diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/PreValue.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/PreValue.cs
index 3d5f13f5ee..05b7a5f5df 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/PreValue.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/Models/PreValue.cs
@@ -9,7 +9,11 @@
         {
             Value = value;
             Id = id;
+        }
 
+        public PreValue(string value)
+        {
+            Value = value;
         }
 
         /// <summary>
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/PropertyEditors/PreValueEditor.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/PropertyEditors/PreValueEditor.cs
index 3f25171063..4639b1d068 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Core/PropertyEditors/PreValueEditor.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/PropertyEditors/PreValueEditor.cs
@@ -112,10 +112,10 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.PropertyEditors
         /// This can be overridden if perhaps you have a comma delimited string posted value but want to convert those to individual rows, or to convert
         /// a json structure to multiple rows.
         /// </remarks>
-        public virtual IDictionary<string, string> ConvertEditorToDb(IDictionary<string, object> editorValue, PreValueCollection currentValue)
+        public virtual IDictionary<string, PreValue> ConvertEditorToDb(IDictionary<string, object> editorValue, PreValueCollection currentValue)
         {
             //convert to a string based value to be saved in the db
-            return editorValue.ToDictionary(x => x.Key, x => x.Value == null ? null : x.Value.ToString());
+            return editorValue.ToDictionary(x => x.Key, x => new PreValue(x.Value == null ? null : x.Value.ToString()));
         }
 
         /// <summary>
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/Services/DataTypeService.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/Services/DataTypeService.cs
index 230d01cbde..0ea5250ea8 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Core/Services/DataTypeService.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/Services/DataTypeService.cs
@@ -217,6 +217,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Services
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="id">Id of the DataTypeDefinition to save PreValues for</param>
         /// <param name="values">List of string values to save</param>
+        [Obsolete("This should no longer be used, use the alternative SavePreValues or SaveDataTypeAndPreValues methods instead. This will only insert pre-values without keys")]
         public void SavePreValues(int id, IEnumerable<string> values)
         {
             //TODO: Should we raise an event here since we are really saving values for the data type?
@@ -255,9 +256,10 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Services
         /// <param name="id"></param>
         /// <param name="values"></param>
         /// <remarks>
-        /// We will actually just remove all pre-values and re-insert them in one transaction
+        /// We need to actually look up each pre-value and maintain it's id if possible - this is because of silly property editors
+        /// like 'dropdown list publishing keys'
         /// </remarks>
-        internal void SavePreValues(int id, IDictionary<string, string> values)
+        public void SavePreValues(int id, IDictionary<string, PreValue> values)
         {
             //TODO: Should we raise an event here since we are really saving values for the data type?
 
@@ -267,22 +269,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Services
                 {
                     using (var transaction = uow.Database.GetTransaction())
                     {
-                        uow.Database.Execute("DELETE FROM cmsDataTypePreValues WHERE datatypeNodeId = @DataTypeId", new { DataTypeId = id });
-
-                        var sortOrder = 1;
-                        foreach (var value in values)
-                        {
-                            var dto = new DataTypePreValueDto
-                                {
-                                    DataTypeNodeId = id, 
-                                    Value = value.Value,
-                                    SortOrder = sortOrder,
-                                    Alias = value.Key
-                                };
-                            uow.Database.Insert(dto);
-                            sortOrder++;
-                        }
-
+                        AddOrUpdatePreValues(id, values, uow);
                         transaction.Complete();
                     }
                 }
@@ -295,7 +282,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Services
         /// <param name="dataTypeDefinition"></param>
         /// <param name="values"></param>
         /// <param name="userId"></param>
-        public void SaveDataTypeAndPreValues(IDataTypeDefinition dataTypeDefinition, IDictionary<string, string> values, int userId = 0)
+        public void SaveDataTypeAndPreValues(IDataTypeDefinition dataTypeDefinition, IDictionary<string, PreValue> values, int userId = 0)
         {
             if (Saving.IsRaisedEventCancelled(new SaveEventArgs<IDataTypeDefinition>(dataTypeDefinition), this))
                 return;
@@ -309,25 +296,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Services
                     repository.AddOrUpdate(dataTypeDefinition);
 
                     //complete the transaction, but run the delegate before the db transaction is finalized
-                    uow.Commit(database =>
-                        {
-                            //Execute this before the transaction is completed!
-                            database.Execute("DELETE FROM cmsDataTypePreValues WHERE datatypeNodeId = @DataTypeId", new { DataTypeId = dataTypeDefinition.Id });
-
-                            var sortOrder = 1;
-                            foreach (var value in values)
-                            {
-                                var dto = new DataTypePreValueDto
-                                {
-                                    DataTypeNodeId = dataTypeDefinition.Id,
-                                    Value = value.Value,
-                                    SortOrder = sortOrder,
-                                    Alias = value.Key
-                                };
-                                database.Insert(dto);
-                                sortOrder++;
-                            }
-                        });
+                    uow.Commit(database => AddOrUpdatePreValues(dataTypeDefinition.Id, values, uow));
 
                     Saved.RaiseEvent(new SaveEventArgs<IDataTypeDefinition>(dataTypeDefinition, false), this);
                 }
@@ -336,6 +305,56 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Services
             Audit.Add(AuditTypes.Save, string.Format("Save DataTypeDefinition performed by user"), userId, dataTypeDefinition.Id);
         }
 
+        private void AddOrUpdatePreValues(int id, IDictionary<string, PreValue> preValueCollection, IDatabaseUnitOfWork uow)
+        {
+            //first just get all pre-values for this data type so we can compare them to see if we need to insert or update or replace
+            var sql = new Sql().Select("*")
+                               .From<DataTypePreValueDto>()
+                               .Where<DataTypePreValueDto>(dto => dto.DataTypeNodeId == id)
+                               .OrderBy<DataTypePreValueDto>(dto => dto.SortOrder);
+            var currentVals = uow.Database.Fetch<DataTypePreValueDto>(sql).ToArray();
+
+            //already existing, need to be updated
+            var valueIds = preValueCollection.Where(x => x.Value.Id > 0).Select(x => x.Value.Id).ToArray();
+            var existingByIds = currentVals.Where(x => valueIds.Contains(x.Id)).ToArray();
+
+            //These ones need to be removed from the db, they no longer exist in the new values
+            var deleteById = currentVals.Where(x => valueIds.Contains(x.Id) == false);
+
+            foreach (var d in deleteById)
+            {
+                uow.Database.Execute(
+                    "DELETE FROM cmsDataTypePreValues WHERE datatypeNodeId = @DataTypeId AND id=@Id",
+                    new { DataTypeId = id, Id = d.Id });
+            }
+
+            var sortOrder = 1;
+
+            foreach (var pre in preValueCollection)
+            {
+                var existing = existingByIds.FirstOrDefault(valueDto => valueDto.Id == pre.Value.Id);
+                if (existing != null)
+                {
+                    existing.Value = pre.Value.Value;
+                    existing.SortOrder = sortOrder;
+                    uow.Database.Update(existing);
+                }
+                else
+                {
+                    var dto = new DataTypePreValueDto
+                    {
+                        DataTypeNodeId = id,
+                        Value = pre.Value.Value,
+                        SortOrder = sortOrder,
+                        Alias = pre.Key
+                    };
+                    uow.Database.Insert(dto);
+                }
+
+                sortOrder++;
+            }
+        }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Deletes an <see cref="IDataTypeDefinition"/>
         /// </summary>
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Core/Services/IDataTypeService.cs b/src/Umbraco.Core/Services/IDataTypeService.cs
index 9b6f23bce3..e57d9016e4 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Core/Services/IDataTypeService.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Core/Services/IDataTypeService.cs
@@ -10,8 +10,6 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Services
     /// </summary>
     public interface IDataTypeService : IService
     {
-        void SaveDataTypeAndPreValues(IDataTypeDefinition dataTypeDefinition, IDictionary<string, string> values, int userId = 0);
-
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets a <see cref="IDataTypeDefinition"/> by its Id
         /// </summary>
@@ -107,8 +105,24 @@ namespace Umbraco.Core.Services
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="id">Id of the DataTypeDefinition to save PreValues for</param>
         /// <param name="values">List of string values to save</param>
+        [Obsolete("This should no longer be used, use the alternative SavePreValues or SaveDataTypeAndPreValues methods instead. This will only insert pre-values without keys")]
         void SavePreValues(int id, IEnumerable<string> values);
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Saves a list of PreValues for a given DataTypeDefinition
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="id">Id of the DataTypeDefinition to save PreValues for</param>
+        /// <param name="values">List of key/value pairs to save</param>
+        void SavePreValues(int id, IDictionary<string, PreValue> values);
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Saves the data type and it's prevalues
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <param name="dataTypeDefinition"></param>
+        /// <param name="values"></param>
+        /// <param name="userId"></param>
+        void SaveDataTypeAndPreValues(IDataTypeDefinition dataTypeDefinition, IDictionary<string, PreValue> values, int userId = 0);
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets a specific PreValue by its Id
         /// </summary>
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/views/prevalueeditors/multivalues.controller.js b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/views/prevalueeditors/multivalues.controller.js
index bdddef9af4..c8d3c3c4a5 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/views/prevalueeditors/multivalues.controller.js
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/views/prevalueeditors/multivalues.controller.js
@@ -10,7 +10,10 @@ angular.module("umbraco").controller("Umbraco.Editors.MultiValuesController",
             //make an array from the dictionary
             var items = [];
             for (var i in $scope.model.value) { 
-                items.push({value: $scope.model.value[i]});
+                items.push({
+                    value: $scope.model.value[i],
+                    id: i
+                });
             }
             //now make the editor model the array
             $scope.model.value = items;
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Models/ContentEditing/PreValueFieldDisplay.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/Models/ContentEditing/PreValueFieldDisplay.cs
index 64a88af37f..1e8a7ba088 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/Models/ContentEditing/PreValueFieldDisplay.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/Models/ContentEditing/PreValueFieldDisplay.cs
@@ -8,11 +8,6 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.Models.ContentEditing
     [DataContract(Name = "preValue", Namespace = "")]
     public class PreValueFieldDisplay : PreValueFieldSave
     {
-        ///// <summary>
-        ///// The id of the pre-value field
-        ///// </summary>
-        //[DataMember(Name = "id", IsRequired = true)]
-        //public int Id { get; set; }
 
         /// <summary>
         /// The name to display for this pre-value field
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/PropertyEditors/FileUploadPropertyEditor.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/PropertyEditors/FileUploadPropertyEditor.cs
index 8f230cd9c5..4e90c9c6c0 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/PropertyEditors/FileUploadPropertyEditor.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/PropertyEditors/FileUploadPropertyEditor.cs
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.PropertyEditors
             /// <param name="editorValue"></param>
             /// <param name="currentValue"></param>
             /// <returns></returns>
-            public override IDictionary<string, string> ConvertEditorToDb(IDictionary<string, object> editorValue, PreValueCollection currentValue)
+            public override IDictionary<string, PreValue> ConvertEditorToDb(IDictionary<string, object> editorValue, PreValueCollection currentValue)
             {
                 var result = base.ConvertEditorToDb(editorValue, currentValue);
 
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.PropertyEditors
                 var values = result.Select(item => item.Value).ToList();
 
                 result.Clear();
-                result.Add("thumbs", string.Join(";", values));
+                result.Add("thumbs", new PreValue(string.Join(";", values)));
                 return result;
             }
         }
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/PropertyEditors/MultipleTextStringPropertyEditor.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/PropertyEditors/MultipleTextStringPropertyEditor.cs
index 879b232d3c..8b476adba0 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/PropertyEditors/MultipleTextStringPropertyEditor.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/PropertyEditors/MultipleTextStringPropertyEditor.cs
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.PropertyEditors
             /// <param name="editorValue"></param>
             /// <param name="currentValue"></param>
             /// <returns></returns>
-            public override IDictionary<string, string> ConvertEditorToDb(IDictionary<string, object> editorValue, PreValueCollection currentValue)
+            public override IDictionary<string, PreValue> ConvertEditorToDb(IDictionary<string, object> editorValue, PreValueCollection currentValue)
             {
                 //the values from the editor will be min/max fieds and we need to format to json in one field
                 var min = (editorValue.ContainsKey("min") ? editorValue["min"].ToString() : "0").TryConvertTo<int>();
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.PropertyEditors
 
                 var json = JObject.FromObject(new {Minimum = min.Success ? min.Result : 0, Maximum = max.Success ? max.Result : 0});
 
-                return new Dictionary<string, string> {{"0", json.ToString(Formatting.None)}};
+                return new Dictionary<string, PreValue> { { "0", new PreValue(json.ToString(Formatting.None)) } };
             }
 
             /// <summary>
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/PropertyEditors/ValueListPreValueEditor.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/PropertyEditors/ValueListPreValueEditor.cs
index 717dd4e53f..437e7d4a1b 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/PropertyEditors/ValueListPreValueEditor.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/PropertyEditors/ValueListPreValueEditor.cs
@@ -78,10 +78,10 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.PropertyEditors
         /// <remarks>
         /// This is mostly because we want to maintain compatibility with v6 drop down property editors that store their prevalues in different db rows.
         /// </remarks>
-        public override IDictionary<string, string> ConvertEditorToDb(IDictionary<string, object> editorValue, PreValueCollection currentValue)
+        public override IDictionary<string, PreValue> ConvertEditorToDb(IDictionary<string, object> editorValue, PreValueCollection currentValue)
         {
             var val = editorValue["items"] as JArray;
-            var result = new Dictionary<string, string>();
+            var result = new Dictionary<string, PreValue>();
             
             if (val == null)
             {
@@ -93,12 +93,18 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.PropertyEditors
                 var index = 0;
 
                 //get all values in the array that are not empty 
-                foreach (var asString in val.OfType<JObject>()
+                foreach (var item in val.OfType<JObject>()
                     .Where(jItem => jItem["value"] != null)
-                    .Select(jItem => jItem["value"].ToString())
-                    .Where(asString => asString.IsNullOrWhiteSpace() == false))
+                    .Select(jItem => new
+                        {
+                            idAsString = jItem["id"] == null ? "0" : jItem["id"].ToString(), 
+                            valAsString = jItem["value"].ToString()
+                        })
+                    .Where(x => x.valAsString.IsNullOrWhiteSpace() == false))
                 {
-                    result.Add(index.ToInvariantString(), asString);
+                    var id = 0;
+                    int.TryParse(item.idAsString, out id);
+                    result.Add(index.ToInvariantString(), new PreValue(id, item.valAsString));
                     index++;
                 }
             }