The three themes in the WpResidence, WpEstate and Real Homes family all take mapped MLS fields through the same three columns on Select Import fields, but each one puts an unmapped field in a different place. This page covers what to expect on each.
Houzez works differently enough to have its own page.
The three routes, on every theme
- Property Detail Field (post meta) filled in: the value is written to that meta key.
- Category set to a taxonomy: the value becomes a term there, with the Front End Label used as a prefix on the term text. Type
noneas the label to get the bare value. - Neither: the field is stored under its MLS field name in lower case, and the theme decides how to show it.
Route three is where the themes part company, and it is the route most fields take.
WpResidence and WpEstate
An unmapped field that is switched on and not hidden is registered in the theme’s own custom fields list, using your Front End Label as its label. The theme then renders it in the property details block.
The drag order is honoured on WpResidence, where your position in the field list becomes the registered field’s order and the details block follows it. On WpEstate it is not: fields are appended to the theme’s list in the order the plugin walks them, so moving a row on Select Import fields does not move it on the property page there.
Registration has a second effect worth knowing. WpResidence builds its advanced search criteria from that same custom fields list, so a field you register becomes selectable when you configure what the search form searches on. WpResidence also leaves a field out of that list when you have pointed its Category column at a taxonomy, since the value is going there instead.
Ticking Hidden from Public? removes the field from the theme’s list. The value is still imported and still stored, so you can read it on the property in wp-admin, and visitors do not see it.
The theme reads a registered custom field from the lower case version of the MLS field name, so PoolFeatures is stored and read as poolfeatures. When you write your own template code or a query, use the lower case form.
Real Homes
An unmapped field that is switched on and not hidden joins the theme’s additional details list on the property, using your Front End Label as the row label and your drag order as its position. Real Homes prints that list in its own details section.
A hidden field is instead stored as a plain meta key named after its label in lower case, imported and not displayed.
One thing to know on WpEstate
The Property Detail Field (post meta) column does not currently take effect on WpEstate. Every imported field is stored under its MLS field name in lower case, so on that theme, work with the lower case name rather than a key of your own choosing.
Taxonomy mapping through the Category column does work on WpEstate for the core fields that the plugin routes to taxonomies, such as city, county, status and property type.
Feature style fields
RESO fields that hold a list, such as InteriorFeatures, ExteriorFeatures and Appliances, are routed to the theme’s features taxonomy rather than to meta, and each value in the list becomes its own feature term. Yes and no fields such as WaterfrontYN and BasementYN become a single named feature, for example Has Waterfront, only when the answer is yes.
On WpEstate, features are also written as flags on the property and added to the theme’s own feature list so the search checkboxes know about them.
Changing a mapping never rewrites properties you have already imported. The value is placed when the listing is written, so run the import task again after any change here, and check one property before running the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Where does my new field appear on the property page?
In the theme’s details or features block, in the position you gave it in the field list. There is no per field placement control in any of these themes, so a value that must appear somewhere specific has to be mapped into a theme field that already prints there.
Can I rename a field after importing without re-importing?
Renaming updates the theme’s own field registry immediately, so the new label shows on properties that read their label from it. A field stored with its label, such as the Real Homes details list, keeps the old wording until the task runs again.
Why is my field showing the value twice?
Because it is arriving by two routes. This happens when the same MLS field is both mapped to a meta key the theme prints and left in the theme’s own list. Clear one of them.
Do these mappings survive a theme update?
The mappings live in MLSImport, so they do. What can be lost is the theme side registry if the theme resets its options, in which case saving any field on Select Import fields rebuilds it.
Related
- The Select Import fields screen
- Mapping MLS fields to Houzez fields
- Search fields not populating as expected
- MLSImport with WpResidence
Tell us your theme and the field you want displayed, and we will give you the exact settings for that row.