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What's New in Rapattoni MLS |
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Effective as of October 16, 2002 |
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HIGHLIGHTS |
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New Quick Search A new search option presents just a few criteria choices, and lets you quickly move on to your results. (See details) |
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Reverse Prospecting is a Reality You can now "reverse prospect" to find agents whose prospects might be interested in your listing, or in a pseudo listing you enter. (See details) |
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ShowingAlert Feature Integrated Offer a way for someone to request an appointment to see your listing, while reading about it online. This easy lead-generation tool is available through the new ShowingAlert integration. (See details) |
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Additional Pictures Easier to View Agents and their clients now have easier access to view a property's additional pictures. (See details) |
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Full Export Available From Any Search The “Exports” functionality can now be accessed directly from any search via a button on the screen. This lets agents download listing data that meets any search criteria available from any type of search, and with higher search limits. (See details) |
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Property History Improved The "Property History" link now displays more complete listing history for a property, by including previous listings with a matching Tax Code or address. Matching by address will improve the history content where the Tax Code data is incomplete or incorrect. (See details) |
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New “Map” Exports Two new downloads are available, to DeLorme Street Atlas and Microsoft Streets and Trips. (See details) |
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Get More Exposure for Your Listings Link directly to a particular listing from your Web site! The listing detail page now contains a live URL link to the public view of the listing, which you can copy and e-mail to someone or add to a Web page. (See details) |
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Jump from Search Results to Listing Detail -- and Back Again A new “Back to List” feature enables you to return directly to the search results page from within the detail of any listing. (See details) |
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Previewing Newly Managed Listings Enhanced Now you can choose to Save or Reject a listing when viewing the listing detail from the Newly Matched cart. (See details) |
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SEARCH LISTINGS |
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New Quick Search Installed A new type of search has been added called the "Quick Search." The criteria page presents a limited number of options, for times when an agent just needs to do a basic search and get the results quickly. This new search can be accessed by clicking "Quick" in the tan Search bar. |
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Search Results Page Can be Sorted/Formatted On-the-fly Previously, you could choose the format and sort options for how your search results would display only from the search criteria page. The search results page has been enhanced to let you change the display format and sort preferences on-the-fly, and then refresh the screen. This enhancement will make working with your search results even easier than before, since you can redisplay the results quickly whenever you need to. NOTE: This feature will be installed following your upgrade, before the end of October. |
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Selecting Bathroom Criteria More Convenient You can now specify bathroom details, such as how many full or half baths, right on the main search criteria form. Previously, you had to click the “Bathroom Details” link, which would display an additional selection box. In addition, a selection for zero (0) has been added to the bath detail fields, to enable you to search for properties that do not have a particular type of bathroom (such as half). |
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Search Based on Lot Size Price per Square Foot or Acre Possible A new criteria field has been added to searches that lets you specify a from and thru range for Lot Size Price per Square Foot or Acre. This gives you another way to find properties. |
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Search Based on Structure Price per Square Foot Possible A new criteria field has been added to searches that lets you specify a from and thru range for Structure Price/SqFt. This gives you one more tool to find the properties you are looking for. |
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Additional Criteria Page Streamlined Amenities with hyperlinks to "Select Criteria" have been streamlined so that you now click on the amenity description itself, such as “Air Conditioning” or “Pool.” Previously, it was necessary to click “Select Criteria” which displayed below the amenity description. This new format shortens the Additional Criteria page and reduces the need for scrolling. |
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Areas Easier to Select The “Select Areas” lookup window has been enhanced to allow you to refine the list of areas that display. When you click the link, if the number of areas exceeds 100, you are now given the opportunity to search on part or all of an area name to narrow down the list. For example, type “east” and select a "contains" search, and only areas that contain “east” will display, giving you a shorter list to choose from. For MLSs that have a long list of areas, this enhancement can make it much faster and easier to select the areas you want, and reduces the need for scrolling. In case you want to select several different areas using different criteria, a "Select More Areas" link lets you add more selections, without closing the lookup window. You also have the option to display all areas if desired. The new Select Areas interface is available on the searches, listing input and the revise listing forms. |
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Cities Easier to Select The “Select Cities” lookup window has been enhanced to allow you to refine the list of cities that display. When you click the link, if the number of cities exceeds 100, you are now given the opportunity to search on part or all of a city name to narrow down the list. For example, type “west” and select a "contains" search, and only cities that contain “west” will display, giving you a shorter list to choose from. For MLSs that have a long list of cities, this enhancement can make it much faster and easier to select the cities you want, and reduces the need for scrolling. In case you want to select several different cities using different criteria, a "Select More Cities" link lets you add more selections, without closing the lookup window. You also have the option to display all cities if desired. The new Select Cities interface is available on the searches, listing input and the revise listing forms. |
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HOTSHEET |
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Property Subtype Added to Hotsheet Results The Hotsheet search results have been enhanced to display the primary property subtype for each listing. This addition lets agents see more information at a glance for each listing. |
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Back on Market Results More Accurate The Hotsheet has been improved so that “Back on Market” changes no longer include expired listings that have been changed back to active. This change was made based on customer requests, to more accurately reflect the meaning of the Back on Market change type. NOTE: This feature will be installed following your upgrade, before the end of October. |
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VIEW LISTINGS |
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Rapattoni MLS is Now ShowingAlert Ready™ An exciting new integration between your Rapattoni MLS software and the ShowingAlert third-party online lead generation tool is now available. ShowingAlert is becoming the industry standard, capturing showing requests on over 500,000 listings nationally -- and Rapattoni is the first MLS vendor to provide integration right in the MLS software! For agents who subscribe to the ShowingAlert service, the MLS software will display a link for each of their listings that enables a viewer to set an appointment request to view the property. The "Schedule a Showing" link will display on public-viewable listing detail pages such as those accessed through an IDX search, as well as listing detail pages within the MLS in case other agents are interested in seeing the property. This new feature can add tremendous value to your IDX Web site and listing displays, since it enables you to let the Internet schedule showings for you 24/7, and effortlessly capture showing requests from people who would like to visit your properties. NOTE: You must subscribe to the ShowingAlert service through ShowingTime (not through Rapattoni) in order to use this feature. ShowingTime personnel are responsible for activating the feature for you in the MLS software. For more information, please contact ShowingTime at 1-877-270-SHOW or visit http://www.showingtime.com/rapattoni. |
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Jump from Search Results to Listing Detail – and Back Again A new “Back to List” feature has been added to the listing detail page when accessed from any search results or cart. Clicking this link enables you to return directly to the list you came from (in the search results or cart) in a single click. This is especially useful when you have been using the Next and Previous links to view listing detail pages one after another, rather than having to use the Back button multiple times to retrace your steps. The new link is located at both the top and bottom of the listing detail form, for your convenience. |
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Additional Pictures Easier to View Agents and their clients now have easier access to a property’s additional pictures. Links have been added to many e-mail reports and search results formats, so you can easily see all the pictures for a listing. If there are additional pictures for a listing, the number of pictures displays next to the camera icon as a link that can be clicked to view all of the pictures for the property. |
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Public Links Available to Individual Listings The listing detail page now contains a live URL link to the public view of the listing, which you can copy and e-mail to someone or add to a Web page. This new feature lets you link directly to an individual listing's public-viewable detail, complete with additional pictures, a map, etc. Simply highlight and copy the hyperlink text that displays in red at the bottom of the listing detail page in the MLS, and use it as desired as an effective sales tool. |
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Picture History Enhanced The way picture history displays when you view the Property History form has been improved. To reduce clutter on the main page, a "Picture History” link can now be accessed from both the Property History screen and Property History Report that lets users view this information only when desired. In addition, the picture history data has been enhanced, and now lets agents see a thumbnail of each picture and the date when each of the pictures associated with a property was uploaded or modified. (Note: Deleted pictures are not stored.) |
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Property History Matches by Address or Tax Code Users can click the Property History link for a listing in order to view any previous MLS listings for the same property. Previously, the MLS software accessed property history records based on a property's Tax Code. With this upgrade, the Property History form has been improved to include previous listings that match either the address or the Tax Code. This will make your property history more complete, especially where Tax Code data is not reliable or not available. |
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REPORTS |
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E-mail Feature Improved for Hotmail & MSN Users Hotmail and MSN users have recently reported the problem that when they use the E-mail button or auto-prospecting to send listing reports to a recipient, their e-mail provider blocks any replies the recipient might try to send them. This was caused because the MLS software automatically fills in the agent's e-mail address in the From: field in order to facilitate replies, however, Hotmail and MSN will not receive any e-mail from a Hotmail/MSN address unless it is generated at their internal server. In order to solve this problem, e-mail messages generated in the MLS for Hotmail and MSN users only now fill in the From: field using an MLS address; however, if the recipient clicks the Reply button, the message cleverly will still be directed to the agent's e-mail address. The agent's own e-mail address will also show in the Subject line, to inform recipients at a glance. |
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Report Programs Optimized All of the MLS report programs now refer to a centralized set of parameters per MLS for the collection and formatting of data. This was a major behind-the-scenes improvement which enables the report programs to operate more efficiently. A visible difference you may notice will be more consistent formatting of like fields between reports. |
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EXPORTS |
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Full Export Available From Any Search Export functionality can now be accessed directly from any search via a new Export button on the search criteria form. You can enter any search criteria, from any type of search, and download listing data (and search results limits do not apply). This new functionality provides agents a much greater range of options when selecting data for export. NOTE: The item "Full Export" that was previously available on the Listings menu has been removed, since the new Export button offers much greater flexibility. |
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Two New Exports Added Two new exports have been added to the list of export options available in the MLS: DeLorme Street Atlas and Microsoft Streets & Trips. If you own either of these third-party mapping products, you can now select listings in the MLS, click the Exports button and choose the appropriate option. You will be prompted to save a text file on your computer which can then be imported into the mapping software. These new tools give you more ways to utilize your MLS data. |
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REVISE LISTINGS |
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View/Revise Your Listings Improved Previously, the View/Revise Your Listings page defaulted to showing listings with the status Active. Since your MLS may have more than one active status, this form has been improved and now defaults to showing all On Market listings. A Status pull-down field still displays at the top of the form, in case you want to change which listings display. This enhancement will also make your listing count match the number that displays on the See My Listings form. NOTE: This feature will be installed following your upgrade, before the end of October. |
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Virtual Tours Expanded You can now attach more than one virtual tour link to a listing, and they will be accessible by agents and the public for increased exposure for your listings. The link has been renamed "Virtual Media" because your MLS may offer additional types of media that can be attached (such as virtual tours, floor plans, voiceovers, etc.). NOTE: This feature will be installed following your upgrade, before the end of October. |
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ENTER LISTINGS |
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Copying a Newly Entered Listing More Convenient A “Copy Listing” link has been added to the Revise Listing menu that displays right after a new listing has been successfully entered, making it easier to enter several similar properties. When you click the link, the listing number that was just created fills in automatically, for your convenience. |
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Listing Input Page Modified To provide greater flexibility with form arrangement, several rows have been split so that the fields are now on separate lines. This change applies to the following fields (if used by your MLS): Age/Year Built, Listing Date, Expiration Date, Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Square Footage, and Lot Size. |
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Listing Input Buttons Easier to Access The Submit, Cancel, and Save Listing as Incomplete buttons have been added to the top of the listing input form, making them easier to get to. Previously, they displayed only at the bottom of the listing input form. They now display both at the top and bottom of the form for your convenience. |
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Comments Field Expanded Previously, the Comment field next to amenities could display only a limited number of characters on screen. The listing input/revise pages have been enhanced so that you can now see the entire comment. |
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Remarks Field-Limit Checking Enhanced Agents can no longer exceed the maximum character length for any of the “Remarks” fields when entering or modifying a listing. Previously, it was possible to enter more than the maximum number of characters when cutting and pasting information into these large text fields. This new change helps agents be sure that all of their needed remarks display properly on the listing detail and on reports. |
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Listings Without Tax Code Improved Your MLS enables you to enter a listing for which no Tax Code exists by checking the "New or Under Construction" check box on the first page of listing input. For listings entered using this check box, the software now displays "Exception" in the listing information. Previously, the word "New" was used, which was not always accurate. This change will improve the accuracy of your listing information. |
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LISTING CART |
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Managing Cart Additions Easier Two enhancements make the Listing Cart easier to use. First, if you click Add to Cart from a search results page, the software now adds the selected listings to the Listing Cart in the background, while you remain in the search results in case you want to perform more functions (add listings to prospects, run reports, etc.). Secondly, the Listing Cart now displays the date when each listing was added, and even lets you sort by that information. These enhancements make it easier to work with your Listing Cart, since you can see at a glance which listings you added when. NOTE: This feature will be installed following your upgrade, before the end of October. |
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PROSPECTS |
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Reverse Prospecting is a Reality A new feature known as Reverse Prospecting has been developed to allow you to match listing data against prospects' search criteria, so that you can find prospects who might be interested in your listing. The Reverse Prospecting link is available in two places: at the top of the Prospects page, and on the Revise Listing menu. For convenience, if you click Reverse Prospecting on the Revise Listing menu, the subject listing's number and information automatically fill in for you; from the Prospects page, the form starts out blank. From either location, you have complete flexibility to choose a listing, enter your own set of hypothetical listing data, as well as modify any of the fields before launching the reverse prospect search. Once you start the reverse prospect search, the system finds all active buyer prospects whose search criteria matches the data you entered. The results page displays the prospect code, and information about the agent who entered that prospect. To protect agents' confidential prospect data, no actual prospect information displays to you -- only the code and the agent's contact information. From the results page, you have several choices in how you utilize this information. You can select prospects from the list and then either create a report of the information or send e-mail to the prospects' agents letting them know that you have a listing their prospect may be interested in. The Reverse Prospecting feature gives you a powerful tool to proactively locate potential buyers for your listings. It will also help you determine, for example, how many more interested buyers you might attract for a listing if the listing price changed slightly. There are many uses for this new search. TIP: The Prospect Code field takes on new significance in light of Reverse Prospecting. Make sure that all of your active buyer prospects have a unique code set up in their Prospect Information form. This will prepare you to identify your own prospects when communicating with other agents. |
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Managing Newly Matched Listings Enhanced For agents who prefer to view the full listing detail pages when deciding on their prospects' newly matched listings, the process has been made a lot simpler. Now you can choose to Save or Reject a listing right on the listing detail page, without having to return to the Newly Matched list. You can do this by using the new “Move to Saved” and “Move to Rejected” links that display both at the top and the bottom of the listing detail form. This enhancement will make managing your prospect’s newly matched listings even easier. |
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Review Prospect Search Criteria At-a-Glance A new “View Criteria” link has been added to the Prospects screen. Clicking this link brings up a small window showing you the search criteria that you have set up for your prospect. This allows you to quickly see the search criteria for a prospect, without having to review the entire search form. |
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Phone Extensions Can be Stored for Prospects You can now enter phone extensions for your prospects, which will allow your client contact information to be more complete. |
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Contact Information Displays on Prospect Cart Your prospect’s contact information now displays right at the top of the prospect cart. This means that you can quickly see the prospect’s address, phone number with extension, and e-mail address while you are reviewing listings for them. Previously, you would need to click the View Prospects link to access this information. |
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HELP |
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More Pop-up Help Installed A new feature was recently implemented that makes getting help quick and easy. A question mark graphic displays next to many fields in the software. Clicking this link opens a small pop-up Help window that describes just that particular field or function. In this upgrade, additional areas of the software now have pop-up Help links available, including many fields on the listing input/revision form. The extra information will be very useful when entering or revising your listings. |
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PERSONAL MENU |
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Contact Phone Labels Can be Changed Agents can now select which labels they would like to display for their contact phone numbers on their agent information page. Previously, these always displayed as Primary, Secondary or Other. Now, agents have the option to display the phone type, such as Office, Cell or Pager, instead. This new feature gives agents another way to control how their contact information is presented. |
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OFFICE MENU |
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Office Production & Inventory Report Improved To give brokers more information about their office inventory, the inventory section of the Office Production & Inventory Report now offers the option to "Show listing detail." |
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PHOTOGRAPHER |
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Photographers Can Modify Pictures and Descriptions A new item has been added to the Photographer menu labeled "Picture Descriptions." Photographers can use this link to view the pictures and picture descriptions for listing, modify description text, and even delete a picture as needed. This enhancement helps photographers maintain listing pictures more efficiently. |
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SYSTEM-WIDE |
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Home Page Enhanced Icon graphics have been added to the Home page. Besides being a cosmetic improvement, the icons represent the menu items, so they can make it quicker to locate the item you are looking for. |
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Public Links Improved The "Find Properties" and "Agents/Offices" links have been removed from public-viewable pages that may be accessed from the MLS's Web site or from an agent or office's Web site. Specifically, the links have been removed from pages in the public search, the public Open Houses search, the public agent/office search, as well as the company agent and listing inventory pages. This change will help keep visitors focused on the hosting agent or office, rather than giving them links to leave the current Web site. |
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