diff --git a/INSTALL b/INSTALL
index 76f94be8a5..108190f746 100644
--- a/INSTALL
+++ b/INSTALL
@@ -100,6 +100,23 @@ to create the Makefile by typing
 For more complicated cases, LyX configure takes the following specific
 flags:
 
+  o --enable-build-type=[rel(ease), dev(elopment), pre(release)]
+    allows to tweak the compiled code. The following table describes
+    the settings in terms of various options that are described later
+
+                      release   prerelease  development
+    optimization        -O2         -O2         -O
+    assertions                       X           X
+    stdlib-debug                                 X
+    concept-checks                   X           X
+    warnings                         X           X
+    debug                            X           X
+
+    The default are as follows in terms of version number
+    release: stable release (1.x.y)
+    prerelease: version number contains alpha, beta, rc or pre.
+    development: version number contains svn.
+
   o --with-extra-lib=DIRECTORY that specifies the path where LyX will
     find extra libraries (qt4) it needs. Defaults to NONE
     (i.e. search in standard places). You can specify several
@@ -185,8 +202,11 @@ give a value to the CXX variable.
 If you encounter problems, please read the section 'Problems' at the end of
 this file.
 
-In particular, the following options could be useful in some desperate
-cases:
+The following options allow to tweak more precisely the generated code:
+
+  o --enable-profiling instruments the code for use with the gprof
+    profiler. The result are only meaningful in conjunction with
+    --enable-build-type=release.
 
   o --enable-optimization=VALUE enables you to set optimization to a
     higher level as the default (-O), for example --enable-optimization=-O3.
diff --git a/config/lyxinclude.m4 b/config/lyxinclude.m4
index 18e84dfcad..bae0eb3ee5 100644
--- a/config/lyxinclude.m4
+++ b/config/lyxinclude.m4
@@ -10,14 +10,29 @@ AC_DEFUN([LYX_CHECK_VERSION],[
 echo "configuring LyX version" AC_PACKAGE_VERSION
 lyx_devel_version=no
 lyx_prerelease=no
-case AC_PACKAGE_VERSION in
-  *svn*) lyx_devel_version=yes
-         AC_DEFINE(DEVEL_VERSION, 1, [Define if you are building a development version of LyX])
-         LYX_DATE="not released yet"
-         echo "WARNING: This is a development version. Expect bugs.";;
-  *pre*|*alpha*|*beta*|*rc*) lyx_prerelease=yes
-        echo "WARNING: This is a prerelease. Be careful and backup your documents.";;
-esac
+build_type=release
+AC_MSG_CHECKING([for build type])
+AC_ARG_ENABLE(build-type,
+  AC_HELP_STRING([--enable-build-type=TYPE],[set build options according to TYPE=dev(elopment), rel(ease) or pre(release)]),
+  [case $enableval in 
+    dev*) lyx_devel_version=yes
+          build_type=development;;
+    pre*) lyx_prerelease=yes
+          build_type=prerelease;;
+    rel*) ;;
+    *) AC_ERROR([Bad build type specification \"$enableval\". Please use one of dev(elopment), rel(ease) or pre(release)]);;
+   esac],
+  [case AC_PACKAGE_VERSION in
+    *svn*) lyx_devel_version=yes
+          build_type=development;;
+    *pre*|*alpha*|*beta*|*rc*) lyx_prerelease=yes
+          build_type=prerelease;;
+   esac])
+AC_MSG_RESULT([$build_type])
+if test $lyx_devel_version == yes ; then
+           AC_DEFINE(DEVEL_VERSION, 1, [Define if you are building a development version of LyX])
+           LYX_DATE="not released yet"
+fi
 AC_SUBST(lyx_devel_version)])
 
 
diff --git a/status.15x b/status.15x
index 4eb502ad45..e5309973f2 100644
--- a/status.15x
+++ b/status.15x
@@ -44,6 +44,9 @@ What's new
 
 * BUILD/INSTALLATION:
 
+- New configure option --enable-build-type allows to set all
+  compilation options for release, prerelease or development builds.
+  Please see the INSTALL file for more details.
 
 
 ** Bug fixes: