diff --git a/doc/source/definition.rst b/doc/source/definition.rst
index cbec164f0..7dddf89cc 100644
--- a/doc/source/definition.rst
+++ b/doc/source/definition.rst
@@ -74,6 +74,26 @@ Sometimes it is useful to have the same job name format used even
 where the template contents may vary. `Ids` provide a mechanism to
 support such use cases.
 
+
+Default Values for Template Variables
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+To facilitate reuse of templates with many variables that can be
+substituted, but where in most cases the same or no value is needed,
+it is possible to specify defaults for the variables within the
+templates themselves.
+
+This can be used to provide common settings for particular templates.
+For example:
+
+.. literalinclude::
+    /../..tests/yamlparser/fixtures/template_default_variables.yaml
+   :language: yaml
+
+To use a default value for a variable used in the name would be
+uncommon unless it was in addition to another variable. However you
+can use `Ids`_ simplify such use cases.
+
 .. _project:
 
 Project
diff --git a/tests/yamlparser/fixtures/template_default_variables.xml b/tests/yamlparser/fixtures/template_default_variables.xml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..52b3cf492
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/yamlparser/fixtures/template_default_variables.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<project>
+  <actions/>
+  <description>&lt;!-- Managed by Jenkins Job Builder --&gt;</description>
+  <keepDependencies>false</keepDependencies>
+  <disabled>true</disabled>
+  <blockBuildWhenDownstreamBuilding>false</blockBuildWhenDownstreamBuilding>
+  <blockBuildWhenUpstreamBuilding>false</blockBuildWhenUpstreamBuilding>
+  <concurrentBuild>false</concurrentBuild>
+  <canRoam>true</canRoam>
+  <properties/>
+  <scm class="hudson.scm.NullSCM"/>
+  <builders>
+    <hudson.tasks.Shell>
+      <command>echo &quot;Job Name: template-variable-defaults-1-periodic&quot;
+echo &quot;Variable: Hello World&quot;
+</command>
+    </hudson.tasks.Shell>
+  </builders>
+  <publishers/>
+  <buildWrappers/>
+</project>
+
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<project>
+  <actions/>
+  <description>&lt;!-- Managed by Jenkins Job Builder --&gt;</description>
+  <keepDependencies>false</keepDependencies>
+  <blockBuildWhenDownstreamBuilding>false</blockBuildWhenDownstreamBuilding>
+  <blockBuildWhenUpstreamBuilding>false</blockBuildWhenUpstreamBuilding>
+  <concurrentBuild>false</concurrentBuild>
+  <canRoam>true</canRoam>
+  <properties/>
+  <scm class="hudson.scm.NullSCM"/>
+  <builders>
+    <hudson.tasks.Shell>
+      <command>echo &quot;Job Name: template-variable-defaults-2-periodic&quot;
+echo &quot;Variable: Goodbye World&quot;
+</command>
+    </hudson.tasks.Shell>
+  </builders>
+  <publishers/>
+  <buildWrappers/>
+</project>
diff --git a/tests/yamlparser/fixtures/template_default_variables.yaml b/tests/yamlparser/fixtures/template_default_variables.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5b0e2ffc4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/yamlparser/fixtures/template_default_variables.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+- project:
+    name: template_variable_defaults
+    jobs:
+        - 'template-variable-defaults-{num}':
+            num: 1
+            disabled_var: true
+        - 'template-variable-defaults-{num}':
+            test_var: Goodbye World
+            num: 2
+
+- job-template:
+    # template specific defaults
+    # empty value causes disabled_var to be ignored internally
+    disabled_var:
+    test_var: Hello World
+    type: periodic
+
+    # template settings
+    name: 'template-variable-defaults-{num}-{type}'
+    id: 'template-variable-defaults-{num}'
+    disabled: '{obj:disabled_var}'
+    builders:
+      - shell: |
+         echo "Job Name: template-variable-defaults-{num}-{type}"
+         echo "Variable: {test_var}"