diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 187ac35a1d8a8c57552a23b5184f611575085a8c..245b2059d938f9ae095640210a1e1af9a904a45e 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -606,7 +606,8 @@ EOF
 fi
 
 # Check if tools are available to build documentation.
-if [ -x "`which texi2html`" ] && [ -x "`which pod2man`" ]; then
+if [ -x "`which texi2html 2>/dev/null`" ] && \
+   [ -x "`which pod2man 2>/dev/null`" ]; then
   build_docs="yes"
 fi