Unofficial Manual for Zorin 15 Core - Updated 21.02.2020!

23.02.2020 - Pdf version of manual now uploaded, considerably larger at 72 Mb

[UPDATED 20.02.2020 - only the LibreOffice file updated so far - main changes - explains how to add menu items to favourites and remove, Zorin Connect and firewall settings, added Timeshift as a must have application with link to How-to install, lastly at end a General Troubleshooting Tips - 1 on installation (EFI) and 2 on 'running problems' - login-loop and lost /home partition and added SHA256 number for Zorin 15.1 Core r2.]

Spotted two errors or rather thought about 1 after uploading previous version and split of table of SHA256 sums! Now included the Windows SHA256 utility link!
Hi everyone,

This is the English version of the Unofficial Zorin 15 Beta manual available to view, download - pdf = 72 Mb:

https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code ... W17JkbhEK7

LibreOffice .odt file 31.4 Mb for those with low bandwidth:

https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code ... 1H3uVHQyoy

It is still very much work in progress - however, the original has saved a lot of time in preparing this first incomplete draft. Enjoy!

It will of course get fully updated after the final release of Core comes out. I am awaiting delivery of a new graphics card - You'll need a minimum of an nvidia 710 as Ubuntu 18.04 requires a minimum of 410 drivers to run correctly and for the option of the 'install with nvidia proprietary drivers'. I've plumped for a Zotac 1030 card with 2Gb GDDR 5 RAM.

Quick note: Your manual is missing pictures from about halfway down.

Quick note: Your manual is missing pictures from about halfway down.

I am following on HBO the series of 'ROME' and as Julius Caesar says "maxima enim, patientia virtus"

Quick note: Your manual is missing pictures from about halfway down.

That's because it is a "work in progress" and was originally from Manual I wrote for 12 - hence the lack of pictures. I have been having problems with my rig - hence delay in the manual and I am still ironing out sound issues.

Quick note: Your manual is missing pictures from about halfway down.

That's because it is a "work in progress" and was originally from Manual I wrote for 12 - hence the lack of pictures. I have been having problems with my rig - hence delay in the manual and I am still ironing out sound issues.

Oh, man! I hope that clears up soon!
I'm very excited for this OS, and I really appreciate the hard work that goes into making it AND documenting it.
Keep up the great work, guys!

I had a brief look at your maual - again an excelent effort. Well done.

Presumably Zorin 15 is not a rolling distribution - so a fair effort is required in bringing the data and app settings used on Zorin 9 or Zorin 12 to Zorin 15. Any quick work arounds, I wonder?

I had a brief look at your maual - again an excelent effort. Well done.

Presumably Zorin 15 is not a rolling distribution - so a fair effort is required in bringing the data and app settings used on Zorin 9 or Zorin 12 to Zorin 15. Any quick work arounds, I wonder?

I've just reinstalled Zorin 15 Beta without destroying the separate '/home' partition from the system and all settings have remained intact apart from minor sync issue with Firefox but seems to be ok now. My advice to you in that regard is backup your home folder, pressing Ctrl+ H to show all hidden files and then see if my How to works for you here:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14472

Excellent thread! I got valuable information here. Thank you such an excellent post..Keep Up!

UPDATED - Go to OP - Link is the same but you will now get the updated version - still some way to go!

I can't change the opacity of zorin panel. In fact, there is no option to change it, even though it is said that it is possible according to page 24 of the manual.

I can't change the opacity of zorin panel. In fact, there is no option to change it, even though it is said that it is possible according to page 24 of the manual.

Apologies, I have been rushing things a bit, however I have some good news! There is an extension (you'll need to have gnome-tweaks installled [Tweaks]) 'Dynamic Panel Transparency':

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/ ... nsparency/

And it works beautifully!

I've updated the manual to reflect this glaring error!

Please go to the first entry to download the updated manual - still a way to go yet!

@Swarf:
Date on front cover of your manual is "This is the final version, uploaded on 28 July 2020".
Er..Do you drive a DeLorean by chance

I can't change the opacity of zorin panel. In fact, there is no option to change it, even though it is said that it is possible according to page 24 of the manual.

D'OH! No I don't have one of those.. it's my 2020 vision! LOL! Thanks for pointing this out (however if you look below it does stipulate E. & O. E.

Thank you! I'm done installing and finally reading the manual I would never thought zorin will be so good and beautiful like this.

Under which License is the manual released? Are there already existing translations available for German?

I've been using Zorin for a couple of years and I love the product and give it a 10+ rating and I think you have one of the best OS Linux that Windows users can have a solution other then a Microsoft product.. The only issue I have is I just purchased your new Zorin os 15 and has this issue as well as in the same as Zorin OS 12 and the sound becomes severely distorted and when I go into the Task manager, it shows "Speech-dispatcher" and the audio remains distorted unless I terminate it from Task manager. Then it becomes normal again. Can I permanently disable "Speech-dispatcher" from loading to correct this issue? and if so, what needs to be done to fix this or will you have a patch to fix this issue.

Please help me with this.

Thank you,
Mary Tanasy

Under which License is the manual released? Are there already existing translations available for German?

Hi, I've not got round to translating into German yet. For 12 I used Google docs - for 15 I'm going to use Yandex translate. I haven't assigned a licence as such but the logo used in the manual is gpl by ncc. I would like to say the text is Creative Commons so it can be freely distributed and amended by those whose native language is not English. I never sought approval from Team Zorin - that is why it is 'Inoffiziele'.

I've been using Zorin for a couple of years and I love the product and give it a 10+ rating and I think you have one of the best OS Linux that Windows users can have a solution other then a Microsoft product.. The only issue I have is I just purchased your new Zorin os 15 and has this issue as well as in the same as Zorin OS 12 and the sound becomes severely distorted and when I go into the Task manager, it shows "Speech-dispatcher" and the audio remains distorted unless I terminate it from Task manager. Then it becomes normal again. Can I permanently disable "Speech-dispatcher" from loading to correct this issue? and if so, what needs to be done to fix this or will you have a patch to fix this issue.

Please help me with this.

Thank you,
Mary Tanasy

First, I would backup your system in case it becomes unstable. You could install timeshift to create a snapshot of your current system to restore later if following the guide here messes up your system:

https://www.howtoinstall.co/en/ubuntu/t ... ion=remove

Swarfendor, this is a superb piece of work: thank you.

The thing I think the Linux community never gets quite right is the level of guidance for ordinary computer users. You have hit exactly the right tone. This document of yours adds real value to the Zorin product.

Actually, I've bought Zorin Ultimate, just because I could, and I appreciate the level of precision that the Zorin developers seem to have built into their distro. I love UbuntuOS, (though less so, since they gave up on Unity) but it still feels, after all these years, like a techy's workbench, rather than a system for people who use computers for purposes other than making more computer stuff. Zorin gives it that extra level of clarity, addressed from the point of view of a user who is not, actually, that interested in computing for its own sake, and it does it beautifully. This manual of yours is the missing link in most other OSs: the book-style guide that makes more sense to an average user than a wiki, which is not a natural format for learning for people without an existing overview of the subject.

I've put Zorin on an old gaming machine I picked up for £150 - I try not to buy new computers. I had put Kubuntu on it first, as I've never had a machine that could cope well with KDE, and wanted to have all the whistles and bells. However, KDE is just so incredibly fussy, and I really don't like the KDE Kontact suite. One of the deciders, for me, in buying Zorin Ultimate, was that it uses Evolution, which does the job of integrating comms software in a straightforward and reliable manner, without the need for a couple of dozen overlapping configuration dialogues.

Are you planning to publish this more widely? I'd be happy to do a full proofread. If I were you, I would be encouraging the developers to adopt this and include it in the ISO.

Anyway, I've rambled. Thanks again.

Swarfendor, this is a superb piece of work: thank you.

The thing I think the Linux community never gets quite right is the level of guidance for ordinary computer users. You have hit exactly the right tone. This document of yours adds real value to the Zorin product.

Actually, I've bought Zorin Ultimate, just because I could, and I appreciate the level of precision that the Zorin developers seem to have built into their distro. I love UbuntuOS, (though less so, since they gave up on Unity) but it still feels, after all these years, like a techy's workbench, rather than a system for people who use computers for purposes other than making more computer stuff. Zorin gives it that extra level of clarity, addressed from the point of view of a user who is not, actually, that interested in computing for its own sake, and it does it beautifully. This manual of yours is the missing link in most other OSs: the book-style guide that makes more sense to an average user than a wiki, which is not a natural format for learning for people without an existing overview of the subject.

I've put Zorin on an old gaming machine I picked up for £150 - I try not to buy new computers. I had put Kubuntu on it first, as I've never had a machine that could cope well with KDE, and wanted to have all the whistles and bells. However, KDE is just so incredibly fussy, and I really don't like the KDE Kontact suite. One of the deciders, for me, in buying Zorin Ultimate, was that it uses Evolution, which does the job of integrating comms software in a straightforward and reliable manner, without the need for a couple of dozen overlapping configuration dialogues.

Are you planning to publish this more widely? I'd be happy to do a full proofread. If I were you, I would be encouraging the developers to adopt this and include it in the ISO.

Anyway, I've rambled. Thanks again.

Hi danceswithcats,

Thank you for the glowing comments. I'm in the ZorinOS front to enable migraters from Windoze to make an easy transition to GNU/Linux. Once a user has become confident in its use it then allows them to try other flavours according to their desires. I am aware of some proofing errors and before I was aware I made a seachange to the cover - "E&OE" - Errors and Omissions Excepted. I will get around to tidying it up a bit more as I used the Manual for 12 as it's basis for speed of release. I also could have added a few more applications that people may not be aware of as a recommendation, and just to add, not specific to Zorin but specific to GNU/Linux and that is why it is essential that one of the first things to do after updating the system post-install is to add Synaptic Package Manager - no software channel will ever be able to compete with its thoroughness or application detail (provided the writer of said app has made the effort!). Another graphics app I missed off was for stop-go animation which my youngest used on their College Art course, 'stopmotion' available from here: http://linuxstopmotion.org/

So easy to use.

@Swarfendor437

Good work fella!
Your time and effort is much appreciated...

wow awesome contribution to the Zorin community - thank you! I downloaded the manual and am starting to read up haha

thank you.

@swarf..
I just tried downloading "Unofficial Manual for Zorin 15 Core Final 28.07.2019 pdf.pdf" (again) from Box as a test. I already have a copy from last year.
Although box splash screen suggests file is downloading (see screenshot), nothing happens. That using FF73 on the unmentionable OS.
Note your file is labelled .....pdf.pdf. Is the duplication of pdf in filename on purpose?
Perhaps Box is no longer fit for purpose for shariing your unofficial manual?

Yes, I think I need to contact Box to see what is going on here. Thanks for confirming it is playing up.

Well, interestingly when I login to my box account, every element I click on says "64% of users have upgraded their account for this, that and the other functionality". I suspect Box.com is now playing hardball which means I may have to end my Box Account period! To be fair, if I rent a room I am using space that someone else could use but with all my other IT outgoings (Web hosting and domain registration) I may have to "cease and desist" on any future manuals. Box now have started adding "Apps" to share content. And guess what? one of those items is a G Suite Account the same darned G Suite Account I get warnings from Technical YouTube videos I want to watch - You need a G Suite Account to view that video - even when using TOR! Perhaps it is time for me to forget about all things Technical Manuals and concentrate on my DeviantArt!

...Perhaps it is time for me to forget about all things Technical Manuals and concentrate on my DeviantArt!

No don't do that please.
Surely there there must be some other free cloud repository that can be used for this purpose, but guess fewer are multi-platform

.

The pCloud link worked perfectly! Many thanks, Gary