<term><option>--target-release</option></term>
<term><option>--default-release</option></term>
<listitem><para>This option controls the default input to the policy engine, it creates
- a default pin at priority 990 using the specified release string. The
- preferences file may further override this setting. In short, this option
+ a default pin at priority 990 using the specified release string.
+ This overrides the general settings in <filename>/etc/apt/preferences</filename>.
+ Specifically pinned packages are not affected by the value
+ of this option. In short, this option
lets you have simple control over which distribution packages will be
retrieved from. Some common examples might be
<option>-t '2.1*'</option> or <option>-t unstable</option>.