diff --git a/python/core/composer/qgscomposerhtml.sip b/python/core/composer/qgscomposerhtml.sip
index 1133c631415..9960c00aefa 100644
--- a/python/core/composer/qgscomposerhtml.sip
+++ b/python/core/composer/qgscomposerhtml.sip
@@ -95,7 +95,8 @@ class QgsComposerHtml: QgsComposerMultiFrame
     void setEvaluateExpressions( bool evaluateExpressions );
 
     QSizeF totalSize() const;
-    void render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent );
+
+    void render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent, const int frameIndex );
 
     bool writeXML( QDomElement& elem, QDomDocument & doc, bool ignoreFrames = false ) const;
     bool readXML( const QDomElement& itemElem, const QDomDocument& doc, bool ignoreFrames = false );
diff --git a/python/core/composer/qgscomposermultiframe.sip b/python/core/composer/qgscomposermultiframe.sip
index 7f6600d3182..266d2edd50b 100644
--- a/python/core/composer/qgscomposermultiframe.sip
+++ b/python/core/composer/qgscomposermultiframe.sip
@@ -28,7 +28,8 @@ class QgsComposerMultiFrame: QgsComposerObject
     */
     virtual QSizeF fixedFrameSize() const;
     
-    virtual void render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent ) = 0;
+    virtual void render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent );
+    virtual void render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent, const int frameIndex );
 
     virtual void addFrame( QgsComposerFrame* frame, bool recalcFrameSizes = true ) = 0;
 
diff --git a/src/core/composer/qgscomposerframe.cpp b/src/core/composer/qgscomposerframe.cpp
index 19cdc7ce308..cda6c504190 100644
--- a/src/core/composer/qgscomposerframe.cpp
+++ b/src/core/composer/qgscomposerframe.cpp
@@ -106,7 +106,9 @@ void QgsComposerFrame::paint( QPainter* painter, const QStyleOptionGraphicsItem*
   drawBackground( painter );
   if ( mMultiFrame )
   {
-    mMultiFrame->render( painter, mSection );
+    //calculate index of frame
+    int frameIndex = mMultiFrame->frameIndex( this );
+    mMultiFrame->render( painter, mSection, frameIndex );
   }
 
   drawFrame( painter );
diff --git a/src/core/composer/qgscomposerhtml.cpp b/src/core/composer/qgscomposerhtml.cpp
index 60d8c1a99b3..871a87e5005 100644
--- a/src/core/composer/qgscomposerhtml.cpp
+++ b/src/core/composer/qgscomposerhtml.cpp
@@ -252,8 +252,10 @@ QSizeF QgsComposerHtml::totalSize() const
   return mSize;
 }
 
-void QgsComposerHtml::render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent )
+void QgsComposerHtml::render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent, const int frameIndex )
 {
+  Q_UNUSED( frameIndex );
+
   if ( !mWebPage )
   {
     return;
diff --git a/src/core/composer/qgscomposerhtml.h b/src/core/composer/qgscomposerhtml.h
index 977f7487d3f..64d0b9d99d7 100644
--- a/src/core/composer/qgscomposerhtml.h
+++ b/src/core/composer/qgscomposerhtml.h
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsComposerHtml: public QgsComposerMultiFrame
     void setEvaluateExpressions( bool evaluateExpressions );
 
     QSizeF totalSize() const;
-    void render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent );
+    void render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent, const int frameIndex );
 
     bool writeXML( QDomElement& elem, QDomDocument & doc, bool ignoreFrames = false ) const;
     bool readXML( const QDomElement& itemElem, const QDomDocument& doc, bool ignoreFrames = false );
diff --git a/src/core/composer/qgscomposermultiframe.cpp b/src/core/composer/qgscomposermultiframe.cpp
index 53a9726c58e..14cd6f26794 100644
--- a/src/core/composer/qgscomposermultiframe.cpp
+++ b/src/core/composer/qgscomposermultiframe.cpp
@@ -40,6 +40,22 @@ QgsComposerMultiFrame::~QgsComposerMultiFrame()
   deleteFrames();
 }
 
+void QgsComposerMultiFrame::render( QPainter *p, const QRectF &renderExtent )
+{
+  //base implementation does nothing
+  Q_UNUSED( p );
+  Q_UNUSED( renderExtent );
+}
+
+void QgsComposerMultiFrame::render( QPainter *p, const QRectF &renderExtent, const int frameIndex )
+{
+  Q_UNUSED( frameIndex );
+  //base implementation ignores frameIndex
+  Q_NOWARN_DEPRECATED_PUSH
+  render( p, renderExtent );
+  Q_NOWARN_DEPRECATED_POP
+}
+
 void QgsComposerMultiFrame::setResizeMode( ResizeMode mode )
 {
   if ( mode != mResizeMode )
@@ -307,6 +323,11 @@ QgsComposerFrame* QgsComposerMultiFrame::frame( int i ) const
   return mFrameItems.at( i );
 }
 
+int QgsComposerMultiFrame::frameIndex( QgsComposerFrame *frame ) const
+{
+  return mFrameItems.indexOf( frame );
+}
+
 bool QgsComposerMultiFrame::_writeXML( QDomElement& elem, QDomDocument& doc, bool ignoreFrames ) const
 {
   elem.setAttribute( "resizeMode", mResizeMode );
diff --git a/src/core/composer/qgscomposermultiframe.h b/src/core/composer/qgscomposermultiframe.h
index 5b55a83d11b..ba3dc0bd8e0 100644
--- a/src/core/composer/qgscomposermultiframe.h
+++ b/src/core/composer/qgscomposermultiframe.h
@@ -55,7 +55,9 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsComposerMultiFrame: public QgsComposerObject
     */
     virtual QSizeF fixedFrameSize() const { return QSizeF( 0, 0 ); }
 
-    virtual void render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent ) = 0;
+    Q_DECL_DEPRECATED virtual void render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent );
+
+    virtual void render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent, const int frameIndex );
 
     virtual void addFrame( QgsComposerFrame* frame, bool recalcFrameSizes = true ) = 0;
 
@@ -91,8 +93,16 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsComposerMultiFrame: public QgsComposerObject
     @note added in 2.0, replaces nFrames
     **/
     int frameCount() const { return mFrameItems.size(); }
+
     QgsComposerFrame* frame( int i ) const;
 
+    /**Returns the index of a frame within the multiframe
+     * @param frame frame to find index of
+     * @returns index for frame if found, -1 if frame not found in multiframe
+     * @note added in version 2.5
+     */
+    int frameIndex( QgsComposerFrame *frame ) const;
+
     /**Creates a new frame and adds it to the multi frame and composition.
      * @param currentFrame an existing QgsComposerFrame from which to copy the size
      * and general frame properties (eg frame style, background, rendering settings).
diff --git a/src/core/composer/qgscomposertablev2.cpp b/src/core/composer/qgscomposertablev2.cpp
index 3b6f00395cf..48417b43a52 100644
--- a/src/core/composer/qgscomposertablev2.cpp
+++ b/src/core/composer/qgscomposertablev2.cpp
@@ -122,20 +122,55 @@ bool QgsComposerTableV2::readXML( const QDomElement &itemElem, const QDomDocumen
 QSizeF QgsComposerTableV2::totalSize() const
 {
   //TODO - handle multiple cell headers
+  //also check height calculation function
+
   return mTableSize;
 }
 
-void QgsComposerTableV2::render( QPainter *p, const QRectF &renderExtent )
-{
-//do this via rows
-  //eg, calculate how rows to->from
-  //and render them
 
+QPair< int, int > QgsComposerTableV2::rowRange( const QRectF extent, const int frameIndex ) const
+{
+  //calculate row height
+  //TODO - handle different header modes
+  //TODO - need to traverse all previous frames to calculate what is visible in each
+  //as the entire height of a frame may not be used for content
+  double headerHeight = 0;
+  double firstHeaderHeight = 2 * mGridStrokeWidth + 2 * mCellMargin +  QgsComposerUtils::fontAscentMM( mHeaderFont );
+
+  //int frameNumber = mFrameItems.indexOf( this );
+  if ( frameIndex < 1 )
+  {
+    //currently only header on first
+    headerHeight = firstHeaderHeight;
+  }
+  else
+  {
+    headerHeight = mGridStrokeWidth;
+  }
+
+  //remaining height available for content rows
+  double contentHeight = extent.height() - headerHeight;
+  double rowHeight = mGridStrokeWidth + 2 * mCellMargin + QgsComposerUtils::fontAscentMM( mContentFont );
+
+  //using zero based indexes
+  int firstVisible = qMax( floor(( extent.top() - firstHeaderHeight )  / rowHeight ), 0.0 );
+  int rowsVisible = qMax( floor( contentHeight / rowHeight ), 0.0 );
+  int lastVisible = qMin( firstVisible + rowsVisible, mTableContents.length() );
+
+  return qMakePair( firstVisible, lastVisible );
+}
+
+
+void QgsComposerTableV2::render( QPainter *p, const QRectF &renderExtent, const int frameIndex )
+{
   if ( !p )
   {
     return;
   }
 
+  //calculate which rows to show in this frame
+  QPair< int, int > rowsToShow = rowRange( renderExtent, frameIndex );
+
   if ( mComposition->plotStyle() == QgsComposition::Print ||
        mComposition->plotStyle() == QgsComposition::Postscript )
   {
@@ -160,43 +195,52 @@ void QgsComposerTableV2::render( QPainter *p, const QRectF &renderExtent )
   double cellHeaderHeight = QgsComposerUtils::fontAscentMM( mHeaderFont ) + 2 * mCellMargin;
   double cellBodyHeight = QgsComposerUtils::fontAscentMM( mContentFont ) + 2 * mCellMargin;
   QRectF cell;
+
+  //TODO - should be controlled via a property, eg an enum with values
+  //always/never/first frame
+  bool drawHeader = frameIndex < 1;
+
   for ( ; columnIt != mColumns.constEnd(); ++columnIt )
   {
     currentY = mGridStrokeWidth;
     currentX += mCellMargin;
 
-    cell = QRectF( currentX, currentY, mMaxColumnWidthMap[col], cellHeaderHeight );
-
-    //calculate alignment of header
-    Qt::AlignmentFlag headerAlign = Qt::AlignLeft;
-    switch ( mHeaderHAlignment )
+    if ( drawHeader )
     {
-      case FollowColumn:
-        headerAlign = ( *columnIt )->hAlignment();
-        break;
-      case HeaderLeft:
-        headerAlign = Qt::AlignLeft;
-        break;
-      case HeaderCenter:
-        headerAlign = Qt::AlignHCenter;
-        break;
-      case HeaderRight:
-        headerAlign = Qt::AlignRight;
-        break;
+      //draw the header
+      cell = QRectF( currentX, currentY, mMaxColumnWidthMap[col], cellHeaderHeight );
+
+      //calculate alignment of header
+      Qt::AlignmentFlag headerAlign = Qt::AlignLeft;
+      switch ( mHeaderHAlignment )
+      {
+        case FollowColumn:
+          headerAlign = ( *columnIt )->hAlignment();
+          break;
+        case HeaderLeft:
+          headerAlign = Qt::AlignLeft;
+          break;
+        case HeaderCenter:
+          headerAlign = Qt::AlignHCenter;
+          break;
+        case HeaderRight:
+          headerAlign = Qt::AlignRight;
+          break;
+      }
+
+
+      QgsComposerUtils::drawText( p, cell, ( *columnIt )->heading(), mHeaderFont, mHeaderFontColor, headerAlign, Qt::AlignVCenter, Qt::TextDontClip );
+
+      currentY += cellHeaderHeight;
+      currentY += mGridStrokeWidth;
     }
 
-    QgsComposerUtils::drawText( p, cell, ( *columnIt )->heading(), mHeaderFont, mHeaderFontColor, headerAlign, Qt::AlignVCenter, Qt::TextDontClip );
-
-    currentY += cellHeaderHeight;
-    currentY += mGridStrokeWidth;
-
     //draw the attribute values
-    QgsComposerTableContents::const_iterator attIt = mTableContents.begin();
-    for ( ; attIt != mTableContents.end(); ++attIt )
+    for ( int row = rowsToShow.first; row < rowsToShow.second; ++row )
     {
       cell = QRectF( currentX, currentY, mMaxColumnWidthMap[col], cellBodyHeight );
 
-      QVariant cellContents = ( *attIt ).at( col );
+      QVariant cellContents = mTableContents.at( row ).at( col );
       QString str = cellContents.toString();
       QgsComposerUtils::drawText( p, cell, str, mContentFont, mContentFontColor, ( *columnIt )->hAlignment(), Qt::AlignVCenter, Qt::TextDontClip );
 
@@ -210,6 +254,7 @@ void QgsComposerTableV2::render( QPainter *p, const QRectF &renderExtent )
     col++;
   }
 
+
   //and the borders
   if ( mShowGrid )
   {
@@ -218,13 +263,12 @@ void QgsComposerTableV2::render( QPainter *p, const QRectF &renderExtent )
     gridPen.setColor( mGridColor );
     gridPen.setJoinStyle( Qt::MiterJoin );
     p->setPen( gridPen );
-    drawHorizontalGridLines( p, mTableContents.size() );
-    drawVerticalGridLines( p, mMaxColumnWidthMap );
+    drawHorizontalGridLines( p, rowsToShow.second - rowsToShow.first, drawHeader );
+    drawVerticalGridLines( p, mMaxColumnWidthMap, rowsToShow.second - rowsToShow.first, drawHeader );
   }
 
   p->restore();
 
-
 }
 
 void QgsComposerTableV2::setCellMargin( const double margin )
@@ -438,14 +482,23 @@ double QgsComposerTableV2::totalHeight() const
   return totalHeight;
 }
 
-void QgsComposerTableV2::drawHorizontalGridLines( QPainter *painter, const int rows ) const
+void QgsComposerTableV2::drawHorizontalGridLines( QPainter *painter, const int rows, const bool drawHeaderLines ) const
 {
   //horizontal lines
+  if ( rows < 1 && !drawHeaderLines )
+  {
+    return;
+  }
+
   double halfGridStrokeWidth = mGridStrokeWidth / 2.0;
-  double currentY = halfGridStrokeWidth;
-  painter->drawLine( QPointF( halfGridStrokeWidth, currentY ), QPointF( mTableSize.width() - halfGridStrokeWidth, currentY ) );
-  currentY += mGridStrokeWidth;
-  currentY += ( QgsComposerUtils::fontAscentMM( mHeaderFont ) + 2 * mCellMargin );
+  double currentY = 0;
+  currentY = halfGridStrokeWidth;
+  if ( drawHeaderLines )
+  {
+    painter->drawLine( QPointF( halfGridStrokeWidth, currentY ), QPointF( mTableSize.width() - halfGridStrokeWidth, currentY ) );
+    currentY += mGridStrokeWidth;
+    currentY += ( QgsComposerUtils::fontAscentMM( mHeaderFont ) + 2 * mCellMargin );
+  }
   for ( int row = 0; row < rows; ++row )
   {
     painter->drawLine( QPointF( halfGridStrokeWidth, currentY ), QPointF( mTableSize.width() - halfGridStrokeWidth, currentY ) );
@@ -455,18 +508,33 @@ void QgsComposerTableV2::drawHorizontalGridLines( QPainter *painter, const int r
   painter->drawLine( QPointF( halfGridStrokeWidth, currentY ), QPointF( mTableSize.width() - halfGridStrokeWidth, currentY ) );
 }
 
-void QgsComposerTableV2::drawVerticalGridLines( QPainter *painter, const QMap<int, double> &maxWidthMap ) const
+void QgsComposerTableV2::drawVerticalGridLines( QPainter *painter, const QMap<int, double> &maxWidthMap, const int numberRows, const bool hasHeader ) const
 {
   //vertical lines
+  if ( numberRows < 1 && !hasHeader )
+  {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  //calculate height of table within frame
+  double tableHeight = 0;
+  if ( hasHeader )
+  {
+    tableHeight += mGridStrokeWidth + mCellMargin * 2 + QgsComposerUtils::fontAscentMM( mHeaderFont );
+  }
+
+  tableHeight += numberRows * ( mGridStrokeWidth + mCellMargin * 2 + QgsComposerUtils::fontAscentMM( mContentFont ) );
+  tableHeight += mGridStrokeWidth;
+
   double halfGridStrokeWidth = mGridStrokeWidth / 2.0;
   double currentX = halfGridStrokeWidth;
-  painter->drawLine( QPointF( currentX, halfGridStrokeWidth ), QPointF( currentX, mTableSize.height() - halfGridStrokeWidth ) );
+  painter->drawLine( QPointF( currentX, halfGridStrokeWidth ), QPointF( currentX, tableHeight - halfGridStrokeWidth ) );
   currentX += mGridStrokeWidth;
   QMap<int, double>::const_iterator maxColWidthIt = maxWidthMap.constBegin();
   for ( ; maxColWidthIt != maxWidthMap.constEnd(); ++maxColWidthIt )
   {
     currentX += ( maxColWidthIt.value() + 2 * mCellMargin );
-    painter->drawLine( QPointF( currentX, halfGridStrokeWidth ), QPointF( currentX, mTableSize.height() - halfGridStrokeWidth ) );
+    painter->drawLine( QPointF( currentX, halfGridStrokeWidth ), QPointF( currentX, tableHeight - halfGridStrokeWidth ) );
     currentX += mGridStrokeWidth;
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/core/composer/qgscomposertablev2.h b/src/core/composer/qgscomposertablev2.h
index ac40a68dcdd..323cc0d2591 100644
--- a/src/core/composer/qgscomposertablev2.h
+++ b/src/core/composer/qgscomposertablev2.h
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 #include "qgscomposermultiframe.h"
 #include <QFont>
 #include <QColor>
+#include <QPair>
 
 class QgsComposerTableColumn;
 
@@ -49,6 +50,7 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsComposerTableV2: public QgsComposerMultiFrame
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 
+
   public:
 
     /*! Controls how headers are horizontally aligned in a table
@@ -71,7 +73,9 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsComposerTableV2: public QgsComposerMultiFrame
     virtual bool readXML( const QDomElement& itemElem, const QDomDocument& doc, bool ignoreFrames = false );
 
     virtual QSizeF totalSize() const;
-    virtual void render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent );
+
+    virtual void render( QPainter* p, const QRectF& renderExtent, const int frameIndex );
+
 
     /**Sets the margin distance between cell borders and their contents.
      * @param margin margin for cell contents
@@ -291,22 +295,34 @@ class CORE_EXPORT QgsComposerTableV2: public QgsComposerMultiFrame
 
     double totalHeight() const;
 
+    /**Calculates a range of rows which should be visible in a given
+     * rectangle.
+     * @param extent visible extent
+     * @param frameIndex index number for frame
+     * @returns row range
+     */
+    QPair<int, int> rowRange( const QRectF extent, const int frameIndex ) const;
+
+
     /**Draws the horizontal grid lines for the table.
      * @param painter destination painter for grid lines
      * @param rows number of rows shown in table
+     * @param drawHeaderLines set to true to include for the table header
      * @see drawVerticalGridLines
      */
-    void drawHorizontalGridLines( QPainter* painter, const int rows ) const;
+    void drawHorizontalGridLines( QPainter* painter, const int rows, const bool drawHeaderLines ) const;
 
     /**Draws the vertical grid lines for the table.
      * @param painter destination painter for grid lines
      * @param maxWidthMap QMap of int to double, where the int contains the column number and the double is the
      * maximum width of text present in the column.
+     * @param numberRows number of rows of content in table frame
+     * @param hasHeader set to true if table frame includes header cells
      * @note not available in python bindings
      * @see drawVerticalGridLines
      * @see calculateMaxColumnWidths
      */
-    void drawVerticalGridLines( QPainter* painter, const QMap<int, double>& maxWidthMap ) const;
+    void drawVerticalGridLines( QPainter* painter, const QMap<int, double>& maxWidthMap, const int numberRows, const bool hasHeader ) const;
 
     void adjustFrameToSize();
 };