diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 480bdf52..4a8c77b5 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -36,4 +36,7 @@ build/
 .vscode/
 
 ### Mac OS ###
-.DS_Store
\ No newline at end of file
+.DS_Store
+
+## Database related
+connectionpetstore.properties
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 8cb9a1ba..6da4edce 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -8,9 +8,9 @@
     <artifactId>PetShopDesktop</artifactId>
     <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
     <name>PetShopDesktop</name>
-
     <properties>
         <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
+        <javafx.version>25.0.2</javafx.version>
         <junit.version>5.12.1</junit.version>
     </properties>
 
@@ -18,12 +18,12 @@
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.openjfx</groupId>
             <artifactId>javafx-controls</artifactId>
-            <version>21.0.6</version>
+            <version>${javafx.version}</version>
         </dependency>
         <dependency>
             <groupId>org.openjfx</groupId>
             <artifactId>javafx-fxml</artifactId>
-            <version>21.0.6</version>
+            <version>${javafx.version}</version>
         </dependency>
 
         <dependency>
@@ -66,8 +66,7 @@
                         <!-- Default configuration for running with: mvn clean javafx:run -->
                         <id>default-cli</id>
                         <configuration>
-                            <mainClass>org.example.petshopdesktop/org.example.petshopdesktop.PetShopApplication
-                            </mainClass>
+                            <mainClass>org.example.petshopdesktop/org.example.petshopdesktop.PetShopApplication</mainClass>
                             <launcher>app</launcher>
                             <jlinkZipName>app</jlinkZipName>
                             <jlinkImageName>app</jlinkImageName>
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/example/petshopdesktop/controllers/MainLayoutController.java b/src/main/java/org/example/petshopdesktop/controllers/MainLayoutController.java
index a5a3060d..431d38d4 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/example/petshopdesktop/controllers/MainLayoutController.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/example/petshopdesktop/controllers/MainLayoutController.java
@@ -111,7 +111,8 @@ public class MainLayoutController {
             spContentArea.getChildren().clear();
             spContentArea.getChildren().add(view);
         } catch (Exception e) {
-            System.out.println("Error loading view: " + fxmlFile);
+            System.err.println("Error loading view: " + fxmlFile);
+            e.printStackTrace();
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/example/petshopdesktop/database/ConnectionDB.java b/src/main/java/org/example/petshopdesktop/database/ConnectionDB.java
index 2b0bad1d..3435c7ac 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/example/petshopdesktop/database/ConnectionDB.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/example/petshopdesktop/database/ConnectionDB.java
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@ package org.example.petshopdesktop.database;
 
 import java.io.FileInputStream;
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.nio.file.Paths;
 import java.sql.Connection;
 import java.sql.DriverManager;
 import java.sql.SQLException;
@@ -9,8 +12,7 @@ import java.util.Properties;
 
 public class ConnectionDB {
     /**
-     * Method to try and connect to the database sing cnnection.properties located in the
-     * root of C drive
+     * Method to try and connect to the database using connectionpetstore.properties.
      * @return Connection to the database
      */
     public static Connection getConnection(){
@@ -18,10 +20,23 @@ public class ConnectionDB {
         String user = "";
         String password = "";
 
-        try{
-            //Read connection.properties file
-            FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream("c:\\connectionpetstore.properties"); //location of connection can be changed here
-            Properties prop = new Properties();
+        Properties prop = new Properties();
+        Path propsPath;
+
+        String explicitPath = System.getenv("PETSTORE_DB_PROPS");
+        if (explicitPath != null && !explicitPath.isBlank()) {
+            propsPath = Paths.get(explicitPath);
+        } else {
+            Path cwd = Paths.get(System.getProperty("user.dir"), "connectionpetstore.properties");
+            Path xdg = Paths.get(System.getProperty("user.home"), ".config", "petstore", "connectionpetstore.properties");
+            Path legacyWindows = Paths.get("./connectionpetstore.properties");
+
+            if (Files.exists(cwd)) propsPath = cwd;
+            else if (Files.exists(xdg)) propsPath = xdg;
+            else propsPath = legacyWindows;
+        }
+
+        try (FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(propsPath.toString())) {
             prop.load(fis);
             url = prop.getProperty("url");
             user = prop.getProperty("user");
@@ -31,12 +46,8 @@ public class ConnectionDB {
             throw new RuntimeException("Problem with reading connection info: "+e.getMessage());
         }
 
-        Connection conn = null;
-
         try{
-            //try to get connection with the data taken from connection.properties
-            conn = DriverManager.getConnection(url,user,password);
-            return conn;
+            return DriverManager.getConnection(url,user,password);
         }
         catch (SQLException e) {
             throw new RuntimeException("Problem with database connection: "+e.getMessage());