diff --git a/eo/configure.in b/eo/configure.in
index 7dae5d21..cffc174f 100644
--- a/eo/configure.in
+++ b/eo/configure.in
@@ -27,7 +27,10 @@ AC_PROG_INSTALL
 AC_PROG_LN_S
 AC_PROG_MAKE_SET
 AC_PROG_RANLIB
-AC_CHECK_PROG(DOXYGEN, doxygen, doxygen, true)
+AC_ARG_VAR([DOXYGEN], [doxygen - automatic documentation generator])
+AC_CHECK_PROGS([DOXYGEN], [doxygen], [true])
+AC_ARG_VAR([AR], [ar - archiver for static libraries])
+AC_CHECK_PROGS([AR], [ar], [false], [$PATH:/usr/ccs/bin])
 
 dnl Checks for compiler characteristics.
 AC_CXX_NAMESPACES