On 9/30/07, Ryan Schmidt <ryandesign@macports.org> wrote:

On Sep 30, 2007, at 19:40, Aaron Voisine wrote:

> Is there any good way to mark a port as already having been installed
> if you've built and installed it manually? I don't want the version I
> built with special configure options to get overwritten when I install
> another port that depends on it.

By design, MacPorts only depends on other software installed using
MacPorts, and not on any software you've installed manually.

http://trac.macosforge.org/projects/macports/wiki/
FAQ#WhyisMacPortsusingitsownlibraries

If you need options for a software package that are not in the
MacPorts port for that software, perhaps the options can be added to
the port. Consult the port maintainer, or if there is none, this list.

A specific example would have been helpful but it sounds like the need is for something MacPorts would install as a dependency and overwrite the OP's hand-crafted configuration. I guess one option would be to let MacPorts install it, backup the installation receipt, remove it, install the custom version, and put the receipt back in place. MacPorts thinks the dependency is satisfied and barring upgrades, all is well. 

--
Paul Beard / www.paulbeard.org/
<paulbeard@gmail.com/paulbeard@mac.com>