Look Ups 

Many fields in NTREIS MLS are driven by list boxes.  The “Kitchen Equipment” in the referenced above is one example.  Others include Status, Area, etc., and also include simple ‘Null/Yes/No’ fields, such as ‘Furnished’.  The ‘Lookups’ worksheet on the “NTREIS_RETS_Info_2.xls” attachment has a list of all the fields driven by list boxes, including features.  The ‘TypeValue’ and ‘SortKey’ are two columns added by NTREIS.  The ‘TypeValue’ is to help NTREIS Staff know if it is an actual value, or the name of the field/feature group.  If you sort the data in this table by ‘SchemaName’ and ‘Sortkey’, it will order the data by the fields with the name of the field/feature group at the top.  Again, ‘TypeValue’ and ‘SortKey’ are fields added by NTREIS Staff to make it easier to work with this data.

Compact and Compact De-coded

RETS allows you to download the data as either Compact or Compact De-Coded.  The first option downloads the codes used for the data, i.e. ‘CONBRICK’, and the second option would be in user-friendly terms, i.e. ‘Brick Construction’. 

Downloading in the Compact form allows for smaller and faster downloads.  Then you have to de-code the data yourself, using either the lookups available in the metadata or by using the ‘Lookups’ worksheet on the “NTREIS_RETS_Info_2.xls”.  Using the metadata is best as the ‘Lookups’ worksheet is not always current.

Downloading in Compact De-Coded requires downloading more data.  The size of the file ill is larger and takes more time to download, but you do not have to use the Lookups to change the data into user-friendly names.

Updated: 2/19/2008