diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/common/directives/components/content/edit.controller.js b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/common/directives/components/content/edit.controller.js
index cf1485be34..8af09e3c00 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/common/directives/components/content/edit.controller.js
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/common/directives/components/content/edit.controller.js
@@ -283,6 +283,15 @@
         // This is a helper method to reduce the amount of code repitition for actions: Save, Publish, SendToPublish
         function performSave(args) {
 
+            //update the 'save' boolean of each variant if they are flagged as being dirty
+            //TODO: This is also where we'd set this flag when we have the save dialog
+            for (var i = 0; i < $scope.content.variants.length; i++) {
+                var v = $scope.content.variants[i];
+                if (v.isDirty) {
+                    v.save = true;
+                }
+            }
+
             $scope.page.buttonGroupState = "busy";
 
             eventsService.emit("content.saving", { content: $scope.content, action: args.action });
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/common/services/contenteditinghelper.service.js b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/common/services/contenteditinghelper.service.js
index fe2a539019..42190535b4 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/common/services/contenteditinghelper.service.js
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/common/services/contenteditinghelper.service.js
@@ -518,8 +518,9 @@ function contentEditingHelper(fileManager, $q, $location, $routeParams, notifica
 
                 //check for changed properties of the content
                 for (var p in allOrigProps) {
-                    var newProp = getNewProp(allOrigProps[p].alias, allOrigProps);
-                    if (newProp && !_.isEqual(allOrigProps[p].value, newProp.value)) {
+                    var alias = allOrigProps[p].alias;
+                    var newProp = getNewProp(alias, allNewProps);
+                    if (newProp && !_.isEqual(alias, newProp.value)) {
 
                         //they have changed so set the origContent prop to the new one
                         var origVal = allOrigProps[p].value;
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/common/services/umbdataformatter.service.js b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/common/services/umbdataformatter.service.js
index a93cdf93d8..09b17b273f 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/common/services/umbdataformatter.service.js
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web.UI.Client/src/common/services/umbdataformatter.service.js
@@ -368,7 +368,8 @@
                             name: v.name,
                             properties: getContentProperties(v.tabs),
                             culture: v.language.culture,
-                            publish: v.publish
+                            publish: v.publish,
+                            save: v.save
                         };
                     })
                 };
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Editors/ContentController.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/Editors/ContentController.cs
index 822b375217..ae33e3c261 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/Editors/ContentController.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/Editors/ContentController.cs
@@ -1246,6 +1246,9 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.Editors
             //loop through each variant, set the correct name and property values
             foreach (var variant in contentSave.Variants)
             {
+                //Don't update anything for this variant if Save is not true
+                if (!variant.Save) continue;
+
                 //Don't update the name if it is empty
                 if (!variant.Name.IsNullOrWhiteSpace())
                 {
diff --git a/src/Umbraco.Web/Models/ContentEditing/ContentVariantSave.cs b/src/Umbraco.Web/Models/ContentEditing/ContentVariantSave.cs
index dc50129b37..18d1e037b6 100644
--- a/src/Umbraco.Web/Models/ContentEditing/ContentVariantSave.cs
+++ b/src/Umbraco.Web/Models/ContentEditing/ContentVariantSave.cs
@@ -26,9 +26,21 @@ namespace Umbraco.Web.Models.ContentEditing
         [DataMember(Name = "culture")]
         public string Culture { get; set; }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Indicates if the variant should be updated
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <remarks>
+        /// If this is false, this variant data will not be updated at all
+        /// </remarks>
+        [DataMember(Name = "save")]
+        public bool Save { get; set; }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Indicates if the variant should be published or unpublished
         /// </summary>
+        /// <remarks>
+        /// This option will have no affect if <see cref="Save"/> is false
+        /// </remarks>
         [DataMember(Name = "publish")]
         public bool Publish { get; set; }