diff --git a/IkiWiki.pm b/IkiWiki.pm
index 2064c881a..c787612e1 100644
--- a/IkiWiki.pm
+++ b/IkiWiki.pm
@@ -17,11 +17,12 @@ use vars qw{%config %links %oldlinks %pagemtime %pagectime %pagecase
 	    %forcerebuild %loaded_plugins};
 
 use Exporter q{import};
-our @EXPORT = qw(hook debug error template htmlpage add_depends pagespec_match
-                 pagespec_match_list bestlink htmllink readfile writefile
-		 pagetype srcfile pagename displaytime will_render gettext urlto
-		 targetpage add_underlay pagetitle titlepage linkpage
-		 newpagefile inject add_link
+our @EXPORT = qw(hook debug error template htmlpage deptype use_pagespec
+                 add_depends pagespec_match pagespec_match_list bestlink
+		 htmllink readfile writefile pagetype srcfile pagename
+		 displaytime will_render gettext urlto targetpage
+		 add_underlay pagetitle titlepage linkpage newpagefile
+		 inject add_link
                  %config %links %pagestate %wikistate %renderedfiles
                  %pagesources %destsources);
 our $VERSION = 3.00; # plugin interface version, next is ikiwiki version
@@ -1768,18 +1769,10 @@ sub rcs_receive () {
 	$hooks{rcs}{rcs_receive}{call}->();
 }
 
-sub add_depends ($$;@) {
+sub add_depends ($$;$) {
 	my $page=shift;
 	my $pagespec=shift;
-
-	my $deptype=0;
-	if (@_) {
-		my %params=@_;
-		
-		$deptype=$deptype | $DEPEND_PRESENCE if $params{presence};
-		$deptype=$deptype | $DEPEND_LINKS if $params{links};
-	}
-	$deptype=$DEPEND_CONTENT unless $deptype;
+	my $deptype=shift || $DEPEND_CONTENT;
 
 	# Is the pagespec a simple page name?
 	if ($pagespec =~ /$config{wiki_file_regexp}/ &&
@@ -1791,20 +1784,120 @@ sub add_depends ($$;@) {
 	# Analyse the pagespec, and match it against all pages
 	# to get a list of influences, and add explicit dependencies
 	# for those.
-	my $sub=pagespec_translate($pagespec);
-	return if $@;
-	foreach my $p (keys %pagesources) {
-		my $r=$sub->($p, location => $page );
-		my %i=$r->influences;
-		foreach my $i (keys %i) {
-			$depends_simple{$page}{lc $i} |= $i{$i};
-		}
-	}
+	#my $sub=pagespec_translate($pagespec);
+	#return if $@;
+	#foreach my $p (keys %pagesources) {
+	#	my $r=$sub->($p, location => $page );
+	#	my %i=$r->influences;
+	#	foreach my $i (keys %i) {
+	#		$depends_simple{$page}{lc $i} |= $i{$i};
+	#	}
+	#}
+	print STDERR "warning: use of add_depends; influences not tracked\n";
 
 	$depends{$page}{$pagespec} |= $deptype;
 	return 1;
 }
 
+sub use_pagespec ($$;@) {
+	my $page=shift;
+	my $pagespec=shift;
+	my %params=@_;
+
+	my $sub=pagespec_translate($pagespec);
+	error "syntax error in pagespec \"$pagespec\""
+		if $@ || ! defined $sub;
+
+	my @candidates;
+	if (exists $params{limit}) {
+		@candidates=grep { $params{limit}->($_) } keys %pagesources;
+	}
+	else {
+		@candidates=keys %pagesources;
+	}
+
+	if (defined $params{sort}) {
+		my $f;
+		if ($params{sort} eq 'title') {
+			$f=sub { pagetitle(basename($a)) cmp pagetitle(basename($b)) };
+		}
+		elsif ($params{sort} eq 'title_natural') {
+			eval q{use Sort::Naturally};
+			if ($@) {
+				error(gettext("Sort::Naturally needed for title_natural sort"));
+			}
+			$f=sub { Sort::Naturally::ncmp(pagetitle(basename($a)), pagetitle(basename($b))) };
+                }
+		elsif ($params{sort} eq 'mtime') {
+			$f=sub { $pagemtime{$b} <=> $pagemtime{$a} };
+		}
+		elsif ($params{sort} eq 'age') {
+			$f=sub { $pagectime{$b} <=> $pagectime{$a} };
+		}
+		else {
+			error sprintf(gettext("unknown sort type %s"), $params{sort});
+		}
+		@candidates = sort { &$f } @candidates;
+	}
+
+	@candidates=reverse(@candidates) if $params{reverse};
+	
+	my @matches;
+	my $firstfail;
+	my $count=0;
+	foreach my $p (@candidates) {
+		my $r=$sub->($p, location => $page);
+		if ($r) {
+			push @matches, [$p, $r];
+			last if defined $params{num} && ++$count == $params{num};
+		}
+		elsif (! defined $firstfail) {
+			$firstfail=$r;
+		}
+	}
+	
+	$depends{$page}{$pagespec} |= ($params{deptype} || $DEPEND_CONTENT);
+
+	my @ret;
+	if (@matches) {
+		# Add all influences from successful matches.
+		foreach my $m (@matches) {
+			push @ret, $m->[0];
+			my %i=$m->[1]->influences;
+			foreach my $i (keys %i) {
+				$depends_simple{$page}{lc $i} |= $i{$i};
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	elsif (defined $firstfail) {
+		# Add influences from one failure. (Which one should not
+		# matter; all should have the same influences.)
+		my %i=$firstfail->influences;
+		foreach my $i (keys %i) {
+			$depends_simple{$page}{lc $i} |= $i{$i};
+		}
+		error(sprintf(gettext("cannot match pages: %s"), $firstfail));
+	}
+
+	return @ret;
+}
+
+sub deptype (@) {
+	my $deptype=0;
+	foreach my $type (@_) {
+		if ($type eq 'presence') {
+			$deptype |= $DEPEND_PRESENCE;
+		}
+		elsif ($type eq 'links') { 
+			$deptype |= $DEPEND_LINKS;
+		}
+		elsif ($type eq 'content') {
+			$deptype |= $DEPEND_CONTENT;
+		}
+	}
+	return $deptype;
+}
+
 sub file_pruned ($$) {
 	require File::Spec;
 	my $file=File::Spec->canonpath(shift);
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index 565a0cffa..12ddebac9 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ ikiwiki (3.14159266) UNRELEASED; urgency=low
   * Added support framework for multiple types of dependencies.
   * Allow declaring that a dependency is only affected by page presence
     or changes to its links.
-    (By passing presence => 1 or links => 1 to add_depends.)
   * pagecount, calendar, postsparkline, progress: Use a presence dependency,
     which makes these directives much less expensive to use, since page
     edits will no longer trigger an unnecessary update.
@@ -34,6 +33,9 @@ ikiwiki (3.14159266) UNRELEASED; urgency=low
     info.
   * Plugins providing PageSpec `match_*` functions should pass additional
     influence information when creating result objects.
+  * Added `use_pagespec` function, that plugins can use to find a list
+    of matching pages and add dependencies and influences, all at once,
+    and efficiently.
 
  -- Joey Hess <joeyh@debian.org>  Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:40:03 -0400
 
diff --git a/doc/plugins/write.mdwn b/doc/plugins/write.mdwn
index 232430079..3d5650758 100644
--- a/doc/plugins/write.mdwn
+++ b/doc/plugins/write.mdwn
@@ -609,21 +609,52 @@ page created from it. (Ie, it appends ".html".)
 Use this when constructing the filename of a html file. Use `urlto` when
 generating a link to a page.
 
-#### `add_depends($$;@)`
+### `deptype(@)`
+
+Use this function to generate ikiwiki's internal representation of a
+dependency type from one or more of these keywords:
+
+* `content` is the default. Any change to the content
+  of a page triggers the dependency.
+* `presence` is only triggered by a change to the presence
+  of a page.
+* `links` is only triggered by a change to the links of a page.
+  This includes when a link is added, removed, or changes what
+  it points to due to other changes. It does not include the
+  addition or removal of a duplicate link.
+
+If multiple types are specified, they are combined.
+
+#### `use_pagespec($$;@)`
+
+Passed a page name, and [[ikiwiki/PageSpec]], returns a list of pages
+in the wiki that match the [[ikiwiki/PageSpec]]. 
+
+The page will automatically be made to depend on the specified
+[[ikiwiki/PageSpec]], so `add_depends` does not need to be called. This
+is significantly more efficient than calling `add_depends`
+followed by `pagespec_match_list`. You should use this anytime a plugin
+needs to match a set of pages and generate something based on that list.
+
+Additional named parameters can be specified:
+
+* `deptype` optionally specifies the type of dependency to add. Use the
+  `deptype` function to generate a dependency type.
+* `limit` is a reference to a function, that is called and passed a page,
+  and must return true for the page to be included.
+* `sort` specifies a sort order for the list. See
+  [[ikiwiki/PageSpec/sorting]] for the avilable sort methods.
+* `reverse` if true, sorts in reverse.
+* `num` if nonzero, specifies the maximum number of matching pages that
+  will be returned.
+
+#### `add_depends($$;$)`
 
 Makes the specified page depend on the specified [[ikiwiki/PageSpec]].
 
 By default, dependencies are full content dependencies, meaning that the
 page will be updated whenever anything matching the PageSpec is modified.
-This default can be overridden by additional named parameters, which can be
-used to indicate weaker types of dependencies:
-
-* `presence` if set to true, only the presence of a matching page triggers
-  the dependency.
-* `links` if set to true, any change to links on a matching page
-  triggers the dependency. This includes when a link is added, removed,
-  or changes what it points to due to other changes. It does not include
-  the addition or removal of a duplicate link.
+This can be overridden by passing a `deptype` value as the third parameter.
 
 #### `pagespec_match($$;@)`
 
@@ -984,10 +1015,12 @@ IkiWiki::ErrorReason object explaining why.
 
 When constructing these objects, you should also include information about
 of any pages whose contents or other metadata influenced the result of the
-match. For example, "backlink(foo)" is influenced by the contents of page foo;
-"link(foo)" and "title(bar)" are influenced by the contents of any
-page they match; "created_before(foo)" is influenced by the metadata of
-foo; while "glob(*)" is not influenced by the contents of any page.
+match. Do this by passing a list of pages, followed by `deptype` values.
+
+For example, "backlink(foo)" is influenced by the contents of page foo;
+"link(foo)" and "title(bar)" are influenced by the contents of any page
+they match; "created_before(foo)" is influenced by the metadata of foo;
+while "glob(*)" is not influenced by the contents of any page.
 
 ### Setup plugins
 
diff --git a/t/use_pagespec.t b/t/use_pagespec.t
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..7b904075e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/use_pagespec.t
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+#!/usr/bin/perl
+use warnings;
+use strict;
+use Test::More tests => 64;
+
+BEGIN { use_ok("IkiWiki"); }
+
+%pagesources=(
+	foo => "foo.mdwn",
+	bar => "bar.mdwn",
+	"post/1" => "post/1.mdwn",
+	"post/2" => "post/2.mdwn",
+	"post/3" => "post/3.mdwn",
+);
+
+is_deeply([use_pagespec("foo", "bar")], ["bar"]);
+is_deeply([sort(use_pagespec("foo", "post/*"))], ["post/1", "post/2", "post/3"]);
+is_deeply([use_pagespec("foo", "post/*", sort => "title", reverse => 1)],
+	["post/3", "post/2", "post/1"]);
+is_deeply([use_pagespec("foo", "post/*", sort => "title", num => 2)],
+	["post/1", "post/2"]);
+is_deeply([use_pagespec("foo", "post/*", sort => "title", num => 50)],
+	["post/1", "post/2", "post/3"]);
+is_deeply([use_pagespec("foo", "post/*", sort => "title",
+                         limit => sub { $_[0] !~ /3/}) ],
+	["post/1", "post/2"]);
+eval { use_pagespec("foo", "beep") };
+ok($@, "fails with error when unable to match anything");
+eval { use_pagespec("foo", "this is not a legal pagespec!") };
+ok($@, "fails with error when pagespec bad");