New Photo Manager Available on RMLSweb

You can now upload multiple photos at one time and add captions to photos! 

The new, transformed Photo Manager is now available in Listing Load on RMLSweb! Feedback from subscribers in the 2010 Subscriber Satisfaction Survey, as well as other channels, showed a need for RMLS™ to update our photo loading functions. Due to this interest, we have released a new Photo Manager, which enables users to upload multiple photos at one time, add captions to photos, and provides users with added functionality to make uploading and maintaining photos much more efficient.

Here are some exciting things you can do with the new Photo Manager:

Upload multiple photos at one time. When locating photos to upload, you can now select multiple photos and upload them all together. The new photo upload feature also displays thumbnail previews of the photos, as well as status and progress information, so you can track the uploading process. Note: To use this feature, you will need to install the free Microsoft Silverlight plugin on your computer, which can be downloaded here. For users who don’t want to download Silverlight, the previous functionality of uploading photos individually will still be available via a link on the Silverlight installation prompt screen.

Add captions to your photos. You can now add captions and sub-captions to your photos from a list of provided captions. If you don’t see a caption that fits your desired description, please email the desired caption to rules@rmls.com. The captions will only appear within RMLSweb and not in data feeds at this time. Note: you cannot assign a caption to the first photo.

Drag and drop your photos to reorder. The new Photo Manager allows you to drag and drop your photos to reorder them, making it easier than ever to manage all of your photos! To rearrange, simply click on the photo you would like to reorder, and drag that photo to the location you would like it to appear. Once the photos are in the desired order, you must click “Save the Order” before continuing for the changes to be saved. 

Auto resizing. No more stretched photos! One of the reasons the new Photo Manager will be more efficient than ever is that it now resizes photos for you! Silverlight allows you to select any sized photo and will resize it prior to upload. It will resize the photo to the size of 640 x 480. This makes uploading faster! For best results, we recommend using landscape photos. However, the Photo Manager now recognizes the orientation of the photo (whether landscape or portrait) and will now add padding (white space) to portrait photos to make them into a landscape-oriented photo. Therefore, portrait photos are now accepted and will be resized (with padding/white space) to prevent distortion and stretching.

Other highlights:

  • Bulk deletion – delete multiple photos at one time!
  • List & Preview/Grid View – two viewing options via a dropdown menu!
  • New arrow buttons – allows scrolling through photos using a “previous” and “next” method!
  • Pop-up Viewer – view and print larger photos!

For more details and information on the Photo Manager, take a look at Document #1726: How to Upload Photos Using Photo Manager. Or, watch our video tutorial: Adding Photos To Your Listing.

If you have any questions or need help with the Photo Manager, feel free to call Help Desk at 503-872-8002 or toll-free at 877-256-2169.



RMLS™ Communications Department Receives Bronze Beacon Award

Awarded for communications plan during the new RMLS™ Comparative Market Analysis release

The RMLS™ Communications Department has been honored with the Bronze Beacon Award of Excellence by the Oregon-Columbia Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (OCIABC).

According to OCIABC, the annual Bronze Beacon Communicator Awards program was created to give local communications professionals the opportunity to showcase their work and receive recognition for communication excellence. Past award recipients include Kaiser Permanente, Nike, Conkling Fiskum & McCormick, and Providence Health & Services.

OCIABC also aims to provide communications professionals with networking and learning opportunities. The organization’s mission is: “To foster excellence and awareness of communications as an integral function of every organization.”

Last spring, members of the RMLS™ Communications Department submitted an entry for the Bronze Beacon Award. The entry was entitled, RMLS™ Comparative Market Analysis Release, and gave a comprehensive overview of the communications plan for the new RMLS™ Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) report feature. The entry included samples of communications tools that were used during the release, as well as a written explanation of the plan’s goals and results. These samples consisted of Twitter, Facebook, RMLSweb and blog posts, as well as printed materials and eight electronic tutorials.

This week, the RMLS™ Communications Department was notified as a recipient of the Bronze Beacon Award of Excellence. This wonderful news has instilled a sense of pride in members of the department, as well as the whole company, who all contributed in making the CMA release possible.

In case you didn’t know that we recently released a new CMA, here is some information about our new, transformed CMA report feature. View our tutorials below:

Or, print out our Creating a New CMA in RMLSweb quick reference guide.

In addition, RMLS™ is offering a new training course called CMA & Statistics. To view the training calendar, log onto RMLSweb, go to Toolkit on the toolbar at the top of the screen and scroll down to Training Calendar.

Or, you can contact the RMLS™ Training department at 503-236-7657 or call help desk toll-free at 1-877-256-2169 or via email at helpdesk@rmls.com



New RMLSweb Feature: Links Available for City and County Names

Learn more about an area by clicking the links!

Recently, RMLSweb was updated with several new features. One of these features is the ability to view a city or county’s Web page by one simple click of the mouse. In client and agent reports, most city and county names are now links to local Web sites of municipalities for that area.

This can be useful if you have a client who currently lives in Ashland, Oregon, but is interested in buying a home in Portland, Oregon. After performing searches to find an appropriate listing that meets your client’s needs, you can email them a client report and they have the ability to also view the city or county’s Web page for more information.

By looking at the city or county’s Web page, your client can decide if that particular area would be a good fit for their needs. This new feature can also be used by agents who would like to learn more about a particular area in order to educate potential clients.

Take a look at the image below. This listing has links for both the city (Portland) and the county (Multnomah). These links will take the viewer to the official Web site for the city of Portland and to the Multnomah County home page.

How else have you used this new link feature?



RMLSweb CMA Getting a Makeover in June!

The new, improved CMA report arrives soon

The transformed RMLSweb CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) will have a brand new look and feel, as well as a new location! In addition to an extensive remodel of CMA, RMLSweb will also contain a Radius Search and enhanced User Preferences. Creating a CMA has never been easier and yet offered so many customizable options to set your CMA apart from the rest!

Highlights of the CMA include:

1) Navigate forwards and backwards without losing data
2) Adding comparables via seven different methods (MLS Numbers, Radius Search, Map Search, Address Search, Advanced Search, MLS Number Search, Saved MLS Numbers)
3) Saving the CMA in progress
4) Printing to PDF, printing to your printer, or e-mail with the touch of a button
5) Reorder your comparables or the pages of your CMA report by dragging and dropping them into the order you desire
6) Incorporate properties that are in different categories (ex: Farms/Ranches + Lots/Lands)
7) Display your recommended price through a graph
8) Customize your report with pages dedicated to Company Information, your Resume, and/or color themes to match your office/team

To schedule a preview of the new CMA, contact Kerry Meeuwsen, the RMLS™ Training Manager, at (503) 872-8051 or kerry.m@rmls.com.



Location, Location, Location: RMLSweb Statistics Have a New Home

New statistics menu makes spotting market trends easier

The RMLSweb statistical reports have moved from their previous location under Toolkit to a new Statistics menu on the navigation bar between Prospecting and Realtor Info.

In addition we have rewritten the Market Trends, Market Stats and Inventory reports to improve the searching and results of these reports. For example, Market Trends Report will now allow you to search up to 36 months back and will provide you with inventory accumulation and sale price percent change calculations.

Click the following links for more information about our enhancements to RMLSweb Statistics:

Statistics 101 – Establish Yourself As an Expert.

RMLSweb Statistical Calculations Definitions – The RMLS™ Guide to what statistics are captured and how they’re defined.

Want a trainer to come out to your office and demonstrate this enhanced functionality? Call your local RMLS™ office or e-mail training@rmls.com.