FAQ

OpenLx FAQs — Common Questions About Migrating to OpenLx — (file compatibility, training, security, cost, and support, etc.).

Considering a move to OpenLx? Here are answers to the questions we hear most often from Educational and other Institutions, Government offices, PSUs and Enterprises.

Will my existing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files work on OpenLx? Yes. OpenLx's built-in office suite fully supports DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, and PPTX formats. You can open, edit, and save files in these formats without conversion, and export any document, spreadsheet, or presentation directly to PDF. (Note: Only the proprietary-software created Macros and VB-Scripts may need to be re-done once in Libre office.)

How difficult is it for staff to switch from Windows to OpenLx? OpenLx is designed with a friendly, familiar graphical interface, so most users adapt within days, not weeks. For larger organizations, our team provides structured training and on-boarding support to make the transition smooth for every department. Typically, an unbiased user needs just about 15 to 30 minutes of Guided usage.

Is OpenLx really immune to the malware that affects Windows PCs? The overwhelming majority of malware in circulation today is built specifically to exploit Windows systems. Because OpenLx is architecturally different, it is not a target for this desktop malware in circulation today is built specifically to exploit Windows systems. OpenLx Linux's architecture is fundamentally different, closing off this entire category of threats, and the need for separate antivirus subscriptions.

How much can our organization actually save by switching? Savings in the range of 65 to 70%, come from eliminating per-seat operating system and office suite licensing fees, along with antivirus subscription costs. For large deployments — schools, government departments, enterprises — this can add up to significant savings annually, while keeping IT spending within India rather than on foreign licenses.

Can OpenLx be deployed across hundreds or thousands of desktops? Yes. Unlike consumer Linux distributions, OpenLx is built specifically for bulk, organization-scale deployment, with dedicated rollout planning, training, and ongoing support from our team.

What kind of support does OpenLx provide after deployment? Our team offers ongoing technical support, troubleshooting, and guidance from an Indian support team that understands the needs of Indian institutions — not a generic global helpdesk.

Does OpenLx meet government or institutional compliance requirements? OpenLx is aligned with India's open-source IT procurement policies and is built to be legally compliant, making it well suited for government offices, educational institutions, and enterprises with strict compliance needs.

What about data safety during migration? Our team works with your IT department to plan migration carefully, ensuring existing data, documents, and workflows transfer safely before any large-scale rollout begins.

Does OpenLx Linux comply with the Open-source policy of Government of India?: Yes, OpenLx Desktop Linux complies to the Government of India's Policy statement on Open-source completely, thus, giving you the services, as per recognized policy of the GOI.

Do you provide support and AMC with strict SLAs along-with Risk Mitigation and Commercial Safeguards?: Yes, having full confidence in our services and support, we offer a customer favoring SLA along with the Risk Mitigation and Commercial Safeguards. And, yes, we offer AMC for the Computers using OpenLx Linux Desktop, after completing first year of in-built support, at very friendly & affordable rates.

What about the functioning of Printers, Scanner and Digital Signature Certificates with OpenLx Linux?: 1. Printers & 2. Scanners: All major manufacturers of these devices, for Desktops, are giving compatibility across Operating Systems including Linux for more than 5 years now. If there is an older printer still working somewhere, we can surely try to make that work on Linux in most cases, with the tools available on web within the Migration & AMC services.
3. Now, Digital Signing can be done, on Linux. With additional subscribed software, it can even be done remotely through a smart-phone or Computer.

What about the life of our Hardware, as the OS goes on getting upgraded?: Unlike others, Linux does not force you to throw-away your working system, just because the OS got upgraded. You can continue to use the same Hardware, till its full life, as long as it serves your purposes, while using the same version of OS, even without any (forced) AMC.

What kind of support is available for Indian language fonts with OpenLx Linux?: With complete support and free-fonts available in the following languages, it serves the purpose widely and easily: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Gurmukhi (Punjabi), Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu

Can we still use Chrome or other browsers instead of Firefox?: Absolutely. OpenLx comes with Mozilla Firefox pre-installed, but you're free to add Chrome or any other browser your organization prefers.

Who do we contact to start a pilot or request a demo?: Reach out through our Contact page with your organization's details and desktop count — our team will get back to you within 1–2 business days to plan a pilot or demo.

What if we are a large user and need a PoC?: You are welcome to contact us, and we assure you the best.