Most scopes arrive as a PDF. Every so often, a carrier or an estimating system sends the scope as XML instead, and that is good news. A structured export is already data, so there is nothing on the page to read and nothing to infer from layout. You skip the OCR step entirely.
That difference is not cosmetic. It decides how much of the conversion is a clean field-by-field carry and how much is extraction plus cleanup. Here is what scope XML is, why it converts more cleanly than a PDF, what still needs a human, and how to turn it into an import-ready .esx.
What scope XML is
Scope XML is a structured export of an estimate: instead of a printout, you get the estimate as fields. In practice it shows up in a few shapes.
- Xactimate's own XML export. If the scope came out of Xactimate, the XML equivalent is the cleanest version of it.
- A Xactimate project file opened as XML. The estimate inside a Xactimate project is written in the software's native format, so opening it in a text editor shows scrambled content, which is normal and not a broken file. The free ESX viewer reads estimate XML and shows the sections, line items, and totals.
- A structured mirror of the scope. Some systems export the estimate as data rather than as a printout, so rooms, lines, and notes arrive as fields.
- Another estimating system's XML. Not every platform speaks the same dialect, but a structured export converts the same way: the scope arrives as fields rather than as pages.
Why structured data converts more cleanly
A PDF conversion has to read the page: find each line item in the layout, pull the quantity and the printed price, and decide what is a line and what is a header or a footnote. That is extraction, and it is where small errors live. A structured export skips all of it. Rooms, line items, quantities, and notes arrive as fields, so they carry through exactly as they were written, with no page detection and nothing inferred from where something sits on a page.
That is why the converter recommends XML whenever both formats exist. When the PDF and the XML are both in front of you, the XML is the cleaner input every time. If the scope only ever arrived as a PDF, that is not a problem either: the PDF to Xactimate path runs the same rebuild with extraction and flagging in front of it, and the complete guide walks that side step by step.
What still needs a human
Structured input removes the guessing about layout. It does not remove the need to check the result, and it should not pretend to.
- Unverifiable lines are flagged, never guessed. A line that cannot be grounded against the reference keeps its printed price and gets flagged, so you can see exactly where the catalog could not confirm it.
- An unreadable file is refused, not mangled. If there is nothing readable in the export, the conversion stops with a clear message rather than producing an estimate full of holes.
- The codes still get confirmed on import. Matched lines price from your regional list when Xactimate reprices the file. Confirm the codes and quantities against the scope before the estimate leaves your desk.
XML and PDF use the same pipeline
Whichever you have, the destination is the same: a Xactimate-native .esx that opens as a working estimate. The folder tree is rebuilt, line items carry their quantities and units, notes travel with their lines, and a single file can hold 1,000+ line items. The only difference is the starting point. XML is read as fields. A PDF goes through extraction and flagging first, so a scope that only ever arrived as a PDF is never a problem, it just has more room to need a second look. For what is actually inside the finished file, see what an ESX file is.
How to convert scope XML to ESX
- Get the XML wherever the carrier or system can send it. If you have the choice between an XML export and a PDF, take the XML.
- Upload it. The converter reads the export as data and carries the scope through field by field.
- Review the result. Check the flagged lines, then read the completeness report, which lists what the carrier's scope left off with the code or standard behind each item. Nothing is added silently.
- Download the .esx and import it into Xactimate. The software may ask you to reprice, which is expected because the file carries no price-list identity of its own.
- Validate the file before you send it. The free ESX validator checks the structure, the code shape, and the line totals in your browser.
When you cannot get XML
Most of the time you will not have the XML, because the carrier sent a PDF and that is all there is. That is fine. The same converter handles the PDF through extraction and flagging, and you still get the structured review at the end. The XML path is simply the cleaner one when the option is on the table. If the scopes arrive in steady volume and a person is moving each one by hand, the batch workflow is where to go next, and the REST API accepts structured XML for a pipeline that runs itself.
Turn the structured scope into a working estimate
Upload a scope XML or a scope PDF and download an import-ready .esx. Start free with 5 conversions a month, no card required, and the conversion takes about two minutes. Convert a scope now.