diff --git a/includes/base.inc b/includes/base.inc
index b944cf61..b2c8622a 100644
--- a/includes/base.inc
+++ b/includes/base.inc
@@ -58,6 +58,28 @@ public function option_definition() {
     return array();
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Collect this handler's option definition and alter them, ready for use.
+   *
+   * @return array
+   *   Returns the options of this handler/plugin after allowing for alters.
+   *
+   * @see hook_views_plugin_option_definition_alter()
+   * @see hook_views_handler_option_definition_alter()
+   */
+  function altered_option_definition() {
+    $definition = $this->option_definition();
+    if (!empty($this->is_plugin)) {
+      // Trigger hook_views_plugin_option_definition_alter().
+      drupal_alter('views_plugin_option_definition', $definition, $this);
+    }
+    else {
+      // Trigger hook_views_handler_option_definition_alter().
+      drupal_alter('views_handler_option_definition', $definition, $this);
+    }
+    return $definition;
+  }
+
   /**
    * Views handlers use a special construct function.
    *
@@ -85,7 +107,7 @@ public function options(&$options) {
    * that will likely disappear at some point.
    */
   public function set_default_options() {
-    $this->_set_option_defaults($this->options, $this->option_definition());
+    $this->_set_option_defaults($this->options, $this->altered_option_definition());
 
     // Retained for complex defaults plus backward compatibility.
     $this->options($this->options);
@@ -119,7 +141,7 @@ public function unpack_options(&$storage, $options, $definition = NULL, $all = T
     }
 
     if (!isset($definition)) {
-      $definition = $this->option_definition();
+      $definition = $this->altered_option_definition();
     }
 
     if (!empty($this->view)) {
@@ -222,7 +244,7 @@ public function destroy() {
    */
   public function export_options($indent, $prefix) {
     $output = '';
-    foreach ($this->option_definition() as $option => $definition) {
+    foreach ($this->altered_option_definition() as $option => $definition) {
       $output .= $this->export_option($indent, $prefix, $this->options, $option, $definition, array());
     }
 
@@ -297,7 +319,7 @@ public function export_option_always($indent, $prefix, $storage, $option, $defin
    * Unpacks each handler to store translatable texts.
    */
   public function unpack_translatables(&$translatable, $parents = array()) {
-    foreach ($this->option_definition() as $option => $definition) {
+    foreach ($this->altered_option_definition() as $option => $definition) {
       $this->unpack_translatable($translatable, $this->options, $option, $definition, $parents, array());
     }
   }
diff --git a/views.api.php b/views.api.php
index 22600e8a..feab4435 100644
--- a/views.api.php
+++ b/views.api.php
@@ -720,6 +720,62 @@ function hook_views_plugins_alter(&$plugins) {
   $plugins['row']['node']['base'][] = 'apachesolr';
 }
 
+/**
+ * Alter existing plugin option definitions.
+ *
+ * This can be used to edit default or add new option definitions to existing
+ * plugins. The reason for doing this is that only overriding the relevent form
+ * with hook_form_alter() is insufficent because submitted form values will be
+ * ignored if they haven't been declared as an available option.
+ *
+ * An alternative approach you could also take is to extend each plugin
+ * individually. However if your goal is to override many, or even all plugins,
+ * this results in a lot of additional code and files. This makes it a lot more
+ * troublesome to maintain the codebase, as well as interoperability with other
+ * modules.
+ *
+ * @param array $options
+ *  The option definitions to be altered.
+ * @param $plugin
+ *  A views object of the plugin where the default options are defined.
+ *
+ * @see views_object::option_definition()
+ * @see hook_views_handler_option_definition_alter()
+ * @see hook_form_alter()
+ */
+function hook_views_plugin_option_definition_alter(&$options, $plugin) {
+  // Add a new option definition.
+  $options['option_name'] = array('default' => '');
+}
+
+/**
+ * Alter existing handler option definitions.
+ *
+ * This can be used to edit default or add new option definitions to existing
+ * handers. The reason for doing this is that only overriding the relevent form
+ * with hook_form_alter() is insufficent because submitted form values will be
+ * ignored if they haven't been declared as an available option.
+ *
+ * An alternative approach you could also take is to extend each handler
+ * individually. However if your goal is to override many, or even all handlers,
+ * this results in a lot of additional code and files. This makes it a lot more
+ * troublesome to maintain the codebase, as well as interoperability with other
+ * modules.
+ *
+ * @param array $options
+ *  The option definitions to be altered.
+ * @param $handler
+ *  A views object of the handler where the default options are defined.
+ *
+ * @see views_handler::option_definition()
+ * @see hook_views_plugin_option_definition_alter()
+ * @see hook_form_alter()
+ */
+function hook_views_handler_option_definition_alter(&$options, $handler) {
+  // Add a new option definition.
+  $options['option_name'] = array('default' => '');
+}
+
 /**
  * Register View API information.
  *