They are linked at compile time. Whether or not the library locations on your system are correctly configured is another matter.

yes that works thanks. but shouldn't there be a way to link these during compile?

You need to set LD_LIBRARY_PATH: LD_LIBRARY_PATH="/usr/local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH" mousepad

Fixed by above commit and mousepad 0.6.5 released; sorry for that and thanks for reporting :)

Hmm, yes I see, not good... it happens when the disk reference file of an autosaved file was deleted while mousepad was not in use, due to a stupid...