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A research request is a question Ploti answers from start to finish from official county and city records, collecting any data it doesn’t have yet. To create one, choose Research request on Home, describe in plain words what you want to find out and where, and select Check data & start. Name the place, the criteria and what you’ll use the answer for. Ploti works out which records it needs from that. How a research request works covers what happens after you submit.

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Open the form

On Home, choose Research request, or select New research request on your list of research requests. The form has three steps: your goal, supporting documents, and outside sources. Only the goal is required.

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Step 1: Describe the goal

The first step asks What are you trying to find out? Ploti takes the request’s title from your first line and the places from what you write, so name them. A strong request answers four questions:
  1. What decision are you making? Site selection, acquisition, underwriting, market entry, entitlement, outreach, or another goal.
  2. Where should Ploti research? Name a market, jurisdiction, corridor, address, portfolio, or other study area.
  3. What criteria matter? Include thresholds, exclusions, rankings, and definitions that could change the result.
  4. What should the deliverable contain? Ask for a map, comparison table, ranked list, memo, cited ordinance answer, file, or a combination.

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Example

State how Ploti should handle uncertainty. For example: preserve missing values, distinguish facts from assumptions, and cite regulatory conclusions.

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Step 2: Add documents

Attach anything that defines the work or adds evidence:
  • Client or investment briefs
  • Offering memoranda and site packages
  • PDFs and Word documents
  • Spreadsheets, CSVs, JSON, or GeoJSON
  • Maps, screenshots, and images
Files can be up to 100 MB each. This step is optional.
Step 2 of a Ploti research request, showing the optional supporting-document upload area, supported file types, 100 MB file limit, and Continue and Skip controls.

Add a supporting brief, report, spreadsheet, data file, or image, or skip this optional step.

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Step 3: Add outside sources

Add public web addresses Ploti should read, such as a planning department page, an ordinance library, a utility service map, or a portfolio page. For each one, add a note saying what matters. This step is also optional. Ploti finds public sources on its own during the research.
Step 3 of a Ploti research request, showing the optional outside-source URL field, Add control, and Check data and start button.

Add a relevant public URL before starting the data check, or continue without one.

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Submit and leave it running

Select Check data & start. Ploti creates the request and starts checking the data it needs. You can close the page: the work continues on Ploti’s servers, and Ploti emails you when your research is ready.
Research request showing Checking your data, agent activity, and the submitted brief for finding coffee shop space around Winter Garden, Florida.

Ploti checks available data for a submitted coffee shop site search in Winter Garden, Florida.

What happens next

How Ploti turns your request into data requests and emails you the answer.