Restoring files from backup clone to non-equal partition.

I have recently had a series of computer crashes, but through it all I managed to clone my Linux mint /home directory before the original partition was wiped out. Now I have a clone, that Clonezilla produced and that looks nothing like the original. If I even have a clone. I'm sort of guessing, definitely hoping. I can't just copy the stuff back because Clonezilla has it in a proprietary format which means I need Clonezilla to deliver it back to me.

So the new partition (that lives where the old one was wiped out) isn't as large as before. So I can't just restore the files with Clonezilla, while Clonezilla demands an equal partition size. Or am I wrong about that? I have been afraid to test the hypothesis.

In addition, I am having great difficulty navigating clonezilla's menu. The difference between working between devices and working between partitions or volumes isn't clear to me, especially the way it is phrased in the menu. Since Clonezilla copies blocks, could the menu offer to clone "all partitions on a drive", or "a single partition"? This language would be much clearer and I would know almost without thought what I needed to do.

Another problem I have with navigation is that I don't know which of my choices I need to make before I finally get to the "clone or restore?" option. I think that Clonezilla would be much easier to use if the "clone or restore?" choice were offered first, before naming the source and the target.

Also, some different language is needed to identify which is the original drive and which is the backup. The word "repository" came up while I used Clonezilla, to identify where the clone was saved to, and that anchor was very helpful. Asking us to identify which drive we are going to "copy to or from" boggles my parser. Please find some clearer language. The words "source" and "target" don't work, if clonezilla doesn't know yet which operation we want, because it depends upon whether I am backingup or restoring. If Clonezilla asked us to tell it which operation we wanted - to clone or to restore - then it asking about the source or target would be asking which holds the clone, and which is the partition in which the files reside for use. If I am cloning (creating the backup files), then the source is the original partition with files, and the target is where the files are to be backedup. If I am restoring, then the source is the partition with the clone, and the target is the partition where I want the files to be written (restored). If you want less relative designations, "source" and "repository", or "original source" and "backup clone" could work. The source is where the original OS and the original user files reside. The repository is where the clone resides. Clear enough.

I say all of this because I have been baffled and obstructed by the menu selections. I have looked up the instructions on forums, including this one, and have followed the instructions as well as I could, and can't even figure out whose fault it is that I am not getting my files restored. Probably it is the fault of my machine configuration, but having a clear sequence of menu options, that begin with the question "backup or restore?" would eliminate plenty of confusion.

Back to my original problem, I am guessing I need to adjust my partitions to equal each other, an act I am afraid to perform, and which is not your problem. But if there is a way to write blocks back from the backup to the new partition, without over writing active blocks on my new partition, that would be awesome. But only Clonezilla knows. Thanks.