Kennel Connection 7 is compatible with Windows 7 or higher operating systems.  Windows 10 is STRONGLY recommended. 

Important:  If you are installing Kennel Connection 7 on your server/main computer and you DO NOT already have SQL Server installed, this is the incorrect guide.  Click on Installing Kennel Connection 7 & SQL Server for the correct instructions.

Important:  To avoid any issues, prior to installing KC7 on your workstations for the first time make sure your server/main computer has been upgraded to KC7 and that KC7 is functioning properly on that machine.

Kennel Connection 7 is compatible with Windows 7 or higher operating systems.  Windows 10 is STRONGLY recommended. 

Important:  If you are looking to install Kennel Connection 7 on your server/main computer and you DO NOT already have SQL Server installed, this is the incorrect guide.  Click on Installing Kennel Connection 7 & SQL Server for the correct instructions.

Installation Instructions 

WARNING:  During the setup of KC7, it will scan your network for available SQL instances.  To prevent any installation issues on your main computer and workstations, you should disable your antivirus software before installing KC7.  Upon completion of the KC7 install and before re-enabling your antivirus, make sure you add KC7.exe to your antivirus exception/exclusion lists to prevent it from deleting the software.

Note:  In order to successfully install and configure Kennel Connection, you must be logged into each computer as the Administrator.

Warning:  Do not speed through the installation by clicking Next repeatedly.  Follow these instructions to ensure Kennel Connection 7 functions properly.

1. If you do not already have the KC7Setup.exe file,  you can request the installer from the following link: Kennel Connection File Request or by going to https://kennelconnection.com and clicking on Support>Request KC Install & Update:

2. Click the Request Update Link button at the bottom of the next page: 

3. Fill out the form and select Both from the dropdown menu at the bottom:

File Request Form

Once the form has been filled out, you should see a confirmation page: 

4. Check your inbox for an email with links to download your requested files. Click the link that is sent to begin the file downloads.

Note: Due to automatic account verification steps, emails may take anywhere from 1-10 minutes to be received. Be sure to always check your inbox/junk/spam folders as well.

5.  Once the files have finished downloading, you will see the KC7Setup.exe and the latest KC7 update file in your downloads folder or wherever you chose to save it to.  Many computers save to the Downloads folder if you were not given the option to choose.  The file looks like this:

Double click the KC7Setup.exe first and if prompted, choose Run. (If Windows Smartscreen blocks this file, click the "more info" button and then run anyway.)

6.  Once the installer is running, click Next until you get to the screen where it asks you where you want to install KC7 to.  This is where you MUST make sure it says C:\KC7 or if you're installing to another internal drive it should be drive letter\KC7. If it does, simply click Next and continue the installation by clicking Next or Install until it finishes.  Then click Finish.

If it does not show C:\KC7 as the install path OR you are installing to a different internal drive, proceed to step 6.

7.  If it does not show C:\KC7, you must change it to show C:\KC7 or whichever drive letter you're installing to.  Click on the Change button.

8.  Click the drop down arrow and choose your C drive or whichever drive letter you're installing to.

9.  You may now notice that the folder name only shows C:\.  If it does, in the Folder name field, simply type in KC7 after the slash and then click OK.

10. Click Next and install.  The KC7 software will now install.  Once it completes, click Finish to close the wizard.

11. Locate the latest KC7 update file you downloaded and double click it to run it. (If Windows Smartscreen blocks this file, click the "more info" button and then run anyway.)

12. Click "Next" and the update will automatically install to the proper KC7 directory. When it completes, close the install wizard.

This has completed the install of KC7 software and it's latest update but now you need to configure KC7 to point to the database on the host machine.

Configuring Kennel Connection 7 to point to an already existing SQL Server

Please note that the below configuration wizard can be skipped by manually editing the wkennel.ini file, pointing the datadrive and applying the new SQL parameters. (If unsure of how to do this, proceed to the instructions below.)

1.  Double click your new KC7 desktop icon.  Instead of launching the software, this will now launch a configuration wizard.  The new KC7 icon looks like this:

Click Next on the wizard to continue.

2.  On this screen, you need to choose which type of machine this is.  This document is for a workstation only so to continue with this install, choose the third option and click Next.

The wizard will now scan your computer and network to locate any existing SQL Server instances.

3.  You now need to tell the wizard where to point to find the KC database.

A.  If you have installed KC7 and SQL Server using the Kennel Connection Wizard on your server/main computer, click the drop down next to SQL Server instance name and choose the WKENNEL instance.  It will look like this:  YOURCOMPUTERNAME\WKENNEL.

B.  Type in the SQL Server user ID:  sa

C.  Type in the SQL Server password:  kc7000

D.  Click the Test button.  If those settings are correct, you will be alerted with a successful message.

E.  Click on the Finish button to complete the configuration.

If the test fails, it means that the KC7 upgrade has either not yet been completed on your server/main computer or there is something prohibiting the communication to the SQL Server across your network.  Click on Excluding Kennel Connection 7 from antivirus and firewall applications for instructions.

4. If you are installing KC7 for the first time on your workstations and if you previously used Kennel Connection 6 with the SQL database module and are using the same SQL Server instance for Kennel Connection 7, click the Get settings from previous version button.  This will automatically retrieve your SQL Server instance name, SQL Server user ID and SQL Server password from your KC6 settings.

5.  Once your settings are populated, click the Test button.  If those settings are the correct ones, you will be alerted with a successful message and you can now open your software, which will be corrected to you KC7 database on your server/main computer.

If the test fails, it means that the KC7 upgrade has either not yet been completed on your server/main computer, the SQL Settings retrieved were incorrect or there is something prohibiting the communication to SQL Server across your network.  Click on Excluding Kennel Connection 7 from antivirus and firewall applications for instructions.

If you are using an installed instance of SQL Server from a previous version of KC, you can manually navigate to check and copy the SQL parameters.

Open Computer or File Explorer and navigate to your local C: drive.  Find your KC6 folder and open it.  Look for the wkennel.ini file (configuration settings). 

Open the file and scroll to the bottom to get your settings under the SQL parameters section.  These settings should be populating in the KC7 Configuration Wizard.  You can manually type or copy/paste them into the wizard.  If the settings are blank, chances are you were not using SQL Server for the KC6 version and instead using the Access version.  To verify, open KC6, click on Help, About Kennel Connection, System tab. The database type will show as either Access or SQL.  If it is Access, go back to step #3 and try those settings.

Once KC7 has been installed and configured to your workstations, you will need to map a network drive to the KC7 folder on the server/main computer.  Click on Kennel Connection 7 Networking Guide for instructions.

If you are unable to configure Kennel Connection 7, contact support at Support@kennelconnection.com or 1-888-486-4343, Option 2 for Support, to schedule an appointment.