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MLS Enhancements arrive
April 14, 2004! We want you to be acquainted with all of the new features on your "new" MLS system, available April 14. The improvements are extensive so take this opportunity to review a list of enhancements that have been made. Scroll below the HIGHLIGHTS section then click on the specific subject of interest to read about the upgrades. You can also view and print the How-To help sections for the upgraded version right now. Click here to go to the How-To help menu.
HIGHLIGHTS The following are just a few of the exciting new features available with this upgrade:
Go directly to: Agent Preferences, Profile and Options Home Page · Market Watch Improved - The 24-hour Market Watch counts are now hyperlinks to view the listings. This provides a shortcut to a virtual “hotsheet” where agents can look at a specific type of activity for the last day (such as just the new listings, pendings, price increases, etc.). · Customize Your Market Watch - Agents can now customize their 24-hour Market Watch. A new option on the Agent Preferences form lets agents specify which areas to include in their “market,” so that the statistics reflect just the data they are interested in, rather than counts for the entire MLS. Menus • Saved Hotsheets Separated - Your saved Hotsheets are now separate from your other saved searches, which will make them easier for you to access and maintain. The Search pull-down menu now shows “Saved Hotsheets” as a separate item. Also, a new Manage Saved Hotsheets program has been added, to let you manage these separately from your other saved searches. Logon/Logoff · Session Timeout Displays -The user’s remaining session time now displays in the footer at the bottom of each page, for reference. (Note: The system will “timeout” a user’s session after the user has been inactive on the system for a specific length of time, meaning since the last time the user submitted a request.) · Session Timeout Warning - The software has been improved to alert users with a small pop-up window shortly before timeout. If the user clicks OK before timeout, the session is reactivated; if the user does not respond, the software will return the user to the logon screen. Design and Graphics · New Icons - Icon graphics have been redesigned system-wide, both to improve the MLS aesthetically and to put more information resources at your fingertips. Because the icons take up less space than text links, they have also enabled some new search results designs such as the new One Line and One Line Wide formats. · New Designs - Many pages have been redesigned to better organize fields using varying solid backgrounds. The Staff menu, Office menu, the Agent Preferences form and others now use intuitive tabs that expand and collapse. These improvements should help users find the information they need and work more efficiently in the MLS. Listing Searches · Saved Searches Exempt from Results Limit - Searches can be saved even if the criteria chosen would exceed the search results limit. This gives you the flexibility to set up “templates” that are just a starting set of criteria for a search. · Preview Count Faster - When you click the Preview Count button, the results are now displayed in a small, pop-up window. This is much faster than displaying a whole new screen, and saves you time. · Search Exceeding Limit Still Displays Results - For searches that yield more listings than the maximum number allowed, the software no longer blocks the results page from displaying. Instead, a partial number of results (up to the maximum number) displays, with a note at the top explaining how many were found and how many could be displayed. · Saving Prospect Searches - When saving a search as a prospect, you can choose to “Save as New Prospect” to create a new prospect record (as previously), or you can create multiple searches per prospect using the new “Add Search to Existing Prospect” option. · Co-Agent Search - When your search criteria include the Listing Agent ID or Selling Agent ID fields, the software has been enhanced to match either the agent or co-agent for a listing. · Search Guideline with County Added - A new minimum search criteria guideline has been added that enables you to search based on Property Type, Status, and County alone, giving you more flexibility to find listings within a certain county. · Example Text Displays on Rollover - To make the search forms look cleaner and allow for two columns of criteria fields if necessary, the text messages that previously displayed next to each field (e.g., Enter City codes separated by commas. For example: Aaron, Briarwood) have been removed; however, you can view them when you rest your mouse pointer on the field, in a floating text box. Search Results and Displays · All Formats Available on Displays - For maximum flexibility viewing listings system-wide, pages that display listings can now be viewed in any of the search results formats. A “Display Options” section has been added to the bottom of the Listing Cart, Prospect Cart (all tabs), View/Revise Listings, and other pages, to allow you to choose any of the search results formats and even specify sort options. · Price Changes Easy to See - You can now spot recent price changes at a glance when looking at any search results or display. Listing prices that were increased in the last five (5) days show in green with an up arrow, and prices decreased in the same time period show in red with a down arrow. (Note: Price change indicators display within the MLS only, not on any public-view pages.) o This enhancement will help you give your clients better service and work more efficiently, by enabling you to quickly notice changes and respond appropriately. · New One Line Formats - Two new search results formats have been designed that show each listing’s information on a single row. To save space, links such as View Map, Property History, Pictures, and Tax Information are available as small graphic icons with labels that display when you roll over them. The “One Line” format is designed for users with 800x600 screen resolution; the “One Line Wide” format works well at higher resolutions and shows more details. Both of these formats should help you quickly review listings at a glance. · New Picture Gallery Format - A new format called “Gallery” shows listings arranged three to a row, with each listing’s primary picture prominent. Some basic data about each listing displays below the picture, and icons provide links to see other information. This new design gives you an aesthetically pleasing way to view listings. · More Sort Options - You can choose from a longer list of sort options for any search results, cart, or other display, for more flexibility. The following items have been added as sort options: Agent ID, Office ID, Status Date, Year Built, Owner Name, and Tax ID/APN. · New Icon for Additional Info - Agents can now click a small icon next to a listing, and a small window will pop up displaying extra information about the property. This icon should be a helpful tool for reviewing listings since you do not have to leave the current page to view it. · Years in 4 Digits - Search criteria displayed at top of the search results, reports, etc., employs four-digit years for clarity (for example, 12-31-2003). · Add to Prospect Modified - The Add to Prospect button now behaves similarly to the Add to Cart button: the user is not taken to the Prospect Cart automatically after listings are added. This improves the flow while you are working with your search results, since you stay on the page. In addition, a dialog box confirms that the listings have been added to the prospect, and displays the number of saved listings for that prospect for your reference. · Count of Your Office Listings Displays - On all display formats, an existing feature displays the street address in blue if a listing belongs to your office. This has been enhanced so that in the footnote at the bottom of the page, the count also displays; for example, “Blue address listings (6) belong to your office.” · E-mail to Contact Improved - The contact lookup window (when sending e-mail from any search results page) has been enhanced to resemble MSN, Hotmail, etc. Check boxes let you specify which contacts to include on the To:, Cc: and Bcc: lines of your e-mail, all in one lookup window. Statistics · Statistics More Accessible - The Statistics button has been added to the search results page, the Listing Cart, the Prospect Cart, and other listing displays, so that anytime you want to view statistics or charts for a group of listings, you can. · Total Dollar Volume Viewable - The total dollar volume of the listings has been added to the Statistics Summary page, to provide additional information when using the Statistics button. Selecting Listings · Sort as Selected - The new "Sort as Selected" feature allows you to completely customize the sort order on displays (search results, carts, etc.). This means that in a page full of listings, if you want to pick out a few and put them in a certain order, you now can! Once you check the Sort as Selected box, the software keeps track of which listings you select in order. As you check each listing, a number is entered beside its check box. You can also manually change these sort numbers to re-order the listings. Clicking the icon at the top of the column instantly reorganizes the listings to sort ascending according to your selections. Then, you can generate reports that include your selected listings in your specified order, for complete control. · Hide Unchecked - Previously, in a search results or cart you could delete unchecked listings if you wanted to, but that removed them completely. The software has been enhanced with another, more temporary way to remove unwanted listings from a display—“Hide Unchecked.” Clicking this new link temporarily removes unselected listings from view, so you can more easily work with your selections. The link toggles to “Show Hidden” so that when you’re ready to display them again, you can. · Check All - A check box at the top and bottom of the selection column lets you check or uncheck all the listings with a single click. This replaces the Check All/Uncheck All buttons. Listing Detail · Picture Display Redesigned - The listing detail page now lets you enter a picture number for quick navigation, in addition to the forward and backward arrows that let you see all of the listing’s pictures in order. In addition, each individual picture’s description, if any, now displays to the right of the picture under the marketing remarks. · Printer Friendly Version - A “Printer Friendly Version” hyperlink has been added to the listing detail page, making it easy for an agent to print out the page. On the public listing detail page, the link shows a different, public-viewable format that can be printed. · Listing Owners See More Info - The listing detail page now shows two additional pieces of information only to listing agents, brokers, and staff-level users. The Publish to Internet and Picture Provided By fields now display for their reference. · Selling Price More Visible - The listing detail page now shows the selling price for sold properties in bold, right next to the listing price, to make it clearer. · DOM Improved - Days on Market (DOM) is now tracked as a basic field in each listing and updated nightly. This improves the accuracy of the calculation, since brief off-market periods are subtracted from the total. View Pictures · Additional Pictures Revised - There is a new display format for the Listing Pictures page. The page now shows the pictures at a reduced size when the page first opens, and users can click a picture to show it at full size with its accompanying description, if any. This modification will improve download speed for this graphic-intensive page, as well as provide an at-a-glance view of all the pictures. In addition, the link “See Additional Pictures” on the listing detail page has been reworded “See Pictures,” since it displays all of the listing’s pictures. · Printer Friendly Version - A “Printer Friendly Version” hyperlink has been added to the Listing Pictures page, making it easy for an agent to print out all of a listing’s pictures and descriptions. Custom Search · Setup Interface Redesigned - The Custom Search Preferences program has been improved to display the fields visually in the order and arrangement you specify, making the interface easier to use. In addition, you now have more choices in how fields are arranged on the form. Two search field pairs that previously had to be placed next to each other, “Price/Year Built” and “Structure/Lot Size,” can now be separated. You can also place some items in the left or right column, for more flexibility with criteria field placement. · New Tax ID/APN Field Available - You can now add Tax ID/APN as a criteria field in your Custom Search. If you would like to be able to search based on Tax ID/APN using your Custom Search, revise your Custom Search Preferences by choosing Custom Search Setup from the Admin menu. Listing Number Search · Criteria Entry Easier - The cursor automatically jumps to the next box on the Listing # Search when a complete listing number is entered, for faster entry. Radius Search · More Radius Choices - In addition to all the other radius distances that can be searched, options for three (3) and four (4) miles have been added to give you more choices. Agent/Office Search · Specify Search for Agents or Offices - The Agents/Offices Search has been improved to let you specify whether you’re looking for a list of agents or a list of offices, and offers you different criteria for each. For instance, you can now use an “Agent Search” to find all agents within a particular office. · Agent Search Criteria Expanded - The Agent Search lets you search based on Last Name, First Name, Office Name, Counties, Cities, ZIP Code, Agent ID or Office ID. These criteria fields can be used in combination or alone, to give you many ways to find an agent. · Office Search Criteria Expanded - The Office Search lets you search based on Office Name, Counties, Cities, ZIP Code, or Office ID. These criteria fields can be used in combination or alone, to give you many ways to find an office. · Agent Search Results Improved - When you search for agents, the results page has been enhanced to display a link to view the agent’s picture if any, and the agent’s primary phone number, in addition to the agent ID, name, office name and street address. · Office Search Results Improved - When you search for offices, the results page has been enhanced to display the office’s primary phone number, in addition to the office ID, name and street address. · Reports - You can select agents/offices from your results, and then click a new Reports button on the Agent/Office Search results page to generate a PDF report. · Search by ID Easier - The Agent ID and Office ID criteria fields on the Agent/Office Search now use "begins with" functionality, instead of requiring an exact match. This makes it easier to search. · Results Count Displays - The search results page when looking for agents or offices now shows the number of agents/offices found. In addition, if the results exceed 1000 records found, only 1000 will display on the results page, with a message informing the user at the top. Listing Cart · Buttons - For your convenience, the Reports, CMA, E-Mail, Exports, Map and Statistics buttons now display at the top as well as the bottom of the Listing Cart. · Format Defaults to One Line - The Listing Cart uses the new "One Line" display format by default, to help agents see all the listings at a glance. The one-line-per-listing arrangement should make the cart easier to manage. You can easily change the cart to use another display format, if desired, and the cart will continue to display listings using your most recent choice. Property History · Previous Listing Detail Viewable - On the Property History page, each previous listing number is a hyperlink to the listing detail page. This lets you see the property information the way it was for each previous listing. · DOM Added - The number of days on market (DOM) has been added on each line of the Property History page. Hotsheet · Days Back - The Hotsheet criteria now allows you to search based on number of days back. This simpler interface has been added as an alternative to the date and time From/Thru fields. · Alternate Hotsheet Format - You now have another choice for your Hotsheet results format. The new three-line Hotsheet format provides some additional information on each listing, including Listing Agent/Office Name, Selling Agent/Office ID, and Owner Name. Prospect Searches · Multiple Searches Per Prospect - Multiple searches can now be saved for each prospect. You can set up as many sets of criteria as you want for each prospect, and the system will find matches for them all when auto-prospecting. To set up additional searches, you can use the “Add Search to Existing Prospect” option on any search criteria or results page, or click the “Add a search” link on the Modify Contact Information page. · Auto-Prospecting E-mail Messages Improved - The e-mail messages sent automatically to agents and their prospects with new or changed listings have been redesigned. First, the colors have been changed to shades of blue and white, to coordinate with the MLS software. Secondly, slight format improvements have been made, and several additional pieces of helpful information display: each listing’s Cross Street field now displays, and on messages sent to agents, their prospect’s code and phone number have been added for quick reference. Contacts/Prospects Page · Delete Contacts - Users can delete several contacts at the same time. The option “Delete Selected” has been added to the Action pull-down, enabling you to select one or more contacts and prospects and delete them in one step right on the main Contacts/Prospects page. · New Icon for Additional Info - Agents can now click a small icon next to a contact in the main Contacts/Prospects page, and a small window will pop up displaying extra information. This icon should save you time identifying your contacts, since you do not have to leave the current page to access the extra information. · Add a Search Icon - You can click a new icon to add a search to any prospect, conveniently located on the main Contacts/Prospects page. · Export Contact Information - A new Export button has been added to the Contacts/Prospects page that lets you export your contact information for use in Microsoft Outlook, ACT or Top Producer. · Sent E-mail Indicator Modified - The Sent E-mail icon on the mail Contacts/Prospect page will be reset and will only display next to a contact to whom you send e-mail after the upgrade. You can still view the messages sent before the upgrade (up to 30 days back) by choosing View Sent E-mail from the Admin menu. Prospect Cart · Phone Numbers Display - A prospect’s secondary phone number now displays in addition to the primary phone number at the top of the Prospect Cart, for your reference. · Dates & Comments - A new hyperlink added below each listing in the Prospect Cart allows you to revise the Dates & Comments information for each listing individually, for your convenience. · Newly Matched Tab Enhanced - All functionality on Saved/Rejected tabs in the Prospect Cart has been added to the Newly Matched tab. The buttons for CMA, Reports, Exports, E-mail, Map, Add to Cart, and Statistics now display at the bottom of the page to give you all the flexibility you need when working with newly matched listings for your prospects. · E-mail Icon Enhanced to Also Indicate Auto-prospecting E-mail - The Prospect Cart has been enhanced so that the E-mail Sent icon now displays next to each listing that has been sent to the prospect either manually with the E-mail button, OR automatically through auto-prospecting. This improvement lets you see a more complete picture of which listings the prospect has received. · Tabs at Top and Bottom - The Newly Matched, Saved, and Rejected tabs now display at both the top and bottom of the Prospect Cart, to help you conveniently switch between tabs. · Format Defaults to One Line - The Prospect Cart uses the new "One Line" display format by default, to help you see all the listings at a glance. The one-line-per-listing arrangement should make the cart easier to manage. You can easily change the cart to use another display format, if desired, and the cart will continue to display listings using your most recent selection. Modify Contact Information Page · Contact Name on Reports - A new field labeled Name on Reports can be turned on for a contact. If activated, then the software displays your contact’s name in the title of any standard reports you generate from their Prospect Cart (such as “Client Summary Report for John Smith”). This makes the report look like you customized it for them. · Sort Choices - You can now choose how you want an individual contact name to display on the Contacts/Prospects page, either by “First Last” or “Last, First” using the new Sort as field. This also affects the way your contacts sort if you sort them by name. · E-mail Detection -To help prevent user errors setting up auto-prospecting, the software has been enhanced to verify that the agent and/or prospect has an e-mail address when a “send e-mail to…” option is selected. If the appropriate e-mail address field is blank, a warning displays in the Prospect Options section of the Modify Contact Information page that e-mail cannot be sent. · Phone Numbers - The previous field names “Contact Phone” and “Business Phone” have been renamed “Primary Phone” and “Secondary Phone.” The new names convey more clearly that these are the main phone numbers for the contact, which display at the top of the Prospect Cart. · Birth Date - The field for Birth Date no longer enforces an actual date format. You can enter any text that will be useful for you (up to 15 characters), such as “May 20th,” “end of June” or other. Tasks · Easier Start/End Times - The Start/End Time fields use a new pull-down format similar to Outlook, making it easier to enter times when you set up a task. · Link Added - When you click the Tasks icon · Link - The link next to any contact in the Contacts/Prospects page, the Tasks page now gives you a convenient “Back to Contacts/Prospects” link to go back once you are finished modifying tasks. Contact Groups · E-mail Groups - You can send e-mail from your personal e-mail account simultaneously to all the recipients in a contact group. A new “E-mail Groups” link has been added to the Groups box on the main Contacts/Prospects page. Select as many contact groups as you want to, enter a subject and note, and even specify Cc: and Bcc: addresses if desired. This new feature gives you a convenient way to contact multiple recipients at a time, and makes the groups feature much more powerful. Manage Newly Matched · Listing Limit Enforced - The Manage Newly Matched program, which displays ALL of your prospects’ newly matched listings so you can manage them all in one place, has been modified to ensure good system performance. A maximum of 1,000 total listings can display on this page. If the number of newly matched listings exceeds this number, then the user will see an error message and will need to manage their prospect carts individually. This safeguard will prevent users from trying to open an unreasonably large display that would take too long to download. Reverse Prospecting · Fax Number Shows - The results page and report for the Reverse Prospecting Search now show each agent’s preferred fax number, as well. This gives you another possible way to contact an agent. Listing Information Input · Unlimited Input Time - The session timeout feature is now disabled during listing input, to give you as much time as you need for entering a listing. · Input Errors Linked to Fields for Correction - Listing input error messages now include hyperlinks to the field(s) that have errors, for quick correction. · Lot Size Entry Enhanced - Since the Lot Size field lets you enter a value either in square feet or acres, the software has been enhanced to calculate and display the other for your reference. For example, if you enter Lot Size = 1.0 acre, the text (~43,560) displays next to the field. · Phone Numbers Easier to Enter - The cursor automatically jumps from area code to number on phone number fields, for quicker entry during listing input. · Owner Name Lengthened - The Owner Name field has been lengthened to hold up to 50 characters. · Street # Modifier Lengthened - The Street Number Modifier field has been lengthened to hold up to eight (8) characters. · Other Address Fields Lengthened - The Address Direction, Post Direction, and Suffix fields each have been lengthened by two (2) characters, to accommodate longer entries when necessary. · TaxID/APN Easier to Enter - The cursor automatically jumps to the next box of the APN field after the proper number of characters has been entered during listing input, if the APN field is broken down into sections. · Copy Listings - The Copy Listings feature now allows you to cross property types. For example, you can copy from a multi-family listing to create a residential listing, etc. Only appropriate fields and pictures can be copied into the new listing (i.e., not amenities or other property-type specific items). This enhancement allows you more flexibility copying listings. · Listing/Expiration Date Warning - To help prevent date entry errors, the system now checks to see if the listing date and expiration date are too close together. If the expiration date entered is less than 30 days after the listing date, the software does not accept it and displays an appropriate error message to inform the user. Revise Listings · View/Revise Your Listings Page Allows All Formats - The View/Revise Your Listings page can now display your listings in any search results format, and even sort them based on your choices. More functionality has also been added; you can select listings and choose from all the buttons for CMA, E-mail, and the others that are on search results pages. · Reset and View Hit Counter - On the View/Revise Your Listings page, the “hit counter” for each listing now is broken into two counts: Public Hits and Agent Hits. This gives you a better idea of where interest for your listings is coming from. In addition, handy links let you “Reset” the hit counts individually to zero (0), if you desire. · Status Choices Improved on View/Revise Your Listings Page - The Status pull-down field at the top of View/Revise Your Listings has been enhanced. Now, rather than showing all statuses, the pull-down only displays the statuses belonging to your listings. In addition, next to each status the count displays of how many listings you have with that status. This small enhancement might save you a lot of time when revising your listings. · Manage Pictures - The “Picture Descriptions” link in the Revise Listing menu has been renamed “Manage Pictures” since the program lets you do more than just enter descriptions; you can also delete pictures or change their display order. · Selling Information for Pendings - When selling information is entered for pending listings, the selling information now displays on the Listing Detail page. · Quick Change Improved - Statuses have been added to the Quick Change criteria page to give you more ways to find the listing you want to change. On-market statuses are selected by default, but you can use any combination of status selections. · Important Details More Visible - The Revise Listing menu and the Revise Status Information page now show additional information arranged attractively at the top of the page, including the listing agent, listing office, and who entered the listing. This improvement provides helpful information to listing owners and staff working with listings. · Selling Agent/Office Entry Modified - If a user tries to enter a non-member selling agent or office, the software now displays a confirmation dialog box to make sure this is what the user intended to do. All Reports · Generating Multiple Reports Possible - You can now print multiple reports at the same time. When you select listings and click the Reports button, the software presents you with a list of all available reports. You can scan the list and select up to four that you want to generate for the same set of listings. The Reports list shows all MLS reports, plus any custom reports that you created using the new Custom Report Writer, for your convenience. An option at the top lets you specify whether you want to use PDF or HTML format for the reports, since reports generated together must be in the same format. You can also specify the order you want the reports to print, using the Sort column. This new capability will save you time and steps when creating multiple reports. · Web Page Addresses - To accommodate agents and brokers with very long Web page addresses, the "Presented By…" section on standard client reports can now accommodate longer Web page URLs by automatically using a smaller font if necessary. Custom Reports · Custom Report Writer - With the new Custom Report Writer, agents can move fields onto a report grid to create a custom report template just for their own use. They can also add lines, borders or text, and even include a property picture and map. Reports can be output in PDF format, for maximum print quality. · Choose Custom Report Writer from the Admin menu to access this new tool. Once you save and name a custom report, it will be available to you in the Reports list whenever you want to print reports. · NOTE: A screen resolution of 1024x768 or higher is recommended when working with the Custom Report Writer, since the layout grid and tool palettes require extra width. Market-wide Statistical Reports · Reports Open in New Window - Market-Wide Statistical Reports now open in a new window, so you can refer back to them while working in the MLS or just close the window for convenience. One Line Report · Status Date Added - The Status Date field now displays on the standard One Line Report, to give you more information about each listing at a glance. · Page Breaks Removed - The standard One Line Report no longer page-breaks by property type. Listings are separated under property type headers, but they can all show on the same page, for easier printing. Expiration Report · Fields Added - The Expiration Report now includes the Listing Date and Subdivision information for each listing. · Co-agent Considered - The Expiration Report has been improved to include listings for which you are the co-agent, as well as those you listed. Production/Inventory Reports · More Criteria Choices - Property Type & Property Subtype selection criteria fields have been added to the agent and office Production & Inventory reports, to give you more ways to tailor your reports. CMA Package · Print Items Separately - If you want to print just one item from a CMA Package, you can! A “Print” hyperlink has been added beside each item on the Assemble CMA Package screen to allow individual printing. · Overwrite Function Improved - When you choose to “Overwrite Existing CMA Package” for a prospect, the software now retains the original subject property and all of its information, so you do not have to re-enter it if it has not changed. Rosters · New Feature - Agents can now print PDF rosters of MLS agents and offices. To do this, use the Agents/Offices Search with your desired criteria, make selections from the results, and then click the Reports button. · Resending E-mail Reports Possible - A new icon has been added to the View Sent E-mail form. Clicking this icon lets you resend an e-mail report to any e-mail address (including To:, Cc:, Bcc: and the other field options). · Preview in New Window - The hyperlink to preview your e-mail report before sending it has been changed; the report now opens in a new window, for your convenience. Tax Records Search · More TaxID/APN Criteria Fields - The Tax Records Search now enables you to enter up to 30 TaxID/APNs per search (increased from five). To keep the form trim, a link “Show Additional Fields” expands the page to offer the extra TaxIDAPN fields. This enhancement will help streamline your tax searches. · Numeric Street Numbers - The tax database now uses numeric street numbers, which allows for better searching with number ranges than the previous alphanumeric format. Tax Cart · New “Tax Cart” Feature Added - Similar to the Listing Cart, the new Tax Cart lets you perform multiple Tax Record Searches and then pick and choose from the results to add properties to your Tax Cart. From there you can select properties and then conveniently either run a report or export the property information. (Note: Tax Cart is available from the Search pull-down menu.) Tax Reports · One Line Tax Report - This new report shows property information from the county tax records in a condensed one-line format. · Property Detail Enhanced - The tax-record detail page for a property has been improved so that the TaxID/APN is now hyperlinked to the Property History form in the MLS. This lets you view historical listing data that matches the selected TaxID/APN. AGENT PREFERENCES, PROFILE & OPTIONS Agent Preferences · New Preference Customizes the 24-hour Market Watch - A new agent preference lets agents customize the 24-hour Market Watch that displays on the Home page by specifying which areas are included in their “market.” In this way, the statistics reflect just the data they are interested in, rather than counts for the entire MLS. · Show E-mail to Public - This new preference lets agents control whether their e-mail address displays on public-view pages. · Show Phones to Public - This new preference lets agents control whether their contact phone numbers display on public-view pages. · Sort as Selected Automatically - This preference lets you activate the new "Sort as Selected" feature by default whenever you're working with listings in a search results page, cart or other listing display. With this preference checked, the Sort as Selected check box will be checked by default. · Sort as Selected Increment - This new preference lets you specify how far apart you want the sort numbers to be when using the Sort as Selected feature. For example, the default increment "1" means that the first listing you select sorts as 1, the second sorts as 2, etc. However, this numbering scheme (1,2,3,4...) makes it difficult to change the order of selected listings. If you change this preference to "5" or "10" instead, there will be natural gaps in the sort numbering so you can easily insert listings between other listings. · Listing Input Preferences - Three new preferences have been added to help speed up listing input. For agents who enter a lot of listings within the same geographical area, defaults can be set for the County, City and Area fields. · Automatically Check All Search Results - If desired, agents can activate this new preference to have the software automatically select all the listings whenever they perform a search. This would enable an agent to run reports or other options immediately after the search results are displayed. · Preferred Search Counties - This new preference enables agents to specify how the County field should default whenever they start a new search. If county is an important criterion, the default will save the agent time when searching. · Default Size Measurement - This new preference specifies whether the Lot Size field should default to Acres or Square Feet in the search forms. · E-mail Preferences Added - The Agent Preferences form now includes three preferences related to sending e-mail from the MLS (using the E-mail button). “Default Subject” lets you specify default text for the Subject line in your e-mail messages. "Send Blind Copy" can be activated so that by default, each e-mail message you send will also send your e-mail address a blind copy. “Default E-mail Note” (which has been moved from the Modify Agent Information page) enables you to enter the text that you want to appear by default on all your e-mail. These preferences are designed to save you time and typing whenever you send e-mail from the MLS. · Default E-mail Note Improved - The Default E-mail Note field (now on the Modify Agent Information page) has been lengthened to allow up to 1000 characters. As a convenience, a dynamic count of how many characters you have typed also displays. · Default New Contacts as Prospects - If you almost always set up prospect searches for your contacts, then this preference will save you time. When it is activated, every new contact you create will have the Manage as Prospect check box selected by default, to make it easier for you to enter all the prospect information. · Hotsheet Default - A new preference lets you set Hotsheet defaults for either Date Range or Days Back. If you set up Days Back as your default, you can also enter the number of days back you want to use. These preferences would affect each time you run a new Hotsheet and save you time. CMA Package Preferences · Default Field Setup - A new item on the Admin menu, “CMA Default Field Setup,” enables you to specify the default field list for the CMA Package (per property type). Then whenever you create a CMA Package, you’ll save time since the field list will default to your own selections. Public Access Links · Menu Changed - To help you find them more easily, the public-view hyperlinks have been moved from the lower half of the Agent Information page to a new item on the Admin menu called “Public Access Links.” · New Link to Show Agent Information - Agents can now get a hyperlink to their personal Agent Information page, so they can attach it to their own Web site for public view. Agent Profile · Page Redesigned - The Modify Agent Profile page has a new, cleaner look and offers more convenient access to keep your information updated. A link to “Change Password” has been added next to your Password field. Links to “Delete Picture” and “Upload Picture” let you quickly remove or replace your agent photograph. The “Select Contact Phones” and “Additional Phone Setup” links have been moved up below the phone number fields, to make them easier to find. · Phone Extension Displays - An agent’s contact phone numbers now include the extension number (if any), in all displays system-wide. View Sent E-mail · CMA Reports More Obvious - When viewing your list of sent e-mail, the “CMA” icon now indicates any type of CMA report. Previously, only CMA Packages were indicated with this symbol. · Extra Information can be Tracked - When setting up a broker tour for a listing, a new check box option labeled Hosted lets you communicate to other agents whether the tour will be hosted or not. You can also now specify the start time and end time for your broker tour in the software, for greater control. · Public Open House Search Improved - To fulfill many customer requests, the public Open House Search has been changed. The results page has been simplified to show each open house date and time with only minimal property information and a picture, so that the open house details are easier to find. A link opens the public listing detail page, if someone wants to view more information about a property. · Listing Details Easier to Find - The public and IDX search results pages have been improved with a “View Details” hyperlink. This gives a public viewer a more intuitive way to find property details than having the listing number hyperlinked. · Status Information Removed - Listing statuses and status dates no longer display on the public-view searches and listing detail pages. · Show Address to Public Improved - When Show Address to Public is marked "No" on a listing, the software now displays the city and ZIP code, and only hides the street address. This enables someone to understand where a property is located when searching for listings or open houses. Public Links · View Company Listings - Brokers can get a hyperlink to “See Our Company Listings” from the Public Access Links item on the Office menu. Copy and past this link to a Web site to provide a public-view search of all listings that belong to your company. · View Company Open Houses - Brokers can get a hyperlink to “See Our Company Open Houses” from the Public Access Links item on the Office menu. Copy and past this link to a Web site to provide a public-view search of upcoming open houses for your company’s listings. · View Office Open Houses - Brokers can get a hyperlink to “See Our Open Houses” from the Public Access Links item on the Office menu. Copy and past this link to a Web site to provide a public-view search of upcoming open houses for your office’s listings. · View Company Agents - Brokers can get a hyperlink to “See Our Agents” from the Public Access Links item on the Office menu. Copy and past this link to a Web site to provide a list of all agents belonging to your company. Broker Reports · Production Statistics Comparison Report - A new report on the Office menu lets brokers compare production statistics for their office between two date ranges, and between two years. (Previously this report was available only to staff.) · Area Sales Comparison Report - A new report on the Office menu lets brokers compare sales statistics for their office between two date ranges and between two years. These new reports will help brokers to better gauge office performance. Office Information · “See Office Listings” can be Turned Off - A new option lets brokers remove the “See Office Listings” link from their Office Information Form, for situations where the office does not want it to show even if they have on-market listings. A check box option has been added to the Modify Office Information form labeled Display “See Office Listings” Link; if a broker unchecks this box, the link will not show on MLS or public-view Office Information profile pages.
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