Aloha and Welcome
Looking for HIS RETS Documentation?This page contains instructions on how to customize your IDX experience.
This page contains information that will help you through the basics of HIS IDX3 imlpementation, as well as introduce some power-user-type actions that will help you stand out. Please send this page to your webmaster. If you are building your site yourself, or if HIS is building your site for you, contact our support team (808)599-4224 support@hiinfo.com
GETTING STARTED - BASIC IMPLEMENTATION
How to implement this IDX on your site
HIS recommends that you use an iframe or a frame to display this IDX on your site. Due to the nature of the content and the nature of iframes, you should use some javascript to control the look of the iframe. Please see this code:
<iframe src="YOURIDXURL" id="the_iframe" width="100%" height="3000px" frameborder="0"
onload="window.scrollTo(0, 0);"></iframe>
Please note that the "onload" command will cause the parent window to scroll back to the top of the page when the content of the iframe finishes loading. This helps when the user clicks a link low in the content and the iframe reloads but the parent does not. This will reduce confusion for the user by making it seem as though the entire page is reloading.
This iframe method is certainly not your only option, but our experience suggests it is the best balance between ease of use and consistency in user experience.
How to implement this IDX in WordPress
The best way to do it is to create a page, and use the iframe technique mentioned in the topic above. Please note... the free and paid hosted WordPress websites will strip out some HTML code (including iframe code) if you put it on your pages. In these cases, you won't be able to iframe the page. You'll be limited to linking to the IDX from your site. While it is not an especially integrated experience for your users, you'll still be able to use the IDX features to the fullest extent.
For WordPress installations on your own hosting, you will be able to use the iframe method described above. You can type in the <iframe> code directly onto the page, or you can type it directly onto your theme files.
Styling and CSS Frameworks
IDX3 uses Twitter's Bootstrap Framework for the majority of the elements on the screen. You will be able to control the CSS of your IDX3 by linking your own CSS file to your IDX using your IDX control panel and logging in with the user/pass that was provided to you when you first signed up. By linking your CSS file, you will effectively disable default styling and you'll be faced with a nearly un-styled page. You'll be able to adjust your styling from there. HIS recommends that you copy the existing stylesheet located here and copy it to your own CSS file. You can then remove/replace whatever CSS you'd like without having to start from scratch.
You will not have access to change the HTML layout. Instead, all your styling will be done through CSS.
ADVANCED IMPLEMENTATION
How to build a "quick search" form on another page
There are many ways to do this, and each way requires some amount of server-side or client-side code. If you don't understand what is in this answer, please contact your webmaster. HIS recommends that you use GET to construct the iframe/frame SRC URL.
The starting page will have a form that looks like this:
<form action="YourFilePath" method="GET">
<input type="hidden" name="quicksearch" value="true"/><br>
<!--this hidden field will tell the destination URL that you are about to give it some values-->
<!--YOUR FORM HERE. see below for available field names and values.-->
</form>
This is what the PHP on the destination page may look like
<?php
$idxid = 'YOURIDXID';
$island = 4;
//4 is kauai, 3 is big island, 2 is maui, 1 is oahu.
$idxurl = 'http://idx.hawaiiinformation.com/search?idxid='.$idxid;
$detailsurl = 'http://idx.hawaiiinformation.com/details?idxid='.$idxid;
$qstring = $_SERVER['QUERY_STRING'];
if ($_GET['src']=='linkdetail')
//use this in your link's URL to specify that you're looking for detail page
{
$idxurl = $detailsurl.'&'.$qstring;
}
elseif ($_GET['quicksearch']=='true')
//use this in your link's URL to specify that you'd like to run a query
{
$idxurl = $idxurl.'&'.$qstring;$title="Quick Search Results";
}
else
//the default. This will display the default IDX URL specified above
{
$idxurl = $idxurl.'&island='.$island;
}
?>
<iframe src="<?php echo $idxurl;?>" frameborder=0 width=100% height=3500px onload="window.scrollTo(0, 0);"></iframe>
You can do something similar with javascript if you only have client side access.
<script>
function loadidx(idxid,island)
{
//coming soon
}
</script>
<iframe src="" id="the_iframe" width="100%" height="3000px" frameborder="0"
onload="window.scrollTo(0, 0);loadidx('YOURIDXID',4)"></iframe>
IMPORTANT NOTE
You'll notice that in the <iframe> above, the src is blank and the function "loadidx()" has two values. the first is the IDXID given to you by HIS, the other is your preferred island.
1 for Oahu. 2 for Maui. 3 for Big Island. 4 for Kauai. 0 for all islands.
Power-User tips
Share pre-made links in social media
If you want to share a specific search result with anyone via social media (email, Facebook, Twitter), you can do so quite easily. Simply use your IDX to perform a search or find a property detail page and then copy the URL of the page you'd like to share and paste it into an email or on a social media platform. If you're limited on characters or if you want to display a "prettier" URL, you can use a service like bit.ly and shrink your URL. You'll be able to post this shortened URL on your social media outlets to share with your public. The IDX will be branded with your information.
Make QR codes for "for sale" signs
Show off your technical savvy by displaying QR codes directly on your home-front signs or anywhere on hard-copy print materials. Simply use your IDX to find the property in question and copy the URL. You'll then use a QR code generator like kaywa and paste the URL you copied into the on-screen tool. You'll then be presented with a QR code graphic which you can take and paste into any print material or print out a big version to add to your signage. Users can then see a branded details page on their smartphone.
Make accounts for EXISTING clients
With a FULL IDX, you'll be able to create an account for your client and the pre-select listings for them that you think they would like. You can then give your client access to the account so that they can review the listings you have chosen for them.
Once your client has access, you'll be able to see what listings they have bookmarked, and what searches they have saved so that you can have a better idea of what they are looking for when you're not around.
IDX - CUSTOMIZE YOUR IDX
How to change the styling (through CSS)
You can submit the URL of your own CSS file and we will insert it into your site for you. You can then write your own CSS and control the styling of the IDX yourself. Email the URL of your CSS file to our support team and we'll link it into your site for you.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Submitting your CSS file will cause the original CSS to be completely wiped out. HIS suggests that you copy the existing CSS to your CSS file and then manipulate it from there if you are making small changes.
How to create custom links
You can create custom links to immediately run pre-made specific searches in your idx. For example:
Single Family Homes in South Kohala between $600k and $650k
The corresponding URL will look like this:
http://idx.hawaiiinformation.com/search?idxid=<YOURIDXID>&island=3&District=36&form=RES&minprice=600000&maxprice=650000
You can use the fields listed below to build your custom query. Please note the "required" column in the table below.
Fields that can be queried
There are more fields available and we will continue to add fields as they go live. As you are using the IDX, you'll be able to view the source HTML code, and you'll be able take the "NAME" attribute of the fields you see and use them to construct your links or your quicksearch form.
| Field Name | GET Name | Values | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your Unique Identifier | idxid | string | YES | this value will be included when you sign up for service. Submitting the wrong IDXID will cause your IDX to malfunction, or display the wrong agent's branding. |
| Subdivision | subdivision | string | no | |
| Minimum Bedrooms | minbeds | integer | no | |
| Maximum Bedrooms | maxbeds | integer | no | |
| Minimum Price | minprice | integer | no | do not include commas or dollar sign |
| Maximum Price | maxprice | integer | no | |
| Island | island | integer | maybe | required when specifying district, subdivision, and project name. |
| District | District | integer | maybe | these are the numerical values of individual districts and is derived from the taxkey number. This number is the first two digits in the taxkey. For example, the district of North Kohala has a value of 35 while the district of Lihue has a value of 43. in order for this field to be correctly pre-polulated in the select form, you need to also include the island value. Big island:
Kauai:
|
| Subdivision | subdivision | string | no | This is the official spelling of subdivisions in the public record. You can submit partial spellings of your subdivisions. For example: "Hawaiian Para" for "Hawaiian Paradise Park". The IDX will search for properties where subdivision contains the string "Hawaiian Para" ignoring capitalization. In order for this field to be correctly pre-polupated in the select form, you need to also include the District value and you must spell out the entire subdivision name. While searching using partial names will work, auto-populating the subdivision name in the subdivision field box requires you to spell out the entire subdivision name, and use correct capitalization. |
| Condo Project | project | string | no | This is the official spelling of condo projects in the public record. In order for this field to be correctly pre-polupated in the select form, you need to also include the District value. Like the subdivision field above, partial spelling will work for searching but in order for the condo project field to correctly pre-populate in the form, the full spelling must be used along with correct capitalization. |
| Minimum Bathrooms | minbaths | integer | no | |
| Maximum Bathrooms | maxbaths | integer | no | |
| REO/SS/Preforeclosure | ssreopf | string | no | ssreopf=any ==>any status |
| Property Type | form | string | no | form=RES ==>Single Family It is possible for one property to have multiple property types. However, you can only query one property type at a time, or all of them at once. |
| Sort By | sorttype | string | no | default is sort by price. available options: |
| Sort Direction | sortdir | string | no | default is desc. available options: sortdir = desc ==>descending sortdir = asc ==>ascending |
| Results View | resultview | string | no | default: list. available options: |
| Listings by a specific Agent | listorid | integer | no | type in the id number for the listing agent |
| Listings by a specific office | officeid | integer | no | type in the id number for the listing office |
| Oceanfront | oceanfront | char | no | NULL==>ANY Y==>Only oceanfront listings N==>Exclude oceanfront Listings |
| Property View | view | string | no | here's what a "select" box would look like: <select name="view" class="select view-select searchform-select"> |