Mobile App Messaging Center

This is a game changer.  Your scouting unit now has its own private communications network, courtesy of TroopWebHost.

If you are using Band, Slack, Discord or something similar to exchange messages, please consider using TroopWebHost instead.

Version 2.2.6 of the TroopWebHost Mobile App - available for free on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store - allows you to receive and send messages. 

This gives you a complete communications platform consisting of:

• Messages sent from the website
• Messages sent from your personal email client using the email relay service
• Messages sent from the TroopWebHost mobile app

Messages sent from any of the above will be visible to all recipients from the mobile app, the website, or their personal email client.

Access to this network is strictly limited to the members of your scouting unit, giving you a secure, private communications channel.

You do not need to have an email address to receive and send messages using the mobile app.

Authorized users will now see a Messages icon on their main menu.  If you have any unread messages, the icon will be blue with a red circle, as shown below.

Fast Data Downloads

We have lots more to tell you about the new Messaging Center, but none of that matters if you can't get your members to use the TroopWebHost Mobile App in the first place.  And why aren't they using it?  TOO MUCH TIME WAITING FOR DATA DOWNLOADS!

We heard you loud and clear, and version 2.2.6 addresses this issue head on.  Data synchronization now occurs mostly in the background.

You no longer have to wait for a complete data refresh when you:

• Log on to your account
• Switch to a different account
• Open the app when it hasn't done a refresh in over a week

These operations are now nearly instantaneous.

The TroopWebHost Mobile App stores a subset of your troop's database in your cell phone's local storage.  This is what makes it possible to use the app while you are off-line, which can happen on many camping trips.

There are now 50+ tables on your local device that we need to keep in synch.  Prior to version 2.2.6, we synchronized all of these tables at the same time.

With version 2.2.6, we now track the last date/time each individual table was refreshed.  This allows us to refresh one table at a time, which we do right after you load a new page.  You won't even notice it.

As you switch from page to page in the app, one table after another is being refreshed from the server.

More importantly, as long as you have internet access, the app will always pull the latest data from the server for the page you are on.

Later in this newsletter, we'll cover some related topics:

• Viewing the refresh status of each table
• Refresh vs. reload
• Preparing for off-line operation

But now let's get back to the new messaging features!

In Box

Tap the Messages icon on the Home page to see all the messages that you have received from the troop.

At the bottom of this page you will see three tabs:

• Inbox - all messages that were sent to you
• Sent - all messages that you have sent
• Threads - groups of messages with a common subject line

The most recent message appears at the top of the page.  Scroll down to see previous messages.

The background color of the message indicates its status:

• Yellow - message has not been read in the app
• Green - message has been read in the app

Tap the Mark as Read  link on a yellow message to turn it green.  Tap the Mark as Unread  link on a green message to turn it yellow.

This page will contain any message that was sent to you, either as an email or as a text message.

You can receive messages within the app even if you do not have an email address.

Tap on the subject line of any message to view just that message.  This will allow you to see the entire recipient list.  It will also give you the options to reply to the message or forward it.

Search Messages

Use the Search  field at the bottom of the page to find any message that contain those characters in:

• The subject line
• The message body
• The name of the person who sent the message

Message Settings

Tap the Gear icon in the upper right corner of the page to view the Message Settings page.

Hide Viewed Messages will cause all messages marked as read to disappear from the Inbox.

Mark My Messages As Read will immediately mark all of your messages as read.  There is no "Undo" button for this function.

FYI, when we published version 2.2.6 of the app, we marked all messages as "read" if they were more than a week old at that time.

Sent Tab

Tap the Sent tab to view the messages that you have sent.  This will include:

• Messages that you sent from the TroopWebHost mobile app
• Messages that you sent from the web site
• Messages that you sent using the email relay service

Tap on any message to view that message and reply or forward it.

Threads

A "thread" is a group of messages that have the same subject line.  This will include any matching subject line that begins with "RE:" or "FW:".

Threads provide a way to create ad hoc chat groups, limited to the members who were sent the message.  Replies can remove or add members, as appropriate.  Each person will only see those messages within the thread which they were specifically sent.

Tap the Threads tab to view a list of threads, sorted in order by which has the most recent post.

Below each subject line, you will see the date and time of the last message sent on that subject.

To the right you will see two numbers:

• The number of messages on this thread that have not yet been read, and
• The total number of messages on this thread

Tap on a subject to see all of the messages in that thread that were sent to you.

The Reply All button will initiate a reply to the most recent message on this post.  It will select the same set of recipients that are on the most recent message.

Reply To or Forward

Tap on the subject line of any message to view the entire message body and a list of the recipients.

Use the icons at the top of the page to reply, reply all, or forward the message.

The subject line for your new message will be automatically copied from the old message.  Do not change it if you want your new message to stay in the same thread.

The message body can be as long as you'd like.

The recipient list will be copied from the previous recipient list.  You can remove any recipient from your new message by tapping the minus icon next to their name.

You may add new recipients by typing a portion of their name in the "To" box, as shown below.

When you begin typing in the "To" box, a list of potential recipients will appear.  This list contains any members that are not already recipients, whose name contains the letters you've already entered.

The "Include parents/guardians" option will CC the parents of any scouts that you selected for this message.  This will default to the Default Value for Email CC Parents Option on the E-Mail Settings page of the website.

At the top of the list will be any dynamic subgroups that contain the letters you've entered.  This makes it easy to select everyone in that dynamic subgroup.

Tap on any name with a plus sign next to it, to add it to the recipient list for your new message.

Tap the Send button in the upper right corner of the page to send this message.  This message will be sent to the email addresses of each person in the recipient list.  It will also be available immediately in their TroopWebHost Mobile App.

Send New Messages

You can also initiate a new message without responding to an earlier one.  There are two places where this can be done:

• Tap the "+ New" floating button in the lower right corner of the message list page
• Tap the mail icon next to the member's email address on the Directory detail page

This is what the "+ New" button looks like on the main message page.

This shows how to initiate a new message to one person from the Directory detail page.

Please note that, if this person has more than one email address, the new message will be sent to all email addresses for this person, not just the one selected on this screen.

Regardless of how you initiate a new message, you will still have the option of adding other recipients before you send the message.

Two Deep Communications On All Messages

Every message sent from the TroopWebHost Mobile App - or from the website, or email relay - will be automatically CC'd to the two leaders that you designated on the Email Settings page, as shown below.

Authorize Users For Mobile App Messaging

Two new security tasks control access to the TroopWebHost Mobile App:

• Mobile App - Menu - Messages
• Mobile App - Feature - Send Message

"Mobile App - Menu - Messages" will allow a user to see the "Messages" icon on the Home page of the TroopWebHost Mobile App. ' It allows the user to view all messages that they were sent.

"Mobile App - Feature - Send Message" allows a user to initiate a new message from the app, either by replying to or forwarding an existing message, or by starting a new message.

Both of the above have already been authorized for user roles that had the corresponding authorizations in the website.  Use the Assign Tasks To Roles page of your website to review and update these authorizations.

These new tasks are in addition to the "Mobile App - Feature - Send Message To Group From Event" task, which controls whether a user can initiate a message from the Calendar detail page.

Coming Soon:  Message Alerts

Within the next month, we plan to add push notifications to the TroopWebHost Mobile App.  This will give users the option of authorizing the app to alert them to any new messages.

With this feature enabled, the TroopWebHost Mobile App will respond to new messages just like any other messaging app on your device.  Depending on how you've configured your phone, you may hear a sound and/or feel your phone vibrate.  You will see a brief summary of the message, which you may then tap on to open the app and view the entire message.

We will also respond to your suggestions, as we strive to make this a complete communications solution for your scouting unit, eliminating the need for unreliable SMS messages.

Local Storage Status

As discussed earlier, version 2.2.6 of the TroopWebHost Mobile App is now able to refresh one table at a time.  To see the refresh status of each table:

• Go to the Home page
• Tap on the gear icon in the upper right corner to go to the General Settings page
• Scroll to the bottom of the General Settings page and tap the View Local Storage button.

This will display a list of all the tables stored locally on your device.

Please note that the dates and times displayed on this place are not your local time.  Instead, they use Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which is how we store this information internally.

On the right side of the page, you will see how many rows of data is currently in each table.

Refresh vs. Reload

Just a few months ago, we changed the Refresh Data button on the Home page to Reload Data.  The Reload Data function clears out all local data and restores it from scratch from the server.

We did this because the Refresh function - which keeps the existing data on your device and just downloads the most recent changes - did not seem to be reliable.

Now that we are tracking the status of each table individually, we believe that an incremental refresh can operate reliably, while reducing the amount of time required.

With version 2.2.6, the Refresh Data button is back on the Home page.  The Reload Data button is still available on the General Settings page.

Preparing For Off-Line Operation

The TroopWebHost Mobile App helps adult leaders manage campouts in a number of ways:

• Take attendance at the event
• Sign off on requirements for ranks, badges, and awards
• Award credits for hiking miles, service hours, and other activities
• Provide access to participant information, including medical conditions and emergency contacts

But what if your campsite is so remote that you may not have Internet access?  No problem!

The TroopWebHost Mobile App was designed for off-line operation.  You can do all of these tasks without having a cell phone connection.

But if you have not been using the TroopWebHost Mobile App frequently in the days leading up to the event, we recommend that you do the following before you head out:

• Tap the Refresh Data button on the Home page.
• Open this event from the Calendar to get the current participants

If you will be working on any merit badges during this outing - especially if you only installed the TroopWebHost Mobile App recently - you should also go to each merit badge and view the requirements for that badge.

You can do this by opening the directory and selecting any scout from the list.  Go to the advancement pages for that scout, select Badges, and then open each of the badges you plan to work on this weekend.  This will guarantee that those requirements are present on your device.

Old YPT Expires 5/31/2026

Scouting America recently clarified the transition from the old Youth Protection Training (YPT) to the new Safeguarding Youth Training (SYT).  The old YPT certification will expire May 31, 2026, regardless of when it was taken.  By that date, all adult leaders should have completed the new SYT certification.

We added a column to the Training Course record to support this rule, as shown below.

The Certification Ends No Later Than date has been set to 5/31/2026 for all training courses that represented (as far as we could determine programmatically) the old YPT class.  This will override the computation of the expiration date for this course if it would otherwise result in a later date.

We have not set the Not Valid After date for you, since that will prevent you from entering recent completions of the old YPT course.  Once you are sure that you've entered all YPT completions, we recommend that you set this date to 5/31/2025, as shown above.

Send Us Your Questions and Suggestions

Send us a ticket from the My Support Tickets page on your site's Help menu.   This is absolutely the best way to communicate with us!

Or simply contact us at CustomerSupport@TroopWebHost.com.  If you do, please include your troop number and city in your message so we can identify your site.