Hardware item category [feature request]

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: 1PW vs. mSecure.

pbGuy

As a follow-up, but in a different direction, one ability I've appreciated about mSecure (currently using 3.5.6, but have used their app since first became available) has been the Item template for noting hardware product details (purchase date, SN, manufacturer, model number, warranty, etc).
Unless 1PW already has such a template (I've not been able to find - unless it's using the flexibility of Secure Notes), I'd like to see 1PW have such a template under New Hardware Items.

[Since mSecure is moving toward features emulating 1PW, I'd like to ultimately delete mSecure since I won't be upgrading to v5.]

AGAlumB

@pbGuy: While we don't have a template dedicated to hardware, I and others use Secure Notes for this type of thing since they're pretty versatile. I'm also not sure what a "hardware" template should look like since different people will use it for different things, and there's a lot out there. That said, we're experimenting with custom templates, so it may be that we can give you even more flexibility in the future. Cheers! :)

Manaburner

Hi @brenty
to be a little "heretical", you also have a template for "Outdoor License" which is also pretty vague (at least for me). I remember the long discussions during the beta on how to translate that to German. :)

In my opinion, everything that has a serial number on it and that has a power connection can be called hardware. Also what @pbGuy said is what I would expect from such a hardware template.

AGAlumB

@Manaburner: Fair enough. I think we're showing our Canadian roots there. Not being from the Great Cold Wilderness myself (wink wink) I've never quite understood that, but there it is. :lol:

I'm with you to an extent, until we get into specifics. To me, a template needs to have some substance to justify its existence. Even with your example there are common fields, even if the icon is somewhat debatable. I'm having trouble conceptualizing a generic "hardware" icon and fields that would cover things from appliances to computers to hearing aids. "Hardware" just seems overboard to me. So I think we'd really need a bunch of different "hardware" categories...and I think that brings us right back to custom categories. It's a difficult problem because there's a lot of legacy baggage in an app that's been around a decade, but we're working on it. :)

earthsaver

I agree that @pbGuy covered the basic hardware template needs. I started asking for a hardware template in 1Password a few years ago and got more or less the same response. For example, where do I put my Mac serial number and configuration?

I have used Wallet (http://www.acrylicapps.com/wallet/mac/) to store much of the same info as I now put in 1Password. It doesn't have a Hardware category by default, but like Contacts, it has the ability to create groups/categories. I can build a custom template for each.

Over the years, I've put electronic products, however also transit cards and bicycles. I totally forgot that I had created the Hardware group I have in Wallet with a very basic template: Serial Number, Manufacturer, URL. I had used a classic Apple Toaster icon to label this group. It's really easy to add sections and fields to a group and sections don't have to have titles.

Earlier this week, I was at a bike shop learning the serial number for my new bicycle and struggling to put it in 1Password. I knew that Secure Note was the only space "designed" for this item, however design couldn't be further from the truth. It was a struggle to structure a secure note to hold my bicycle's info.

First I had to create a section. (I guess I could have just typed everything in "Notes" but that didn't sound very organized. Now, what would I call this section? I landed on "Details" which didn't sound very interesting. Then, I had to create fields to form the template. In the moment, on my iPhone, all I added was "serial." I lacked the consciousness to what other fields might be useful.

Now reflecting and supported by this thread, I'm realizing the other fields that would be useful: manufacturer, model, color, purchase date, warranty length/expiration, URL.

@brenty, any idea when 1Password might bring easier ability to input hardware info. Could be a template created by you or the user ability to create custom categories. You might even form a community of users who would share categories and templates with each other to advance their collective use of 1Password and be even happier champions to share the product with others.

With the recent LastPass scare, I'm actively engaged in referring clients to 1Password. (I coach Apple users.) However, the lack of an easy place to put hardware information remains a major barrier to your product being a one-size-fits-all product for me. I'd really like to put Wallet aside and rely solely on 1Password. Can you help me?

AGAlumB

I've split this off into it's own thread since it seems like this is taking off. :)

I totally forgot that I had created the Hardware group I have in Wallet with a very basic template: Serial Number, Manufacturer, URL. I had used a classic Apple Toaster icon to label this group. It's really easy to add sections and fields to a group and sections don't have to have titles. [...] Now reflecting and supported by this thread, I'm realizing the other fields that would be useful: manufacturer, model, color, purchase date, warranty length/expiration, URL.

@earthsaver: This is great! I actually have something similar in a "template" Secure Note I created in 1Password. I just duplicate it any time I get a new gadget.

Honestly, we could go on and on about which different templates to add. There are plenty of requests for various things. But what I'd love is for us to get custom categories going, and then make it possible for users to share the ones they create. It's just a pipe dream, but who knows? That kind of sounds like where you're going with this too. What do you think? :)

earthsaver

Thanks for your engagement on this topic! Custom category creation and sharing sounds like a great approach to me, too.

AGAlumB

Likewise, thanks for your passion for this! It isn't something we can do right now, and I can't make any promises, but custom categories has sort of been a Holy Grail for us for a long time. We really want to make this happen. :)

prime

I think this would be a great idea! Especially for iOS/Mac users to keep track of Apple Care and stuff like that.

rickfillion

Yup. Would love for us to do something better here. :)

Rick

pbGuy

I'd like to add a follow-up to my request for a Hardware item template, which would be selectable from the File -> New Item drop-down menu.
I've been receiving, as an mSecure user, mSeven's reminder emails about a 66% discount for mSecure 5. As mSecure 5 seems to no longer have a Hardware template, I put forward a support inquiry asking whether Hardware had been eliminated. I've not yet heard back, which leads me to believe this template has been eliminated.
I again put forward to Agile Bits that adding a Hardware item template to a future version of 1PW, would not only add a very useful feature but be a significant differentiator to a competitive, software app. ...Keeping fingers crossed a Hardware item will be added.

Ben

While it seems unlikely that we'll create additional static templates at this point, we do hope to be able to offer a more flexible solution in the future. It isn't something I can make any promises on at this point, but it is on the wish list.

Ben

pbGuy

I just don't understand the resistance to a Hardware category. ...What does "wish list" mean? ...Sometime in the next decade? ;)

Some years ago, Outdoor License was added to the Item's List. Outdoor License is a niche category with less usability to 1PW's general, user base; whereas, all 1PW users have hardware where nesting product details would be highly useful.

Shortly after my first Post in this Thread, I created my own template for Hardware, as a Secure Note template, but this is not the elegant solution I expect from 1PW. I really don't want multiple and individual, Secure Notes (as Hardware items) in the Secure Notes category; I prefer having a Hardware category, which segregates these items from my Notes.

Since I now expect it unlikely to see this Hardware item added to 1PW, I'll be keeping my current version of mSecure (which I would otherwise have uninstalled) solely for the purpose of it being my repository for hardware details. :p

Oh well, a missed opportunity... :(

Ben

I just don't understand the resistance to a Hardware category. ...What does "wish list" mean?

Just what it sounds like: something we'd like but may never happen.

Some years ago, Outdoor License was added to the Item's List. Outdoor License is a niche category with less usability to 1PW's general, user base; whereas, all 1PW users have hardware where nesting product details would be highly useful.

Actually we just renamed the existing "Hunting License" category to "Outdoor License" to be more generic. It wasn't an addition.

And you're right: more people probably have hardware details to record than outdoor licenses, but I'd wager not as many feel hardware details need to be stored in an encrypted database. There generally isn't too much sensitive about hardware details. 1Password was never intended to be a database to store non-sensitive information in bulk. It isn't designed to handle that. There are almost definitely better tools available for doing that.

I'm not arguing against your case. In fact I do store some hardware info in 1Password, though not nearly as much as I probably should (instead it goes undocumented). I just didn't want you to feel mislead by our position. We're not looking to add specific categories to 1Password that this time. While on the surface it may seem like a trivial task it would actually require a fair bit of work, and instead of doing that work for specific categories we'd rather focus any available energy on a more flexible solution.

The wish list bit comes in with that whole "available energy" key phrase.

Ben

thightower

I have to say for years, I asked for a Hardware vault. I once had them as software licenses and then moved them to a specific vault just for hardware items. Then manually converted those items to notes. I was one of the very first to wish for such a thing way back when.

The longer I use 1P, I tend to use notes for such things. I have and sort things by tags and have specific tags for specific categories, like hardware, warranty, apple care, etc. I have so many tags I forget them but they are usually logical. What I would hope for would be able to apply tag sets or group tags, I guess some would call them nested tags.

Just last night I decided I was segmenting things way too much and combined a few vaults, then put hardware back into our shared family vault. I go back and forth.

Now thats vault view, as for a separate category or such, I am still open to such a thing.

As for notes I made things somewhat easy to follow in my thinking (scratches head), I have one note for Networking equipment, eg. Time Capsule, router, airport express (s), etc. Then one note for computers, containing my Macs, Windows (no not mine) ;) even my sons school issued Chrome book. One for visual equipment such as TV's and monitors.

Not trying to dissuade you, just my experience.

Ben

Thanks for sharing @thightower :)

Ben