In an attempt to mimic newer gnome features I created a startup script that opens the gnome all apps menu on boot.
When booting the first thing you do is open an app, so this saves a little bit of time every boot
gnome-terminal -- bash -c "sleep 0.5s && dbus-send --session --type=method_call --dest=org.gnome.Shell /org/gnome/Shell org.gnome.Shell.Eval string:'Main.shellDBusService.ShowApplications();'"
Neat. Have you tried putting that into Zorin Menu > System Tools > Startup Applications so it starts on every boot?
There's a glitch somewhere... it doesn't persist after it loses focus. I guess you could put it in Zorin menu > Settings > Keyboard Shortcuts with a key combination, and hit that key combination every time you want it, but if I was to use this, I'd want it to persist any time the desktop has the focus.
I've put it into Zorin Menu > System Tools > Startup Applications and it works for me.
I had to add sleep 0.5s && for it not to lose focus. The 0.5s is ideal (on my system) because you don't see it opening but it's long enough for it not losing focus.