Due to popular demand, we have created the ListingWare Application Programming Interface (API). Using this method, you can create your own custom searches, listing displays, or links directly into ListingWare.

ListingWare API

4/25/2007, 1 hour, 18 minutes: This webinar goes in-depth on the API and how you can customize your service with it. Sound quality is pretty good. Shows older version of ListingWare web site, but info is the same. We were trying out a service from Skype called Skypecast for broadcasting the audio online - there is one hitch about midway through that shows they still had some bugs in the privacy area, so please forgive that.

Where Do I Start?
Everything is built on your base URL - the address that identifies your account. It is in the form of:

http://membername.servicename.com/search/
(you received this when the account was created)

http://www.yourname.com/search/
(this is only if WE are hosting your domain name here)

What's Next?

Next, you add the particular page name that you're trying to access, which would be one of four pages:

index.cfm (starting criteria page)
map.cfm (map search page)
searchresults.cfm (standard thumbnail view page)
searchdetail.cfm (only for individual listing display)

And Then...

After the page name, you add a question mark, followed by the query string/URL parameters, each separated by the ampersand sign (&):

?Parameter1=XXXX&Parameter2=YYYY&Parameter3=ZZZZ

Now, The Good Stuff...

Here are the various parameters you can put into the query string. All parameters are optional.

For parameters with SPACES, such as city names, replace spaces with a plus sign (+). Example: 'East Point' becomes 'East+Point'.

For parameters with APOSTROPHES, such as subdivisions, replace single apostophes with two consecutive apostophes (''). Example: O'Dell's Run becomes O''Dell''s Run. Make sure that you use two apostrophes, NOT the double quote symbol.

Special Parameter: LeadSource
There is an additional parameter available for tracking where Leads come from called LeadSource. This can be used to differentiate separate implementations of your central URL. If you've got more than one web site where your URL is plugged in, you can track it! It's also automatic for your LeadDirector tracking of your Agent Sub-Accounts (all of their unique URLs). For example:

http://membername.servicename.com/search/index.cfm?LeadSource=MainWebSite
http://membername.servicename.com/search/index.cfm?LeadSource=GoogleAd

With this, you'll be able to track the effectiveness of ALL of your IDX implementations!

Special Note: The Evils of 'Copy and Paste' (Updated 5/22/08)
As you use the API, you may also encounter some additional URL parameters - either CFID/CFToken or JSessionID. These are two special variables related to ColdFusion, which is the web application language used to create ListingWare. DO NOT include these in your links or frames, as they are added automatically by ColdFusion only when necessary. They are used for tracking specific user visits or "Sessions", so if you include them, it could corrupt your current site visitor's Session, causing things such as making visitors register multiple times or making the system "think" that everyone is already registered and not accepting ANY new registrations!

Some people who use the API like to run queries and then just copy and paste the full URL into their web site. This can introduce the CFID/CFToken or JSessionID, as well as adding the other automatic and/or default parameters to the URL unnecessarily. It's better if you just use the parameters that are needed for your particular query.

API Examples
You can use these parameters to either create custom searches that appear at the click of a button or link, or tailor the starting search page so that certain parameters are pre-selected. These examples work with any of our versions. Click on these examples and then look at the URL in the browser's address bar for the breakdown.