Helpful Tips #2

Working with the Decks in Site Analysis:

Decks: The left-hand side of the Site Analysis page contains Decks used to organize work flow. Each Deck provides different functions and access to the various databases in Site Analysis.

Preference Deck: When you arrive at Site Analysis select the Preference Deck. This is an opportunity for you to set your preferred defaults for your reports. The Report Subtitle is the opportunity for you to automatically include your name on all reports. The Upload Report Logo allows you to have your company logo on all reports in place of the STDBonline logo. (We recommend that the logo be configured to be no larger than 150 x 150 pixels) The Study Area Format lets you set your preferred study area default to radii, donuts, or drive times (Note: you can always change this default when you create a study area). The Report Format lets you choose to set the default for Excel or PDF reports. Setting the preferences will save you time and greatly improve the personalized appearance of your report.

Step1: Define My Project Deck: This is the deck where you will create Projects and Study Areas for working with your clients or prospects. There are three buttons on the Deck the first time you select the Deck. Create New Projects, Add Study Area to Current Project, and Switch Projects. If you have created a Project previously, you will see the most recent Project and the Study Areas listed when you select Define My Project Deck.

Create New Project Button: Creating a Project is best described as a cabinet drawer which will contain one or more Study Areas. You can group Study Areas into projects according to theme, area, time, customer, or other categories that fit your needs.

Examples:

  • a. A project called “Office Client” with study areas individually analyzing different locations.

  • b. A project called “Listings” with a different study area for each listing.

Add Study Area to Current Project Button:

After you create a Project, you add Study Areas which you want to reside in the same Project (cabinet drawer). You may add four drug store locations to a Project named Drug Stores, or have an office building, land, and other properties owned by the client with the Project named for the client, such as Project Mr. Smith.

A study area defines a boundary analyzed in a report and takes the place of “geographies” in the former STDB platform. There are several ways to define study areas including rings (radii), donut rings (bands), drive-time polygons, shape files (special files that can be uploaded directly into the map), hand drawn shapes, or standard geographic areas (formal geographies under the former STDB platform). Use any combination of these study area types to provide a side-by-side comparison of a specific site to the region in which it resides.

Switch Projects Button: This button is used to quickly move from one Project to another Project just as you would move from one cabinet drawer to another.

Working with Projects: Once you have created Projects and added one or more Study Areas, you will see all those Study Areas listed in the Project drawer. You can view the Study Area(s) by checking the View box, or you can click on the Study Area to zoom to it and see the Study Area. You may also edit or delete the Study Areas in a Project at any time.

Step 2: Choose Reports and Maps Deck:

Report and Map Packages: All reports and maps are organized by categories to allow you to easily select the type of reports you want to generate for a Study Area. When you select a category, you will see a list box of all the reports contained in that category available to generate. There is also a sample button next to each report which allows you to view a sample of the report and explains the data and other information used to create the report. Below the list box of reports are two buttons, Select Reports and Previous Reports and Maps.

Select Reports Button: When you select this button, a large floating Widget will open over the map. The Widget will guide you through the steps of selecting the reports or maps you want to generate. It will use your preferences to add your subtitle or you may change it. You can also choose to email the reports to someone else by adding an email address before you choose to run the reports. A preview is available for most reports by clicking on the rectangular icon located to the right of the report name.

Previous Reports and Maps Button: Clicking this button also opens up a floating Widget over the map which has all the previous report orders generated for you organized by Projects. Selecting a Project and clicking the Show Orders Button below will provide a list of all previous orders generated in the Project. Highlight any order and click the Show Orders Button and all the reports previously created will be listed below for you. Reports are maintained within the system for up to sixty days.

Map Layers, Businesses, Aerials Deck:

Map Layers, Businesses, Aerials Deck: This Deck is the location of many features available to view on the mapping area of Site Analysis.

Map Types: Open this to change the street map to an aerial map or a hybrid which overlays streets on the aerial map.

Businesses: Use this layer to turn on 15 different categories of business data on the map, aerial, or hybrid. The business data is contained in the STDBonline Analysis databases and is updated quarterly. An example would be selecting Banks will show the location of all the Banks and include the name of the bank next to the location point. The database may also be searched for other business types by going to the Report deck and selecting Business Locators or Extractor reports and choosing “Custom NAICS Business Locator/Extract and clicking “edit”.

Borders: This layer allows you to view block groups, census tracts, congressional districts, cities, counties, CBSAs, and states.

STDB Members: This layer has the CCIM Designees, candidates, and Instructors in the visible are on the map. It is intended to provide you with names of real estate professionals in a given area.