outfile "$_" if ! $interact;
@@ -263,10 +287,6 @@ for (;;)
 
   $mod =~ s/allaftertext,?//;
 
-  # Detect utf
-
-  $utf8 = $mod =~ s/utf,?//;
-
   # Remove "dupnames".
 
   $mod =~ s/dupnames,?//;
@@ -275,6 +295,19 @@ for (;;)
 
   $mod =~ s/jitstack=\d+,?//;
 
+  # The "locale" modifier indicates which locale to use
+  if ($mod =~ /locale=([^,]+),?/)
+    {
+    die "perltest: missing -locale cmdline flag" unless defined &setlocale;
+    $locale = setlocale(LC_CTYPE, $1);
+    if (!defined $locale)
+      {
+      print "** Failed to set locale '$1'\n";
+      next NEXT_RE;
+      }
+    }
+  $mod =~ s/locale=[^,]*,?//;                # Remove it; "locale=" Ignored
+
   # The "mark" modifier requests checking of MARK data */
 
   $show_mark = $default_show_mark | ($mod =~ s/mark,?//);
@@ -283,11 +316,16 @@ for (;;)
 
   $mod =~ s/ucp,?/u/;
 
+  # Detect utf
+
+  $utf8 = $mod =~ s/utf,?//;
+
   # Remove "no_auto_possess".
 
   $mod =~ s/no_auto_possess,?//;
 
-  # The "hex" modifier instructs us to preprocess the pattern
+  # The "hex" modifier instructs us to preprocess a pattern with embedded
+  # octets formatted as two digit hexadecimals
 
   if ($mod =~ s/hex,?//)
     {
@@ -321,12 +359,11 @@ for (;;)
 
   $mod =~ s/-no_start_optimize,?//;
 
-  if ($mod =~ s/no_start_optimize,?//) { $pat =~ s/$del/$del(??{""})/; }
+  if ($mod =~ s/no_start_optimize,?//) { $pat = '(??{""})' . $pat; }
 
   # Add back retained modifiers and check that the pattern is valid.
 
   $mod =~ s/,//g;
-
   $pattern = "$del$pat$del$mod";
 
   eval "\$_ =~ ${pattern}";
@@ -419,7 +456,7 @@ for (;;)
 
     if ($@)
       {
-      printf $outfile "Error: $@\n";
+      printf $outfile "Error: $@";
       next NEXT_RE;
       }
     elsif (scalar(@subs) == 0)
diff --git a/src/pcre2test.c b/src/pcre2test.c
index 8dd8d67c3..c764f1731 100644
--- a/src/pcre2test.c
+++ b/src/pcre2test.c
@@ -720,7 +720,7 @@ static modstruct modlist[] = {
   { "jitstack",                    MOD_PNDP, MOD_INT, 0,                          PO(jitstack) },
   { "jitverify",                   MOD_PAT,  MOD_CTL, CTL_JITVERIFY,              PO(control) },
   { "literal",                     MOD_PAT,  MOD_OPT, PCRE2_LITERAL,              PO(options) },
-  { "locale",                      MOD_PAT,  MOD_STR, LOCALESIZE,                 PO(locale) },
+  { "locale",                      MOD_PATP, MOD_STR, LOCALESIZE,                 PO(locale) },
   { "mark",                        MOD_PNDP, MOD_CTL, CTL_MARK,                   PO(control) },
   { "match_invalid_utf",           MOD_PAT,  MOD_OPT, PCRE2_MATCH_INVALID_UTF,    PO(options) },
   { "match_limit",                 MOD_CTM,  MOD_INT, 0,                          MO(match_limit) },
diff --git a/testdata/testinput1 b/testdata/testinput1
index 908ab5ea6..0794502e7 100644
--- a/testdata/testinput1
+++ b/testdata/testinput1
@@ -5087,6 +5087,15 @@ name)/mark
 \= Expect no match
     D 
 
+/(*COMMIT)ABC/no_start_optimize
+    ABC
+\= Expect no match
+    DEFABC
+
+/(*COMMIT)ABC/
+    ABC
+    DEFABC
+
 # This should fail, as the skip causes a bump to offset 3 (the skip).
 
 /A(*MARK:A)A+(*SKIP)(B|Z) | AC/x,mark
diff --git a/testdata/testinput3 b/testdata/testinput3
index 20f8d4c23..be3373e69 100644
--- a/testdata/testinput3
+++ b/testdata/testinput3
@@ -14,10 +14,6 @@
 /^[\w]+/locale=fr_FR
     École
 
-/^[\w]+/
-\= Expect no match
-    École
-
 /^[\W]+/
     École
 
@@ -80,6 +76,14 @@
 \= Expect no match
     \x9c
 
+/ÿ/i
+    \xff
+\= Expect no match
+    y
+
+/(.)\1/i
+    \xfe\xde
+
 /\W+/
     >>>\xaa<<<
     >>>\xba<<< 
diff --git a/testdata/testoutput1 b/testdata/testoutput1
index fc2753bfe..8daf83628 100644
--- a/testdata/testoutput1
+++ b/testdata/testoutput1
@@ -8174,6 +8174,19 @@ MK: B
     D 
 No match, mark = B
 
+/(*COMMIT)ABC/no_start_optimize
+    ABC
+ 0: ABC
+\= Expect no match
+    DEFABC
+No match
+
+/(*COMMIT)ABC/
+    ABC
+ 0: ABC
+    DEFABC
+ 0: ABC
+
 # This should fail, as the skip causes a bump to offset 3 (the skip).
 
 /A(*MARK:A)A+(*SKIP)(B|Z) | AC/x,mark
diff --git a/testdata/testoutput3 b/testdata/testoutput3
index ffe1f29d8..c6b120df8 100644
--- a/testdata/testoutput3
+++ b/testdata/testoutput3
@@ -16,11 +16,6 @@ No match
     École
  0: École
 
-/^[\w]+/
-\= Expect no match
-    École
-No match
-
 /^[\W]+/
     École
  0: \xc9
@@ -115,6 +110,18 @@ No match
     \x9c
 No match
 
+/ÿ/i
+    \xff
+ 0: ÿ
+\= Expect no match
+    y
+No match
+
+/(.)\1/i
+    \xfe\xde
+ 0: þÞ
+ 1: þ
+
 /\W+/
     >>>\xaa<<<
  0: >>>
diff --git a/testdata/testoutput3A b/testdata/testoutput3A
index 8b3e06b1d..e21ff2281 100644
--- a/testdata/testoutput3A
+++ b/testdata/testoutput3A
@@ -16,11 +16,6 @@ No match
     École
  0: École
 
-/^[\w]+/
-\= Expect no match
-    École
-No match
-
 /^[\W]+/
     École
  0: \xc9
@@ -115,6 +110,18 @@ No match
     \x9c
 No match
 
+/ÿ/i
+    \xff
+ 0: ÿ
+\= Expect no match
+    y
+No match
+
+/(.)\1/i
+    \xfe\xde
+ 0: þÞ
+ 1: þ
+
 /\W+/
     >>>\xaa<<<
  0: >>>
diff --git a/testdata/testoutput3B b/testdata/testoutput3B
index 73120b002..79aafcee3 100644
--- a/testdata/testoutput3B
+++ b/testdata/testoutput3B
@@ -16,11 +16,6 @@ No match
     École
  0: École
 
-/^[\w]+/
-\= Expect no match
-    École
-No match
-
 /^[\W]+/
     École
  0: \xc9
@@ -115,6 +110,18 @@ No match
     \x9c
 No match
 
+/ÿ/i
+    \xff
+ 0: ÿ
+\= Expect no match
+    y
+No match
+
+/(.)\1/i
+    \xfe\xde
+ 0: þÞ
+ 1: þ
+
 /\W+/
     >>>\xaa<<<
  0: >>>
diff --git a/testdata/wintestinput3 b/testdata/wintestinput3
index 8d8017a65..6f124e376 100644
--- a/testdata/wintestinput3
+++ b/testdata/wintestinput3
@@ -14,10 +14,6 @@
 /^[\w]+/locale=french
     École
 
-/^[\w]+/
-    *** Failers
-    École
-
 /^[\W]+/
     École
 
@@ -75,6 +71,16 @@
     *** Failers 
     école
 
+/\xb5/i
+    µ
+    *** Failers
+    \x9c
+
+/ÿ/i
+    \xff
+    *** Failers
+    y
+
 /\W+/
     >>>\xaa<<<
     >>>\xba<<< 
diff --git a/testdata/wintestoutput3 b/testdata/wintestoutput3
index b1894b66d..ad6a0e1aa 100644
--- a/testdata/wintestoutput3
+++ b/testdata/wintestoutput3
@@ -17,12 +17,6 @@ No match
     École
  0: École
 
-/^[\w]+/
-    *** Failers
-No match
-    École
-No match
-
 /^[\W]+/
     École
  0: \xc9
@@ -89,17 +83,17 @@ No match
 
 /\w/I
 Capture group count = 0
-Starting code units: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P 
-  Q R S T U V W X Y Z _ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 
+Starting code units: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P
+  Q R S T U V W X Y Z _ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
 Subject length lower bound = 1
 
 /\w/I,locale=french
 Capture group count = 0
-Starting code units: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P 
-  Q R S T U V W X Y Z _ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 
-  ƒ Š Œ Ž š œ ž Ÿ ª ² ³ µ ¹ º À Á Â Ã Ä Å Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ð Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö 
-  Ø Ù Ú Û Ü Ý Þ ß à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ð ñ ò ó ô õ ö ø ù ú û ü ý 
-  þ ÿ 
+Starting code units: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P
+  Q R S T U V W X Y Z _ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
+  ƒ Š Œ Ž š œ ž Ÿ ª ² ³ µ ¹ º À Á Â Ã Ä Å Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ð Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö
+  Ø Ù Ú Û Ü Ý Þ ß à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ð ñ ò ó ô õ ö ø ù ú û ü ý
+  þ ÿ
 Subject length lower bound = 1
 
 # All remaining tests are in the french locale, so set the default.
@@ -120,6 +114,22 @@ No match
     école
 No match
 
+/\xb5/i
+    µ
+ 0: µ
+    *** Failers
+No match
+    \x9c
+No match
+
+/ÿ/i
+    \xff
+ 0: ÿ
+    *** Failers
+No match
+    y
+No match
+
 /\W+/
     >>>\xaa<<<
  0: >>>
@@ -166,10 +176,10 @@ No match
         End
 ------------------------------------------------------------------
 Capture group count = 0
-Starting code units: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 
-  a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ƒ Š Œ Ž š œ ž Ÿ ª µ º 
-  À Á Â Ã Ä Å Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ð Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö Ø Ù Ú Û Ü Ý Þ ß à á â ã ä å 
-  æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ð ñ ò ó ô õ ö ø ù ú û ü ý þ ÿ 
+Starting code units: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
+  a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ƒ Š Œ Ž š œ ž Ÿ ª µ º
+  À Á Â Ã Ä Å Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ð Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö Ø Ù Ú Û Ü Ý Þ ß à á â ã ä å
+  æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ð ñ ò ó ô õ ö ø ù ú û ü ý þ ÿ
 Subject length lower bound = 3
 
 # End of testinput3