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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 to match the total return of the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index.

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.

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 94.21% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 94.21%
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:

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 bonds that are included in the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index (or other instruments with similar economic characteristics). In seeking to match index performance, the manager uses a passive management approach and purchases all or a representative sample of the bonds comprising the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index. Because the fund has expenses, performance will tend to be slightly lower than that of the index. To maintain liquidity, the fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in various short-term, fixed-income securities and money market instruments. The fund attempts to have a correlation between its performance and that of the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index of at least .95 before expenses. A correlation of 1.00 would mean that the fund and the index were perfectly correlated.


The fund's investments are selected by a "sampling" process, which is a statistical process used to select bonds so that the fund has investment characteristics that closely approximate those of the index. By using this sampling process, the fund typically will not invest in all of the securities in the index.


The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index is a broad-based, unmanaged index that covers the U.S. dollar-denominated, investment grade (Baa/BBB or higher), fixed-rate, taxable bond market of SEC-registered securities. The index includes bonds from the U.S. Treasury, U.S. government-related, corporate, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities sectors. Although most of the securities in the index are issued by the U.S. Treasury and other U.S. government and agency issuers, the index may include dollar-denominated bonds issued by foreign issuers in which the fund may invest to the extent the index contains such securities. Barclays is not affiliated with the fund, and it does not sell or endorse the fund, nor does it guarantee the performance of the fund or the index.

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.


· Fixed-income market risk. The market value of a fixed-income security may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. The fixed-income securities market can be susceptible to increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity. Liquidity can decline unpredictably in response to overall economic conditions or credit tightening. Increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity may be caused by a rise in interest rates (or the expectation of a rise in interest rates), which are at or near historic lows in the United States and in other countries. An unexpected increase in fund redemption requests, including requests from shareholders who may own a significant percentage of the fund's shares, which may be triggered by market turmoil or an increase in interest rates, could cause the fund to sell its holdings at a loss or at undesirable prices and adversely affect the fund's share price and increase the fund's liquidity risk, fund expenses and/or taxable distributions.


· Interest rate risk. Prices of bonds and other fixed-income securities tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in rates will adversely affect fixed-income securities and, accordingly, will cause the value of the fund's investments in these securities to decline. During periods of very low interest rates, which occur from time to time due to market forces or actions of governments and/or their central banks, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in the U.S., the fund may be subject to a greater risk of principal decline from rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, the values of already-issued fixed-income securities generally rise. However, when interest rates fall, the fund's investments in new securities may be at lower yields and may reduce the fund's income. The magnitude of these fluctuations in the market price of fixed-income securities is generally greater for securities with longer effective maturities and durations because such instruments do not mature, reset interest rates or become callable for longer periods of time. The change in the value of a fixed-income security or portfolio can be approximated by multiplying its duration by a change in interest rates. For example, the market price of a fixed-income security with a duration of three years would be expected to decline 3% if interest rates rose 1%. Conversely, the market price of the same security would be expected to increase 3% if interest rates fell 1%. Risks associated with rising interest rates are heightened given that interest rates in the United States and other countries are at or near historic lows. Interest rate changes may have different effects on the values of mortgage-related securities because of prepayment and extension risks.


· Credit risk. Failure of an issuer to make timely interest or principal payments, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of a bond, can cause the bond's price to fall, potentially lowering the fund's share price. The lower a bond's credit rating, the greater the chance – in the rating agency's opinion – that the bond issuer will default or fail to meet its payment obligations.


· Government securities risk. Not all obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury. Some obligations are backed only by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality, and in some cases there may be some risk of default by the issuer. Any security guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, or a security backed by the U.S. Treasury or the full faith and credit of the United States, is guaranteed or backed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity, but the market values for such securities are not guaranteed and will fluctuate. In addition, such guarantees do not extend to shares of the fund itself. Because many types of U.S. government securities trade actively outside the United States, their prices may rise and fall as changes in global economic conditions affect the demand for these securities.


· Indexing strategy risk. The fund uses an indexing strategy. It does not attempt to manage market volatility, use defensive strategies or reduce the effects of any long-term periods of poor index performance. The correlation between fund and index performance may be affected by the fund's expenses and use of sampling techniques, changes in securities markets, changes in the composition of the index and the timing of purchases and redemptions of fund shares.


· Mortgage-related securities risk. Mortgage-related securities are complex derivative instruments, subject to credit, prepayment and extension risk, and may be more volatile, less liquid, and more difficult to price accurately, than more traditional fixed-income securities. The fund is subject to the credit risk associated with these securities, including the market's perception of the creditworthiness of the issuing federal agency, as well as the credit quality of the underlying assets. Although certain mortgage-related securities are guaranteed as to the timely payment of interest and principal by a third party (such as a U.S. government agency or instrumentality with respect to government-related mortgage-backed securities) the market prices for such securities are not guaranteed and will fluctuate. Declining interest rates may result in the prepayment of higher yielding underlying mortgages and the reinvestment of proceeds at lower interest rates can reduce the fund's potential price gain in response to falling interest rates, reduce the fund's yield or cause the fund's share price to fall (prepayment risk). Rising interest rates may result in a drop in prepayments of the underlying mortgages, which would increase the fund's sensitivity to rising interest rates and its potential for price declines (extension risk).


· Asset-backed securities risk. General downturns in the economy could cause the value of asset-backed securities to fall. In addition, asset-backed securities present certain risks that are not presented by mortgage-backed securities. Primarily, these securities may provide the fund with a less effective security interest in the related collateral than do mortgage-backed securities. Therefore, there is the possibility that recoveries on the underlying collateral may not, in some cases, be available to support payments on these securities.


· 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. Securities of issuers located in emerging markets can be more volatile and less liquid than those of issuers in more developed economies.


· Liquidity risk. When there is little or no active trading market for specific types of securities, it can become more difficult to sell the securities in a timely manner at or near their perceived value. In such a market, the value of such securities and the fund's share price may fall dramatically, even during periods of declining interest rates. Investments that are illiquid or that trade in lower volumes may be more difficult to value. Investments in foreign securities, particularly those of issuers located in emerging markets, tend to have greater exposure to liquidity risk than domestic securities.


· Issuer risk. A security's market value may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer's products or services, or factors that affect the issuer's industry, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry.

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 BASIC 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. 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 (%) BASIC Shares
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

Best Quarter
Q4, 2008: 5.14%


Worst Quarter
Q2, 2004: -2.44%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2008
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 5.14%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Jun. 30, 2004
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (2.44%)
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 BASIC 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 BASIC 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 12/31/13)
Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (2.02%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 4.44%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.55%
BASIC Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.15%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.01%
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.16%
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.01%) [1]
Total annual fund operating expenses (after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement) rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.15%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 15
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 48
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 85
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 192
Annual Return 2004 rr_AnnualReturn2004 4.15%
Annual Return 2005 rr_AnnualReturn2005 2.18%
Annual Return 2006 rr_AnnualReturn2006 4.17%
Annual Return 2007 rr_AnnualReturn2007 7.06%
Annual Return 2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 5.84%
Annual Return 2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 4.74%
Annual Return 2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 6.25%
Annual Return 2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 7.69%
Annual Return 2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 3.94%
Annual Return 2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 (2.34%)
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (2.34%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 4.00%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.33%
BASIC Shares | After Taxes on Distributions
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (3.85%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.63%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 2.78%
BASIC Shares | After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (1.07%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.62%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 2.79%
Investor Shares
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.15%
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.01%
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.41%
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.01%) [1]
Total annual fund operating expenses (after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement) rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.40%
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 41
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 128
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 224
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 505
Average Annual Returns, 1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (2.59%)
Average Annual Returns, 5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 3.74%
Average Annual Returns, 10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 4.07%
[1] The fund's investment adviser, The Dreyfus Corporation, has agreed to pay all of the fund's expenses, except management fees, Rule 12b-1 fees and certain other expenses, including fees and expenses of the non-interested board members and their counsel. The Dreyfus Corporation has further agreed to reduce its fees in an amount equal to the fund's allocable portion of the fees and expenses of the non-interested board members and their counsel (in the amount of 0.01% for the past fiscal year).