error: must install xorg-macros 1.16.0 or later

Now, the “default” search path on the affected system is

1. /usr/share/aclocal-1.11/
2. /usr/share/aclocal/
3. /usr/local/share/aclocal/

without the need for -I options; -I options can be reserved for project-specific needs (my-source-dir/m4/), rather than using it to work around local system-dependent tool installation directories.

Similarly, dirlist can be handy if you have installed a local copy of Automake in your account and want aclocal to look for macros installed at other places on the system.

Modifying the Macro Search Path: ACLOCAL_PATH

The fourth and last mechanism to customize the macro search path is also the simplest. Any directory included in the colon-separated environment variable ACLOCAL_PATH is added to the search path and takes precedence over system directories (including those found via dirlist), with the exception of the versioned directory acdir-APIVERSION (see Macro Search Path). However, directories passed via -I will take precedence over directories in ACLOCAL_PATH.

Also note that, if the –install option is used, any .m4 file containing a required macro that is found in a directory listed in ACLOCAL_PATH will be installed locally. In this case, serial numbers in .m4 are honored too, see Serials.

Conversely to dirlist, ACLOCAL_PATH is useful if you are using a global copy of Automake and want aclocal to look for macros somewhere under your home directory.