What is an ESX file? How to open one, and how to send one from your phone
An ESX file is the project file Xactimate imports and exports: one file that carries an estimate's sketch, its line items and its photos from one person to the next. Carriers, adjusters and contractors pass ESX files back and forth so a job doesn't have to be sketched and scoped twice. It opens in Xactimate desktop or Xactimate online by importing it from the project list.
Anthony Hicks30+ years in construction. Updated November 5, 2026.
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What an ESX file is
ESX is the file extension Xactimate uses for a project that leaves Xactimate. When an estimate is exported, it becomes one .esx file; when someone else imports that file, the project opens on their side with everything that came in it.
Insurance work runs on this. A carrier or an independent adjuster writes the estimate (for a water loss, say), a restoration contractor receives it, adds what was missed and sends it back, and the file is what moves between them. The same goes the other way: a contractor who scopes the loss first can send the carrier an ESX instead of a PDF, so the adjuster isn’t retyping it. The guide to becoming a claims adjuster covers the license and the work.
What’s inside one
An ESX file can carry:
- the sketch: the rooms, their walls, ceiling heights, doors and windows;
- the line items: what’s being done in each room, with quantities;
- photos and notes attached to the project;
- the project details: the insured, the address, the claim.
Pricing works from the price list. When an ESX opens in Xactimate, the lines are priced from the price list loaded in that copy of Xactimate, for that area and date, which is why the same file can show different totals for two people with different lists.
How to open an ESX file
- Xactimate desktop: from the project list, import the file, or drag the
.esxonto the project list. It opens as a project. - Xactimate online: from the projects page, use import and choose the file.
Xactware’s help center has the current steps for each version.
Double-clicking an ESX file on a computer without Xactimate does nothing useful: it isn’t a document format like a PDF, and other programs mostly can’t show it. That’s also why it sometimes gets sent the wrong way: if the other side doesn’t use Xactimate, send them the estimate’s PDF instead.
Sending an ESX from a phone
Most ESX files are made at a desk: someone comes back from the property with photos and measurements and sketches the rooms into Xactimate by hand. That’s the slow part, and it’s where the mistakes come in.
BluMatrix skips it. The rooms are measured on the phone, scanned with LiDAR on an iPhone Pro or marked corner by corner on any phone, and the estimate is written from them. Then it exports as an ESX file that opens in Xactimate, with the sketch included, so the rooms arrive already drawn and sized.
Common questions
How do I import an ESX file into Xactimate?
Open the project list in Xactimate desktop and import the file, or drag it onto the list. In Xactimate online, use import on the projects page.
Can I open an ESX file without Xactimate?
Not in a useful way on a plain computer. It’s a project file for Xactimate and the programs that work with it, not a document. Ask the sender for a PDF if you only need to read the estimate.
How do I convert an ESX file to a PDF?
Open it in Xactimate and print or save the estimate as a PDF there.
Why does the total change when I open someone’s ESX?
The lines are priced from the price list in your copy of Xactimate. A different area, a different month’s list, or different settings for overhead and profit change the total even when every line is the same.
Can I make an ESX file without Xactimate?
Yes, with an app that writes them. BluMatrix exports an ESX file from an estimate built on the phone, sketch included, ready to open in Xactimate.