Installing ToolHound 6 On-Premise

Updated by Cheryl Wallace

Ensure your environment meets the prerequisites listed in the Technical Requirements before installing ToolHound 6.
This release requires the .NET 10 Web Hosting Bundle on every On Premise installation, whatever version you are updating from. That includes a site updated in the last few months: version 6.2026.617.0 and the 0723 hotfix were both built on .NET 8. Installing the update without the .NET 10 Web Hosting Bundle will cause the site to fail to load.
Either install the .NET 10 Web Hosting Bundle (dotnet-hosting-10.0.9-win.exe) before applying the update, or use the installer, which includes the file and installs it for you. IIS must be restarted after the Web Hosting Bundle is updated.
Earlier runtime requirements, for reference: the update to version 6.2024.314.0 required a move from .NET 6 to the .NET 8 Web Hosting Bundle. If you are updating from a version before 6.2024.314.0 you are moving two runtime generations at once. You need only the .NET 10 bundle. .NET 8 is not an intermediate step.
  1. Download the installer file (ToolHound.6.Installer.Net10.exe) from the link provided to you by email.

The ToolHound installer is not code-signed, so Windows does not recognise a publisher for it. You will see a blue "Windows protected your PC" screen whose only visible button is Don't run. To continue, click More info, then Run anyway. You will then see a User Account Control prompt showing Publisher: Unknown. Click Yes.

Your browser or antivirus may warn you as well. These warnings reflect the missing signature, not a problem with the file. If your organization blocks unsigned installers, your IT department will need to allow this file. Contact Support if you would like confirmation that the file you received is the one we published.

  1. Run ToolHound.6.Installer.Net10.exe on the designated application server.
  2. Select the installation path to install the ToolHound 6 software. A default installation path is provided. Modify this path if required.
  3. Click the checkbox to agree to the license terms and conditions. Click Next.
  4. Enter the complete SQL connection string to connect to the designated SQL Server to be used with ToolHound 6.
When entering any slashes, always double them even if they did not appear that way in your SQL Server.
The SQL user must have permission to create a database, update the schema and stored procedures, as well as read, write and execute.
If your SQL Server is not configured with a valid certificate or the client does not trust this certificate, edit your connection string to add the parameter Encrypt=false. Learn more here.
Versions 6.2024.520.0 and later can use the Command Timeout parameter on the connection string to change the default 30 second time out when processing SQL commands. Learn more here.
  • Example for default SQL instance:
    • Server=[COMPUTER_NAME]; User ID=[USER_NAME]; Password=[PASSWORD]
  • Example for named SQL instance:
    • Server=[COMPUTER_NAME]\\[INSTANCE_NAME];User Id=[USER_NAME];Password=[PASSWORD]
  • Example for Windows Authentication:
    • Server=[COMPUTER_NAME]; Trusted_Connection=True
If you aren't certain of the SQL Server name, launch SSMS (SQL Server Management Studio) and view the Connect to Server dialog box.
  1. Click Next.
  2. Enter the Website hostname or IP address. Enter the Port only if not using the default port 80. This will be the URL/address the user will use to access the ToolHound 6 web site. See the examples below for hostname.
  • http://192.168.1.210
  • https://www.myserver.com
If you chose to use a secure server (https://) it is your responsibility to obtain an SSL certificate, and install & configure it on your server. The only ToolHound configuration necessary is to use the appropriate Website hostname or IP address.
  1. Click Next.
  2. Click Finish when the installation is completed.

Testing the install

Confirm that you have completed the installation successfully by entering the host name and the port number into your browser address bar. If successful, the TH6 log in page should appear.

If you make a mistake in Steps 5 or 7 or change your mind after install, you can manually edit the appsettings.json file located in the installation folder selected in Step 3. Change the ToolHoundConnection or the Url section as required. If you configure your website for SSL, you should configure the Url appropriately.

"ConnectionStrings": {"ToolHoundConnection": "Server=[COMPUTER_NAME]\\[INSTANCE_NAME];User Id=[USER_NAME];Password=[PASSWORD]"},

"Url": {"ToolHound6.Api": "http://[FULL_URL]:[PORT]/"},

See configuration for additional features: Configuring Background Notification Frequency - On-Premise only; Configuring the Background Notification Database List - On-Premise only; Enabling Scheduled Reports - On-Premise only; Configuring the Scheduled Reports Database List - On-Premise only; Configuring Passkeys - On Premise Only.
SSO is supported. See Configuring Single Sign On (SSO) - On Premise Only.
To configure any persistent messages to be displayed to all users when they log in, see About Message.

See also

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