diff --git a/configure.in b/configure.in
index beb58441..ff070bb4 100644
--- a/configure.in
+++ b/configure.in
@@ -227,6 +227,11 @@ AM_PATH_XFT(yes,
 )
 
 if test "x$XFT" = "xtrue" ; then
+	AC_TRY_LINK([
+			#include <X11/Xft/Xft.h>
+		], [ XftCloseFont(0, 0); return 0; ],
+		AC_DEFINE(USE_XFT, 1, "antialias support"),
+		
 	AC_DEFINE(USE_XFT, 1, "antialias support")	
 	AC_MSG_CHECKING([Xft UTF-8 support])
 	AC_TRY_LINK([
@@ -235,7 +240,9 @@ if test "x$XFT" = "xtrue" ; then
 		AC_DEFINE(HAVE_XFT_UTF8_STRING, 1, "Xft UTF8 support")
 		AC_MSG_RESULT(yes),
 		AC_MSG_RESULT(no)
-                XFT=false
+		),
+		AC_MSG_RESULT([Could not link with Xft. Install Xft if you want support for it.])
+		XFT=false
 		)
 fi