diff --git a/configure/RELEASE b/configure/RELEASE
index a5e281e..686898d 100644
--- a/configure/RELEASE
+++ b/configure/RELEASE
@@ -1,32 +1,40 @@
-#RELEASE Location of external products
+# RELEASE - Location of external support modules
 #
-# IF YOU MAKE ANY CHANGES to this file you MUST at least run
-# "gnumake" in this directory afterwards; you usually need
-# to run "gnumake rebuild" in the application's top level
-# directory each time this file is changed.
+# IF YOU CHANGE ANY PATHS in this file or make API changes to
+# any modules it refers to, you should do a "make rebuild" in
+# this application's top level directory.
 #
-# NOTE: The build does not check dependencies against files
-# that are outside this application, thus you should run
-# "gnumake distclean install" in the top directory each time
-# EPICS_BASE, SNCSEQ, or any other external module defined
-# in the RELEASE file is rebuilt.
+# The EPICS build process does not check dependencies against
+# any files from outside the application, so it is safest to
+# rebuild it completely if any modules it depends on change.
 #
-# Host/target specific settings can be specified in files named
+# Host- or target-specific settings can be given in files named
 #  RELEASE.$(EPICS_HOST_ARCH).Common
 #  RELEASE.Common.$(T_A)
 #  RELEASE.$(EPICS_HOST_ARCH).$(T_A)
+#
+# This file is parsed by both GNUmake and an EPICS Perl script,
+# so it may ONLY contain definititions of paths to other support
+# modules, variable definitions that are used in module paths,
+# and include statements that pull in other RELEASE files.
+# Variables may be used before their values have been set.
+# Build variables that are NOT used in paths should be set in
+# the CONFIG_SITE file.
 
-TEMPLATE_TOP=$(EPICS_BASE)/templates/makeBaseApp/top
+# Variables and paths to dependent modules:
+#MODULES = /path/to/modules
+#MYMODULE = $(MODULES)/my-module
 
-#If using the sequencer, point SNCSEQ at its top directory:
-#SNCSEQ=$(EPICS_BASE)/../modules/soft/seq
+# If building the EPICS modules individually, set these:
+#EPICS_PVDATA = $(MODULES)/pvData-7.0.0
+#EPICS_LIBCOM = $(MODULES)/libcom-3.17.0
+#EPICS_BASE = $(MODULES)/core-7.0.1
 
-# EPICS_BASE usually appears last so other apps can override stuff:
-#EPICS_BASE=/opt/epics/base
-
-#Capfast users may need the following definitions
-#CAPFAST_TEMPLATES=
-#SCH2EDIF_PATH=
+# Set RULES here if you want to use build rules from elsewhere:
+#RULES = $(MODULES)/build-rules
 
+# These allow developers to override the RELEASE variable settings
+# without having to modify the configure/RELEASE file itself.
 -include $(TOP)/../RELEASE.local
+-include $(TOP)/../RELEASE.$(EPICS_HOST_ARCH).local
 -include $(TOP)/configure/RELEASE.local