Installing Kennel Connection 7 on a workstation (Expert guide)

Installing Kennel Connection 7 on a workstation (Expert guide)

Installing Kennel Connection 7 on a workstation (Expert guide)

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:


KC7 install with SQL Server


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/Database.


*Note that your server info will differ from what is shown in these screenshots.


Since this is a workstation, you must have a mapped drive setup that points to the KC7 folder on the server/host computer. If you do not have one, please map it now. We recommend using the letter "K" for Kennel Connection. The KC7 folder on the server/host computer should have the user "Everyone" with full permissions set. If you need assistance with mapping click here: Mapping a network drive for Kennel Connection 7


Once the mapping is complete or if you already have a mapped KC7 drive, open that mapped drive and locate the wkennel.ini file and open it into notepad. 


Scroll down to the SQL Parameters section and select and copy the section as shown here in red:


Once copied to your clipboard, close out of note pad and close out the mapped drive. Now open your local install of KC7 (C:\KC7) and open the wkennel.ini file inside there.


In the top section, point KC to use your mapped drive by changing the Datadrive=C to Datadrive=K (or whichever letter you used for the mapped drive.)


Also change DataDir=KC7 to DataDir= 

Since you've mapped the drive directly to the KC7 folder on the server/host machine, you do not need to specify a directory.


Next, scroll to the bottom and paste the SQL settings that you copied into the [SQLServer] section. 


Save your changes and close the wkennel.ini file. 



That's it. The local workstation Kennel Connection is now pointed to the mapped drive and to the SQL server/database on the server/host machine. You should now be able to launch the KC software on the workstation and see your data from the server/host. 


If your attempt to launch KC fails, please check firewall exceptions on the host/server machine and add them if not already there: Adding SQL Server Exceptions to Windows Firewall. Then try again. 



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.


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