ESX Exports Explained: How Xactimate® Translates Your magicplan Sketch

When exporting a magicplan sketch to an ESX file for use in Xactimate®, you may notice that some elements don’t appear as expected—walls may shift, objects may move, or rooms may not look the same. This article explains the most common differences between the two platforms, why they happen, and what you can do to reduce issues during the export process.

magicplan and Xactimate® Work Differently

Here’s the core reason behind most ESX-related issues:

• magicplan builds floors using rooms as the foundation.
  
• Xactimate® builds floors using walls as the foundation.
  

This fundamental difference in structure means that certain features and room configurations in magicplan may not translate perfectly to Xactimate®’s ESX format.

Common Issues When Exporting to ESX

Below are the most frequently reported problems and the technical reasons behind them.

1. Walls Appear Crooked in Xactimate® but Straight in magicplan

Even if a wall looks straight in magicplan, slight misalignments at connection points can cause it to appear crooked in Xactimate®. This is because Xactimate® reconstructs walls individually from coordinates, without using the same visual assumptions as magicplan.

2. Wall Objects Like Vanities Are Pushed Away From the Wall

This typically occurs because magicplan allows objects to be inside a wall, which is not permitted in Xactimate®. For this reason, adjustments to the object are sometimes required during the translation from magicplan to Xactimate®. 

3. Walls Are Broken Into Two Segments in Xactimate®

Although walls may look continuous in magicplan, Xactimate® often splits them into segments based on connection points or changes in angle. This is expected behavior based on Xactimate®'s wall-based modeling.

4. Rooms Overlap, Causing Unexpected Floor Plan Behavior

Overlapping rooms are supported in magicplan but not in Xactimate®. Overlaps cause open shapes or duplicate walls, resulting in:

• Floating room labels
• Full floor outlines instead of individual rooms
  Merged or malformed spaces

✅ Upcoming Improvement: A warning will notify users when overlapping rooms are detected before exporting.

5. Bathtubs or Fixtures Rotate on Upper Floors

In projects with more than one floor, some fixtures might appear turned the wrong way in Xactimate® because of how the app reads their position based on the first floor.

6. Reference Area or Labels Jump Position

This is another side effect of wall-based reconstruction. If walls are moved or combined in a different way, Xactimate® might place labels or reference points in the wrong spot. This effect is most notable when rooms overlap, as in section four above.

7. A Reference Block Won't Snap to a Wall

After importing an ESX, you may notice a new reference block (like a cabinet) won't snap into place on a wall, even though the wall looks correct. This usually happens alongside a slight wall offset or "wiggle" introduced during the ESX conversion.

What You Can Do to Improve Export Results

1. Avoid overlapping rooms in your magicplan sketch whenever possible.
2. Use full-height walls to maintain predictable object placement.
3. Align walls carefully to avoid small misalignments that Xactimate® may magnify.
4. Check multi-floor symbols to ensure they’re correctly placed on each level.
5. Preview the project in magicplan’s 3D view to catch potential layout issues before exporting.
6. Add furniture, cabinets, and other reference objects in magicplan before exporting whenever possible. Objects placed in magicplan—including on non-standard walls—carry over their alignment and surface area deductions correctly once they reach Xactimate®.

Exporting to ESX: What to Expect

Troubleshooting

If you run into trouble after your sketch lands in Xactimate®, start here.

Issue 1: A Reference Block Won't Snap to a Wall

This is the most common issue reported after importing an ESX. It happens because Xactimate® needs walls and reference blocks to line up exactly before snapping will work—and the small offsets introduced during ESX conversion are often enough to prevent it, even when they're invisible to the eye.

You have two ways to fix it, listed from easiest to most hands-on.

Option 1: Add the object in magicplan before exporting (recommended)

This is the most reliable fix, since objects placed in magicplan carry their alignment—including to non-standard walls—and their surface area deductions over to Xactimate® correctly.

1. In magicplan, add the furniture or reference object to your floor plan.
2. Re-export the ESX from magicplan.
3. Import the updated ESX into Xactimate®. The object will appear correctly placed and aligned.

Option 2: Manually position the block in Xactimate®

If you need to add a reference block directly in Xactimate® on a wall with a slight offset, automatic snapping won't work. Instead:

1. Place the reference block anywhere in the room area.
2. Hold the Shift key to disable snapping.
3. Manually drag the block's vertices to align it with the wall.

Issue 2: Deductions Aren't Being Applied

If deductions for openings or reference blocks aren't showing up in Xactimate®, this is usually a deduction preference that needs to be configured in Xactimate® rather than a problem with the ESX file itself. See How to Deduct Openings and Reference Blocks in Xactimate® for step-by-step guidance.

What We're Working On

magicplan’s development team continuously improves ESX exports with:

• Automatic warnings for overlapping rooms
• Better symbol rotation on multi-floor exports

Have an idea that would improve your experience? Feel free to submit a Feature Request for the ESX export feature here. If you have further technical questions about ESX File exports, please reach out to Support.