diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 310ac4d..e0fb454 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -273,17 +273,20 @@ if ( ENABLE_CONFIG_FILES )
     message(STATUS "*** Building support for runtime configuration files.")
 
     add_definitions( -DTIDY_ENABLE_CONFIG_FILES )
-
-    # For example, /etc/tidy.conf
-    if ( TIDY_CONFIG_FILE )
-        add_definitions( -DTIDY_CONFIG_FILE="${TIDY_CONFIG_FILE}" )
+    
+    # define a default here so we can pass to XSL.
+    if ( NOT TIDY_CONFIG_FILE )
+        set( TIDY_CONFIG_FILE "/etc/tidy.conf" )
     endif ()
 
-    # For example, ~/.tidy.rc
-    if ( TIDY_USER_CONFIG_FILE )
-        add_definitions( -DTIDY_USER_CONFIG_FILE="${TIDY_USER_CONFIG_FILE}" )
+    # define a default here so we can pass to XSL.
+    if ( NOT TIDY_USER_CONFIG_FILE )
+        set( TIDY_USER_CONFIG_FILE "~/.tidyrc" )
     endif ()
 
+    # do *not* add these unless ENABLE_CONFIG_FILES!
+    add_definitions( -DTIDY_CONFIG_FILE="${TIDY_CONFIG_FILE}" )
+    add_definitions( -DTIDY_USER_CONFIG_FILE="${TIDY_USER_CONFIG_FILE}" )
 
 endif ()
   
diff --git a/man/tidy1.xsl.in b/man/tidy1.xsl.in
index 5396339..541bf52 100644
--- a/man/tidy1.xsl.in
+++ b/man/tidy1.xsl.in
@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@
 -->
 
 <xsl:variable name="CONFIG" select="document('@TIDYCONFIG@')"/>
+<xsl:variable name="ENABLE_CONFIG_FILES" select="'@ENABLE_CONFIG_FILES@'"/>
+<xsl:variable name="TIDY_CONFIG_FILE" select="'@TIDY_CONFIG_FILE@'"/>
+<xsl:variable name="TIDY_USER_CONFIG_FILE" select="'@TIDY_USER_CONFIG_FILE@'"/>
 
 <!-- Main Template: -->
 <xsl:template match="/">
@@ -160,11 +163,20 @@ since you will probably invoke \fBtidy\fR from different directories.
 The value of HTML_TIDY will be parsed after the compiled-in default
 (defined with -DTIDY_CONFIG_FILE), but before any of the files specified
 using \fB-config\fR.
+<xsl:if test="$ENABLE_CONFIG_FILES = 'ON'">
 .TP
 .B RUNTIME CONFIGURATION FILES
-In general, Unix-like systems support runtime configuration files. Use
-\fBtidy -help-env\fR to see if your version of \fBtidy\fR supports them, and
-where they are expected to be on your system.
+You can also specify runtime configuration files from which \fBtidy\fR will
+attempt to load a configuration automatically.
+.IP
+The system runtime configuration file (<xsl:value-of select="$TIDY_CONFIG_FILE" />),
+if it exists will be loaded and applied first, followed by the user runtime
+configuration file (<xsl:value-of select="$TIDY_USER_CONFIG_FILE" />).
+Subsequent usage of a specific option will override any previous usage.
+.IP
+Note that if you use the \fBHTML_TIDY\fR environment variable, then the user
+runtime configuration file will not be used. This is a feature, not a bug.
+</xsl:if>
 .SH "EXIT STATUS"
 .IP 0
 All input files were processed successfully.