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Cannot Open an On-Screen Takeoff takeoff file (*.ost) - OST

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Symptom

You are experiencing difficulty opening a project (*.ost) file you receive from another On-Screen Takeoff user.

Discussion

Here are some possible reasons:

The project file you are attempting to open was created using a newer version of On-Screen Takeoff.
The project file you are attempting to open is corrupt or is not a valid On-Screen Takeoff project file.
The file types have become associated with other programs.

Resolution

Version mis-match

Please contact the creator of the file to determine what version of the software they are using. You may need to upgrade your On-Screen Takeoff to be compatible.

Corrupt File

If the file is corrupt, you will need to work with whomever is sharing the file with you to resolve this. Have them re-export the project to an OSP (Bid Package) file.

Fixing File associations

Sometimes, third party installations may re-associate On-Screen Takeoff specific files (*.osx, *.osp, *.ost) to open with other programs. When this happens, you must tell Windows to associate those file extensions back to On-Screen Takeoff.

Review Microsoft's Windows Support page for help with re-associating file types with a particular application.

Be sure to set OSX, OSP, and OST files to open in On-Screen Takeoff by default.