marker at the starting point where you originally clicked on the map. To
accurately hit the marker, it may help to zoom in closer. Area selection figures
can overlap or be drawn inside one another ("stacked") on the map.Tech Tips are short "how to" instructions for performing specific or advanced tasks in CTI Navigator Web. The Tech Tips on this web page apply to Searching and to using Automatic Search and Notifications. For more details and demonstrations, see the appropriate video tutorial(s).
Note: Items in the menu are arranged alphabetically by first word. To quickly find a word or phrase anywhere in this list, simultaneously press the Ctrl and F keys in Windows, or Command-F keys in Apple, enter a few letters of text, and click the "Find Next" button. Click on any underlined item in a topic to view that topic.
Click Help in the frame menu of CTI Navigator Web, and then select Tutorials to see a description and list of videos on how to use the main features in CTI Navigator Web. You can watch a video and/or view or print its transcript. Each tutorial video has a dynamic table of contents. You can click on any topic in the table to go directly to information in the video on that particular topic. Because the videos run in a separate browser window, you can pause the video, switch to CTI Navigator Web, and try for yourself what was just demonstrated in the video. These tutorial videos are also accessible from CTI's Help and Tutorials website.
The process of searching is similar whether you are searching listings, rentals, or, where available, tax rolls in CTI Navigator Web. For instructions on searching, select the "Overview of Searching" tutorial video. This “Overview of Searching” tutorial describes the search screens involved in Searching Listings and gives a step-by-step example for entering and revising search criteria. It also describes how to view, print and email search results, as well as how to view and select multiple listings on a map. Finally, it demonstrates how to suspend a search and then re-open it later at the point where you left off.
See the "Automatic Search and Notification" video tutorial for how to set CTI Navigator Web to automatically notify your client and/or yourself when a new listing or a change to an existing listing meets criteria you have saved. Topics covered in this tutorial include how to open a “Save Search” screen; how to enter, edit or remove Client information; how to select the report(s) and message to be sent in your automated notifications; and how to manage multiple email addresses for clients. It is explained that notifications are not automatically sent for listings that already match search criteria when those criteria are first saved. (This automatic search and notification function is referred to as "CTI Matchmaker" in the desktop version of CTI Navigator.)
By default, "Find by Listing Number" and "Find by MLS Number" include only fields that are common to (shared by) all Form Types. To include additional criteria after searching by MLS#, select the (yellow) Criteria smart button at the bottom of the Results or Details screen, and then click the "Add More Criteria Items" button at the bottom of the Criteria screen.
All criteria in the MLS are searchable in CTI Navigator Web. Anytime you do not see criteria you would like to include in your search, just click the "Add More Criteria Items" button at the bottom of the list of criteria displayed on a search screen. Clicking this button will pop-up a list of all criteria available for the Form Type(s) you are searching. (This is the same as clicking the ALL tab when searching in CTI Navigator Desktop.) You can either scroll to the desired item using the side scroll-bar, or begin typing the criterion item name to bring it into view in the list. Then just click on the desired item to add it to the bottom of the search criteria screen. Add as many items as you like. If not all items in a drop-down box are visible, see the "View items below the bottom of a Search Screen" Tech Tip below.
If you routinely use the additional criteria, either save your customized search criteria list as a personal Search Template before selecting criteria values, or if you always want to start this search with certain criteria values preselected, use Save Search for easy reuse. Either approach will save the additional criteria in the position on the list at the time the search was saved.
If a Criterion item at the bottom of the screen has a long list of selection options in its drop down box, some of these selections, along with the Save button on the bottom of the box, may be hidden beneath the bottom of your screen. In this case, highlight the Criteria item in the table and either use the "Move Field Up" button at the bottom of the table, or click-hold-and-drag the Criteria item to position that is far enough up (toward the top of the table) so that the entire list, including Save Button at the bottom, is visible on your screen. You also can press the F11 key in Windows or Control+Command+F keys on Mac to toggle the display the web page in and out of full-screen mode.
▲ Back to Index of Search Tips▲
To associate an existing search with a new or different client:
If you associate a saved search with a client, you can set Navigator Web to automatically search those criteria for you and automatically notify that client (and yourself if desired) of any new results. This is described and demonstrated in the video tutorial "Automatic Search and Notification" under Help in CTI Navigator Web. Click here for a summary of the basic steps.
Click Tools in CTI Navigator Web's frame menu and select “Convert Desktop Matchmaker.” This will open a Conversion Overview screen. After you have read the Conversion Overview, click the Continue button at the bottom of the instructions (or click here for detailed instructions and examples).
The next screen will display a table listing all of your existing desktop Matchmakers. In the gray frame at the top of the table, check which part of the desktop Matchmaker should be used as the source for the client name to be added into the client database of Navigator Web. You can choose the Reference Name, the Description, or the Recipient Email Address to be the source for the client name.
To start converting Matchmakers, either click the Begin button or click on the Reference Name for a particular Matchmaker to start converting that particular Matchmaker. After search criteria and client information from a desktop Matchmaker have been transferred into the Navigator Web database and saved, the desktop Matchmaker will be deleted from the MLS server and will no longer be accessible in CTI Navigator Desktop.
Setting an IDX link to display only search results based on pre-specified criteria requires that a custom profile be programmed and stored on the MLS server by CTI based on a search you created and saved in CTI Navigator. Once CTI has saved your custom profile on the MLS server, you can add the "&profile={YourProfileName}" modifier in your IDX code to display search results based on the criteria you specified in your profile.
To create a customized search profile in CTI Navigator Web: first perform the desired search in CTI Navigator Web and Save the Search with a short descriptive name. Searches saved in CTI Navigator Web are stored associated with your agent name on the MLS server. Send an email to Tom@ctimls.com with the name of your saved search (or searches) and the agent name used to create the search (the name used to sign into CTI Navigator Web). If you associated the search with a client, please indicate that client name also. Include your name and contact information in your email message. It is not required, but you may also list the search criteria used to create each saved search (to help us ensure that the profile we create for you exactly matches all of your desired criteria).
For additional details, select "Setup Customized IDX Search Profiles" on CTI's Help and Tutorials website.
▲ Back to Index of Search Tips▲
On the Home page click Manage Searches to display a list of saved searches
On the Saved Searches screen
check the box to select a particular Search and
then check the “Edit Search/Notify Settings” button at the bottom of the screen
On the Save Search screen
under “Automatic Search and Notify”, click ON and then
under Message, click on the “Compose/Edit Email” button beside Custom
On the New Message screen click the "Template Manager" button
On the Template Manager screen
In the Template list on the left, select “Matchmaker default” and click the Copy button
Edit the subject &/or message
Accept or Change the Template Name (such as to “My Matchmaker default”)
Click Save > Done > Done
On the New Message screen click the Cancel button
On the Save Search screen, either
Click the down-arrow-head button ▼ beside Custom, select your customized message (such as “My Matchmaker default”), and click OK to change the message only for this saved search. Or
Under Message, click the "Matchmaker Default" button beside Template, select your customized message (such as “My Matchmaker default”).
To change the default template for all your future notifications,
click Customize button at top right on the Save Search screen
on the Customize Save Search screen: click the down-arrow-head button ▼ under Message Template, select your customized message (such as “My Matchmaker default”), and then
click OK > OK.
On the Home page click Manage Searches to display a list of saved searches
On the Saved Searches screen
check the box to select a particular Search and
then check the “Edit Search/Notify Settings” button at the bottom of the screen
Under Message Template, click the down-arrow-head button ▼ and select “My Matchmaker default” {or other existing template}
Click OK > OK.
▲ Back to Index of Search & Automatic Notification Tips ▲
To display listings within a distance you specify from a reference property on a Search Criteria Map, you can use the Radius Tool or the "Draw Circle" map tool (described below). The Radius Tool will automatically draw a circle with a specified radius as follows:
You also can use to display all properties within a specified distance from a reference property on a map.
To edit an existing Automatic Search and Notification (such as change the message, report, recipient email address, or search criteria) for an existing client or new client for an existing saved search in CTI Navigator Web:
click the button beside Template to select an existing standard message; or
click the Compose/Edit E-Mail button beside Custom to create and use a Custom message in your automated notifications.
See "To customize the Default Message in Automatic Search Notifications" above for more details.
Note: The Client associated with a Saved Search is NOT automatically notified when Automatic Search and Notification is turned ON. To be available to be automatically notified, Clients must be entered in the Client Notification section of the Saved Search. In addition, only those Clients listed in the box under “Notify Client(s)” will be notified when Notification is turned ON.
For details, see the Automatic Search and Notification tutorial under Help in CTI Navigator Web.
▲ Back to Index of Search & Automatic Notification Tips ▲
The default message template for Matchmaker Automatic Notifications uses your default email signature in CTI Navigator Web. Therefore, if you selected the default message in your saved search auto notifications, any changes to your default email signature it will also be displayed in your signature in Auto Notifications. For instructions on how to edit your signature, see "Edit Your Email Signature" in the EMail Tips.
If you created a custom message and signature, see "Edit an Existing Automatic Notification" above.
If you enter multiple email addresses for a client (such as for a couple), all those addresses (up to 4) are added under the Client tab in the Address Book in CTI Navigator Web. You can then send a personal message or set Auto-notification to go to any (or all) of these email addresses.
To set auto-notifications to go to more than one email address for a client:
▲ Back to Index of Search & Automatic Notification Tips ▲
To extend the expiration date for one or more "Automatic Search and Notifications":
Since Status always indicates the current status of a listing, searching for Status = Active only produces listings that are currently active. A listing's status may change from Active to other statuses (such as contingent, pending or withdrawn) and back to Active (or to sold, expired or other status) during any period of time. Therefore, to find all listings that were Active (at least once) within a specified period in the past (regardless of current status), include the following criteria in your Search criteria:
You can then click the Statistics button and select Summary Statistics in CTI Navigator Web to see automatically calculated days on market, average, median and dollar volume values of the properties that match those search criteria.
Remote and newly developed roads and subdivisions may not be recorded on global mapping programs such as Bing, Google, and Yahoo Maps. However, you may still be able to locate such properties in CTI Navigator Web. To do so, locate the road, highway intersection or another subdivision nearest to the property on the map. Then change the view from Road to Aerial, and search for the property by scrolling and zooming in. This approach is especially useful when trying to enter the Map Location for a new listing in a new development that is not yet recorded on the Road map.
To measure the distance between properties (or points of interest) on a Search Criteria Map, use the "Draw Circle" tool. This tool dynamically displays a radius measurement as you drag the cursor over the map as follows.
To clear an area selection figure (circle, rectangle or polygon) drawn on a map, click on the
round red X
marker at the starting point where you originally clicked on the map. To
accurately hit the marker, it may help to zoom in closer. Area selection figures
can overlap or be drawn inside one another ("stacked") on the map.
To modify, delete or show the Search Criteria for an existing "Automatic Search and Notification" in CTI Navigator Web:
. ▲ Back to Index of Search & Automatic Notification Tips ▲
A listing is considered off the market once its status is changed to any status other than Active. Hence the "Off Market Cutoff Date" varies by status - it is the Close Date for SOLDS or Withdrawns, the Contract Date (or Effective Date) for Pending and Contingents, the Expiration Date for Expireds, but today's date for Actives. If you need to include both Active and Sold or Expired results in the same search, use the Off Market Cutoff Date instead of Close Date in your search criteria.
"Days on Market" (DOM) indicates the number of days a listing was available for purchase. Because a listing is not available for purchase in the time period between its Contract Date (see note below) and the Close Date, its DOM ends on the Contract Date (not the Close Date). Therefore the DOM for Contingent, Pending and SOLD listings is calculated in CTI Navigator as the number of days between the List Date and the Contract Date (excluding the days until a contracted sale actually closes). Of course, DOM for Withdrawn and Expireds is from List Date to date withdrawn or expired respectively. DOM for Actives is from List Date to today's date.
In preparing market reports, note that the Days On Market for SOLD properties ends on the Contract Date, not on the Off Market Cutoff or Close Date (which can be several months after the Contract Date). To see only SOLD properties that were contracted (not necessarily closed) during a particular time period, use the Contract Date rather than Off Market Cutoff Date in your search criteria.
To easily see the time periods involved for Sold properties, you can add List Date, Contract Date, Close Date, and Off Market Date columns to your search results table and then sort by Contract Date. Note that the DOM for these listings will exactly match the number of days between their List Date and Contract Date. The average DOM for these listings will be shown on any standard report on which you enable "Show CMA Statistics." These statistics only apply to these specific listing numbers.
To use your computer to calculate the number of days between the List Data and Close Date, you first add columns with the date information to your search results table. (For repeated use, save the search results table format.) Then export this table from CTI Navigator Desktop and import it into a spreadsheet that you setup to calculate the differences and any other statistics for you. Be sure to use the date format for the cells in the spreadsheet containing dates.
Note: If you do not have Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet program, there are several free spreadsheet programs available (such as Apache OpenOffice Calc , Google Docs, Excel Online, Kingsoft Spreedsheets, Zoho Sheet) .
Use Quick Find on the Home Page if you know the MLS#, Street Address, Condo Name, or Owner’s Name for desired listings.
By MLS Number. To quickly find a listing by MLS#, enter its number in the box under the MLS Number tab in Quick Find. Click Go to display a one-line report for that property. To find multiple listings by number, enter a comma between each MLS#.
By Owner Name. To quickly find listings by Owner Name, click the Browse button beside Go. Enter at least the first few letters of the Owner’s name and then click the "Show Matches" button to display a list of those owners' properties. Check the desired properties and click the OK button to automatically transfer the MLS# for those selected properties into the MLS Number box in Quick Find. These will be added to any MLS#s already in this box Then click Go.
By Street Address. Select the Street Address tab in Quick Find, click and enter the property Address Number in the first box. Click the down arrow button to enter a street Direction if this is appropriate. Then click and enter the Street Name, Condo Name, or partial name, in the last box. (Do not include street type designations such as Rd, St, Av.) To see all listings on a street or in a Condo complex, leave the Address Number box blank. Click “Show Active Listings Only” if you want to see only active listings with that address. Then click either the GO button or the appropriate Action menu button or icon. The GO button will open a standard search results screen. Action buttons link to supplemental functions that are not search related. Typical Actions include reporting an error in a listing, scheduling a Showing appointment, or managing Contracts and Transaction Forms.
If you do not know or are not sure about the MLS#, Street Address or Owner’s Name, use the “Search Listings” shortcut in the middle section of the Home page instead of Quick Find. This will open a Search screen with Residential and Active already selected. You can then change or specify additional criteria to help find the desired listing.
See the tutorial video "Home Page Shortcuts" for a demonstration of using Quick Find.
To save your customized search criteria to include the values you have selected, click the Save Search button at the bottom of the search screen and give your search a meaningful name. You can then easily reopen that search by clicking the My Searches button at the top of the search screen. When you save a search, you can associate it with a custom table format (if you have created one), and if desired, you also can associate it with a client.
For details on using Saved Searches, see "Using Search Templates and Saved Searches" in the Related Web Page Links at the bottom of this web page.
To save a custom formatted Search Results Table, click on the “Save/Manage Tables” button at the bottom of of a results screen, and then enter a brief descriptive Name. To open a customized table that you previously saved, click on the Tables button at the top of a Search Results screen, and select the desired table under “Personal Result Tables.”
See also "Customize the Format of a Table" in General Usage Tips .
CTI Navigator Web allows you to save a customized "Personal Result" Table format as part of the default search results Screen Layout for different "Search Types". Click the "Customize" button on the Search Results screen to set either the Current Screen Layout as the Default, or the Current Table as the Default, or set both the Current Layout and Table as the Default. On this same screen you also can independently re-set either the table format or the screen layout back to its System Default.
Customization of a Search Results screen sets the Default Table and Layout for the particular "Search Type" currently displayed on the Results screen. Search Results of Search Types for which you have not customized the screen will open with their System Default Table format and Screen Layout. However, if you save a table format with saved search criteria, search results based on those saved search criteria will display in the saved table format (rather than in the default format).
There can be only one default screen Layout (which positions the table, report and/or map on the search results screen) that is common to all Search Types. But you can save different Table formats as your default table for different Search Types.
See also Customize the Format of a Table in General Usage Tips .
After customizing a search, you can easily save it if you would like to be able to re-use it later. To save the list of criteria as a blank template (with few or no values pre-selected) that can serve as a starting point for special searches, click the Save Template button at the top of the search screen and give your template a meaningful name. You can then easily reopen that list of criteria (which will include your preferred criteria) by clicking the Search Templates button at the top of the search screen and selecting from your "Personal Template" list.
For details on using Search Templates, see "Using Search Templates and Saved Searches" in the Related_Web_Page_Links at the bottom of this web page.
▲ Back to Index of Search & Automatic Notification Tips ▲
To Save a New Search, Associate it with a Client, and Activate Auto-notification:
For details and demonstration, see the video tutorial "Automatic Search and Notification" under Help in CTI Navigator Web.
▲ Back to Index of Search & Automatic Notification Tips ▲
To search for any of several values of a single search criterion, set the filter for that criterion to "Anywhere", and separate the desired items with a comma. For example, to search for Street Names that contain either "Mountain Top" or "Ridge" or both, set the Street Name filter to Anywhere and enter "mountain top, ridge". If you enter "mountain top ridge" with no comma separator, only streets with all three words together in the same order in the name would match.
To view expired listings other than your own, always use "Status Date" instead of "Expiration Date" in your search criteria. If you use Expiration Date, you will get only your own listings that have expired in the date range specified.
The general guidelines for searching
To see a list of documents attached to a listing, open the Search Details screen and click the Documents button on the left.
A listing's history is available on the Search Details screen. To see the previous listing history of a property, check the "Use tax ID to find more history information" at the top of the listing Details screen.
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◄ Go To Composite Index of ALL Tech Tips ►
rev. 05.15.2016