Save Synaptic Markings to Speed Up Ubuntu Reinstallation

If you're about to start over with an Ubuntu installation, you don't have to spend time selecting and reinstalling all your chosen apps and packages. Synaptic offers a convenient solution for auto-installing your favorites.

An Ubuntu Forums user points to an option in the default package manager for Ubuntu (and Debian, and a few other distros as well) that your Linux-using editors hadn't noticed. "Save Markings" in the File menu creates a file that notes all the package names—everything—you have installed in your current setup, and can be loaded easily into Synaptic on your next install for automated re-installation. It's a nifty time saver, but it likely works best on re-installations of the same OS version—package names can sometimes change across upgrades, though the worst that would likely happen would be an error message and some manual searching/downloading after that.

HOWTO Reinstall all of your current packages if you do a fresh Ubuntu install [Ubuntu Forums]

via Lifehacker