In the previous Zorin OS lessons we looked at what distributions are, how to choose the best Linux distribution and desktop environment for your needs, how to download Zorin OS, how to create a Zorin OS Live USB stick in Windows or in macOS, how to use Zorin OS without installing on a PC or on a Mac and how to install Zorin OS on a PC or Mac. And now we finally reached the moment you were waiting for: we can have a first look at what Zorin OS is, how it looks, and what it can do. So let’s start using Zorin OS for the first time.
Zorin OS the first time
Now that, based on the previous lessons, you have booted Zorin OS into a live session, or you even installed it already on your hard drive, the real fun can begin. If everything went well you will see a relatively empty desktop environment and a Welcome sequence that probably looks something like the screenshot below.
Maybe the first thing you think is that the way it is organized looks a lot like the more classic design principles of Windows XP and Windows 7, with a kind of start button in the left bottom corner and some system indicators in the bottom right. And for beginning Linux users with a Windows background that is probably a good thing as it is recognizable and it makes you find the things you need quite easily, because it fits your way of thinking. But Zorin OS also offers other layouts, like a layout that resembles macOS a bit more, which we will discuss in a separate tutorial.
Let’s have a quick look at what the Welcome screen has to offer. So click on Start Tour to go through some screens that show some basic information on Zorin OS.
The menu:
Zorin Appearance:
Online accounts:
Zorin Connect:
Install Apps:
Enjoy Zorin OS and Help:
The main components of the desktop
The standard desktop environment presents you a couple of main components. Basically the desktop experience consists of a panel on the bottom of the screen that is housing a main application menu on the bottom left, system indicators on the bottom right, an application launcher if you activate the main menu button, and of course the desktop itself where you can add additional icons to your liking.
System indicators
At the right side of the panel we have the system indicator area. Standard it already has some indicators, but probably when you install some new applications these will add extra indicators as well. After a fresh installation of Zorin OS you see indicators for the network connection type, sound, power, date and time. When you hover over these icons you see that they are grouped. When you click on the group for power, sound, etc, you see the following pop-up:
Here you can change the sound volume, internet connection, go to the system settings, lock your operating system and go to the power options and log out and switch user options.
When you click on the group for date and time you see the following pop-up:
Here you can toggle the do not disturb option, you see an overview of messages, a nice calendar, events for today, world clock options and a location selector.
Window and application icons on the panel
In Zorin OS you can choose between different layouts, for example a traditional and a more modern version of the Microsoft Windows like layout .
In the traditional layout you will get a relatively smaller panel and a traditional open window list with descriptions.
When hovering over the icons in the traditional layout you will see a small representation of that specific app or window.
When you select the modern desktop layout you get a panel with a grouped open windows presentation without descriptions.
When hovering over the icons in the modern layout you will see a small representation of all specific apps or windows of that type, which is very convenient if you have for example multiple open browser sessions or multiple open spreadsheets.
Further you can add application icons to the panel to have the most important of your most used applications in a convenient and visible place. If you search for an application via the application menu and you right click on the application name a small menu will be opened. From this menu you can select the option to add the application to the panel (see the part about the Application Launcher for further information).
Application launcher
When we focus on the main menu being the application launcher we see five main areas: application categories (and underlying applications), search area, shortcuts to standard locations and settings, quick link to user settings of logged in user, and lock / logout, switch and quit.
In the bottom left you find a search bar. Here you can type the name of an application or just the first characters of a name to find one or more installed applications that fits your search criteria.
In the bottom right you will find icons to lock, logout, restart or power off your system.
In the left top section you find different application categories. These categories contain one or more applications. The name of a category can be changed, categories can be removed or new categories can be added. This can be done by using Zorin menu > System Tools > Main Menu.
The right top part shows you the name of the logged in user. When you click on it you will go directly to the user settings.
The right middle section provides convenient shortcuts to the standard locations for photos, videos, downloads, etc.
Lock, Logout, Restart and Power off
As already mentioned before, in the right hand bottom section of the application menu we see an area where you will find icons to logout, lock, restart, or power off your system. Via the logout button you leave your session and next an overview will be presented to you with all the possible users that can log in. The lock icon can be used to … well … lock your system. So if you need to go to the toilet, need to do some shopping or do something else and you don’t want to completely shut down your system, you can safely lock it via this option and log in again when you are back. Restart ends your session and reboots the complete system. The Power Off option is exactly doing what it says, powering off your system.
Zorin OS Settings
Zorin OS is a very flexible and customizable system. There are a lot of options and functionalities that can be changed and maintained. When you open the Application Menu you see the System Settings icon in the right bottom part of the menu. If it is not there then you can search for Settings in the search bar on the same screen. You can also open the Settings via the system indicators section at the right bottom part of the panel.
Click on Settings to open the settings screen.
In this screen you can find the following sections to set up your system to your liking: Network, Bluetooth, Background, Notifications, Search, Applications, Privacy, Online Accounts, Sharing, Sound, Power, Displays, Mouse & Touchpad, Keyboard Shortcuts, Printers, Removable Media, Color, Region & Language, Accessibility, Users, Default applications, Date & Time, and About.
Applications and Software Manager
If you open the Application Menu and click on the different categories you see all kind of applications pre-installed, like all the LibreOffice components, Firefox browser, Evolution mail and the Gimp image editing software. But there are far more fantastic applications available to be installed by yourself via the Zorin OS Software Manager, in different formats like Flatpack, Snap and deb, which will be discussed in a separate section of this course. This Software Manager can be compared to the Google Play store. Here you can search for applications, see their descriptions and ratings and when you see something interesting, just click on install and a couple of seconds later you can find the application via your Application Menu.
Final words
For now you have probably enough basic information to be able to have some first looks at this powerful Zorin OS distribution. Just browse around and try things out. I will go much more deeper in specific functionalities of this Linux distribution, but for now, have fun cruising around.
Go to the Zorin OS Course overview:
Zorin OS Course – Overview of all lessons
Note: This course was written some years ago based on Zorin OS 16.1, but it still fits mostly fine with the most recent 18.1 version. I am currently writing a new book on the most recent Zorin OS, so keep checking this website for updates if you are interested.
Have a look at my latest book on Linux, in Paperback or Kindle format.
For more info on my book click here.
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