It used to be that boxenv was a neat thing once it was installed, but in order to get to that point, you'd have to do a lot of work writing all the preferences from scratch. For instance, Adam Shapira, the very creater of boxenv would often take a day or more to install boxenv somewhere when it was needed.
Eventually, Mr. Shapira reailized this was a problem, and to solve it he came up with a solution to this problem: the QuickSet package. Using a QuickSet package, one can install boxenv within an hour or so (unless, of course it is being installed on a VERY VERY SLOW machine).
What once took hours can now be done in relatively few steps, that don't take nearly as long as the whole process used to.
As for finding the QuickSet release you want, you have to find it from a repository. That should be simple, since currently there is only one known repository: http://boxenv.com/quickset.
But once you have found the repository you need, the question is what QuickSet package to download. To do this, you have to understand the naming convention for QuickSet releases.
A QuickSet release package is named in the following format:
releasetype_oscode_timecode.tar.gz
Each part of this name tells you something about the QuickSet release. The releasetype section tells you what format of a boxenv installation this release is for. Currently, the only possible value for this is "boxenv-quickset", which is the most basic form possible. That is the one you use when you are putting a non-semaphoric installation on your own private account.
Eventually, there will be releases who's value here will be "boxenv-squickset". These will be for semaphoric installations on your own private account. This is recomended only if you're installing on a publically visible server and want to be able to upgrade at any time without creating an interruption.
Notice that there is no mention of any code for QuickSet packages that are for system-wide installation. This is because the concept of QuickSet is deemed inapplicable for that purpose. If boxenv is to be packaded for easy system-wide installation, it is best to package it in the preferred format of the target system. For example, if you are doing it for Red Hat linux, it is best to make an RPM package. If you are doing it for Slackware, read up on installpkg. If you are doing it for Debian GNU/Linux, try to make a .deb package.
The next part, oscode gives information about what operating systems this release is for. It is defined according to the following chart:
| Value of oscode | Meaning |
| rh-7-3 | Any system running on an i386-compatible processor who's directory setup and other setups match that of Red Hat Linux 7.3 that uses bash as it's default shell. |
| slack-9-0 | Any system running on an i386-compatible processor who's directory setup and other setups match that of Slackware Linux 9.0 that uses bash as it's default shell. |
The third section, timecode, tells you exactly what three-hour period this QuickSet release was prepared in. To explain this section, I'll take the example of the file "boxenv-quickset_rh-7-3_2003-0514g.tar.gz" who's value for timecode is "2003-0514g"
First we have the "2003" which tells us what year it was prepared on: that being AD 2003. Next we have the "0514" which tells us what date on that year it was prepared on. The "05" specifies the month: which in this case is the fifth month of the year, May. The "14" tells us what day of the month it was prepared on: that being in this case the fourteenth. And the "g" tells us what time of day it was prepared down to three hours by the following table:
| a | 12:00am - 3:00am |
| b | 3:00am - 6:00am |
| c | 6:00am - 9:00am |
| d | 9:00am - 12:00pm |
| e | 12:00pm - 3:00pm |
| f | 3:00pm - 6:00pm |
| g | 6:00pm - 9:00pm |
| h | 9:00pm - 12:00am next morning |
So we know that this QuickSet package was prepared on May 14, 2003 some time between 6:00pm and 9:00pm.
That part's the easiest part. Just place the QuickSet release in your home directory, ungzip it, and untar it. If you know how to use gunzip and tar, no further explanation should be needed for this part.
The instructions here depend on what the default shell of your system is.
If you are on a system who's default shell is bash,
add the following line to the file entitled ".bash_profile"
in your home directory:
source ${HOME}/scrips/boxenv-init.bash
Then, log out, and log back on so that this change can take effect.
Now enter the directory within your home directory
that is named "box-3".
Once you are in the "box-3" directory, type
the following command:
perl install.pl
Of course, before the thing completes it's course,
you will see a lot of complaints,
mainly complaints of otpt not being installed.
Nontheless, sit tight and wait for the command prompt
to reappear.
When it does, once again type the command:
perl install.pl
This time, things will go much more smoothly, because otpt was installed the first time around.
That's it! Congratulations, you have installed boxenv on your account from a QuickSet package. It is installed, and most of it's functions should be working propperly. There are a few features, for which you will need to install or implement the Grunt Tools, but only a few features.