This article is intended to be used by anyone, including photographers (amateur, professional, or otherwise) who are not members of Canopy MLS, who will be providing images for use on a listing entered into Matrix.

 

Table of Contents

• Adding Images to a Listing
• Common Upload Issues
• Virtual Staging and AI Enhanced Images
• Technical Specifications

 

Adding New Images to a New Listing

A total of 48 pictures can be added to a listing in Matrix.  There are multiple ways to begin editing a listing to add photos in Matrix:

• Click the "Add/Edit" tab in the toolbar at the top of the page.  In the "Select a Listing" drop down menu click the listing you are working with, and on the following page click "Manage Photos".
• Hold your mouse cursor over the "My Matrix" tab in the toolbar at the top of the page, then click "My Matrix" in the drop down menu.  Select the listing you are working with, then click "Manage Photos" in the toolbar at the top of the page.
• After editing a listing, on the "Input Succeeded" page click the "Add / Edit Photos" button.

On the Add/Edit Photos page, click the "Browse" button to open your device's file browser, and select one or more images to add to your listing.  Images will be added to the listing in the order they are sorted on your device.  Once all images have appeared you can perform several actions:

• To re-order the images, place your mouse cursor over the "Slot: #" in the tile's title bar (your mouse cursor will appear as a four-way arrow when it is in the correct location), then click-and-drag on that tile to move it to the new location.  Place your mouse cursor between two existing photos, then release the mouse button to place the image there.
• To remove one or more images, place a check in the checkbox of each listing to remove, then click "Delete Checked" at the bottom of the page
• To add a caption to the image, click into the text box beneath the image and begin typing.
• To rotate an image (if needed), click on the image thumbnail to open a larger view.  Use the "Rotate Counter Clockwise" and "Rotate Clockwise" buttons at the top right of this view to change the image's orientation, then click "Save".

Click the "Certify and Save" button at the bottom of this page to save your changes.

 

Copying Images from a Previous Listing

If you previously listed the same property with your current office, you you will be able to copy the images from that listing to your new one.  To be able to copy images your new listing must be saved as "Incomplete" and it must have no photos on it.  To copy the images, open the "Add/Edit Photos" page in any of the ways listed above.  If your listing is Incomplete and has 0 photos, just above the "Browse" button you will see the option to "Click here to import photos from another listing".  Click this link, then enter the MLS number of your previous listing and click "Import Photos".  Once the system is done processing you can make any of the edits described above (such as adding updated photo descriptions), then click "Certify and Save" to complete your work.

 

Common Upload Issues

Occasionally when adding images to a listing an error message that says "We're sorry, your request could not be processed" will appear.  The most common reason you will see this error is if the picture files you are working with are too large for Matrix to handle.  

To determine if this is the case first check the size of your images. 

• To do this on a Windows device: Open the folder where your pictures are saved and right-click on one of the files, then select "Properties".  Click the "Details" tab at the top of the window that appears to check the "Dimensions" of your image.  
• To do this on an Apple device: Open the folder where your pictures are saved, then hold the Ctrl key and click on one of the files, then select "Get Info".  Click to open the "More Info" section to check the "Dimensions" of your image.

Matrix tends to struggle with any image where one of the dimensions exceeds 3000 pixels, so if your images are larger than this you will need to resize your photos yourself in order to add them to the listing.

If your images are not larger than 3000 pixels in either height or width, please contact Canopy MLS Support for assistance.

If your images are more than 3000 pixels tall or wide, follow these steps below for each of your images.  Please note - Apple devices automatically over-write the original images during this process.  If you would like to keep the original large images and have smaller copies to upload to Matrix, you should make copies of your images first, and only follow the steps below for the copies you made.

 

On a Windows device:

• Open the folder where you have the images stored, and right-click on one of the pictures.
• In the menu that appears, hold your mouse over “Open With” and select “Paint” from the menu to the side.
• At the top left of the Paint window that opens, click the “Resize” button.
• In the Resize window, in the “Stretch” area, select “Pixels” instead of “Percentage”
• Look in the Horizontal and Vertical boxes, and change the larger number to 2500. The smaller number will automatically adjust itself. Then click “OK”.
• Click the blue “Save” icon at the top left corner of your window, then close Paint.

Repeat this process for all remaining pictures. Once you are done try uploading the images to your listing again. 

 

On an Apple device:

• Open the folder where you have the images stored, and open an image in "Preview".
• In the toolbar at the top of the page click "Tools", then click "Adjust Size".
• Make sure you have "Pixels" selected (rather than "Percent") to the right of the Width and Height.
• Un-check "Resample Image".  Check "Scale Proportionally".
• Look in the Horizontal and Vertical boxes, and change the larger number to 2500. The smaller number will automatically adjust itself. Then click “OK”.
• Click the "File" menu at the top left, then click “Save” icon at the top left corner of your window, then close Preview.

Repeat this process for all remaining pictures. Once you are done, try uploading the images to your listing again. 

 

Virtual Staging and AI Enhanced Images

Canopy MLS allows using virtually staged an AI-enhanced images on listings, however there are specific rules and policies that must be followed when modifying images digitally.  The Canopy Dictionary defines Virtual Staging as "Using photo editing software to create a photo or conceptual rendering of what a room and/or property could look like, if it were staged or lived in."

 

To see the media rules, please refer to the Canopy Rules and Regulations, section 1.18.1.  You may find our support center article describing Digital, Virtually Staged, and AI-enhanced Images and Unauthorized Use of Listing Content more informative, as it is a more comprehensive guide to all of our photo rules and policies.

 

The Canopy MLS Virtually Staged and AI-enhanced Images policy can be summarized as:

• Images cannot be altered to add anything that isn’t possible, like views out of a window that don’t really exist.
• Images cannot be altered to remove anything that exists (like power lines or a cell tower).
• Images cannot be altered to remove flaws in the property.
• Virtually staged and AI-enhanced images must have a label or “watermark” on the image itself disclosing this, adding it only in the captions is not allowed.
• When added to listings, images modified in these ways must be immediately adjacent to the original image.  The original may appear before or after the modified version.
   

Technical Specifications

• File Type: Matrix only accepts images that are either .jpg or .jpeg.  Other file types (even if they are built on the .jpg standard, such as .png) will not be accepted by the system.
• File Size: The maximum file size of any specific image is 6MB.  Images larger than this will be rejected by the MLS.
• Image Dimensions: Matrix saves all listing images at 2048 pixels wide x 1536 pixels tall, so this is the recommended minimum size.  The maximum dimensions that Matrix will accept are 3000 pixels by 3000 pixels.  Images where either dimension is larger than 3000 pixels may fail to upload.
  • Note: Listings that are not in the exact ratio of 2048x1536 pixels (4 parts wide to 3 parts tall) but both dimensions are larger than these numbers may be highlighted by the system as being “smaller than the recommended minimum.”  This is simply an indication that the image in use has had white space added either to the sides or to the top and bottom of the image in order to fill the frame and bring the dimensions into the 4x3 ratio without skewing the actual image itself.  Images like this can be used without any issues or errors.
• Color Representation: Matrix processes all images using the sRGB color profile. Images with no Color Representation specified may be used, but images with an “Uncalibrated” Color Representation or any other listed standard may be “color shifted” or lose quality during upload.

  • sRGB example:	Uncalibrated example: