Greetings fellow Zorin Forum members
I am using the 17.3 version of Zorin.
I am used to (and find it very useful) having a Start Menu that, when it is opened, shows me 'Recently Added' and 'Most Used' apps at the top of the menu. Can the Zorin Start Menu be customised to do this or is there a suitable replacement Start Menu app?
Hello, you can try ArcMenu, it's really customizable : https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/3628/arcmenu/
Thanks for the tip but I could not find Arc Menu in the Zorin Software Store. As a newbie, I am not yet comfortable stepping outside of the Zorin environment. (I am having enough issues with Windows emulation.) Also, just based on checking a few Youtube videos, I could see that there is a 'Frequent Apps' feature but I did not see one for 'Recently Added' apps which is actually more important to me at this stage.
Hello. You will not find Arc menu in the software store, as it is an extension. For managing extensions the best app is Extension Manager. This one you can find in the software store and install it. From within you can install/uninstall extensions and manage their options. I'm not sure if Recently Added is available, but I can check for you in a few minutes when i turn on my laptop.
Edit:
These are all the available categories. Unfortunately the one you need is not listed.
Alternatively, you could switch to Zorin OS Lite, where you can install the WhiskerMenu that has all that customization in its Preferences by default, is available from APT, no extensions needed - ever.
Thank you for the suggestion. I have no problem switching to Zorin Lite if that would facilitate the installation of a suitable Start Menu. However, I found a webpage regarding Whisker menu documentation:
https://docs.xfce.org/panel-plugins/xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin/start
Admittedly, the webpage is about one year old but it does not appear to have a 'Recently Added' apps option. Do you have access to more recent information?
It's not really outside Zorin envronment because 17.3 core is under Gnome and Gnome extensions are pretty safe and tested, but it's your choice and I understand.
It's possible to add sections (the built-in start menu manager has a button to do so) but they require a command to act as you like and I neither know them nor if they will be interpreted as expected. This requires a big brain 
.
Yes, Arc menu also comes with Whisker menu from Zorin Lite. However it doesn't have Recently Added category either, I've checked.
You are right. I just looked... It has Recently used, not Recently added
I embarrass myself.
Arc menu as forked from Zorin Menu. 
Nah, you're good! I thought the actual XFCE had more options for Whisker than Arc Menu extension based on what you said 
Many thanks to everyone who replied.
It is my current understanding that, according to Google, there is no Start Menu option in any Linux distro that will display 'recently added' apps. So, unless someone is in a position to contradict Google based on their own experence, I see no reason to continue the quest for something that most likely does not exist.
Apparently, the workaround is to install an app like 'synaptic package manager' and configure that to display installed apps. I did actually install synaptic. However, I did not see 'installed apps' as an option. (The 'Files > History' option displayed nothing.) So, I uninstalled synaptic very soon after it was installed. It is above my newbie grade to get involved in the level of app customisation a package like synaptic would require to only display apps that I have installed rather than everything installed on the computer.
It's not a solution, but maybe you could pitch this idea to the maintainer of Arc menu, or see if anyone already has and give them a like on the github repo.
It is a tough one because user install packages are set to manually installed.
Setting to manually installed (as opposed to automatically installed) prevents the apt command autoremove from removing any packages installed directly by the user.
Because of this failsafe, many Zorin OS specific packages are set to manually installed, even if the user did not install those personally, in order to protect them.
So, even using most means of examining User installed packages, the reader will still end up with a long list of software that they did not personally install.
