Friday, June 30, 2017

New Portal Enhancements

Portal have received a fresh and updated look, giving your contacts more listings on the screen, an easier way to manage subscriptions, and a more intuitive search method. To take advantage of these updates, make sure the new portal is enabled by going to the Preferences menu and selecting Portal Preferences. If you see a button to Try the New Flexmls Portal, click it to enable the newest version of the portal. 

BE SURE TO WATCH THE VIDEO - GREAT ENHANCEMENTS!

Two Column Listing Views – Focus on Photos!
When viewing multiple listings on the screen, you may now see two columns displayed, allowing the user to see up to 10 listings per page. This is dependent on the screen size, giving the best experience regardless of viewing on a desktop monitor, tablet or phone.

Even better, you’ll see a larger photo of the listing’s primary photo, with an overlay of the listing summary text. Your customers will see the key pieces of information with one glance. 




When opening a listing to see the details, the wider listing column provides more screen space for a better view of pictures, videos, and listing details. 




With a responsive design, clients using a smaller screen or device will see a single column of listings displayed.


When a user selects the Hide option while viewing multiple listings, the listing is immediately replaced by a notification that the listing has been hidden. There is an option to Unhide the listing in case the listing was hidden unintentionally. The next time the user visits their News Feed or Saved Searches, the hidden listing will not display; it will only be available in the “Hidden” folder.



Updates to Listing Changes
When viewing an agent-created search, clients will have the ability to turn on notifications, giving them control over whether or not they receive email notifications for listing updates related to the search.

If there is an active subscription associated with the search, text by the search name will display as Notifications are ON. If the user wants to stop receiving email notifications, they can click the Turn Off link.


If there is no subscription associated with a search, the user can click Turn On to start receiving notifications.


Any change the user makes to a search's notifications is reflected in Flexmls Web. Client created notifications will display as subscriptions on the Searches/Subscriptions tab in Contact Management. Client created notifications are always set to ASAP on the Subscription Schedule. If you would like to edit a client's subscription, click the subscription name to edit the subscription.


If a client turns notifications off, they will display as Deactivated in Flexmls Web. Click the Reactivate icon if you would like to turn on the subscription for the contact.



Start a New Search
Just as before, clients can start a new search by typing in the Search bar at the top of the screen. In the example below, the user is searching by selecting a specific location. Note: if you are not a Flexmls IDX subscriber and your client tries to edit an agent-provided search, they will be redirected to the Search bar in order to begin a new search.


On the results page, the user can further refine their search by selecting the Filter Search option.


The user can set their search criteria and click View Listings to view the results.


If you are a Flexmls IDX subscriber, your contacts can save the searches they create. If you are not a Flexmls IDX subscriber, your clients cannot save the searches they create; however, they can use the Star icon to save individual listings from the search to their Saved collection. Additionally, you can view their last unsaved search criteria on the Portal Tab in Contact Management.


Just as before, only four searches are displayed in the Portal's quick menu. If a user has more than four saved searches, they can click the View All link to access all of their available searches.





Tuesday, June 27, 2017

404 Error when printing in Internet Explorer

If you do not primarily use Internet Explorer for your web browser when using Flexmls, you may ignore this message.

Microsoft recently released a security update to the Windows operating system via Windows Update that unfortunately caused a problem to the way Internet Explorer prints listings within Flexmls. The full Microsoft article can be read via the link below, but in short it says 'We had to fix a big security issue with Windows and know that as a result of this patch, people will get a 404 error when they print through Internet Explorer if the content you are printing is within a frame.'

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4021558/c...internet-explorer-june-13-2017


Until Microsoft can fix the bug they introduced with the recent update, special action will need to be taken to correctly print Flexmls content using Internet Explorer . I know some of you don't have this option, so as an alternative you may also use another web browser that is not Internet Explorer and your Flexmls content should print normally. Flexmls fully supports the use of Edge, PC and Mac Chrome, PC and Mac Firefox, and Mac Safari. If you do not have the option of using another web browser, please read on for what steps you can take to print from Flexmls using Internet Explorer.

The Print Menu

From the search results page, if you are clicking the Print option in the upper right of Flexmls there is an option in the lower left of the page that says "Preview and Print in a new window". Mark this option and then click either the Print or Preview button(s). This will make your Flexmls content open in a new tab/window and should allow you to print normally. If you print frequently from Flexmls, it may be a good idea to click the Save link in the lower left which will retain this checkbox preference for the next time you go to print.

Alternatively, you can also click the PDF button (not available in all markets) and print from the PDF file that is generated.



From the Search Results page

If you normally right-click and choose print from the search results page, this issue also applies to you. Instead of performing this action first, use the pop-out icon to detach your Flexmls content from the frame, then right-click and print from the new window/tab that appears.




I don't print from Search Results

There are other features in Flexmls that allow you to print content but do not have the option of opening in a new window/tab directly. To get around this, where you would normally left-click to access the feature, perform a right-click on the feature and choose "Open in new tab" or "Open in new window". This should detach the feature, removing it from the Flexmls frames and allowing you to print the way you normally would.




Wednesday, June 21, 2017

New Flexmls Menus Coming June 27th

On June 27th, you will have access to a new, easy to use menu in Flexmls. The new design provides a modern look, and allows one-click access to your favorite menu items.

Initially, the new menu will be optional, so you can choose to turn it on or choose to continue using the old menu. After 30 days, July 27th, the new menu will no longer be optional; all users will be moved over to the new menu. 


Below are helpful reference guides and training opportunities to ensure you get the most benefit from these new menus:

Turn on the New Menu
When the new menu is available, you will receive an invitation to turn it on when you login to Flexmls. If you don't turn it on immediately, you will be able to click the Use the Customizable Menu button to turn it on. You can also click the What is this? link to access more information about the custom menu before you decide to turn it on. 




When you turn the menu on, you'll answer a question about your role: are you an Agent, an Appraiser, etc. Your response will determine the default items on your Favorites bar. 






The defaults for each role are as follows:
  • Agent
    • Quick Search
    • Hot Sheet
    • Saved Searches
    • Contact Management
    • My Messages
  • Appraiser
    • Quick Search
    • Address Search
    • Market Trends
    • Market Summary
  • Broker
    • Quick Search
    • Hot Sheet
    • Office Listings
    • Market Summary
    • Inventory & Production
When setup is complete, you'll see a Menu button and pre-determined Favorites for your convenience.



Menu
Click on Menu to see the fully expanded menu. All the menu items are here in the same groups and in the same order as the old menu. Click on any menu item to go to that feature. For example, click Quick Search to start a new search. 




Use the search box ("Search the menu...") to easily find a menu item. For example, if you type "sav" in the search box, the menu will bring the Saved Searches link to you. It's faster than looking through the whole menu. 




To exit the full menu, click Menu again. 





Add and Remove Favorites
Favorites give you one-click access to features you use the most. You can easily add, remove and rearrange Favorites to match how you work.

To mark a menu item as a Favorite, open the Menu, hover your mouse over an item and a Favorite star will appear. Click the star to create a one-click shortcut to it on the Favorites bar. 




If you want to remove an item from your Favorites, click on the star next to an existing Favorite. The item is instantly removed from your Favorites and the star changes to an outline. 




If you have more menu items in your Favorites than can be displayed on your screen, there will be a More link in your Favorites. Click More to access your remaining Favorites. 





Reorder and Remove Favorites
To rearrange the order of your Favorites or remove an item from your Favorites, click the Reorder link on the menu bar. 




Click and hold a menu item to drag and drop it into a new order. 




You can also remove an item from your Favorites by clicking Remove. Click Save when you are done managing your Favorites. 


If you have questions, please contact Technical Support at (904) 394-9494 x 1605.


Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Have you activated your Homes.com Account? You may have leads you weren’t aware of!

Thursday, June 15th


If you have listings, then you may have leads waiting for you in your Homes.com account, which is now an added benefit of your MLS subscription. We always display the listing broker or agent and send you the listing inquiries for your listings. 

Join us for this 30-minute webinar to learn about all your listing display and the cloud based Lead Management System available to you from Homes.com as part of the Homes.com MLS Partnership program.

Homes.com Lead Management System includes:
        A Lead and Contact Manager App
        Email Marketing App
        Social Media Prospecting App

Take advantage of all the BENEFITS available to you from Homes.com at no additional cost.

Join us Thursday, June 15th at 2:00 ET/11:00 PT 



Friday, June 2, 2017

ShowingTime Update - New MarketStats Chart

Coming Soon


We are excited to announce the upcoming launch of MarketStats chart in your showing confirmation emails for appointments set through ShowingTime. You will now have statistics at your fingertips on the specific listing you are showing.  

Here is an example of how it will appear in your showing confirmation emails:


We expect this feature to be up and running sometime during the second week of June. Be sure to check it out.