diff --git a/Doc/library/stdtypes.rst b/Doc/library/stdtypes.rst
@@ -3218,6 +3218,12 @@ The conversion types are:
 |            | character in the result.                            |       |
 +------------+-----------------------------------------------------+-------+
 
+For a general non-string Python object ``obj``, numeric conversion types
+attempt to format values, converted first to built-in :class:`float` (by
+``float(obj)``, for floating-point formats) and :class:`int` (by
+``operator.index(obj)`` for ``'o'``, ``'x'``, ``'X'`` or ``'c'`` formats, or by
+``int(obj)`` for other integer formats) types.
+
 For floating-point formats, the result should be correctly rounded to a given
 precision ``p`` of digits after the decimal point.  The rounding mode matches
 that of the :func:`round` builtin.

diff --git a/Doc/library/string.rst b/Doc/library/string.rst
@@ -660,7 +660,7 @@ Format examples
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
 This section contains examples of the :meth:`str.format` syntax and
-comparison with the old ``%``-formatting.
+comparison with the old :ref:`printf-style formatting <old-string-formatting>`.
 
 In most of the cases the syntax is similar to the old ``%``-formatting, with the
 addition of the ``{}`` and with ``:`` used instead of ``%``.