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X83 file: the GAEB request for quotation
An X83 is the GAEB DA XML file a client sends to bidders with a request for quotation: the bill of quantities with texts and quantities, but without prices. Drop yours into the viewer to read it or export it to Excel. Below: what an X83 holds, where it sits in the tender and how to open or convert it.
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What is in an X83
First what an X83 holds, then a short X83 with three items, valid against the GAEB DA XML 3.3 schema and explained element by element.
What the file holds
| Content | In the file | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Project and LV | Yes | Project, LV name, currency and bid deadline. |
| Sections and item numbers (OZ) | Yes | Up to five section levels before the item number; the whole OZ has at most 14 characters. |
| Short and long texts | Yes | Formatted text, lists and tables. |
| Quantities and units | Yes | Except where the quantity is left to the bidder (free quantity). |
| Item types | Yes | Contingency, basic and alternative, lump-sum, hourly-wage and surcharge items. |
| Bidder text additions | If asked for | Gaps the bidder fills in, such as the offered make. |
| Unit prices and totals | No | The phase 83 schema has no price fields. The prices come back in the X84. |
The sample, explained
| Sample | What it says |
|---|---|
| X83 with three items | |
| XML declaration and root element. The namespace names the exchange phase (DA83) and the version of GAEB DA XML (3.3). |
| GAEBInfo: version of GAEB DA XML and the program that wrote the file. PrjInfo: project number and name. |
| The award block. DP is the exchange phase: 83 = Angebotsaufforderung (request for quotation). AwardInfo holds the currency and the bid deadline (BidDate). |
| The bill of quantities: name, description, date and the structure of the item number. Two levels of two digits and a four-digit item number give OZ 01.01.0010. |
| Two section levels: 01 Sanitärinstallation and, inside it, 01.01 Abwasserleitungen. RNoPart is each level's part of the OZ. |
| Item 01.01.0010: quantity 48.5, unit m. There is no unit price: the phase 83 schema has no field for it. |
| The item's long text (DetailTxt) and short text (OutlineText). |
| Provis WithoutTotal makes 01.01.0020 a contingency item (Bedarfsposition ohne GB): it gets a unit price, but no total that counts towards the LV. |
| Its texts, then the end of the item list and of both sections. |
| Section 02 Heizungsinstallation with 02.01 Heizflächen. |
| Item 02.01.0010: 14 pieces (St). |
| The long text ends with a bidder text addition (TextComplement Kind="Bidder"): a gap for the offered make that the bidder fills in with the X84. |
| End of the item list, the sections, the LV, the award block and the file. |
Tender phase
Where the X83 fits in a tender
GAEB numbers the steps of a tender as exchange phases. 83 is the request for quotation: the client sends it to the bidders, and they answer with an 84.
| Phase | Name | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 80 | Universal LV data | Any LV data, not tied to a step of the tender. |
| 81 | Leistungsbeschreibung (description of works) | The LV with its texts, as the planner hands it to the client. Usually without prices. |
| 82 | Kostenanschlag (cost estimate) | The LV with estimated prices, for award decisions and cost control. |
| 83 | Angebotsaufforderung (request for quotation) this file | The LV without prices, sent to the companies invited to bid. |
| 84 | Angebotsabgabe (bid) | The bidder's prices, text additions and free quantities, sent back to the client. |
| 85 | Nebenangebot (alternative bid) | A bid with an alternative way of execution, if the client allows it. |
| 86 | Auftragserteilung (contract award) | The award to the most economical bid. With it, the construction contract is concluded. |
| 87 | Auftragsbestätigung (order confirmation) | The contractor confirms the order. |
| 89 | Rechnung (invoice) | The invoice with items and quantities, which can be backed by quantity take-offs. |
| 93–97 | Trade (Handel) | Between contractor and manufacturer or wholesaler: price request (93), price offer (94), order (96), order confirmation (97). |
Three generations of the format
| Format | Files | Status |
|---|---|---|
| GAEB DA XML this file | .X80 to .X89, plus other phases | The current standard, version 3.3 (edition 2023-01). |
| GAEB DA 2000 | .P81 to .P86 | Keyword format. No longer supported by the GAEB. |
| GAEB 90 | .D81 to .D86 | Line format with fixed columns. No longer supported by the GAEB. |
Open and convert
How to open and convert an X83
You do not need AVA software to read an X83. These are the usual ways, depending on what you want to do with it.
| Task | How |
|---|---|
| Read it now | Drop the file into the viewer at the top of this page. It opens X8x, P8x and D8x files in your browser; the file is not uploaded. |
| Excel or CSV | In the viewer, choose Excel (.xlsx) or CSV: one row per item with OZ, short and long text, quantity, unit and prices. |
| Open the print view in the viewer and save it as PDF. | |
| Work with it | AVA or estimating software with a GAEB interface. The BVBS certifies such interfaces for GAEB DA XML 3.1 to 3.3. |
| Reply with prices | Your estimating or AVA software reads the X83 and writes the X84 with your prices. In the GAEB converter you enter your unit prices in the browser and download the X84. |
| Text editor | An X83 is XML: a text editor or browser opens it, but the texts sit between tags. |
PDF and Excel tenders
Not every tender comes as GAEB.
Many bills of quantities still arrive as PDF, scan or Excel, and someone types them in. Mercura reads tenders in GAEB and PDF and suggests matching articles from your catalogue for every item, so a PDF tender is handled like an X83.
FAQ
Questions about GAEB files.
An X83 is a GAEB DA XML file of exchange phase 83, Angebotsaufforderung (request for quotation). It holds the bill of quantities with item numbers, short and long texts, quantities and units, but no prices. Bidders answer it with an X84.
Drop it into the GAEB viewer on this page. It shows the sections, items and long texts in your browser without installing anything, and the file is not uploaded. To answer it with your prices, use your estimating or AVA software or the free GAEB converter.
Open the X83 in the viewer and choose Excel or CSV for a table with one row per item, or open the print view and save it as PDF. The conversion runs in your browser.
The X83 is the request: texts and quantities, no prices. The X84 is the bidder's reply: for each item number it carries the unit price and, where it counts, the total, but usually no texts.
All three are phase 83, a request for quotation. The letter names the format: X for GAEB DA XML, the current standard, P for GAEB DA 2000 and D for GAEB 90. The viewer opens all three.
Not in the X83 itself: the phase 83 schema has no price fields. The prices go into the X84 you return. Estimating or AVA software writes it from the X83, and so does the free GAEB converter at mercura.ai/tools/gaeb-converter, where you type your unit prices in the browser.
GAEB formats
More GAEB formats, explained.
GAEB formats
X, P and D, phases 80 to 89
All formats and phases at a glance.
D83
Request for quotation, GAEB 90
The same request in the GAEB 90 line format.
X84
Bid
The bidder's prices for every item number.
X81
Description of works
The description of works from the planner.
P83
Request for quotation, GAEB 2000
The request in the GAEB 2000 keyword format.