This Week’s Lockbox Activity
For the week of October 5-11, 2015, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Both states saw a decrease in activity this week.
For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.
Ask Technical Terry is a series RMLS™ aims to offer once a month. RMLS™ subscribers will drive the content—submit any question about RMLS™ to Technical Terry in the comments or by emailing communications@rmls.com. Don’t be shy—we won’t identify you by name.
Dear Technical Terry,
Much like your post about saving ML numbers for future searches (THANK YOU!), I’m desperate to figure out if I can customize my search results to contain only the fields I want to see for a specific client. Is that possible?
Carol in the ‘Couve
Excellent question, Carol! You can, in fact, create “custom” displays of the initial search results based on your specific client needs. You’ve been able to perform this customization for several years on RMLSweb, but much like the process for saving ML numbers, it does require a bit of orientation.
Check out Customize Your Search Results (Document #1749) available on RMLSweb in Forms and Documents. This document explains in detail all aspects of creating and saving custom search results displays to meet a specific need. As you review the document you’ll see that in addition to data elements, you can also include both a thumbnail image and a map image. You can also look at your custom layout to ensure it meets your needs in the Preview section of the layout window. Keep in mind that the tool will allow you to create layouts that will exceed the typical print margins of a standard 8 1/2” x 11” page. All of this information and much more is included in Customize Your Search Results (Document #1749). Additionally, the RMLS™ Help Desk and Training Departments are always happy to walk you through the process if you need any help.
Dear Technical Terry,
Will we ever be able to upload photos on Listing Load using a Mac like PC users do? The current option for Mac users is really clunky…
Manzana Macintosh
Yes…in fact, the timing of your question could not be better!
On October 15th RMLS™ will deploy a brand-spanking-new photo loader for RMLSweb. This new module eliminates the need to use Microsoft Silverlight so the module will work the same for Mac users as it does for PC users.
The improvements are numerous, but let me touch on just a few:
• Up to 32 high resolution images can now be loaded.
• Multiple photos can be uploaded at one time. (Note: this process is bandwidth-sensitive so if you’re on a slow internet connection, you may find uploading photos one at a time is more efficient.)
• Users can upload photos from a mobile device.
• The new module can recognize photo orientation: if the photo is uploaded in landscape orientation but should be in portrait orientation, the module will adjust the photo automatically.
• Photo editing will be possible in the new photo loader: you can crop, rotate, and change brightness and contrast.
RMLS™ staff is hard at work on preparing a video and other materials that will provide subscribers with the information they need to efficiently use the new photo loader. Keep an eye out for it!
This Week’s Lockbox Activity
For the week of September 28-October 4, 2015, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Activity in Oregon increased slightly this week; in Washington, activity decreased.
For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.
RMLS™ is releasing two improvements in October that represent the final steps in the RMLSweb forms change for 2015. We’re confident that subscribers will find something to like in these important changes to RMLSweb, all recommended by the RMLS™ Forms Committee!
Pending Lease Option (POP Status)
Pending Lease Option (POP), a new listing status, was added on RMLSweb Thursday, October 1st. This status is for listings which have offers accepted with lease option terms. When a listing is marked as POP, the anticipated lease end date is collected to use for status change reminders from RMLSweb.
This will result in fewer unnecessary emails to the listing broker, when their listing remains in Pending status for months or longer. POP listings will also be separated from regular Pending (PEN) listings, meaning cleaner statistics from RMLS™.
The RMLS™ Rules and Regulations were changed to reflect the new POP status…have a look!
An All-New Photo Loader
RMLS™ will introduce an all-new photo loader on RMLSweb the morning of October 15th. We’re confident that subscribers will be enthusiastic about the new setup, which features higher-resolution imagery that will really dazzle clients.
We’ve doubled the capacity for listing photos—users may now load up to 32 photos per listing with a 4MB file size limit. Files may be added via drag and drop or by selecting the correct files on the user’s machine. If a photo is larger than the maximum file size, the system will shrink or adjust the file to fit in the RMLSweb parameters.
Subscribers may also take advantage of basic photo editing on the interface—cropping, rotating, brightness, and contrast adjustments can all be handled from inside Listing Load before publishing a listing.
Mac users, rejoice: the new photo loader eliminates the Silverlight software that made the previous photo loader difficult for subscribers using an Apple operating system. This new photo loader is also mobile-friendly, meaning subscribers can upload photos from their mobile device!
What about listings published before the release of this new photo loader? No problem! Subscribers can use the new software to replace existing photos on active listings, to see the difference in image quality right away. If your brokerage uses the RMLSweb Slide Show feature to highlight listings on an office monitor, high definition monitors will offer the best presentation of the new photo setup. These higher-quality photos will also be seen by clients on RMLS.com…so we encourage you to explore this new feature as soon as you can!
RMLS™ trainers are currently preparing a series of materials to demonstrate the capabilities of the new photo loader. Here’s what we have:
How to Upload Photos Using Photo Manager (RMLSweb login required)
We’ll update this post as we have more.
As always, subscribers with questions about either the new POP status (released Thursday, October 1st) or the new photo loader (being released Thursday, October 14th) should contact the RMLS™ Help Desk at (503) 872-8002 or (877) 256-2169 for assistance.
This Week’s Lockbox Activity
For the week of September 21-27, 2015, these charts show the number of times RMLS™ subscribers opened SentriLock lockboxes in Oregon and Washington. Washington saw an increase in lockbox activity this week, and Oregon saw a small decrease.
For a larger version of each chart, visit the RMLS™ photostream on Flickr.