@@ -1575,6 +1575,22 @@ ignore-args: false
15751575trace: false
15761576```
15771577
1578+Fields that are omitted will just have their regular
1579+default values. So a defaults file can be as simple as
1580+one line:
1581+
1582+``` yaml
1583+verbosity: INFO
1584+```
1585+
1586+Default files can be placed in the `defaults` subdirectory of
1587+the user data directory and used from any directory. For
1588+example, one could create a file specifying defaults for writing
1589+letters, save it as `letter.yaml` in the `defaults` subdirectory
1590+of the user data directory, and then invoke these defaults
1591+from any directory using `pandoc --defaults letter`
1592+or `pandoc -dletter`.
1593+
15781594# Templates
15791595
15801596When the `-s/--standalone` option is used, pandoc uses a template to