15.1 Controlling Help Output

Users consult ‘configure --help’ to learn of configuration decisions specific to your package. By default, configure breaks this output into sections for each type of option; within each section, help strings appear in the order configure.ac defines them:

Optional Features:
  …
  --enable-bar            include bar

Optional Packages:
  …
  --with-foo              use foo

Macro: AC_PRESERVE_HELP_ORDER

Request an alternate --help format, in which options of all types appear together, in the order defined. Call this macro before any AC_ARG_ENABLE or AC_ARG_WITH.

Optional Features and Packages:
  …
  --enable-bar            include bar
  --with-foo              use foo