Attribution fields carry the courtesy of line that MLS display rules require. When one imports as empty, it is nearly always because that field is empty in your feed, since MLSImport stores each field exactly as the MLS sends it and never fills one field from another.
Three things have to be true for the text to appear: the field holds a value in the feed, it is selected and not hidden in MLSImport, and your theme is showing the section that prints it.
Attribution is several separate fields
AttributionContact is the RESO field most boards designate for it. Alongside it sit ListAgentFullName, ListAgentMlsId, ListOfficeName, ListOfficeMlsId and often a locally named variant such as a board prefixed listing attribution field.
These are independent. Listing agent does not fall back to listing office, and a board prefixed attribution field is not a copy of the standard one. Whichever your MLS populates is the one with data, and the others import as empty.
Setting them up
- Open MLS Import Settings, then Select Import fields.
- Search for
attributionand switch on Import it? for every attribution field your feed offers, including any board prefixed one. - Make sure Hidden from Public? is unticked for them. A hidden field is imported and stored but never printed on the front end.
- Give each a Front End Label that reads the way the MLS requires, for example
Courtesy of. - Run the import task again. Attribution is written when a listing is imported, so properties already on the site do not gain it until they are re-imported.
Expected result: open one of those properties in wp-admin and the field holds text. If it does, the data side is done and anything still missing is display.
Test with ListOfficeName and ListAgentFullName first. They are populated on nearly every feed, so if those two arrive and your attribution field does not, the attribution field is genuinely empty in your data rather than misconfigured.
When the value is there and nothing shows
- The theme’s details section is switched off. Imported fields are printed inside the theme’s details or additional features block. With that block disabled in the theme options, nothing in it renders.
- Custom CSS is hiding it. A rule setting the details section to
display: noneis a common leftover from a design change and hides the section even when it is enabled and full. - The field is marked hidden. Re-check the Hidden from Public? column, then re-import, since that flag is applied at import time.
- You are looking at a property imported earlier. Compare against a property imported after the change before concluding anything.
When the field is genuinely empty
MLSImport cannot create attribution text that the MLS does not send. Ask your MLS which field on your feed carries the required attribution, since boards differ and some publish it only in a local field.
Once you know the field name, switch it on in Select Import fields like any other. A board prefixed field works exactly the same way as a standard one.
Display rules are set by your MLS and they are checked. Confirm the exact wording and placement your board requires before designing around it, rather than assuming the standard courtesy of line is enough.
Frequently asked questions
Can MLSImport build the attribution line from the agent and office fields?
No. It imports fields as they are and does not compose new values. If you need a combined line, print the individual fields in your theme template in the order your MLS requires.
Do I have to show attribution on every listing?
That is your MLS’s rule, not ours, and most boards require it wherever listings are displayed. Ask your board for its current display requirements in writing.
Why is attribution filled on some listings and empty on others?
Because it is filled in on some listings and not others at the source. The field is optional in many boards’ data entry, so coverage varies by office rather than by anything on your site.
Can I put the attribution somewhere other than the details block?
Yes, by mapping the field to a theme field that prints where you want it, using the Property Detail Field (post meta) column. The themes do not offer a way to lift one row out of their details block.
Related
- The Select Import fields screen
- Understanding RESO fields
- Mapping MLS fields to Houzez fields
- Mapping for WpResidence, WpEstate and Real Homes
Send us a listing where you expect attribution text and we will check what your feed returns for it.