diff --git a/config/dependency_resolvers_conf.xml.sample b/config/dependency_resolvers_conf.xml.sample
index 243fff0cdc8..cbc78951db7 100644
--- a/config/dependency_resolvers_conf.xml.sample
+++ b/config/dependency_resolvers_conf.xml.sample
@@ -1,28 +1,32 @@
 <dependency_resolvers>
-<!-- the default configuration, first look for dependencies installed from the toolshed -->
+  <!-- the default configuration, first look for dependencies installed from the toolshed -->
   <tool_shed_packages />
-<!-- then look for env.sh files in directories according to the "galaxy packages" schema.
-     These resolvers can take a base_path attribute to specify where to look for
-     package definitions, but by default look in the directory specified by tool_dependency_dir
-     in Galaxy's config/galaxy.ini -->
+  <!-- then look for env.sh files in directories according to the "galaxy packages" schema.
+       These resolvers can take a base_path attribute to specify where to look for
+       package definitions, but by default look in the directory specified by tool_dependency_dir
+       in Galaxy's config/galaxy.ini -->
   <galaxy_packages />
-  <galaxy_packages versionless="true" />
+  <!-- check whether the correct version has been installed via conda -->
   <conda />
+  <!-- look for a "default" symlink pointing to a directory containing an
+       env.sh file for the package in the "galaxy packages" schema -->
+  <galaxy_packages versionless="true" />
+  <!-- look for any version of the dependency installed via conda -->
   <conda versionless="true" />
 
-<!-- Example configuration of modules dependency resolver, uses Environment Modules -->
-<!--
+  <!-- Example configuration of modules dependency resolver, uses Environment Modules -->
+  <!--
   <modules modulecmd="/opt/Modules/3.2.9/bin/modulecmd" />
   <modules modulecmd="/opt/Modules/3.2.9/bin/modulecmd" versionless="true" default_indicator="default" />
-Attributes are:
-* modulecmd - path to modulecmd
-* versionless - default: false - whether to resolve tools using a version number or not
-* find_by - directory or avail - use the DirectoryModuleChecker or AvailModuleChecker
-* prefetch - default: true - in the AvailModuleChecker prefetch module info with 'module avail'
-* default_indicator - default: '(default)' - what indicate to the AvailModuleChecker that a module is the default version
--->
-<!-- other resolvers
+  Attributes are:
+  * modulecmd - path to modulecmd
+  * versionless - default: false - whether to resolve tools using a version number or not
+  * find_by - directory or avail - use the DirectoryModuleChecker or AvailModuleChecker
+  * prefetch - default: true - in the AvailModuleChecker prefetch module info with 'module avail'
+  * default_indicator - default: '(default)' - what indicate to the AvailModuleChecker that a module is the default version
+  -->
+  <!-- other resolvers
   <tool_shed_tap />
   <homebrew />
--->
-</dependency_resolvers>
\ No newline at end of file
+  -->
+</dependency_resolvers>
diff --git a/doc/source/admin/dependency_resolvers.rst b/doc/source/admin/dependency_resolvers.rst
index c74bcf3c2dd..0d6930d1ef7 100644
--- a/doc/source/admin/dependency_resolvers.rst
+++ b/doc/source/admin/dependency_resolvers.rst
@@ -6,10 +6,12 @@ Dependency Resolvers in Galaxy
 
 There are two parts to building a link between Galaxy and command line bioinformatics tools: the tool XML that
 specifies a mapping between the Galaxy web user interface and the tool command line and tool dependencies that specify
-how to source the actual packages that implement the tool’s commands. The final script that Galaxy submits to run a
-job uses includes commands, such as changes to the ``PATH`` environment variable, that are generated by *dependency
-resolvers*. There is a default dependency resolver configuration but administrators can provide their own configuration
-using the ``dependency_resolvers_conf.xml`` configuration file in the Galaxy ``config/`` directory.
+how to source the actual packages that implement the tool’s commands. The final script that Galaxy submits to run a job
+uses includes commands, such as changes to the ``PATH`` environment variable, that are generated by *dependency
+resolvers*.  These same dependency resolvers are used by the Galaxy administrative UI to display whether an installed
+tool's dependencies have been installed on the Galaxy server, and to show how they will be resolved at job runtime.
+There is a default dependency resolver configuration but administrators can provide their own configuration using the
+``dependency_resolvers_conf.xml`` configuration file in the Galaxy ``config/`` directory.
 
 The binding between tool XML and the tools they need to run is specified in the tool XML using ``<requirement>``
 tags, for example
@@ -34,30 +36,31 @@ The default configuration of dependency resolvers is equivalent to the following
 .. code-block:: xml
 
   <dependency_resolvers>
-    <!-- the default configuration, first look for legacy dependencies installed from the toolshed -->
     <tool_shed_packages />
-    <!-- then look for env.sh files profile according to the "galaxy packages" schema -->
     <galaxy_packages />
-    <galaxy_packages versionless="true" />
-    <!-- finally look for Conda dependencies. -->
     <conda />
+    <galaxy_packages versionless="true" />
     <conda versionless="true" />
   </dependency_resolvers>
 
-This default dependency resolver configuration contains five items. First, the *tool shed dependency resolver* is used,
-then the *Galaxy packages dependency resolver* is used (initially looking for packages by name and version string and then looking for the package just by name), and finally it checks *Conda* for a versioned or unversioned match.
-The default configuration thus prefers packages installed from the Galaxy Tool Shed using legacy ``tool_dependencies.xml``
-files, before trying to find a "Galaxy package" satisfying the specific version the dependency requires before
-falling back to looking for a Galaxy package with merely the correct name, and then looking for Conda recipes with
-matching name and version, and finally just for a Conda package with the correct name. If any of the dependency
-resolvers succeeds a dependency resolution object is returned and no more resolvers are called. This dependency
-resolution object provides shell commands to prepend to the shell script that runs the tool.
+This default dependency resolver configuration contains five items:
+
+1. First, the *Tool Shed dependency resolver* is used, which resolves packages installed from the Galaxy Tool Shed
+   using legacy ``tool_dependencies.xml`` files,
+2. then the *Galaxy packages dependency resolver* is checked for a package matching the requirement name and version,
+3. then the *Conda dependency resolver* is checked for a package matching the requirement name and version. If no
+   versioned match can be found, it then moves on to searching for unversioned matches, that is,
+4. the *Galaxy packages dependency resolver* is checked for a package matching the required name only, and
+5. finally the *Conda dependency resolver* is checked for a  package matching the required name only.
+
+If any of the dependency resolvers succeeds a dependency resolution object is returned and no more resolvers are
+called. This dependency resolution object provides shell commands to prepend to the shell script that runs the tool.
 
 This order can be thought of as a descending order of deliberation. Tool Shed dependencies must be declared next to the
 tool by the tool author and must be selected for installation at tool installation time - this requires specific actions
-by both the tool author and the deployer who installed the tools. The dependency is therefore expected to highly craft
-to the individual tool. If Galaxy packages have been setup, the deployer of a Galaxy tool has purposely crafted tool
-dependency statements for a specific installation - this is slightly less deliberate than tool shed packages but
+by both the tool author and the deployer who installed the tools. The dependency is therefore expected to highly
+crafted to the individual tool. If Galaxy packages have been setup, the deployer of a Galaxy tool has purposely crafted
+tool dependency statements for a specific installation - this is slightly less deliberate than tool shed packages but
 such requirements are less likely to be incidentally resolved than Conda packages. Conda recipes are neither tied to
 tools or a specific installation and are maintained in Conda channels such as Bioconda.
 
diff --git a/lib/galaxy/tools/deps/__init__.py b/lib/galaxy/tools/deps/__init__.py
index cc42d83cd92..0c568ea2fb6 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/tools/deps/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/galaxy/tools/deps/__init__.py
@@ -198,8 +198,8 @@ class DependencyManager( object ):
         return [
             ToolShedPackageDependencyResolver(self),
             GalaxyPackageDependencyResolver(self),
-            GalaxyPackageDependencyResolver(self, versionless=True),
             CondaDependencyResolver(self),
+            GalaxyPackageDependencyResolver(self, versionless=True),
             CondaDependencyResolver(self, versionless=True),
         ]