A Search Template is a pre-selected set of criteria in a preset order. Essentially it is a list of criteria on which you can select or enter search values to specify a search. When you first open a Search Type (such as Residential or Commercial) you are opening a System defined Template.
A Template is not a Search - even though it may contain some pre-selected values. It is a form used to create a search. Search Templates always show no matches (Matches = N/A) until after a value is entered, selected, or modified for at least one criterion item. Unlike Saved Searches, Search Templates do not expire and cannot be used for Auto-notifications.
Personal Search Templates can be useful if you repeatedly use some criteria which are not on the System Template, typically do not use other criteria that are on the System Template, and do not want to preset all key search criteria. Basically you set your template to show only certain criteria (with or without some pre-selected values) which you frequently use for searches.
For example, you might want a search template to use to quickly find homes for sale in a very specific geographical area where you advertise or specialize. On this personal template you could pre-select Active, Residential/Single Family, and either an Area by name or by drawing it the search Map. Your template could include Price, Bedrooms, Baths and Frontage (plus perhaps a few others) criteria items, but no infrequently requested or irrelevant (for this area) criteria. Then when you get an inquiry about homes for sale in this area, you open your personal template and enter the customer specified values for price, bedrooms and baths, and Frontage to quickly see matching listings.
You can easily create customized Personal Search Templates. Simply modify an existing template or search to list only the criteria you want, arrange the criteria in the sequential order that you want, and then click the Save Template button at the bottom of the screen. For a new template, select "Save As" and enter a short, descriptive Name.
To remove unwanted criteria items, click on the item to select it and then click the Delete Field button at the bottom of the screen. To change the position of the item in the list, click on the item and either click the "Move Field Up" or "Move Field Down"; or click, hold and drag the item to the desired position.
To add criteria not currently displayed, click the "Add More Criteria Items" button at the bottom of the screen. New Criteria will be added at the bottom of the list.
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To delete a saved template, open the template, click the down arrow beside the "Save Template" button, and select Delete Template.
To set your Personal Template as the default template for its Search Type, click the Customize button at the bottom of an on-screen template (or Saved Search) and select "Set current search criteria as startup criteria." To re-set the template for a Search Type back to its System Template, open the current template for the Search Type, click the Customize button at the bottom and select "Set system criteria as startup criteria."
Note: The Search Listings shortcut in the middle section of the Home page opens the default Residential Template. Consequently, if you use Customize to set your Personal Template as the "startup criteria" for Residential searches, clicking the Home Page Search Listing shortcut will open with the criteria in your Personal Template.
If you want your customized search template to open with search results based on saved criteria values, create or open your template and select the Save Search button at the bottom of the screen. When you save a search, you give it a unique Name and brief Description. You also have options to
To delete a Saved Search, open it, click the "Save Search" button at the bottom of the screen, and select "Delete Search."
To convert a saved template (including a system template) into a saved search, you only need to open the template, click the Save Search button and give the search a descriptive Name. However, you would normally specify all or most of the criteria values on the template before saving it as a search. In the preceding example, you might specify Bedroom = 3, Baths = 2, and Frontage = Lake, Pond, or River, and name the search "Paradise 3/2 Waterfront Houses."
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{rev. 03.15.2013}