diff --git a/.idea/compiler.xml b/.idea/compiler.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 96cc43e..0000000
--- a/.idea/compiler.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<project version="4">
-  <component name="CompilerConfiguration">
-    <resourceExtensions />
-    <wildcardResourcePatterns>
-      <entry name="!?*.java" />
-      <entry name="!?*.form" />
-      <entry name="!?*.class" />
-      <entry name="!?*.groovy" />
-      <entry name="!?*.scala" />
-      <entry name="!?*.flex" />
-      <entry name="!?*.kt" />
-      <entry name="!?*.clj" />
-      <entry name="!?*.aj" />
-    </wildcardResourcePatterns>
-    <annotationProcessing>
-      <profile default="true" name="Default" enabled="false">
-        <processorPath useClasspath="true" />
-      </profile>
-    </annotationProcessing>
-  </component>
-</project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.idea/copyright/profiles_settings.xml b/.idea/copyright/profiles_settings.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index e7bedf3..0000000
--- a/.idea/copyright/profiles_settings.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-<component name="CopyrightManager">
-  <settings default="" />
-</component>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.idea/dictionaries/carbonyl.xml b/.idea/dictionaries/carbonyl.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 3d22ca6..0000000
--- a/.idea/dictionaries/carbonyl.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-<component name="ProjectDictionaryState">
-  <dictionary name="carbonyl">
-    <words>
-      <w>carbonylgroup</w>
-      <w>edittext</w>
-      <w>textfieldboxes</w>
-    </words>
-  </dictionary>
-</component>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.idea/gradle.xml b/.idea/gradle.xml
index 1163edf..f360ec4 100644
--- a/.idea/gradle.xml
+++ b/.idea/gradle.xml
@@ -3,9 +3,11 @@
   <component name="GradleSettings">
     <option name="linkedExternalProjectsSettings">
       <GradleProjectSettings>
-        <option name="distributionType" value="LOCAL" />
+        <compositeConfiguration>
+          <compositeBuild compositeDefinitionSource="SCRIPT" />
+        </compositeConfiguration>
+        <option name="distributionType" value="DEFAULT_WRAPPED" />
         <option name="externalProjectPath" value="$PROJECT_DIR$" />
-        <option name="gradleHome" value="$APPLICATION_HOME_DIR$/gradle/gradle-4.1" />
         <option name="modules">
           <set>
             <option value="$PROJECT_DIR$" />
diff --git a/.idea/markdown-navigator.xml b/.idea/markdown-navigator.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index d819570..0000000
--- a/.idea/markdown-navigator.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,72 +0,0 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<project version="4">
-  <component name="MarkdownProjectSettings">
-    <PreviewSettings splitEditorLayout="SPLIT" splitEditorPreview="PREVIEW" useGrayscaleRendering="false" zoomFactor="1.0" maxImageWidth="0" showGitHubPageIfSynced="false" allowBrowsingInPreview="false" synchronizePreviewPosition="true" highlightPreviewType="NONE" highlightFadeOut="5" highlightOnTyping="true" synchronizeSourcePosition="true" verticallyAlignSourceAndPreviewSyncPosition="true" showSearchHighlightsInPreview="false" showSelectionInPreview="true">
-      <PanelProvider>
-        <provider providerId="com.vladsch.idea.multimarkdown.editor.swing.html.panel" providerName="Default - Swing" />
-      </PanelProvider>
-    </PreviewSettings>
-    <ParserSettings gitHubSyntaxChange="false">
-      <PegdownExtensions>
-        <option name="ABBREVIATIONS" value="false" />
-        <option name="ANCHORLINKS" value="true" />
-        <option name="ASIDE" value="false" />
-        <option name="ATXHEADERSPACE" value="true" />
-        <option name="AUTOLINKS" value="true" />
-        <option name="DEFINITIONS" value="false" />
-        <option name="DEFINITION_BREAK_DOUBLE_BLANK_LINE" value="false" />
-        <option name="FENCED_CODE_BLOCKS" value="true" />
-        <option name="FOOTNOTES" value="false" />
-        <option name="HARDWRAPS" value="false" />
-        <option name="HTML_DEEP_PARSER" value="false" />
-        <option name="INSERTED" value="false" />
-        <option name="QUOTES" value="false" />
-        <option name="RELAXEDHRULES" value="true" />
-        <option name="SMARTS" value="false" />
-        <option name="STRIKETHROUGH" value="true" />
-        <option name="SUBSCRIPT" value="false" />
-        <option name="SUPERSCRIPT" value="false" />
-        <option name="SUPPRESS_HTML_BLOCKS" value="false" />
-        <option name="SUPPRESS_INLINE_HTML" value="false" />
-        <option name="TABLES" value="true" />
-        <option name="TASKLISTITEMS" value="true" />
-        <option name="TOC" value="false" />
-        <option name="WIKILINKS" value="true" />
-      </PegdownExtensions>
-      <ParserOptions>
-        <option name="COMMONMARK_LISTS" value="true" />
-        <option name="DUMMY" value="false" />
-        <option name="EMOJI_SHORTCUTS" value="true" />
-        <option name="FLEXMARK_FRONT_MATTER" value="false" />
-        <option name="GFM_LOOSE_BLANK_LINE_AFTER_ITEM_PARA" value="false" />
-        <option name="GFM_TABLE_RENDERING" value="true" />
-        <option name="GITBOOK_URL_ENCODING" value="false" />
-        <option name="GITHUB_EMOJI_URL" value="false" />
-        <option name="GITHUB_LISTS" value="false" />
-        <option name="GITHUB_WIKI_LINKS" value="true" />
-        <option name="JEKYLL_FRONT_MATTER" value="false" />
-        <option name="SIM_TOC_BLANK_LINE_SPACER" value="true" />
-      </ParserOptions>
-    </ParserSettings>
-    <HtmlSettings headerTopEnabled="false" headerBottomEnabled="false" bodyTopEnabled="false" bodyBottomEnabled="false" embedUrlContent="false" addPageHeader="true">
-      <GeneratorProvider>
-        <provider providerId="com.vladsch.idea.multimarkdown.editor.swing.html.generator" providerName="Default Swing HTML Generator" />
-      </GeneratorProvider>
-      <headerTop />
-      <headerBottom />
-      <bodyTop />
-      <bodyBottom />
-    </HtmlSettings>
-    <CssSettings previewScheme="UI_SCHEME" cssUri="" isCssUriEnabled="false" isCssTextEnabled="false" isDynamicPageWidth="true">
-      <StylesheetProvider>
-        <provider providerId="com.vladsch.idea.multimarkdown.editor.swing.html.css" providerName="Default Swing Stylesheet" />
-      </StylesheetProvider>
-      <ScriptProviders />
-      <cssText />
-    </CssSettings>
-    <HtmlExportSettings updateOnSave="false" parentDir="$ProjectFileDir$" targetDir="$ProjectFileDir$" cssDir="" scriptDir="" plainHtml="false" imageDir="" copyLinkedImages="false" imageUniquifyType="0" targetExt="" useTargetExt="false" noCssNoScripts="false" linkToExportedHtml="true" exportOnSettingsChange="true" regenerateOnProjectOpen="false" />
-    <LinkMapSettings>
-      <textMaps />
-    </LinkMapSettings>
-  </component>
-</project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.idea/markdown-navigator/profiles_settings.xml b/.idea/markdown-navigator/profiles_settings.xml
deleted file mode 100644
index 57927c5..0000000
--- a/.idea/markdown-navigator/profiles_settings.xml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-<component name="MarkdownNavigator.ProfileManager">
-  <settings default="" pdf-export="" />
-</component>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.idea/misc.xml b/.idea/misc.xml
index 3507387..af0bbdd 100644
--- a/.idea/misc.xml
+++ b/.idea/misc.xml
@@ -1,30 +1,14 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <project version="4">
-  <component name="NullableNotNullManager">
-    <option name="myDefaultNullable" value="android.support.annotation.Nullable" />
-    <option name="myDefaultNotNull" value="android.support.annotation.NonNull" />
-    <option name="myNullables">
-      <value>
-        <list size="4">
-          <item index="0" class="java.lang.String" itemvalue="org.jetbrains.annotations.Nullable" />
-          <item index="1" class="java.lang.String" itemvalue="javax.annotation.Nullable" />
-          <item index="2" class="java.lang.String" itemvalue="edu.umd.cs.findbugs.annotations.Nullable" />
-          <item index="3" class="java.lang.String" itemvalue="android.support.annotation.Nullable" />
-        </list>
-      </value>
-    </option>
-    <option name="myNotNulls">
-      <value>
-        <list size="4">
-          <item index="0" class="java.lang.String" itemvalue="org.jetbrains.annotations.NotNull" />
-          <item index="1" class="java.lang.String" itemvalue="javax.annotation.Nonnull" />
-          <item index="2" class="java.lang.String" itemvalue="edu.umd.cs.findbugs.annotations.NonNull" />
-          <item index="3" class="java.lang.String" itemvalue="android.support.annotation.NonNull" />
-        </list>
-      </value>
-    </option>
+  <component name="CMakeSettings">
+    <configurations>
+      <configuration PROFILE_NAME="Debug" CONFIG_NAME="Debug" />
+    </configurations>
   </component>
   <component name="ProjectRootManager" version="2" languageLevel="JDK_1_7" project-jdk-name="1.8" project-jdk-type="JavaSDK">
     <output url="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/build/classes" />
   </component>
+  <component name="ProjectType">
+    <option name="id" value="Android" />
+  </component>
 </project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.idea/modules.xml b/.idea/modules.xml
index 0c976da..d4a8f3c 100644
--- a/.idea/modules.xml
+++ b/.idea/modules.xml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 <project version="4">
   <component name="ProjectModuleManager">
     <modules>
-      <module fileurl="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/TextFieldBoxes.iml" filepath="$PROJECT_DIR$/TextFieldBoxes.iml" />
+      <module fileurl="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/TextFieldBoxes_Fork.iml" filepath="$PROJECT_DIR$/TextFieldBoxes_Fork.iml" />
       <module fileurl="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/sample/sample.iml" filepath="$PROJECT_DIR$/sample/sample.iml" />
       <module fileurl="file://$PROJECT_DIR$/textfieldboxes/textfieldboxes.iml" filepath="$PROJECT_DIR$/textfieldboxes/textfieldboxes.iml" />
     </modules>
diff --git a/.idea/vcs.xml b/.idea/vcs.xml
index 94a25f7..35eb1dd 100644
--- a/.idea/vcs.xml
+++ b/.idea/vcs.xml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
 <project version="4">
   <component name="VcsDirectoryMappings">
-    <mapping directory="$PROJECT_DIR$" vcs="Git" />
+    <mapping directory="" vcs="Git" />
   </component>
 </project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/sample/src/main/res/layout/activity_main.xml b/sample/src/main/res/layout/activity_main.xml
index 3ca4369..07d450f 100644
--- a/sample/src/main/res/layout/activity_main.xml
+++ b/sample/src/main/res/layout/activity_main.xml
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
             android:layout_width="match_parent"
             android:layout_height="wrap_content"
             app:labelText="Title"
+            app:startIcon="@drawable/ic_mic_black_24dp"
             app:maxCharacters="20">
 
             <studio.carbonylgroup.textfieldboxes.ExtendedEditText
@@ -65,9 +66,10 @@
                 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
                 android:layout_gravity="center_horizontal"
                 android:layout_weight="2"
-                app:alwaysShowHint="true"
+                app:alwaysShowHint="false"
                 app:endIcon="@drawable/ic_mic_black_24dp"
-                app:hasFocus="true"
+                app:startIcon="@drawable/ic_location_on_black_24dp"
+                app:hasFocus="false"
                 app:helperText=" "
                 app:iconSignifier="@drawable/ic_location_on_black_24dp"
                 app:isResponsiveIconColor="true"
diff --git a/textfieldboxes/src/main/java/studio/carbonylgroup/textfieldboxes/TextFieldBoxes.java b/textfieldboxes/src/main/java/studio/carbonylgroup/textfieldboxes/TextFieldBoxes.java
index da3e9b8..1feb84e 100644
--- a/textfieldboxes/src/main/java/studio/carbonylgroup/textfieldboxes/TextFieldBoxes.java
+++ b/textfieldboxes/src/main/java/studio/carbonylgroup/textfieldboxes/TextFieldBoxes.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 import android.view.inputmethod.InputMethodManager;
 import android.widget.EditText;
 import android.widget.FrameLayout;
+import android.widget.LinearLayout;
 import android.widget.RelativeLayout;
 import android.widget.TextView;
 
@@ -81,7 +82,7 @@ public class TextFieldBoxes extends FrameLayout {
     /**
      * the text color for the counterLabel text. DEFAULT_TEXT_COLOR by default.
      */
-    protected int counterTextColor;
+    protected int charCountTextColor;
 
     /**
      * the text color for when something is wrong (e.g. exceeding max characters, setError()).
@@ -111,6 +112,11 @@ public class TextFieldBoxes extends FrameLayout {
      */
     protected int iconSignifierResourceId;
 
+    /**
+     * the resource ID of the icon at the start. 0 by default.
+     */
+    protected int startIconResourceId;
+
     /**
      * the resource ID of the icon at the end. 0 by default.
      */
@@ -169,11 +175,16 @@ public class TextFieldBoxes extends FrameLayout {
     protected AppCompatImageButton clearButton;
     protected AppCompatImageButton iconImageButton;
     protected AppCompatImageButton endIconImageButton;
+    protected AppCompatImageButton startIconImageButton;
     protected InputMethodManager inputMethodManager;
 
     protected SimpleTextChangedWatcher textChangeListener;
     private ColorDrawable mPasswordToggleDummyDrawable;
+    private ColorDrawable mStartIconDummyDrawable;
     private Drawable mOriginalEditTextEndDrawable;
+    private Drawable mOriginalEditTextStartDrawable;
+
+    protected LinearLayout endIconsLayout;
 
     public TextFieldBoxes(Context context) {
 
@@ -308,6 +319,7 @@ protected void onMeasure(int widthMeasureSpec, int heightMeasureSpec) {
         }
 
         updateClearAndEndIconLayout();
+        updateStartIconLayout();
 
         super.onMeasure(widthMeasureSpec, heightMeasureSpec);
     }
@@ -353,6 +365,41 @@ private void updateClearAndEndIconLayout() {
         }
     }
 
+    private int getStartIconWidth(){
+        int startIconW = 0;
+        if (startIconImageButton != null && startIconImageButton.getDrawable() != null) {
+            startIconW = (startIconImageButton != null && startIconImageButton.getDrawable() != null) ? startIconImageButton.getMeasuredWidth() : 0;
+        }
+        return startIconW;
+    }
+
+    private void updateStartIconLayout(){
+        if (startIconImageButton != null && startIconImageButton.getDrawable() != null){
+            int startIconW = getStartIconWidth();
+
+            if ((endIconImageButton != null && endIconImageButton.getDrawable() != null) || hasClearButton)
+                upperPanel.setPadding(getResources().getDimensionPixelOffset(R.dimen.upper_panel_paddingStart_small), 0, getResources().getDimensionPixelOffset(R.dimen.upper_panel_paddingEnd_small), 0);
+            else
+                upperPanel.setPadding(getResources().getDimensionPixelOffset(R.dimen.upper_panel_paddingStart_small), 0, getResources().getDimensionPixelOffset(R.dimen.upper_panel_paddingEnd), 0);
+
+            if (mStartIconDummyDrawable == null)
+                mStartIconDummyDrawable = new ColorDrawable();
+
+            RelativeLayout.LayoutParams lp = (RelativeLayout.LayoutParams) this.floatingLabel.getLayoutParams();
+            lp.leftMargin = startIconW;
+            this.floatingLabel.setLayoutParams(lp);
+        }else{
+            if ((endIconImageButton != null && endIconImageButton.getDrawable() != null) || hasClearButton)
+                upperPanel.setPadding(getResources().getDimensionPixelOffset(R.dimen.upper_panel_paddingStart), 0, getResources().getDimensionPixelOffset(R.dimen.upper_panel_paddingEnd_small), 0);
+            else
+                upperPanel.setPadding(getResources().getDimensionPixelOffset(R.dimen.upper_panel_paddingStart), 0, getResources().getDimensionPixelOffset(R.dimen.upper_panel_paddingEnd), 0);
+
+            RelativeLayout.LayoutParams lp = (RelativeLayout.LayoutParams) this.floatingLabel.getLayoutParams();
+            lp.leftMargin = 0;
+            this.floatingLabel.setLayoutParams(lp);
+        }
+    }
+
     private void initViews() {
 
         this.editText = findEditTextChild();
@@ -374,10 +421,12 @@ private void initViews() {
         this.bottomPart = findViewById(R.id.text_field_boxes_bottom);
         this.clearButton = findViewById(R.id.text_field_boxes_clear_button);
         this.endIconImageButton = findViewById(R.id.text_field_boxes_end_icon_button);
+        this.startIconImageButton = findViewById(R.id.text_field_boxes_start_icon_button);
         this.helperLabel = findViewById(R.id.text_field_boxes_helper);
         this.counterLabel = findViewById(R.id.text_field_boxes_counter);
         this.iconImageButton = findViewById(R.id.text_field_boxes_imageView);
         this.editTextLayout = findViewById(R.id.text_field_boxes_editTextLayout);
+        this.endIconsLayout = findViewById(R.id.text_field_boxs_end_icons_layout);
 
         this.inputLayout.addView(this.editText);
         this.editTextLayout.setAlpha(0f);
@@ -388,6 +437,8 @@ private void initViews() {
         this.clearButton.setAlpha(0.35f);
         this.endIconImageButton.setColorFilter(DEFAULT_TEXT_COLOR);
         this.endIconImageButton.setAlpha(0.54f);
+        this.startIconImageButton.setColorFilter(DEFAULT_TEXT_COLOR);
+        this.startIconImageButton.setAlpha(0.54f);
         this.labelTopMargin = RelativeLayout.LayoutParams.class
                 .cast(this.floatingLabel.getLayoutParams()).topMargin;
 
@@ -427,7 +478,11 @@ public void onClick(View v) {
         this.editText.setDefaultOnFocusChangeListener(new OnFocusChangeListener() {
             @Override
             public void onFocusChange(View view, boolean b) {
-                if (b) setHasFocus(true);
+                if (b){
+                    setHasFocus(true);
+                    inputMethodManager.showSoftInput(editText, InputMethodManager.SHOW_IMPLICIT);
+                    mainBody.performClick();
+                }
                 else setHasFocus(false);
             }
         });
@@ -491,8 +546,8 @@ protected void handleAttributes(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
             /* Colors */
             this.helperTextColor = styledAttrs
                     .getInt(R.styleable.TextFieldBoxes_helperTextColor, DEFAULT_TEXT_COLOR);
-            this.counterTextColor = styledAttrs
-                    .getInt(R.styleable.TextFieldBoxes_counterTextColor, DEFAULT_TEXT_COLOR);
+            this.charCountTextColor = styledAttrs
+                    .getInt(R.styleable.TextFieldBoxes_charCountTextColor, DEFAULT_TEXT_COLOR);
             this.errorColor = styledAttrs
                     .getInt(R.styleable.TextFieldBoxes_errorColor, DEFAULT_ERROR_COLOR);
             this.primaryColor = styledAttrs
@@ -511,6 +566,8 @@ protected void handleAttributes(Context context, AttributeSet attrs) {
             this.enabled = styledAttrs.getBoolean(R.styleable.TextFieldBoxes_enabled, true);
             this.iconSignifierResourceId = styledAttrs.
                     getResourceId(R.styleable.TextFieldBoxes_iconSignifier, 0);
+            this.startIconResourceId = styledAttrs.
+                getResourceId(R.styleable.TextFieldBoxes_startIcon, 0);
             this.endIconResourceId = styledAttrs.
                     getResourceId(R.styleable.TextFieldBoxes_endIcon, 0);
             this.isResponsiveIconColor = styledAttrs
@@ -536,6 +593,9 @@ public void setSimpleTextChangeWatcher(SimpleTextChangedWatcher textChangeListen
      * lower the labelText labelText Label when there is no text at losing focus
      */
     protected void deactivate() {
+        RelativeLayout.LayoutParams lp = (RelativeLayout.LayoutParams) this.floatingLabel.getLayoutParams();
+        lp.leftMargin = 0;
+        this.floatingLabel.setLayoutParams(lp);
 
         if (this.editText.getText().toString().isEmpty()) {
 
@@ -574,6 +634,11 @@ protected void deactivate() {
      */
     protected void activate(boolean animated) {
 
+        RelativeLayout.LayoutParams lp = (RelativeLayout.LayoutParams) this.floatingLabel.getLayoutParams();
+        lp.leftMargin = getStartIconWidth();
+        this.floatingLabel.setLayoutParams(lp);
+
+
         this.editText.setAlpha(1);
 
         if (this.editText.getText().toString().isEmpty() && !isActivated()) {
@@ -714,6 +779,21 @@ protected void updateDimens(boolean useDenseSpacing) {
                                 R.dimen.dense_end_icon_min_width
                 )
         );
+        /*Start Icon*/
+        this.startIconImageButton.setMinimumHeight(
+            res.getDimensionPixelOffset(
+                useDenseSpacing ?
+                    R.dimen.start_icon_min_height :
+                    R.dimen.dense_start_icon_min_height
+            )
+        );
+        this.startIconImageButton.setMinimumWidth(
+            res.getDimensionPixelOffset(
+                useDenseSpacing ?
+                    R.dimen.start_icon_min_width :
+                    R.dimen.dense_start_icon_min_width
+            )
+        );
 
         /* Clear Icon */
         this.clearButton.setMinimumHeight(
@@ -852,7 +932,7 @@ protected void removeCounterError() {
         this.onError = false;
         if (this.hasFocus) setHighlightColor(this.primaryColor);
         else setHighlightColor(this.secondaryColor);
-        this.counterLabel.setTextColor(this.counterTextColor);
+        this.counterLabel.setTextColor(this.charCountTextColor);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -908,7 +988,7 @@ private void triggerSetters() {
 
         /* Colors */
         setHelperTextColor(this.helperTextColor);
-        setCounterTextColor(this.counterTextColor);
+        setCharCountTextColor(this.charCountTextColor);
         setErrorColor(this.errorColor);
         setPrimaryColor(this.primaryColor);
         setSecondaryColor(this.secondaryColor);
@@ -921,6 +1001,7 @@ private void triggerSetters() {
         /* Others */
         setEnabled(this.enabled);
         setIconSignifier(this.iconSignifierResourceId);
+        setStartIcon(this.startIconResourceId);
         setEndIcon(this.endIconResourceId);
         setIsResponsiveIconColor(this.isResponsiveIconColor);
         setHasClearButton(this.hasClearButton);
@@ -960,10 +1041,10 @@ public void setHelperTextColor(int colorRes) {
         this.helperLabel.setTextColor(this.helperTextColor);
     }
 
-    public void setCounterTextColor(int colorRes) {
+    public void setCharCountTextColor(int colorRes) {
 
-        this.counterTextColor = colorRes;
-        this.counterLabel.setTextColor(this.counterTextColor);
+        this.charCountTextColor = colorRes;
+        this.counterLabel.setTextColor(this.charCountTextColor);
     }
 
     public void setErrorColor(int colorRes) {
@@ -1108,6 +1189,36 @@ public void removeEndIcon() {
         updateClearAndEndIconLayout();
     }
 
+    public void setStartIcon(int resourceID) {
+
+        this.startIconResourceId = resourceID;
+        if (this.startIconResourceId != 0) {
+            this.startIconImageButton.setImageResource(this.startIconResourceId);
+            this.startIconImageButton.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
+        } else removeStartIcon();
+
+        updateStartIconLayout();
+    }
+
+    public void setStartIcon(Drawable drawable) {
+
+        removeEndIcon();
+        this.startIconImageButton.setImageDrawable(drawable);
+        this.startIconImageButton.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
+
+        updateStartIconLayout();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * remove the start icon by setting the visibility of the start image view to View.GONE
+     */
+    public void removeStartIcon() {
+        this.startIconResourceId = 0;
+        this.startIconImageButton.setImageDrawable(null);
+        this.startIconImageButton.setVisibility(View.GONE);
+        updateStartIconLayout();
+    }
+
     /**
      * set whether the icon signifier will change its color when gaining or losing focus
      * as the label and the bottomLine do.
@@ -1188,8 +1299,8 @@ public int getHelperTextColor() {
         return this.helperTextColor;
     }
 
-    public int getCounterTextColor() {
-        return this.counterTextColor;
+    public int getCharCountTextColor() {
+        return this.charCountTextColor;
     }
 
     public int getErrorColor() {
@@ -1242,6 +1353,10 @@ public AppCompatImageButton getIconImageButton() {
         return this.iconImageButton;
     }
 
+    public AppCompatImageButton getStartIconImageButton() {
+        return this.startIconImageButton;
+    }
+
     public AppCompatImageButton getEndIconImageButton() {
         return this.endIconImageButton;
     }
@@ -1263,6 +1378,10 @@ public int getIconSignifierResourceId() {
         return this.iconSignifierResourceId;
     }
 
+    public int getStartIconResourceId() {
+        return this.startIconResourceId;
+    }
+
     public int getEndIconResourceId() {
         return this.endIconResourceId;
     }
diff --git a/textfieldboxes/src/main/res/layout/text_field_boxes_layout.xml b/textfieldboxes/src/main/res/layout/text_field_boxes_layout.xml
index 92358d7..b6ac12f 100644
--- a/textfieldboxes/src/main/res/layout/text_field_boxes_layout.xml
+++ b/textfieldboxes/src/main/res/layout/text_field_boxes_layout.xml
@@ -76,12 +76,27 @@
                     android:layout_alignRight="@+id/text_field_boxes_editTextLayout"
                     android:layout_alignStart="@+id/text_field_boxes_editTextLayout"/>
 
-                <FrameLayout
-                    android:id="@+id/text_field_boxes_editTextLayout"
+                <LinearLayout
                     android:layout_width="match_parent"
                     android:layout_height="wrap_content"
                     android:layout_below="@+id/text_field_boxes_label_space"
                     android:layout_gravity="bottom">
+                  <android.support.v7.widget.AppCompatImageButton
+                      android:id="@+id/text_field_boxes_start_icon_button"
+                      android:layout_width="wrap_content"
+                      android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+                      android:minHeight="@dimen/end_icon_min_height"
+                      android:minWidth="@dimen/end_icon_min_width"
+                      android:background="?selectableItemBackgroundBorderless"
+                      android:visibility="gone"
+                      android:layout_gravity="center_vertical|start"/>
+
+                  <FrameLayout
+                      android:id="@+id/text_field_boxes_editTextLayout"
+                      android:layout_width="match_parent"
+                      android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+                      android:layout_below="@+id/text_field_boxes_label_space"
+                      android:layout_gravity="bottom">
 
                     <RelativeLayout
                         android:id="@+id/text_field_boxes_input_layout"
@@ -91,34 +106,38 @@
                     </RelativeLayout>
 
                     <LinearLayout
+                        android:id="@+id/text_field_boxs_end_icons_layout"
                         android:background="@android:color/transparent"
                         android:layout_width="wrap_content"
                         android:layout_height="wrap_content"
-                        android:layout_gravity="bottom|end"
+                        android:layout_gravity="center_vertical|end"
                         android:orientation="horizontal">
 
-                        <android.support.v7.widget.AppCompatImageButton
-                            android:id="@+id/text_field_boxes_clear_button"
-                            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
-                            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
-                            android:minHeight="@dimen/clear_button_min_height"
-                            android:minWidth="@dimen/clear_button_min_width"
-                            android:src="@drawable/ic_clear_circle_black_24dp"
-                            android:background="?selectableItemBackgroundBorderless"
-                            android:visibility="gone"/>
-
-                        <android.support.v7.widget.AppCompatImageButton
-                            android:id="@+id/text_field_boxes_end_icon_button"
-                            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
-                            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
-                            android:minHeight="@dimen/end_icon_min_height"
-                            android:minWidth="@dimen/end_icon_min_width"
-                            android:background="?selectableItemBackgroundBorderless"
-                            android:visibility="gone"/>
+                      <android.support.v7.widget.AppCompatImageButton
+                          android:id="@+id/text_field_boxes_clear_button"
+                          android:layout_width="wrap_content"
+                          android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+                          android:minHeight="@dimen/clear_button_min_height"
+                          android:minWidth="@dimen/clear_button_min_width"
+                          android:src="@drawable/ic_clear_circle_black_24dp"
+                          android:background="?selectableItemBackgroundBorderless"
+                          android:visibility="gone"/>
+
+                      <android.support.v7.widget.AppCompatImageButton
+                          android:id="@+id/text_field_boxes_end_icon_button"
+                          android:layout_width="wrap_content"
+                          android:layout_height="wrap_content"
+                          android:minHeight="@dimen/end_icon_min_height"
+                          android:minWidth="@dimen/end_icon_min_width"
+                          android:background="?selectableItemBackgroundBorderless"
+                          android:visibility="gone"/>
 
                     </LinearLayout>
 
-                </FrameLayout>
+                  </FrameLayout>
+                </LinearLayout>
+
+
 
                 <android.support.v4.widget.Space
                     android:id="@+id/text_field_boxes_label_space_below"
diff --git a/textfieldboxes/src/main/res/values/attrs.xml b/textfieldboxes/src/main/res/values/attrs.xml
index efc3c90..886b2f8 100755
--- a/textfieldboxes/src/main/res/values/attrs.xml
+++ b/textfieldboxes/src/main/res/values/attrs.xml
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 
         <!--Colors-->
         <attr name="helperTextColor" format="color" />
-        <attr name="counterTextColor" format="color" />
+        <attr name="charCountTextColor" format="color" />
         <attr name="errorColor" format="color" />
         <attr name="primaryColor" format="color" />
         <attr name="secondaryColor" format="color" />
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
         <attr name="enabled" format="boolean" />
         <attr name="iconSignifier" format="reference" />
         <attr name="endIcon" format="reference" />
+        <attr name="startIcon" format="reference" />
         <attr name="isResponsiveIconColor" format="boolean" />
         <attr name="hasClearButton" format="boolean" />
         <attr name="hasFocus" format="boolean" />
diff --git a/textfieldboxes/src/main/res/values/dimen.xml b/textfieldboxes/src/main/res/values/dimen.xml
index 95dae01..a3099c1 100644
--- a/textfieldboxes/src/main/res/values/dimen.xml
+++ b/textfieldboxes/src/main/res/values/dimen.xml
@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@
 <resources>
 
     <!-- Normal Spacing -->
-    <dimen name="label_idle_margin_top">20dp</dimen>
+    <dimen name="label_idle_margin_top">22dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="editTextLayout_padding_top">20dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="bottom_marginTop">8dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="edittext_text_size">18sp</dimen>
+    <dimen name="start_icon_min_width">40dp</dimen>
+    <dimen name="start_icon_min_height">40dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="end_icon_min_width">40dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="end_icon_min_height">40dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="clear_button_min_width">40dp</dimen>
@@ -16,6 +18,8 @@
     <dimen name="dense_editTextLayout_padding_top">16dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="dense_bottom_marginTop">4dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="dense_edittext_text_size">16sp</dimen>
+    <dimen name="dense_start_icon_min_width">38dp</dimen>
+    <dimen name="dense_start_icon_min_height">38dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="dense_end_icon_min_width">38dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="dense_end_icon_min_height">38dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="dense_clear_button_min_width">38dp</dimen>
@@ -27,6 +31,7 @@
     <dimen name="corner_radius">4dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="label_active_margin_top">8dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="upper_panel_paddingStart">16dp</dimen>
+    <dimen name="upper_panel_paddingStart_small">8dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="upper_panel_paddingEnd">16dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="upper_panel_paddingEnd_small">8dp</dimen>
     <dimen name="upper_panel_paddingBottom">5dp</dimen>