What's New


	Highlights	Reports
	System-wide	Contacts/Prospects
	Search Listings	Exports
	Search Results	Open Houses
	View/Revise Listings	Admin Menu
	Listing Cart

HIGHLIGHTS

The following highlights some of the new features included in the upgrade:

New Menu Improves Navigation
Getting around in the MLS is faster and easier than ever! A new pull-down menu lets you access any MLS function easily, from anywhere in the system. (See details)

New Look, Same Software
The software has a fresh, new look! The same programs you are accustomed to using now display in color, to reduce screen glare and help organize the information visually. (See details)

Personalized Home Page
See useful information and links at a glance, right when you enter the MLS! The Home page now offers MLS-wide statistics, links to your listings, your appointments and tasks, and much more. (See details)

New Map Search
A brand new type of search lets you zoom in or out on an interactive map, and draw a "rubber band selection" to specify your map criteria! (See details)

CMA Package
Create a complete presentation package for your CMAs! You can include your agent resume, company profile, cover letter, enhanced reports, and more ... it’s your choice. (See details)

New Contact Manager
All the features you depend on with Prospects can now be accessed through a full-function Contact Manager! Organize your contacts and prospects into “groups” you define; set up tasks and appointments; view e-mail you’ve sent to a contact at a glance; and even save their entire CMA package for future reference. The powerful new software lets you take advantage of auto-prospecting and the other great prospect features you’re familiar with, plus so much more. (See details)

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SYSTEM-WIDE

New Menu Bar Improves Navigation
Getting around in the MLS is faster and easier than ever! A new pull-down menu lets you access any MLS function easily. You’ll never have to scroll or go back to the Home page to navigate again. The gray menu bar remains stationary at the top of the window for access that is always available, from anywhere in the system.

Software has New Look
We’ve given the software a new look! The same programs you are accustomed to using now display in color. Varying shades of blues and whites reduce screen glare and help organize the information visually, creating a pleasing and more up-to-date software look.

Personalized Home Page More Useful
With all the menu items relocated to the new menu bar, the Home page became free to provide useful information at a glance. Upon entering the MLS’s Home page, you can now quickly view:

24-hour Market Watch -- Like a system-wide Hotsheet, it includes counts of new listings, solds, pendings, price increases and price decreases in the last 24 hours.
Your Hotsheets -- Launch your saved Hotsheets with one click, right from the Home page. Up to four of your saved Hotsheet searches (the top four based on the display order you specify for your Saved Searches) display as links on the Home page.
Your Listings -- View statistics for your own listings at a glance, and stay on top of those due to expire within the next 14 days. Counts display, and are linked to take you directly to your listings.
Newly Matched Listings -- If you use auto-prospecting, you’ll love linking directly to your prospects that have new matches. The number of newly matched listings displays next to each prospect's name, and links to their prospect cart. Click the "More" link to access the Manage Newly Matched function for all your prospects.
Appointments and Tasks -- See at a glance your to-do list for today as you enter the MLS. Five days worth of tasks and appointments are shown for your convenience. (Note: You can now set up tasks using the new Contacts software. See Contact Management Added for more details.)
Message from your MLS -- For better communication, the top of the page displays message text your MLS staff writes for member viewing. The staff may change this message as often as necessary.

Security Increased When Logging Off
To improve your security when using your MLS, the logoff process has been enhanced. Previously, clicking the Log Off link would exit the MLS, but not close the browser window. This left open the potential for someone to walk up and click the Back button to view all the pages cached in your browser memory that you had just been using. To avoid this possibility, the logoff process now opens a window with two options: either Close Browser or Log On. If you click the Close Browser link, the window closes. This enhancement helps you protect the privacy of your MLS activity.

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SEARCH LISTINGS

New Map Search Allows "Rubber Band" Selections
A new listing search has been created called the Map Search. It contains a visual map where you can create a "rubber band" selection that becomes your map criteria. You can use the zoom buttons on the right to widen or narrow the map view; you can also relocate the map by clicking in the map border. Directional arrows display, to indicate that you can click on the left border to move the map further west; in the upper left corner to move the map northwest; and so forth. Once you have the desired geographical location in view, simply click and drag a rectangle around the desired area. The system translates this based on longitude and latitude to find listings within your selection. (Note: Only listings whose addresses were successfully validated during listing input have longitude and latitude; non-validated listings cannot be included in Map Search results.)

Fields are provided below the map so that you can relocate it based on information you type in. You can enter an exact address, or a longitude and latitude, and click Refresh to re-center the map before drawing your rectangular selection.

The new Map Search gives you other types of search criteria fields as well, such as Property Type, Price, etc., so you can further narrow your search. You can also save a Map Search for a prospect's search or as a Saved Search. The map view defaults to showing your MLS's market area. For your convenience, you can even customize your default view for the Map Search (see Map Search Defaults Can be Set).

The new Map Search gives you a powerful and very intuitive tool to help you easily search for listings by location.

New Map Button Added to Search Criteria Page
You can now view your search results on a map directly after filling in your search criteria. A new Map button has been added to the search criteria and additional criteria pages. Clicking this button lets you view all matching listings as they are located on a map, with a legend showing one line of information per listing.

Remarks Search Enhanced
If your MLS allows searching based on Marketing Remarks or Agent-only Remarks, you can now enter criteria as you would in any Internet search engine. (Previously, these fields only found exact matches to the text you typed.) For example, in Marketing Remarks you can type view, former model in order to find houses that mention both a "view" and being a "former model" in their remarks. These fields now let you search with greater precision and control.

Radius Search Improved
The Radius Search has been enhanced in several ways to make it more powerful and easier to use:

City Selection - The City field now offers a Select City link to a pop-up window where you can search for and select the appropriate city. This interface is easier to use than the previous pull-down field, especially if your MLS has a long list of city choices.
Search by Listing Number or Tax Code - You can now simply type in a listing number, OR a Tax Code and county, as the basis for your radius search! In cases where you have a specific property as the target, these improvements will make the process much easier than filling in all of the address fields manually, and will streamline your search.
Radius Expanded - A radius distance of "20" miles has been added to the available options, so you can expand your search when desired.
More Accurate - The way the system draws the radius around a given point has been improved, to make the search results more accurate. (The software now takes into account the varying distance between longitude meridians, depending on how far north the location is.)

Financing Available for Searching
To give you more criteria options to use when searching for listings, the Financing field is now available to be added to your Custom Search. To set this up, choose Custom Search Setup from the Admin menu and select the new desired field, and enhance your Custom Search to let you search on this information.

Area Selection has Sort Options
When you select areas for your search, you now have a choice in the way the areas are sorted in the selection window. If you want to sort them alphabetically by name, simply click on the column heading "Description." Alternately, you can resort them by code by clicking on the "Code" column heading. This extra flexibility should help you find the areas you need more easily.

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SEARCH RESULTS

Median Added to Statistics
The statistics summary page that displays whenever you click the Statistics button has been enhanced. In addition to displaying the minimum, maximum and average values (for items such as price, bedrooms, etc.), the "Median" values now also display to give you a more complete picture of the data.

New CMA Button Added
A new "CMA" button has been added to search results and cart pages to help you access the resources you need to create a CMA. After you select the listings you want to use for comparison, clicking this button brings up all the CMA report options, including the new "CMA Package," in one central location. (For more details, see CMA Presentation Package Added.)

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VIEW/REVISE LISTINGS

Property Summary Shows Important Information at a Glance
A new feature has been added to the listing detail page that displays to agents. A summary bar showing the primary property information now displays at the top, above the picture. The bar lets you see the most important details about each property quickly as you browse through listings, without having to pick them out from the complete list of fields. This new feature should help speed up your work as you evaluate listings for your clients.

Data Auto-filled from County Records Identified
If your MLS has set up a link to the county tax records, your software has been improved to reflect listing data that originated with the county records. Specifically, on the listing detail and revise listing information pages, an asterisk marks items that were auto-filled from the county tax records and not subsequently modified. Fields that can be auto-filled during listing input include: Address, Beds, Baths, Sq.Ft., Lot Size, and Year Built. This enhancement boosts the integrity of MLS data by identifying the source for these critical fields.

Listing Detail Reorganized
The listing detail page now groups information in more logical sequence, such as showing Tax Code next to County; Property Subtype next to Property Type; and so forth. The improvements should make it easier to locate the information you need on the listing detail page.

Uploading Pictures Easier
The process for uploading a picture has been improved. Now, when you browse and select a picture file to upload, a preview of the picture displays right on the upload form, rather than in a separate window, so you can verify it is the correct picture. This should help streamline the process of picture upload.

Viewing Multiple Property Pictures Easier
For listings that have more than one picture, there is now an easy way to view them without leaving the listing detail page. Forward and back buttons have been added below the picture, so you can scroll through all the pictures for a listing quickly and easily. The picture number and total count also display (such as "1 of 5") for your reference.

Interface Improved When Entering Sold Information
Previously, when you changed a listing to sold in the system, a new page opened up with a congratulatory message and a link to continue. In order to speed up the process, the separate page has been removed. Now after entering sold information, the software takes you directly to the Revise Listing menu.

Original Price Visible
Per the decision of your MLS, the system has been enhanced to display each listing's "original price" as well as the current listing price on the listing detail form that all agents can view. Previously, this form made a listing's original price information visible only to the listing owners and staff-level users.

Commission History can be Viewed
The Property History form has been enhanced to display commission changes, if any, for each listing. To view, users can click a new "Commission History" hyperlink located to the right of each listing. (Note: This link is available only to the listing owners and staff-level users.)

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LISTING cart

Bathroom Breakdown Shows on Listing Cart
If your MLS tracks bathroom information using multiple fields, the Listing Cart has been improved to display bathroom details such as the number of half baths, full baths, etc. Previously, it only showed the total number of bathrooms.

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REPORTS

CMA Presentation Package Added
You can now create a complete CMA presentation package for your clients. A new "CMA" button has been added to search results and cart pages. Once you select the listings you want to use for comparison, you simply click this button and select CMA Package. A "wizard" leads you step by step through creating a CMA package, including: selecting the client's name from your contact list; specifying which fields to use for comparison and their order (or using the default setup); making adjustments on each comparable property, as needed; choosing which elements you want to include in your presentation package; and then printing your package. You can include your agent resume, company profile, a customized cover letter, enhanced reports, and more ... it’s your choice. The system automatically saves the CMA as part of your contact's record, so you can access it or adjust and reprint it in the future.

CMA Options Centralized
The CMA report options have been moved to their own location for easier access. Agents can click the new CMA button on search results and cart pages, and then choose from the CMA report formats or the CMA Package. They are no longer listed in the report options pull-down list from the Reports button.

Adjustable CMA Improved
The Adjustable CMA report has been greatly enhanced, and is now part of the new CMA Package rather than its own separate report. The interface is much easier and more flexible to use. The comparable listings display one at a time alongside the subject property information, allowing you to comfortably move from one to the next and make adjustments as needed. Plus, an earlier step in the CMA Package allows you to select which fields of listing information you want to show, and even add your own custom-labeled fields to optimize your CMA presentation package.

New CMA 2 Line Report Installed
A new report has been created called the 2 Line CMA. The format displays additional information (compared to the standard CMA Report) yet still makes it easy to compare between listings. To run this report, click the CMA button after selecting the desired listings in a cart or search results page.

New Hotsheet 1 Line Report Installed
A new report has been created called the Hotsheet 1 Line. Available only from the Hotsheet results page, the format includes only minimal information on each property so you can view a large number of listings quickly. Shown are the listing number, Hotsheet status (new listings, price changes, etc.), listing or selling price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, address, city and area.

Flyer Improved
The property flyer has been enhanced to display two additional graphic elements, the Fair Housing logo and the Realtor® logo. In addition, the report has been enhanced so that long amenity descriptions does not line-break in the middle of a word. These enhancements make the flyer cleaner and more readable for your clients.

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CONTACTS/PROSPECTS

Contact Management Added
All the features you depend on with Prospects can now be accessed through a full-function Contact Manager! All of your existing prospect records have been fully preserved in the new software. Some of the additional features that will help you track your contacts are:

Contacts and Prospects - "Contacts" is a broader term than "prospects," and this reflects the broader range of options you now have for doing contact management. You can set up an unlimited number of contacts in the system, and even organize them into separate groups (see details below). Many types of contacts, such as vendors you use, family members, former clients, etc., are not "prospects" necessarily, and the new software gives you a simpler way to handle these. A contact record that is not managed as a prospect does not need to have a saved search or auto-prospecting e-mail, and no longer has a built-in expiration date; so you can avoid those messages about your contact being inactivated if you haven't made recent changes to his/her record. However, other features are available to you such as tracking e-mail you've sent to your contacts, setting up tasks & appointments related to them, and more.

A new "Manage as Prospect" option has been added to the Contact Information page, which lets you add the features like auto-prospecting and reverse prospecting. After the upgrade, all of your active prospects for whom you had set up a saved prospect search will be automatically set up with this option checked, for your convenience.
Prospects Page Redesigned - The interface has been greatly improved for viewing your contacts and prospects. The new "Contacts/Prospects" page shows pertinent information such as the contact's name and prospect code, the counts of listings in each tab of the Prospect Cart, and the contact's phone number. Links are provided to let you modify a contact's information; access the cart; send a new e-mail message to the contact; set up or view tasks and appointments for the contact; view any e-mail you've sent to the contact in the last 30 days; access the CMA Package you created for a contact; and view a saved financial report for the contact. Contacts who are managed as prospects have additional information available right on this screen, such as links to revise or run their prospect search, and more. To conserve screen space and show you as many records as possible at a glance, this additional information can be accessed by clicking the + symbol to the left of a prospect, which opens up a second row of information.
Groups - Now, instead of all your active prospects displaying in one long list, you have the opportunity to organize them into separate groups that you define. Several default groups are set up automatically (Prospects, Clients, Vendors, Personal and Other), but you can modify these or create your own groups. A contact can be assigned to multiple groups, as needed. Initially, all of your current active prospects are assigned to the Prospects group. You can choose to view only one group at a time, or click "All Active" to view the entire list of active contacts and prospects. You can even specify the order you want your groups to display. The Groups feature gives you maximum flexibility for organizing your contacts and being able to view them most efficiently.
Tasks - You can now set up tasks and appointments related to a contact. Specify a date, start time and end time, the type of task, notes, and more. The number of tasks set up for a contact displays for your reference right on the main Contacts/Prospects page, but even more conveniently, your tasks display on the Home page as a "to-do" list on the appropriate day.
CMA Package - Once you create a CMA Package for one of your contacts, it remains attached to their record. At any time you can pull it up for viewing, revising, or printing again.

All the new features of the Contacts/Prospects software are designed to give you maximum control and flexibility tracking your contact information.

Contacts can be Copied
You can now duplicate a contact, including the person's information and search criteria, then modify them as needed to form an entirely separate contact record. You can accomplish this by clicking a new "Copy" button on the Modify Contact Information form. This time-saving enhancement enables you to set up multiple searches for a prospect, if needed.

Search Function Available for Contacts
The ability to enter criteria and find a contact has been added to the Contacts/Prospects page. You can search based on either the prospect code or contact name, among either your active or inactive contact records. Located conveniently at the top of the form, this new search feature will save you time when you're working with contacts.

Bathroom Breakdown Shows on Prospect Cart
Since your MLS tracks the number of bathrooms for listings using multiple fields, the Prospect Cart has been improved to display the bathroom details such as the number of half baths, full baths, etc. Previously, it only showed the total number of bathrooms. This enhancement applies to all tabs in the cart (Newly Matched, Saved and Rejected).

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EXPORTS

Agent-customizable Listing Exports are Here
In a major system enhancement, individual users can now create CUSTOM exports to download listing data from the MLS for their own use. Using a new "Custom Export Setup" link on the Admin menu, you can specify a name for your export, and set up the rules and custom layout for your export file. Once you've created an export, you will be able to choose it from the list of export options whenever you click the Exports button.

New Demo Shows How to Create Custom Exports
To help you take advantage of the new agent-customizable exports, a new Feature Spotlight is now available for viewing. On the Help menu, choose Feature Spotlights and select "Custom Exports" from the list of multimedia titles.

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OPEN HOUSES

Open House Search Results Enhanced
You can now view a picture of each property at a glance, right on the Open House Search Results page. This page has been enhanced to display the primary property picture at thumbnail size, if one has been entered, and the open house date and time.

Open Houses Report Enhanced
For your reference, the Open House Report now includes a picture of each property, at thumbnail size. The property picture will help identify each listing, especially if you use the report as a guide for visiting open houses.

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ADMIN MENU

Admin Menu Created
The new Admin menu combines all of the items from the previous "Personal" menu, plus a few other administrative-type functions. If you are a broker-level user, you can access the Office menu on the Admin menu. Look to this menu whenever you want to: change your agent preferences; update your personal information; view your sent e-mail or broadcast notice history; and much more.

Map Search Defaults Can be Set
To make using the new Map Search even easier, a new section has been added to the Agent Preferences form that lets you specify the geographical location you would like the map to default to every time you use it. This preference will be especially helpful if you work within a specific area most of the time. In order to set your preferences, you can draw a rectangular selection directly on the map, or you can type in an address or longitude and latitude. Setting up this new preference will save you time when searching for listings with the Map Search.

Customized CMA Documents Can be Set Up
The new Admin menu contains an item called "CMA Documents Setup." From here, agents can create their own customized cover letter and resume, as well as an office resume (or profile sheet), which will be the default versions for creating CMA Packages. Once these default documents are set up, agents can include them as part of their CMA Packages, and change them on-the-fly as needed for individual clients.

New Option for Export of Your E-mail Address
A new check box has been added to the Modify Agent Information page labeled, "Allow Export." This option pertains to your e-mail address, and controls whether other agents can export your e-mail address from the Find Agents/Offices search. It defaults to checked, so that as previously your e-mail address may be included in exports, but you can change this if you wish.

Listing Access Rights Modified
Two of the access rights have been improved to more clearly control listing input and revision. The access right "Listing Add" now enables a user to enter and complete a new listing (previously, users had to have both Listing Add and Listing Modify to do this). "Listing Modify" has been changed to enable users to revise an existing listing, but does not give users any rights to entering or completing listings. These changes make the rights more intuitive, based on their names.