--- a/src/doc/user/usermanual.sgml
+++ b/src/doc/user/usermanual.sgml
@@ -1134,15 +1134,31 @@
<keycap>Shift</keycap>+<keycap>ArrowUp/Down</keycap> in the
window).</para>
- <para>Clicking the <literal>Open</literal> link will attempt to
- start an external viewer. The viewer for each document type can be
- configured through the user preferences dialog, or by editing the
- <filename>mimeview</filename> configuration file. You can also check
- the <guilabel>Use desktop preferences</guilabel> option in the GUI
- preferences dialog to use the desktop defaults for all
- documents. This is probably the best option if you are using a well
- configured <application>Gnome</application> or
- <application>KDE</application> desktop.</para>
+ <para>Clicking the <literal>Open</literal> link will
+ start an external viewer for the document. By default, &RCL; lets
+ the desktop choose the appropriate application for most document
+ types (there is a short list of exceptions, see further). If you
+ prefer to completely customize the choice of applications, you can
+ uncheck the <guilabel>Use desktop preferences</guilabel> option in
+ the GUI preferences dialog, and click the <guilabel>Choose editor
+ applications</guilabel> button to adjust the predefined &RCL;
+ choices. The tool accepts multiple selections of mime types (e.g. to
+ set up the editor for the dozens of office file types).</para>
+
+ <para>Even when <guilabel>Use desktop preferences</guilabel> is
+ checked, there is a small list of exceptions, for mime types where
+ the &RCL; choice should override the desktop one. These are
+ applications which are well integrated with &RCL;, especially
+ <application>evince</application> for viewing PDF and Postscript
+ files because of its support for opening the document at a specific
+ page and passing a search string as an argument. Of course, you can
+ edit the list (in the GUI preferences) if you would prefer to lose
+ the functionality and use the standard desktop tool.</para>
+
+ <para>You may also change the choice of applications by editing the
+ <link linkend="rcl.install.config.mimeview">
+ <filename>mimeview</filename></link> configuration file if you find
+ this more convenient.</para>
<para>The <literal>Preview</literal> and <literal>Open</literal>
edit links may not be present for all entries, meaning that