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by RMLS Communication Department | Mar 26, 2014
Above: The RMLS™ development team discussing upcoming deploys to RMLSweb.
This post is part of MLS Insight, a series about governance issues at RMLS™.
The RMLSweb system that provides our subscribers with the tools they need to serve sellers and buyers is an in-house system. That means that RMLS™ employs development and programming staff, and does not have a vendor that controls the features available to our subscribers. We have been developing and refining the RMLSweb system in-house since 2001.
Using a custom in-house system has both great benefits and some challenges. We are able to improve our system based on the input of our subscribers about their wants and needs for both data about listings and system features. Early on, we determined that we needed a way to prioritize competing enhancement requests, and I wanted to describe that general process for you.
We collect all comments and suggestions we receive from our subscribers. They are reviewed monthly, because sometimes the requested functionality already exists and therefore presents a training opportunity. When a suggestion is made about new data to collect on our forms, it is delivered to the RMLS™ Forms Committee for their discussion and recommendation.
If a suggestion is small enough, and would benefit a majority of subscribers we may work on it right away. Bugs that are found are also worked on immediately. Each fall, enhancements requiring a significant amount of work are grouped generally into project buckets—mostly according to what part of the system is involved. Sometimes, as in last year’s brower/tablet compatibility project, all parts of the system are involved. Subscriber interest is gauged with a brief description of the potential projects in the annual Subscriber Satisfaction Survey. (Subscribers are also asked to rate the projects completed since the last survey.)
At the end of the year the RMLS™ staff prepares a more detailed report about potential projects for development in the coming year. Usually six to ten projects are proposed. Each project summary includes a description of the business need or opportunity, lists specific examples that come from the enhancements requested by subscribers, and estimates the project duration and resources needed. The Technology Committee reviews the report and adds their comments and a grade to the rating obtained in the Subscriber Satisfaction Survey.
The final step of the process is prioritization by the RMLS™ Board of Directors. This occurs during their annual retreat in February, when there is plenty of time to discuss and deliberate about the options. The three top priorities that the board directed our development team to work on this year are:
• Search and report improvements to allow easier ways to manage saved searches, prospects, and search results. Examples include improving the MLS#/Address Search on the desktop sidebar with a better parser and more prominent location; saved search integration with contact manager; the ability to hide the map in Advanced Search; search results modernization with a “detail” view mode like the one in Listing Load; and enhancing the search results with a map view.
• SentriLock API integration to allow single sign-on to manage some of the functions of the lockbox system, including assigning a lockbox to a listing, retrieving information about who has accessed your lockboxes, as well as properties you have viewed.
• RMLSweb usability to improve the appearance, behavior, and performance of RMLSweb on tablets. This would take the browser compatibility project one step further with features like geolocation awareness in map search on mobile devices.
If you are curious to see a history of software we have released, check out RMLSweb Deployment History in Forms and Documents on RMLSweb. To check on what is coming up, go to RMLS™ Future Enhancements.
Next month we will cover the RMLS™ service area. If you have any questions you would like to have answered about RMLS™ governance or operation, I encourage you to post a comment to this blog.
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by RMLS Communication Department | Mar 25, 2014
Need to know what information is available on the internet regarding a particular property? A traditional web search can return irrelevant or outdated information. Finding, sorting, and understanding data that’s relevant can be difficult for a REALTOR® to do. (Doing so faster than a client is even more difficult!)
Enter ShackShout, now available on RMLSweb.
A ShackShout button is now available at the bottom of each Agent Full listing on RMLSweb. Clicking the link will take you to an aggregated list of information pertaining to the listing.
ShackShout provides instant links to property, neighborhood, and geographic data, including:
• Walk Score
• Great Schools
• Cell Signal Maps
• and more!
Providing this information in one quickly accessible place gives RMLS™ members the tools to stay a step ahead of clients.
ShackShout can assist REALTORS® with listing presentations, branding, reporting, and marketing. Try ShackShout on a listing today, and experience how fast and easy it can be to find information in a single location! We’re certain you’ll find something to shout about.
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by RMLS Communication Department | Nov 26, 2013
Our developers at RMLS™ have been working hard this year on our browser and tablet compatibility project, and on December 12th we’ll introduce one of the more anticipated developments of this project: an improved Listing Load experience! We’ll also be removing the map coordinates requirement for listings in all areas, and making some housekeeping changes to the RMLS™ Terms of Service. Read on for details…
Improved Listing Load
After the switch, Listing Load will be compatible with more browsers and tablets. Subscribers using Listing Load on desktop machines may not notice many changes to the interface, but Listing Load will now work with Google Chrome and Apple Safari, in addition to Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.
Interface changes will be more noticeable for subscribers using a tablet to access RMLSweb. The tablet interface has been designed for more tablet-compatible interaction. Tablet users may notice the absence of the “List View” and “Detail View” tabs, as only a list view will be available (above). The interface works best in landscape mode, as there may be some width lost (resulting in clipping of information) in portrait mode. Given the constraints of tablets, this version of Listing Load will be unable to upload documents to a listing, and photos may only be uploaded one at a time.
Chrome is our recommended browser for Android users. Listing Load is experiencing performance issues on iPads using Safari in iOS7. RMLS™ will continue monitoring the issue and hopes the iOS7.1 release will mitigate the issue.
Map Coordinates No Longer Required
RMLSweb will no longer require map coordinates (page, column, and row) when submitting a listing! Earlier this year map coordinates ceased being a requirement in all but Portland metro, Lane County, and Curry County, but coordinates will now be unrequired for all RMLSweb listings. Rand McNally, the company responsible for Thomas Guide publications, no longer produces a Portland or Oregon edition—as brokers may not have easy access to the information anymore, RMLS™ has decided to make this change.
Terms of Service Change
RMLS™ has partnered with many third-party sites in 2013, including RPR, RatePlug, and New Home Source. As part of our regular password change on December 11th, users will need to accept a new Terms of Service, updated to clearly state that the RMLS™ Terms of Service apply only to RMLSweb and other RMLS™ websites and not to our third-party partners, such as those named above. View the redlined RMLS™ Terms of Service for brokers and for office staff (office managers, personal assistants, and input personnel).
Don’t forget, if you have any questions about these improvements to RMLSweb, contact the RMLS™ Help Desk at (503) 236-7657 or (877) 256-2169.
It has been a big year at RMLS™! Subscriber feedback drives our improvements to RMLSweb, and these latest improvements are no exception. Thanks, subscribers, for your input this year and into the future.
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by Christina Smestad | Sep 13, 2013
RMLS™ has partnered with Realtors Property Resource® (RPR) and starting September 25th, RMLS™ listing data will be available on RPR to RMLS™ subscribers. RMLS™ subscribers will have access to hundreds of datasets on over 150 million properties across the country through RPR at no additional cost. These reports include:
- Tax assessments
- Notices of default (NODs)
- The largest database of foreclosure and pre-foreclosures in the country
- Mortgage and history data
- Value estimates, refinements, and comp analysis
- Neighborhood and demographic information
- FEMA flood maps
- School zoning and information
On RMLSweb subscribers will be able to quickly access a listing on RPR using the button on the search results screen or at the bottom of an Agent Full report:
RMLS™ and RPR have also integrated ZIP code statistics at the bottom of the Agent Full report on RMLSweb (below). Click the green button (above) that says “[+] RPR Statistics by Zip” to view these statistics, which are based upon the listing’s ZIP code, county, and state.
Additional features and reports will be available by logging in to the RPR website.
RMLS™ subscribers don’t need to take action to register: RPR will be pre-registering our subscribers using their NRDS ID in order to simplify access. Once RPR has created each user’s account (starting September 24th) RPR will send an email to the subscriber.
RPR training sessions will be available for subscribers during the week of September 30th, held at multiple locations across the RMLS™ region (Portland, Vancouver, Tigard, Gresham, Eugene, and Roseburg). Register for an informative RPR training session here.
Watch for an email from RPR with user information starting September 25th!
If you have any questions about your RPR account or the RPR website, please visit the RPR Help Desk or call (877) 977-7576.
![MLS Insight: The RMLSweb Development Process]()
by RMLS Communication Department | Jul 25, 2013
Ever wanted to search for listings in multiple locations at the same time? Starting August 1st, users will be able to do that and more when RMLS™ rolls out an improved map search on RMLSweb!
New features of map search will invite users to create multiple shapes on a map, find a location by ZIP or address, view listing locations easily on a map, and more. This new map search tool will also utilize Bing Maps, completing our transition to Bing.
Here is a rundown of the changes:
Basic Map Search
When using map search on RMLSweb, users will now be able to draw multiple shapes on the same search map (at right). Each shape can be adjusted and deleted independently. Searches using two or more shapes will find listings in all of the map shapes. (Search results will still be limited to a maximum of 500 results.)
To adjust the side(s) of a shape, click and drag the edge. To delete a shape, click the X icon on the shape itself, or click the X button at the top of the map search to clear all shapes. A small box in the map search screen will help remind you how many shapes appear on your map.
Clicking “Count” at the top of the page will not only return the number of listings that meet the outlined criteria, but those listings will now be visible on the map in the form of location dots. Blue dots represent listings with the selected criteria that fall inside the selected map range(s), and gray dots represent listings with the selected criteria outside those range(s).
Clicking “Count” at the top of the page will now also save your search criteria.
Furthermore, the text box at the top of the map search screen can now be used to center a map on either a ZIP or full address! Street numbers entered alone will be treated as a ZIP code, so don’t forget to include city and state information. And don’t forget to add a comma before the city name (for example: 8338 NE Alderwood Rd, Portland OR 97220)
In addition to a standalone Map Search, this tool will also be embedded in Hotsheet, Open House, Broker Tour, and Actual Expireds. Advanced MLS will have a few additional features…
Advanced and Prospect Searches
Advanced Search and Prospecting searches will feature a new page layout due to the new map search. Area/Map Range will be moved further right on the interface, presenting the map when “Map Range” is selected.
Clicking on other criteria in these searches (price, year built, etc.) will present a pop-up box over the map (at right). Select criteria or click “Cancel” to access the main screen again.
If you’ve clicked “Count” and an error occurs (“ERR“), the space below the box further explain the error. A polygon that intersects itself may create search errors, for example.
Prospect searches already saved in RMLSweb should work as is with no adjustment needed for this updated search screen.
As always, users experiencing difficulty with the new map search or who have questions should contact the RMLS™ Help Desk at (503) 872-8002 or helpdesk@rmls.com.
RMLS™ is excited about the capabilities of this improved map search feature, and know our subscribers will benefit from these improvements!
