Maps on RMLSweb are getting a facelift next week—and although they’ll have a different look, features will largely stay the same.

RMLSweb maps, which are currently powered by Microsoft’s Bing, will be making a big change in the coming days. This requires RMLS™ to make some changes to RMLSweb to keep maps on the site up and running.

The new interface is cleaner, easier, and more mobile friendly—but subscribers will notice that nearly all the current mapping features on RMLSweb will remain the same.

Map layers, map shapes, includes, and excludes are still available to target a search. Toggle buttons make it clear when the map is in drawing mode versus navigation mode. Larger buttons, less reliant on text, should make using the new interface easier for mobile users.

The one exception to the features available in this new look? The birds-eye view of maps won’t be available right away, but may return later as Microsoft improves its Bing product.

Map Checked properties will sport buttons to produce driving directions with the image of a car, and printable maps with the image of a printer. List and Map buttons toggle between two views of the same information.

Look for the visual changes to RMLSweb maps starting Wednesday, June 21st on RMLSweb!

UPDATE (June 20, 2017):

RMLS™ trainers have created a brief video (4:50) to demonstrate the new mapping interface.

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 TT-

I am SO frustrated just getting logged in to RMLSweb. Why, for gosh sakes, are there two login buttons on the login screen? Which one should I be using?

Frustrated in Fairview

Dear FF-

Understood completely! Let me explain the concept behind the two unique login options and how they will eventually transition to a single login for RMLSweb.

As you may be aware, last year RMLS™ transitioned into a new customer relationship system. This is how RMLS™ manages your subscriber information. An important part of the project was replacing Internet Member Services (IMS) with My.RMLS.com—the website where subscribers paid RMLS™ dues.

This transition required a more stringent password system for access due to the new system being PCI-compliant. RMLS™ built up a single sign-on process so that subscribers would be able to access both RMLSweb and My.RMLS.com with one set of login credentials.

Our new vendor needs to prove their uptime meets our strict requirements before RMLS™ will rely solely on the new login option. We’re still running analytics on the vendor’s uptime and once we’re confident they can match or exceed our expectations we will eliminate the dueling logins and subscribers will transition to a single login using their email address and password to log in to both RMLSweb and My.RMLS.com.

In the meantime RMLS™ provides both options: the Public/Private ID which provides access to RMLSweb, and the email address/password which provides access to both RMLSweb and My.RMLS.com.

It may sound like a lot of work just to transition to a new payment website. If that was the only benefit I might agree, but the new system offers more billing and payment options, a single login for REALTORS® with dual licenses, and other features we’ll be rolling out as time goes on.

Imagine, for example, a central location for downloading CE certificates from RMLS™ education events, so you’d no longer need to chase down paperwork when it’s time for license renewal. The new system has a more robust registration process for training classes and events, including confirmations, reminders, and wait list management.

While the transition period may be frustrating as RMLS™ works out the details, the net gain to RMLS™ subscribers like yourself will be worth the wait!

Technical Terry

Dear Technical Terry:

My Thomas Guide is always at the ready, but I’ve been increasingly finding listings on RMLSweb without Thomas Guide coordinates. Why would REALTORS® fail to include such a key piece of information?

Lloyd Multnomah

Dear Lloyd:

It’s great that you still have your Thomas Guide for fast reference, but not everyone has easy access to this useful tool anymore. Rand McNally (owner of Thomas Guide) ceased publishing any street guides for Portland or Oregon, and you may recall in 2013 RMLS™ halted the map coordinates requirement for new listings.

There’s more news than that though, Lloyd.

Do you have any saved searches on RMLSweb that search using map coordinates? If so, an important change is on the horizon: RMLS™ will be eliminating map coordinates fields with the RMLSweb forms change coming this spring. This means that any saved searches you have that utilize map coordinates through Thomas Guide (or Pittmon Maps) will need to be updated with a map shape to replace this geographic component of each of your saved searches.

Adjusting your search may sound difficult, but RMLS™ will help subscribers effected by this change as much as possible. Look for a video in the coming weeks about how to replace map coordinates in a saved search with a drawn shape on a map.

You may be wondering why RMLS™ is eliminating these fields from RMLSweb. Usage of these fields has been steadily declining. Brokers who search using these fields are missing active properties on RMLSweb—a big problem in markets with low inventory! The RMLS™ Forms Committee recommended removal as part of its annual set of RMLSweb forms changes.

Sorry to break the bad news to you Lloyd, but we’ll be doing our best to make the transition as smooth as possible for you.

Sincerely Yours,

Technical Terry

Hey Technical Terry—

This is the first year I’ll be able to attend the RMLS™ Education Summit and Trade Fair. I’m making the drive from The Dalles to take the SentriLock class. Really looking forward to it. Do you have any tips you’d recommend for someone who has never been to this event?

It’s Gorge-ous in the Dalles

Hey Gorge-ous:

What a great question! It’s great that you’re making the trek from The Dalles to attend the event. Even if you weren’t taking the SentriLock class, there’s still plenty of aspects of this annual event that will make the trip worth your time.

Top tips for a first-timer:

• Bring plenty of business cards. Business cards will not only be useful when you’re chatting with industry vendors and networking with other REALTORS®, but they’re also your key to prize drawings! This year RMLS™ has 50 door prizes lined up valued at nearly $6,000.

• Waitlisted? Show up! Class registration may be full, but not everyone makes it the day of the event. If you’re on the wait list, we can’t get you into a class if you’re not there! Show up for class and there’s a good chance we’ll have a spot for you.

• Sign in AND sign out for classes. If you’re going to a class, make sure to sign in when you arrive AND sign out when you leave. Without a signature, time-in, and time-out, you will not receive a CE certificate after the event.

• Parking advice. If you’ve parked inside the DoubleTree parking structure, check in at the RMLS™ info desk for a $3 parking voucher. If you don’t have a voucher, your parking will be more than $3. There’s also a parking pay station located inside the DoubleTree event space, if you want to pay before heading back to your car.

If that’s not enough, I’d also keep your eyes peeled for the basketball tournament happening inside the trade fair hall. REALTORS® will be shooting hoops all day, and the winner will receive a free quarter of RMLS™ dues!

We hope to see you at the event, Gorge-ous! Be sure to stop by the RMLS™ info desk and say hello.

Big changes are on the road ahead for RMLSweb maps! A new mapping interface is coming to the system the morning of Thursday, December 3rd. This change, announced in July, is the first step to a better mapping experience for RMLS™ subscribers. As soon as the initial switch is made, RMLS™ developers will start planning for further improvements.

WHAT’S IN STORE
RMLS™ subscribers will notice a new look and feel to all maps on RMLSweb. The new system will still use Bing Maps as a base, but the overall user interface has been enhanced.

Here are a few features we think RMLS™ subscribers will appreciate:
• Map layers that will include neighborhoods, city boundaries, flood zones, traffic, and more. These layers will not only be accessible on the map for an individual listing, but on Advanced Search and Map Search. Access the layers by opening the Tool Box sidebar on each map, shown above.
• Shapes on the map can be larger than before. Up to 10 shapes can be present on the map at one time, and those can represent areas to exclude in a search. Click on the shape for a prompt to delete or exclude the area. Custom shapes can have a maximum of 50 points, and closing a custom shape will be easier as well.
• Centering your map on a specific address will be easier than ever. Just type an address in the search bar inside the map, and a pin will appear on the requested address.
• Customizable, printable driving directions will be available by using the Map Checked feature of RMLSweb! Select the properties you wish to visit and select the Map Checked button. Select Driving Directions on the pop-up screen. Click and drag the properties in the right sidebar to rearrange the order, then hit Calculate to generate driving directions below the map. Print these directions and the map by selecting the Print button.

Although the new map system will sport some changes, plenty of features related to mapping will remain the same or similar. Users entering listings on Listing Load, for example, will find the process of placing a map pin for a property to be very similar to the current system. Setting a map pin for a CMA will be similar as well.

Once this new interface is live, RMLSweb developers will start optimizing the features. Moving forward, expect further fine-tuning based on subscriber feedback and map layers that include demographic information.

NEED ASSISTANCE?
RMLS™ hopes that subscribers will find this new mapping system easier to use and more useful for helping clients. Contact the RMLS™ Help Desk at (503) 872-8002 or (877) 256-2169 with any questions or for more information.

This post is part of MLS Insight, a series about how things work at RMLS™.

An MLS without area numbers: this idea might strike terror in your heart….or you might say to yourself, “it’s about time!” In any case, it is not a proposal that is currently on the table, but with the changes in technology and the way people think about location, it is probably not too early to start the conversation.

When RMLS™ opened its doors in 1991, it was to the REALTORS® in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon. At that time, the major advertising vehicle for homes for sale was the newspaper—The Oregonian, in our case. RMLS™ based its MLS area numbers on the map and classified ad numbers of The Oregonian. The 12 core areas for Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties have remained basically unchanged for 23 years.

When regions were added, local preferences regarding area numbers were retained. Clark County, for example, is divided into more than 30 areas, while Coos County is contained in one area.

The end result is more than 200 area numbers in RMLSweb, without a common reason why each geographical area is an “Area Number.” In some cases, a single area comprises several large but dissimilar communities. In others, areas may have so few listings and sales as a sample size that few, if any, conclusions could be drawn from looking at their data. In fact, there are rural areas that had no new listings and no closed sales in all of 2013.

In the world of today, The Oregonian posts its real estate ads online and there is no search option for area numbers. GPS location services have replaced maps to a large degree. It is a very different world than the world of 1991, when there was a Thomas Brothers map in the car of virtually every REALTOR®.

Here are some things to think about:

What role do area numbers play in the life of an RMLS™ subscriber today?

Has map search replaced searching by area number? Could it?

What could replace area numbers for searching besides map search—counties? zip codes? There should be something to narrow the initial search that pertains to location.

What about Market Action and other statistical reports? (Some counties are already reported in terms of zip codes in Market Action.)

If and when we ever do move away from area numbers, we need to have a good plan to meet the needs of our subscribers. Ideas?

Thanks for voyaging into the future with me. Next month we will talk with the various departments at RMLS™ and their plans for the upcoming year. If you have any questions you would like to have answered about how things work at RMLS™, I encourage you to post a comment to this blog.

UPDATE (November 20, 2014): RMLS™ is not the only MLS engaging in this interesting discussion. Here’s an article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about NWMLS area numbers.

New features and enhancements to RMLSweb are implemented regularly, including during our monthly scheduled outages.

Here are some of the changes we implemented in February to improve the site for subscribers…

Map Checked Switched to Bing Maps

RMLS™ is continuing to switch its map systems over to Bing Maps, and this month we’ve integrated Bing with the map checked feature of RMLSweb.

This means that when plotting multiple listings on a map for a client tour, the map will match other mapping features on RMLSweb and their enhanced map performance.

This is the third of a series of five rollovers into Bing. Our final two changes will be to switch the Listing Load mapping module to Bing, followed by switching Map Search. Look for the complete transformation in coming months!

RMLS™ Inventory on Desktop

Perhaps you’ve already noticed this new feature on the left sidebar of the RMLSweb desktop: we’ve added a feature showcasing collective listing data. In a glance, subscribers can see just how many active listings are in RMLSweb, the number of sold listings for the last 12 months, the dollar value those listings represent, and the total number of listings in the system. The numbers are updated daily.

Shorter Session Times

Starting this week, subscribers logging in to RMLSweb will be automatically logged out after 90 minutes of inactivity. This is a shorter session time than the site had previously (four hours), but we’re making the change based on some of the initial findings of our unauthorized access project on RMLSweb.

We’ve also got some exciting developments coming soon in March…

Chat with RMLS™

We will be adding a new way to contact RMLS™—chat! Access RMLS™ staff online by clicking the chat button at the top of the right sidebar. A chat window will open, and staff will assist you shortly.

Representatives from Help Desk, Training, Accounting, and Front Desk/Membership will be available during normal RMLS™ business hours. During the times when no staff is available, the pop-up window will allow you to send an email, and a representative will be in touch as soon as possible.

RMLS.com Facelift

Our client-facing website, RMLS.com, will have a new look starting March 5th! We think you’ll like what you see. Besides the new look, consumers will now be able to search listings by either an address or MLS number.

As Gail Hare, Executive Vice President, posted last week, the RMLS™ Board of Directors recently made tablet and browser compatibility for RMLSweb the number one priority for our technical team this year. Look to the RMLS Blog and RMLSweb desktop for updates as that major project progresses.

If you have any questions regarding these changes, email Help Desk at helpdesk@rmls.com or call us at (503) 872-8002, or outside the Portland area at (877) 256-2169.

With the recent changes to maps in RMLSweb it’s more important than ever that you make sure your listings are mapping correctly so other agents can find them later when running a map search.

Watch this short tutorial to learn more about how to double check and edit your map point if needed.

Need Help with New Mapping Features?
– Read: 5 Ways to Use the New Mapping Features in RMLSweb
– Watch: Searching with Map Ranges Tutorial
– Read: Mapping Tip Sheet
– Watch: Create a Prospect Profile or Hotsheet with a map
– Watch: Save a custom map and use it later in other searches

If you have questions please feel free to contact our help desk at 503-872-8002 or toll-free at 1-877-256-2169.