diff --git a/config/docbook.m4 b/config/docbook.m4
index 636aefed4c..4304fa7ea1 100644
--- a/config/docbook.m4
+++ b/config/docbook.m4
@@ -89,11 +89,14 @@ fi])# PGAC_PATH_DOCBOOK_STYLESHEETS
 
 # PGAC_PATH_COLLATEINDEX
 # ----------------------
+# Some DocBook installations provide collateindex.pl in $DOCBOOKSTYLE/bin,
+# but it's not necessarily marked executable, so we can't use AC_PATH_PROG
+# to check for it there.  Other installations just put it in the PATH.
 AC_DEFUN([PGAC_PATH_COLLATEINDEX],
 [AC_REQUIRE([PGAC_PATH_DOCBOOK_STYLESHEETS])dnl
-if test -n "$DOCBOOKSTYLE"; then
-  AC_PATH_PROGS(COLLATEINDEX, collateindex.pl, [],
-                [$DOCBOOKSTYLE/bin $PATH])
+if test -n "$DOCBOOKSTYLE" -a -r "$DOCBOOKSTYLE/bin/collateindex.pl"; then
+  COLLATEINDEX="$DOCBOOKSTYLE/bin/collateindex.pl"
+  AC_SUBST([COLLATEINDEX])
 else
-  AC_PATH_PROGS(COLLATEINDEX, collateindex.pl)
+  AC_PATH_PROG(COLLATEINDEX, collateindex.pl)
 fi])# PGAC_PATH_COLLATEINDEX
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 84d18a263d..26e6b631a6 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -29430,57 +29430,12 @@ else
   { $as_echo "$as_me:$LINENO: result: no" >&5
 $as_echo "no" >&6; }
 fi
-if test -n "$DOCBOOKSTYLE"; then
-  for ac_prog in collateindex.pl
-do
-  # Extract the first word of "$ac_prog", so it can be a program name with args.
-set dummy $ac_prog; ac_word=$2
-{ $as_echo "$as_me:$LINENO: checking for $ac_word" >&5
-$as_echo_n "checking for $ac_word... " >&6; }
-if test "${ac_cv_path_COLLATEINDEX+set}" = set; then
-  $as_echo_n "(cached) " >&6
-else
-  case $COLLATEINDEX in
-  [\\/]* | ?:[\\/]*)
-  ac_cv_path_COLLATEINDEX="$COLLATEINDEX" # Let the user override the test with a path.
-  ;;
-  *)
-  as_save_IFS=$IFS; IFS=$PATH_SEPARATOR
-for as_dir in $DOCBOOKSTYLE/bin $PATH
-do
-  IFS=$as_save_IFS
-  test -z "$as_dir" && as_dir=.
-  for ac_exec_ext in '' $ac_executable_extensions; do
-  if { test -f "$as_dir/$ac_word$ac_exec_ext" && $as_test_x "$as_dir/$ac_word$ac_exec_ext"; }; then
-    ac_cv_path_COLLATEINDEX="$as_dir/$ac_word$ac_exec_ext"
-    $as_echo "$as_me:$LINENO: found $as_dir/$ac_word$ac_exec_ext" >&5
-    break 2
-  fi
-done
-done
-IFS=$as_save_IFS
-
-  ;;
-esac
-fi
-COLLATEINDEX=$ac_cv_path_COLLATEINDEX
-if test -n "$COLLATEINDEX"; then
-  { $as_echo "$as_me:$LINENO: result: $COLLATEINDEX" >&5
-$as_echo "$COLLATEINDEX" >&6; }
-else
-  { $as_echo "$as_me:$LINENO: result: no" >&5
-$as_echo "no" >&6; }
-fi
-
-
-  test -n "$COLLATEINDEX" && break
-done
+if test -n "$DOCBOOKSTYLE" -a -r "$DOCBOOKSTYLE/bin/collateindex.pl"; then
+  COLLATEINDEX="$DOCBOOKSTYLE/bin/collateindex.pl"
 
 else
-  for ac_prog in collateindex.pl
-do
-  # Extract the first word of "$ac_prog", so it can be a program name with args.
-set dummy $ac_prog; ac_word=$2
+  # Extract the first word of "collateindex.pl", so it can be a program name with args.
+set dummy collateindex.pl; ac_word=$2
 { $as_echo "$as_me:$LINENO: checking for $ac_word" >&5
 $as_echo_n "checking for $ac_word... " >&6; }
 if test "${ac_cv_path_COLLATEINDEX+set}" = set; then
@@ -29519,9 +29474,6 @@ $as_echo "no" >&6; }
 fi
 
 
-  test -n "$COLLATEINDEX" && break
-done
-
 fi
 for ac_prog in xsltproc
 do
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/Makefile b/doc/src/sgml/Makefile
index 19e640b5d2..04fba43450 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/Makefile
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/Makefile
@@ -27,10 +27,6 @@ all: html man
 distprep: html distprep-man
 
 
-ifndef COLLATEINDEX
-COLLATEINDEX = $(DOCBOOKSTYLE)/bin/collateindex.pl
-endif
-
 ifndef JADE
 JADE = jade
 endif
@@ -120,7 +116,11 @@ HTML.index: postgres.sgml $(ALMOSTALLSGML) stylesheet.dsl
 	$(JADE.html.call) -V html-index $<
 
 bookindex.sgml: HTML.index
+ifdef COLLATEINDEX
 	LC_ALL=C $(PERL) $(COLLATEINDEX) -f -g -i 'bookindex' -o $@ $<
+else
+	@$(missing) collateindex.pl $< $@
+endif
 
 # Technically, this should depend on Makefile.global, but then
 # version.sgml would need to be rebuilt after every configure run,