--- a/build-aux/common.mk	Wed May 09 18:44:58 2012 -0400
+++ b/build-aux/common.mk	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -342,6 +342,9 @@
 # The full path to the default doc cache file.
 doc_cache_file = @doc_cache_file@
 
+# The full path to the default texi macros file.
+texi_macros_file_file = @texi_macros_file@
+
 # Where to install and expect the info files describing Octave..
 infodir = @infodir@
 
@@ -632,6 +635,7 @@
   -e "s|%OCTAVE_PREFIX%|\"${prefix}\"|" \
   -e "s|%OCTAVE_API_VERSION%|\"${api_version}\"|" \
   -e "s|%OCTAVE_RELEASE%|\"${OCTAVE_RELEASE}\"|" \
+  -e "s|%OCTAVE_TEXI_MACROS_FILE%|\"${texi_macros_file}\"|" \
   -e "s|%OCTAVE_VERSION%|\"${version}\"|"
 $(simple_move_if_change_rule)
 endef

--- a/configure.ac	Wed May 09 18:44:58 2012 -0400
+++ b/configure.ac	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -118,6 +118,7 @@
 OCTAVE_SET_DEFAULT(man1dir, '$(mandir)/man1')
 OCTAVE_SET_DEFAULT(man1ext, '.1')
 OCTAVE_SET_DEFAULT(doc_cache_file, '$(octetcdir)/doc-cache')
+OCTAVE_SET_DEFAULT(texi_macros_file, '$(octetcdir)/macros.texi')
 OCTAVE_SET_DEFAULT(infofile, '$(infodir)/octave.info')
 OCTAVE_SET_DEFAULT(octincludedir, '$(includedir)/octave-$(version)/octave')
 OCTAVE_SET_DEFAULT(fcnfiledir, '$(datadir)/octave/$(version)/m')

--- a/doc/interpreter/Makefile.am	Wed May 09 18:44:58 2012 -0400
+++ b/doc/interpreter/Makefile.am	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -179,12 +179,12 @@
 	@$(GREP) '#define HAVE_UMFPACK 1' $(top_builddir)/config.h > /dev/null || { echo "Documentation creation requires missing UMFPACK library.  Cannot package distribution!" ; exit 1; }
 	@$(GREP) '#define HAVE_QHULL 1' $(top_builddir)/config.h > /dev/null || { echo "Documentation creation requires missing QHULL library.  Cannot package distribution!" ; exit 1; }
 
-octetc_DATA = doc-cache
+octetc_DATA = doc-cache macros.texi
 
 DOCSTRING_FILES = $(shell $(srcdir)/find-docstring-files.sh "$(top_srcdir)")
 
 doc-cache: $(DOCSTRING_FILES) mk_doc_cache.m
-	$(top_builddir)/run-octave -f -q -H $(srcdir)/mk_doc_cache.m doc-cache $(DOCSTRING_FILES) || { rm -f doc-cache; exit 1; }
+	$(top_builddir)/run-octave -f -q -H $(srcdir)/mk_doc_cache.m doc-cache $(srcdir)/macros.texi $(DOCSTRING_FILES) || { rm -f doc-cache; exit 1; }
 
 $(MUNGED_TEXI_SRC): $(DOCSTRING_FILES) $(munge_texi_SOURCES)
 

--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/doc/interpreter/macros.texi	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+@c Copyright (C) 2012 John W. Eaton
+@c
+@c This file is part of Octave.
+@c
+@c Octave is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+@c under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
+@c Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at
+@c your option) any later version.
+@c 
+@c Octave is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+@c ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+@c FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
+@c for more details.
+@c 
+@c You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+@c along with Octave; see the file COPYING.  If not, see
+@c <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+@c The following macro is used for the on-line help system, but we don't
+@c want lots of `See also: foo, bar, and baz' strings cluttering the
+@c printed manual (that information should be in the supporting text for
+@c each group of functions and variables).
+
+@macro seealso {args}
+@iftex
+@vskip 2pt
+@end iftex
+@ifnottex
+@c Texinfo @sp should work but in practice produces ugly results for HTML.
+@c A simple blank line produces the correct behavior. 
+@c @sp 1
+
+@end ifnottex
+@noindent
+@strong{See also:} \args\.
+@end macro
+
+@c The following macro marks words that aspell should ignore during
+@c spellchecking.  Within Texinfo it has no effect as it merely replaces
+@c the macro call with the argument itself.
+
+@macro nospell {arg}
+\arg\
+@end macro
+
+@c The following macro works around a situation where the Info/plain text
+@c expansion of the @code{XXX} macro is `XXX'.  The use of the apostrophe
+@c can be confusing if the code segment itself ends with a transpose operator.
+@ifinfo
+@macro xcode{arg}
+\arg\
+@end macro
+@end ifinfo
+@ifnotinfo
+@macro xcode{arg}
+@code{\arg\}
+@end macro
+@end ifnotinfo

--- a/doc/interpreter/mk_doc_cache.m	Wed May 09 18:44:58 2012 -0400
+++ b/doc/interpreter/mk_doc_cache.m	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -38,17 +38,20 @@
     error ("unable to open %s for reading", file);
   else
     tmp = fread (fid, Inf, "*char")';
-    ## Strip off header lines
-    [~, text{i}] = strtok (tmp, doc_delim);
+    if (isempty (strfind (tmp, doc_delim)))
+      ## No delimiter, copy verbatim (this is the case for the file
+      ## containing macro definitions, for example).
+      text{i} = tmp;
+    else
+      ## Strip off header lines
+      [~, text{i}] = strtok (tmp, doc_delim);
+    endif
   endif
 endfor
 text = [text{:}, doc_delim];
 
-## Modify Octave-specific macros before passing to makeinfo
+## Strip Texinfo markers and docstring separators.
 text = regexprep (text, "-\\*- texinfo -\\*-[ \t]*[\r\n]*", "");
-text = regexprep (text, '@seealso *\{([^}]*)\}', "See also: $1.");
-text = regexprep (text, '@nospell *\{([^}]*)\}', "$1");
-text = regexprep (text, '@xcode *\{([^}]*)\}', "$1");
 text = strrep (text, '@', "@@");
 
 ## Write data to temporary file for input to makeinfo

--- a/doc/interpreter/octave.texi	Wed May 09 18:44:58 2012 -0400
+++ b/doc/interpreter/octave.texi	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -19,46 +19,7 @@
 \input texinfo
 @setfilename octave.info
 
-@c The following macro is used for the on-line help system, but we don't
-@c want lots of `See also: foo, bar, and baz' strings cluttering the
-@c printed manual (that information should be in the supporting text for
-@c each group of functions and variables).
-
-@macro seealso {args}
-@iftex
-@vskip 2pt
-@end iftex
-@ifnottex
-@c Texinfo @sp should work but in practice produces ugly results for HTML.
-@c A simple blank line produces the correct behavior. 
-@c @sp 1
-
-@end ifnottex
-@noindent
-@strong{See also:} \args\.
-@end macro
-
-@c The following macro marks words that aspell should ignore during
-@c spellchecking.  Within Texinfo it has no effect as it merely replaces
-@c the macro call with the argument itself.
-
-@macro nospell {arg}
-\arg\
-@end macro
-
-@c The following macro works around a situation where the Info/plain text
-@c expansion of the @code{XXX} macro is `XXX'.  The use of the apostrophe
-@c can be confusing if the code segment itself ends with a transpose operator.
-@ifinfo
-@macro xcode{arg}
-\arg\
-@end macro
-@end ifinfo
-@ifnotinfo
-@macro xcode{arg}
-@code{\arg\}
-@end macro
-@end ifnotinfo
+@include macros.texi
 
 @ifinfo
 @format

--- a/run-octave.in	Wed May 09 18:44:58 2012 -0400
+++ b/run-octave.in	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@
 LOADPATH="$d1_path:$d2_path:$d3_path"
 IMAGEPATH="$top_srcdir/scripts/image"
 DOCFILE="$builddir/doc/interpreter/doc-cache"
+TEXIMACROSFILE="$top_srcdir/doc/interpreter/macros.texi"
 INFOFILE="$top_srcdir/doc/interpreter/octave.info"
 
 ## Checking for string equality below with prepended x's in order to
@@ -70,4 +71,4 @@
   exec $builddir/libtool --mode=execute $driver \
     "$builddir/src/octave" --no-init-path --path="$LOADPATH" \
     --image-path="$IMAGEPATH" --doc-cache-file="$DOCFILE" \
-    --info-file="$INFOFILE" "$@"
+    --texi-macros-file="$TEXIMACROSFILE" --info-file="$INFOFILE" "$@"

--- a/scripts/help/__makeinfo__.m	Wed May 09 18:44:58 2012 -0400
+++ b/scripts/help/__makeinfo__.m	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -94,18 +94,15 @@
   ## Texinfo crashes if @end tex does not appear first on the line.
   text = regexprep (text, '^ +@end tex', '@end tex', 'lineanchors');
 
-  ## Handle @seealso macro
-  see_also_pat = '@seealso *\{(.*)\}';
-  args = regexp (text, see_also_pat, 'tokens');
-  for ii = 1:numel (args)
-    expanded = fsee_also (strtrim (strsplit (args{ii}{:}, ',', true)));
-    text = regexprep (text, see_also_pat, expanded, 'once');
-  endfor
-
-  ## Handle @nospell macro
-  text = regexprep (text, '@nospell *\{([^}]*)\}', "$1");
-  ## Handle @xcode macro
-  text = regexprep (text, '@xcode *\{([^}]*)\}', "$1");
+  file = texi_macros_file ();
+  fid = fopen (file, "r");
+  if (fid < 0)
+    error ("unable to open %s for reading", file);
+  else
+    macros_text = fread (fid, Inf, "*char")';
+    text = cstrcat (macros_text, text);
+  endif
+  fclose (fid);
 
   if (strcmpi (output_type, "texinfo"))
     status = 0;

--- a/src/defaults.cc	Wed May 09 18:44:58 2012 -0400
+++ b/src/defaults.cc	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -294,6 +294,16 @@
 }
 
 static void
+set_default_texi_macros_file (void)
+{
+  std::string def_file = subst_octave_home (OCTAVE_TEXI_MACROS_FILE);
+
+  std::string env_file = octave_env::getenv ("OCTAVE_TEXI_MACROS_FILE");
+
+  Vtexi_macros_file = env_file.empty () ? def_file : env_file;
+}
+
+static void
 set_default_info_file (void)
 {
   std::string std_info_file = subst_octave_home (OCTAVE_INFOFILE);
@@ -393,6 +403,8 @@
 
   set_default_doc_cache_file ();
 
+  set_default_texi_macros_file ();
+
   set_default_info_file ();
 
   set_default_info_prog ();

--- a/src/defaults.in.h	Wed May 09 18:44:58 2012 -0400
+++ b/src/defaults.in.h	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -56,6 +56,10 @@
 #define OCTAVE_DOC_CACHE_FILE %OCTAVE_DOC_CACHE_FILE%
 #endif
 
+#ifndef OCTAVE_TEXI_MACROS_FILE
+#define OCTAVE_TEXI_MACROS_FILE %OCTAVE_TEXI_MACROS_FILE%
+#endif
+
 #ifndef OCTAVE_EXEC_PREFIX
 #define OCTAVE_EXEC_PREFIX %OCTAVE_EXEC_PREFIX%
 #endif

--- a/src/help.cc	Wed May 09 18:44:58 2012 -0400
+++ b/src/help.cc	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -71,6 +71,11 @@
 // (--doc-cache-file file)
 std::string Vdoc_cache_file;
 
+// Name of the file containing local Texinfo macros that are prepended
+// to doc strings before processing.
+// (--texi-macros-file)
+std::string Vtexi_macros_file;
+
 // Name of the info file specified on command line.
 // (--info-file file)
 std::string Vinfo_file;
@@ -1291,6 +1296,30 @@
   return SET_NONEMPTY_INTERNAL_STRING_VARIABLE (doc_cache_file);
 }
 
+DEFUN (texi_macros_file, args, nargout,
+  "-*- texinfo -*-\n\
+@deftypefn  {Built-in Function} {@var{val} =} texi_macros_file ()\n\
+@deftypefnx {Built-in Function} {@var{old_val} =} texi_macros_file (@var{new_val})\n\
+@deftypefnx {Built-in Function} {} texi_macros_file (@var{new_val}, \"local\")\n\
+Query or set the internal variable that specifies the name of the\n\
+file containing Texinfo macros that are prepended to doc strings\n\
+before they are passed to makeinfo.  The default value is \n\
+@file{@var{octave-home}/share/octave/@var{version}/etc/macros.texi},\n\
+in which @var{octave-home} is the root directory of the Octave installation,\n\
+and @var{version} is the Octave version number.\n\
+The default value may be overridden by the environment variable\n\
+@w{@env{OCTAVE_TEXI_MACROS_FILE}}, or the command line argument\n\
+@samp{--texi-macros-file NAME}.\n\
+\n\
+When called from inside a function with the \"local\" option, the variable is\n\
+changed locally for the function and any subroutines it calls.  The original\n\
+variable value is restored when exiting the function.\n\
+@seealso{lookfor, info_program, doc, help, makeinfo_program}\n\
+@end deftypefn")
+{
+  return SET_NONEMPTY_INTERNAL_STRING_VARIABLE (texi_macros_file);
+}
+
 DEFUN (info_file, args, nargout,
   "-*- texinfo -*-\n\
 @deftypefn  {Built-in Function} {@var{val} =} info_file ()\n\

--- a/src/help.h	Wed May 09 18:44:58 2012 -0400
+++ b/src/help.h	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -36,6 +36,11 @@
 // (--doc-cache-file file)
 extern std::string Vdoc_cache_file;
 
+// Name of the file containing local Texinfo macros that are prepended
+// to doc strings before processing.
+// (--texi-macros-file)
+extern std::string Vtexi_macros_file;
+
 // Name of the info file specified on command line.
 // (--info-file file)
 extern std::string Vinfo_file;

--- a/src/octave.cc	Wed May 09 18:44:58 2012 -0400
+++ b/src/octave.cc	Thu May 10 12:01:42 2012 -0400
@@ -150,7 +150,8 @@
 #define NO_SITE_FILE_OPTION 11
 #define NO_WINDOW_SYSTEM_OPTION 12
 #define PERSIST_OPTION 13
-#define TRADITIONAL_OPTION 14
+#define TEXI_MACROS_FILE_OPTION 14
+#define TRADITIONAL_OPTION 15
 struct option long_opts[] =
   {
     { "braindead",        no_argument,       0, TRADITIONAL_OPTION },
@@ -176,6 +177,7 @@
     { "persist",          no_argument,       0, PERSIST_OPTION },
     { "quiet",            no_argument,       0, 'q' },
     { "silent",           no_argument,       0, 'q' },
+    { "texi-macros-file", required_argument, 0, TEXI_MACROS_FILE_OPTION },
     { "traditional",      no_argument,       0, TRADITIONAL_OPTION },
     { "verbose",          no_argument,       0, 'V' },
     { "version",          no_argument,       0, 'v' },
@@ -534,6 +536,7 @@
   --path PATH, -p PATH    Add PATH to head of function search path.\n\
   --persist               Go interactive after --eval or reading from FILE.\n\
   --silent, -q            Don't print message at startup.\n\
+  --texi-macros-file FILE Use doc cache file FILE.\n\
   --traditional           Set variables for closer MATLAB compatibility.\n\
   --verbose, -V           Enable verbose output in some cases.\n\
   --version, -v           Print version number and exit.\n\
@@ -811,6 +814,11 @@
           persist = true;
           break;
 
+        case TEXI_MACROS_FILE_OPTION:
+          if (optarg)
+            bind_internal_variable ("texi_macros_file", optarg);
+          break;
+
         case TRADITIONAL_OPTION:
           traditional = true;
           break;