Frequently Asked Questions and Backup Guide

1. Is FreeToastHost 4 (FTH4) a new product or a revised version of FreeToastHost 3 (FTH3)? 
   FTH4 is a new product built on a new platform with a new look and feel.
   
   
2. Will all current documents, files, historical club report data, and member profiles automatically migrate from FTH3 to FTH4? 
   Yes. All current documents, files, and historical club report data and member profiles past and present will be brought over.
   
   
3. Will clubs have to rebuild their websites or will the layout migrate?
   The layout will migrate. Clubs will not have to rebuild their websites.
   
   However, some editing might be necessary because the FTH4 layout is different from FTH3. Also, any pages that include custom coding might not work in FTH4 as they did in FTH3.
   
   
4. Will all features in FTH3 be available in FTH4?
   Yes and No. All FTH3 features will be available in FTH4 plus some new ones.
   
   However, the option to hide selected features and documents is not currently available in FTH4. All features will be visible. In addition, private or member download pages and any files stored for public, members or officers will be visible to those groups in FTH4.
   
   
5. How should clubs handle the homepage template in version 4 if they prefer custom site designs? 
   For now, the home page structure is fixed with no options to hide features or buttons or change the size of the photo or the font size of the main heading. The color scheme choices are Toastmasters Maroon or Toastmasters Blue.
   
   
6. When will the migrations begin, will their site go down, and when is the rollout complete? 
   1. Migrations are already underway on a random basis.
   2. Sites may experience downtime during the transition.
   3. The entire migration should be completed by the end of September, at which time FTH3 will be retired.
      
      
7. What training sessions, webinars, or walkthrough documentation will be available for club officers?
   FTH Ambassadors might hold ZOOM training sessions, but none are currently scheduled. Meanwhile, FTH4 documentation is available in the support forum and is being updated daily.
   
   

8. Will our logins be the same?
   For regular members, profiles and basic login credentials will transfer. However, some passwords might need to be reset. And the member login auto-fill feature in FTH3 is not present in FTH4. Members can log in using their full name, email, or user ID.
   Admins will receive a new ID and must create a new password. FTH4 does allow you to create a username to be used as a logon ID. Go to My Profile > Username.

9. How do admins log in and can I log in as an Admin and member simultaneously?
   Administrators will have a new ID and need to set a new password. The admin ID will be admin- followed by your club number (e.g., admin-9999).
   Admins will not be able to log in as an Admin and member simultaneously in the same session like they could in FTH3. However, they can be simultaneously logged in by using different browsers (e.g., Chrome for member and Edge for Admin). 
   
   To set a new admin password:
   1. Go to member sign-in
   2. Select “Forgot your password?” at the bottom,
   3. Enter your club number (e.g. 9999) rather than your email address to receive a reset link sent to the Administrator email on file.
      
      

10. What if our Administrator is no longer an active member?
    Go to the “Change Site Admin” page at  https://www.toastmastersclubs.org/welcome/change-admin/ and fill in the form to Request the Administrator Change.

Backup Guide

• What backup steps should administrators perform to safeguard essential club data?
  Club administrators should always back up essential content periodically; this is an excellent time to do it! Below are instructions for backing up FTH3 data. It should then be stored in a secure place.
  
  

Export Club Contacts

1. Log in to your site and go to Member Management. The Admin has access to this as well as a few officers, depending on your site settings.

2. From the “Membership Tools” menu, select Export Contact Info. This will download a CSV (Comma Separated Value) file of all your contacts.

3. Store in a secure location.

Save Your Homepage and Custom Pages

This will help you remember how your site looked before the migration.

1. If you are using Google Chrome, navigate to the pages you want to save and press Ctrl + S (Windows) or Cmd + S (Mac).

2. In the "Save As" dialog box, look for the Save as type dropdown menu and select Webpage, Single File (*.mhtml).

3. Click Save to download a single MHTML file that is a copy of your page

4. Store it in a secure location. 

If you use a browser like Safari, the process is similar—search the internet for specific instructions.

Agenda Reports

1. Log in and go to Meeting Agendas.

2. Click the meeting reports icon in the upper right (it looks like a head and shoulders silhouette and sits next to the email and print icons).

3. Download reports relevant to your club, such as:

1. Member Role Report (html)

2. Member Speech Report (html)

3. Meeting Attendance (html)

4. All Members Historical Role Report (html)

5. Meeting Role Tally (xlsx)

6. Meeting Attendance (xlsx)

7. Single Agenda Pull (xlsx)

4. Download the "Print Multiple meeting signup sheet" (looks like a grid) You can select all future meetings in case club members signed up for future meeting roles.

Things to do at officer changeover time

The end of the Toastmasters year is approaching, and with it comes changes to club officer assignments.

To keep things running smoothly, check the following items and change where necessary. Full details are found in the linked articles.

Officer assignments on your FTH site

See https://support.toastmastersclubs.org/doc/item/main-membership-panel#officer-roles

You can add "other officer"s if you want to include people learning a role, assistants or mentors.

The FTH agenda system can be used to create Club Contest agendas.

The method for creating them is the same as used for ordinary meeting agendas. However there are some things to be aware of, and you may need to make more use of special features and tricks.

Before you begin, get (and read) a copy of the current Contest Rulebook, so that you can be sure you are following current procedures.

Points to note:

The agenda header is handled in the same way as usual. Make sure that it's suitable for your contest agenda, and not just a standard meeting agenda.

A lot of contest agenda items don't involve roles that people fill. Or, the Contest Chair may be doing the majority of the roles and you might want to consider if you really need their name repeated over and over.

Toastmasters International, as the name suggests, is an international organisation, present in over 140 countries. Official materials are available in several languages. But like many other organisations, it started its life as an English-only group and the requirements of speakers of other languages weren't on its radar.

Some background

When websites first came on the scene, the same approach tended to apply there. It was assumed that everyone was going to build websites, and send emails, in English.

Because English doesn't use letters with accent marks, it's possible to use a very basic set of characters. But this meant that other languages weren't able to be displayed properly, if at all.