diff --git a/man/standard-conf.xml b/man/standard-conf.xml
index f02b9b0594e..c4f28778642 100644
--- a/man/standard-conf.xml
+++ b/man/standard-conf.xml
@@ -42,11 +42,12 @@
Configuration Directories and Precedence
The default configuration is set during compilation, so configuration is only needed when it is
- necessary to deviate from those defaults. Initially, the main configuration file in
- /etc/systemd/ contains commented out entries showing the defaults as a guide to the
- administrator. Local overrides can be created by editing this file or by creating drop-ins, as described
- below. Using drop-ins for local configuration is recommended over modifications to the main configuration
- file.
+ necessary to deviate from those defaults. The main configuration file is either in
+ /usr/lib/systemd or /etc/systemd/ and contains commented out
+ entries showing the defaults as a guide to the administrator. Local overrides can be created by creating
+ drop-ins, as described below. The main configuration file can also be edited for this purpose (or a copy
+ in /etc if it's shipped in /usr) however using drop-ins for
+ local configuration is recommended over modifications to the main configuration file.
In addition to the "main" configuration file, drop-in configuration snippets are read from
/usr/lib/systemd/*.conf.d/, /usr/local/lib/systemd/*.conf.d/,
@@ -62,7 +63,9 @@
who may use this logic to override the configuration files installed by vendor packages. Drop-ins have to
be used to override package drop-ins, since the main configuration file has lower precedence. It is
recommended to prefix all filenames in those subdirectories with a two-digit number and a dash, to
- simplify the ordering of the files.
+ simplify the ordering of the files. This also defined a concept of drop-in priority to allow
+ distributions to ship drop-ins within a specific range lower than the range used by users. This should
+ lower the risk of package drop-ins overriding accidentally drop-ins defined by users.
To disable a configuration file supplied by the vendor, the recommended way is to place a symlink
to /dev/null in the configuration directory in /etc/, with the
diff --git a/src/core/system.conf.in b/src/core/system.conf.in
index 309c7500f80..812531fe8b2 100644
--- a/src/core/system.conf.in
+++ b/src/core/system.conf.in
@@ -6,9 +6,11 @@
# any later version.
#
# Entries in this file show the compile time defaults. Local configuration
-# should be created by either modifying this file, or by creating "drop-ins" in
-# the system.conf.d/ subdirectory. The latter is generally recommended.
-# Defaults can be restored by simply deleting this file and all drop-ins.
+# should be created by either modifying this file (or a copy of it placed in
+# /etc if the original file is shipped in /usr), or by creating "drop-ins" in
+# /etc/systemd/system.conf.d/ directory. The latter is generally recommended.
+# Defaults can be restored by simply deleting the main configuration file and
+# all drop-ins located in /etc.
#
# Use 'systemd-analyze cat-config systemd/system.conf' to display the full config.
#
diff --git a/src/journal-remote/journal-remote.conf.in b/src/journal-remote/journal-remote.conf.in
index afb319102c0..297710af135 100644
--- a/src/journal-remote/journal-remote.conf.in
+++ b/src/journal-remote/journal-remote.conf.in
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
# the journal-remote.conf.d/ subdirectory. The latter is generally recommended.
# Defaults can be restored by simply deleting this file and all drop-ins.
#
+# Use 'systemd-analyze cat-config systemd/journal-remote.conf' to display the full config.
+#
# See journal-remote.conf(5) for details.
[Remote]
diff --git a/src/journal-remote/journal-upload.conf.in b/src/journal-remote/journal-upload.conf.in
index 94471e4a00d..dd3743c2263 100644
--- a/src/journal-remote/journal-upload.conf.in
+++ b/src/journal-remote/journal-upload.conf.in
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
# the journal-upload.conf.d/ subdirectory. The latter is generally recommended.
# Defaults can be restored by simply deleting this file and all drop-ins.
#
+# Use 'systemd-analyze cat-config systemd/journal-upload.conf' to display the full config.
+#
# See journal-upload.conf(5) for details.
[Upload]
diff --git a/src/network/networkd.conf b/src/network/networkd.conf
index f2c0790d87f..2000eac4abb 100644
--- a/src/network/networkd.conf
+++ b/src/network/networkd.conf
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
# the networkd.conf.d/ subdirectory. The latter is generally recommended.
# Defaults can be restored by simply deleting this file and all drop-ins.
#
+# Use 'systemd-analyze cat-config systemd/networkd.conf' to display the full config.
+#
# See networkd.conf(5) for details.
[Network]
diff --git a/src/pstore/pstore.conf b/src/pstore/pstore.conf
index 68fb04ae0a0..f43924b0cbd 100644
--- a/src/pstore/pstore.conf
+++ b/src/pstore/pstore.conf
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
# the pstore.conf.d/ subdirectory. The latter is generally recommended.
# Defaults can be restored by simply deleting this file and all drop-ins.
#
+# Use 'systemd-analyze cat-config systemd/pstore.conf' to display the full config.
+#
# See pstore.conf(5) for details.
[PStore]
diff --git a/src/sleep/sleep.conf b/src/sleep/sleep.conf
index 4c8e8b9680b..9fa44a47639 100644
--- a/src/sleep/sleep.conf
+++ b/src/sleep/sleep.conf
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
# the sleep.conf.d/ subdirectory. The latter is generally recommended.
# Defaults can be restored by simply deleting this file and all drop-ins.
#
+# Use 'systemd-analyze cat-config systemd/sleep.conf' to display the full config.
+#
# See systemd-sleep.conf(5) for details.
[Sleep]
diff --git a/src/timesync/timesyncd.conf.in b/src/timesync/timesyncd.conf.in
index f34922927d8..b110be59202 100644
--- a/src/timesync/timesyncd.conf.in
+++ b/src/timesync/timesyncd.conf.in
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
# the timesyncd.conf.d/ subdirectory. The latter is generally recommended.
# Defaults can be restored by simply deleting this file and all drop-ins.
#
+# Use 'systemd-analyze cat-config systemd/timesyncd.conf' to display the full config.
+#
# See timesyncd.conf(5) for details.
[Time]