How to Connect Standard Time® Windows Client to SQL Server

Completion time: 2 hours
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1. Check Server Prerequisites

Make sure your server has these prerequisites for sharing data with workstations.
  1. Microsoft SQL Express 2016 or above
  2. SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
  3. Microsoft .NET4.8 or above
  4. Microsoft Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016
  5. 16Gb RAM
  6. 500Gb HD
  7. 100 MbE Ethernet connection or faster

2. SQL Server Preparation

  1. Open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
  2. Connect to the server instance you’ll put Standard Time on (example: SQLEXPRESS)
  3. Right-click on the top-level item and choose ‘Properties’
  4. Click Security
  5. Choose ‘SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode’
  6. Click ‘Connections’
  7. Choose ‘Allow remote connections to this server’
  8. Click OK
  9. Right-click on the top-level item again
  10. Choose Restart (if you were told you must restart the service)
Pro tip: Use Windows Authentication only. SQL Authentication is less secure.
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3. SQL Server Configuration Manager

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  1. Run SQL Server Configuration Manager (Run: SQLServerManager16.msc)
  2. Open SQL Server Network Configuration
  3. Click the SQLEXPRESS or SQLSERVER you'll be putting Standard Time® on
  4. Right-click TCP/IP on the right
  5. Choose Properties
  6. Choose Yes" for "Enable"
  7. Click "Apply"
  8. Click the "IP Addresses" tab at the top
  9. Scroll to the very bottom
  10. Enter 1433 into the IPAll "TCP Port" field
  11. Click OK
  12. Click SQL Server Services
  13. Right-click the SQLSERVER item on the right
  14. Choose "Restart"
  15. Right-click SQL Server Browser
  16. Choose Properties
  17. Set the service to start "Automatic"
  18. Right-click the service
  19. Choose "Start"
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4. Open Windows Firewall for SQL Server

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  1. Open Windows Firewall
  2. Click Advanced Settings
  3. Click Inbound Rules
  4. Click "New Rule" at the right
  5. Choose "Port" then click Next
  6. Choose TCP
  7. Enter "1433" into "Specific local ports", then click Next
  8. Choose "Allow the connection", then click Next
  9. Check all the options, then click Next
  10. Enter "SQL TCP 1433" for the Name, then click Finish
  11. Repeat steps 4 - 9 using UDP and 1434 for the options (see image below)
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5. Create "Standard Time" Database


  1. Return to SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
  2. Right-click "Databases"
  3. Choose New Database...
  4. Enter "Standard Time" for the name, then click OK
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6. Create a SQL Login to access the database

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  1. Open Security, Logins
  2. Right-click Logins
  3. Choose New Login...
  4. Create a login named "st" with password "st" (as shown below, in lower-case)
  5. Choose "Standard Time" for the default database
  6. Click "User Mapping" in the upper-left
  7. Click "Standard Time"
  8. Make sure to place a check next to it
  9. Choose "db_owner" rights at the bottom
  10. Click OK
Pro tip: Use a "Windows Authentication" login instead of "SQL Server Authentication" for step 4 above. Windows authentication is more secure.
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7. Create a Credentials file to connect to SQL

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  1. Open the Control Panel
  2. Choose System and Security
  3. Open Administrative Tools
  4. Open Data Sources (ODBC)
  5. Click the File DSN tab
  6. Click Add
  7. Choose ‘SQL Server’ driver and click Next
  8. Enter ‘Standard Time SQL’ and click Next
  9. Click Finish
  10. Choose the correct server and instance and click Next
  11. Choose ‘Windows authentication’ or ‘With SQL Server authentication’
  12. Enter the correct login and password that has db_owner rights and click Next
  13. Click ‘Change the default database to’
  14. Choose ‘Standard Time’
  15. Click Next, Finish
  16. Click Test
  17. Click OK to close all dialogs
  18. Look in your Documents folder for this new file named Standard Time SQL.dsn
  19. If you chose ‘With SQL Server authentication’ for authentication, you must open the File DSN in Notepad and enter a new line at the end: PWD=yourpassword

Pro tip: Use a "Windows Authentication" login instead of "SQL Server Authentication". Windows authentication is more secure, and does not require exposing the login password in cleartext as described above in step 19. Skip steps 18 and 19.

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Pro tip: Use a "Windows Authentication" login instead of "SQL Server Authentication". Windows authentication is more secure, and does not require exposing the login password in cleartext.
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Pro tip: A "Windows authentication" login does not require this last step, and does not require you to expose passwords in cleartext.

8. Connect ST to SQL Server Database

  1. Install Standard Time (ST) on a client workstation
  2. Copy the credentials file created earlier to the Documents folder of the workstation
  3. Run ST
  4. Optionally choose File, Database
  5. Click the "..." button
  6. Navigate to the Documents folder
  7. Choose "Standard Time SQL.dsn"
  8. ST should connect to SQL without errors
  9. Click OK
  10. ST will restart to apply the changes
  11. Look for the words "SQL Server: Standard Time" in the title bar to signify connection
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9. Copy Credentials file

  1. Open your Documents folder in File Explorer
  2. Find the "Standard Time SQL.dsn" credentials file
  3. Copy the file to every other workstation Documents folder that will use ST
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Pro tip: The credentials file can be placed in the same folder as the executable. If you put the executable on a shared server folder, the credentials file can also be placed in that folder.

10. Install BC for Barcode Scanning

  1. Open your Documents folder
  2. Copy "Standard Time SQL.dsn" to another Windows workstation Documents folder
  3. Navigate to c:\program files (x86)\standard time\utilities
  4. Copy the entire BC folder to the other Windows desktop
  5. Double-click bc.exe to run it
  6. Make sure it connects to SQL without errors or pop-ups
Pro tip: The credentials file can be placed in the same folder as the BC executable. If you put BC on a shared server folder, the credentials file can also be placed in that folder.
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