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Label Element Value
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Fund Summary
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The fund seeks capital appreciation by emphasizing investments in equity securities of mid-cap companies with favorable growth prospects.

Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in certain funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the Shareholder Guide section beginning on page 9 of the Prospectus and in the How to Buy Shares section and the Additional Information About How to Buy Shares section beginning on page II-1 and page III-1, respectively, of the fund's Statement of Additional Information.

Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was 164.34% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 164.34%
Expense Breakpoint Discounts [Text] rr_ExpenseBreakpointDiscounts You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in certain funds in the Dreyfus Family of Funds.
Expense Breakpoint, Minimum Investment Required [Amount] rr_ExpenseBreakpointMinimumInvestmentRequiredAmount $ 50,000
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

The Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example, No Redemption, By Year, Caption [Text] rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionByYearCaption You would pay the following expenses if you did not redeem your shares:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Principal Investment Strategy
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of companies within the market capitalization range of companies comprising the Russell Midcap® Growth Index (the "Index"). The fund may invest up to 30% of its assets in foreign securities (i.e., securities issued by companies organized under the laws of countries other than the U.S.), with no more than 25% of its assets invested in the securities of issuers located in any one foreign country.


The portfolio managers use a "growth style" of investing, searching for companies whose fundamental strengths suggest the potential to provide superior earnings growth over time. The portfolio managers use a consistent, bottom-up approach which emphasizes individual stock selection. The portfolio managers go beyond Wall Street analysis and perform intensive qualitative and quantitative in-house research to determine whether companies meet this investment criteria.


The fund does not have any limitations regarding portfolio turnover. The fund may engage in short-term trading to try to achieve its objective and may have portfolio turnover rates in excess of 100%. A portfolio turnover of 100% is equivalent to the fund buying and selling all of the securities in its portfolio once during the course of a year.

Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency. It is not a complete investment program. The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.


· Risks of stock investing. Stocks generally fluctuate more in value than bonds and may decline significantly over short time periods. There is the chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and falling prices. The market value of a stock may decline due to general weakness in the stock market or because of factors that affect the company or its particular industry.


· Small and midsize company risk. Small and midsize companies carry additional risks because the operating histories of these companies tend to be more limited, their earnings and revenues less predictable (and some companies may be experiencing significant losses), and their share prices more volatile than those of larger, more established companies. The shares of smaller companies tend to trade less frequently than those of larger, more established companies, which can adversely affect the pricing of these securities and the fund's ability to sell these securities.


· Growth stock risk. Investors often expect growth companies to increase their earnings at a certain rate. If these expectations are not met, investors can punish the stocks inordinately, even if earnings do increase. In addition, growth stocks may lack the dividend yield that may cushion stock prices in market downturns.


· Market sector risk. The fund may significantly overweight or underweight certain companies, industries or market sectors, which may cause the fund's performance to be more or less sensitive to developments affecting those companies, industries or sectors.


· Foreign investment risk. To the extent the fund invests in foreign securities, the fund's performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting investments in foreign issuers. Special risks associated with investments in foreign issuers include exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, less developed or less efficient trading markets, lack of comprehensive company information, political and economic instability and differing auditing and legal standards. Investments denominated in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that such currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and affect the value of these investments held by the fund.


· Portfolio turnover risk. The fund may engage in short-term trading, which could produce higher transaction costs and taxable distributions, and lower the fund's after-tax performance.

Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text] rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's Class F shares from year to year. The table compares the average annual total returns of the fund's shares to those of a broad measure of market performance. The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future. Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown. More recent performance information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.dreyfus.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%) Class F
Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text] rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads Sales charges, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would have been less than those shown.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Best Quarter
Q2, 2003: 18.50%


Worst Quarter
Q4, 2008: -29.44%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2003
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 18.50%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (29.44%)
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes [Text] rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Performance Table One Class of after Tax Shown [Text] rr_PerformanceTableOneClassOfAfterTaxShown After-tax performance is shown only for Class F shares. After-tax performance of the fund's other share classes will vary.
Performance Table Narrative rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

After-tax performance is shown only for Class F shares. After-tax performance of the fund's other share classes will vary. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

Caption rr_AverageAnnualReturnCaption Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/12)
Russell Midcap®Growth Index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 15.81%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 3.23%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 10.32%
Class A
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice 5.75%
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none [1]
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.81%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other expenses (including shareholder services fees) rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.73%
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.53%
Expenses Deferred Charges [Text Block] rr_ExpensesDeferredChargesTextBlock Class A shares bought without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of $1 million or more may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within one year.
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 722
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 1,031
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 1,361
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 2,294
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 722
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 1,031
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 1,361
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 2,294
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 6.42%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (2.16%)
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 8.54%
Class C
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther 1.00%
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.81%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.75%
Other expenses (including shareholder services fees) rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.72%
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 2.27%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 330
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 709
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 1,215
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 2,605
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 230
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 709
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 1,215
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 2,605
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 10.98%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (1.78%)
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 8.34%
Class F
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.81%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.12%
Other expenses (including shareholder services fees) rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.37%
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.30%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 132
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 412
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 713
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,568
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 132
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 412
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 713
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 1,568
Annual Return 2003 rr_AnnualReturn2003 36.64%
Annual Return 2004 rr_AnnualReturn2004 18.44%
Annual Return 2005 rr_AnnualReturn2005 12.74%
Annual Return 2006 rr_AnnualReturn2006 23.85%
Annual Return 2007 rr_AnnualReturn2007 13.03%
Annual Return 2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 (49.30%)
Annual Return 2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 26.38%
Annual Return 2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 32.28%
Annual Return 2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 0.18%
Annual Return 2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 13.00%
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 13.00%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (0.82%)
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 8.54%
Class F | After Taxes on Distributions
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 13.00%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (0.82%)
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 9.31%
Class F | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 8.54%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (0.70%)
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 8.37%
Class I
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a percentage of lower of purchase or sale price) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.81%
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other expenses (including shareholder services fees) rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.40%
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.20%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 122
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 381
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 660
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,455
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 122
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 381
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 660
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 $ 1,455
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 13.24%
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (0.73%)
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 9.40%
[1] Class A shares bought without an initial sales charge as part of an investment of $1 million or more may be charged a deferred sales charge of 1.00% if redeemed within one year.