Can attachments be embedded, linked or both?

jpbene

Hi, It used to be attachments could be embedded but now, it would appear, they can only be linked to Finder. Please advise. Thanks

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1Password Version: 1Password Version 6.8.2 (682002) Mac App Store
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: OSX 10.13
Sync Type: dropbox
Referrer: forum-search:attachment

Lars

Welcome to the forum, @jpbene! If you are using local vaults and manual sync (Dropbox, etc.), then attachments should work as they always have done. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "linked to Finder." Can you elaborate a bit? Thanks!

jpbene

Hi, in using 'linked' I meant pointed to a file in finder vs being stored within the data file. As it turns out, I'm experiencing a bug in the program because if I load 1P and select one of the 3 options: 'quick look', 'open', or 'show in finder', whichever one I select will work but then none of them will work. To get one of them to work again, I need to restart 1P.

Lars

@jpbene -- I'm unable to reproduce anything like that behavior here, so I'm wondering if you can elaborate a bit on the exact steps, in order, you're taking to reliably produce this (mis)behavior. Thanks in advance for the clarification.

ref: OPM-5365

jpbene

The only clarification I can add is that I'm using both the cloud (subscription) version and the regular version. The problem may be unique to my setup. As you may know, in the subscription version, an attached file is added as its own 'document' and, as such, the only option available is to click on the file and, so far, that works fine.

Lars

@jpbene -- ah, that's it, then. In your initial reply, you said you were using Dropbox, which means local data instead of a 1password.com account. There definitely IS a difference between the two in this regard. Namely, direct attachments do not exist currently in 1Password accounts. As you've noticed, instead they are uploaded as Documents. These are quite different than the older-style direct attachments that are still in use with local vaults. With Documents, each uploaded file is actually its own record in your vault, own UUID, etc. That means it can be linked to more than one other record. With attachments, a file is becomes part of the record it's attached to, but with Documents, you could, for example, upload an image of a receipt for multiple software licenses (like when you buy a bundle of software), and then link that receipt to each actual Software License in 1Password. Since you have a mixture of both local vaults AND 1Password account vaults, what you're able to do (attachment or Document) will vary depending on which vault you're trying to add a file into.

I hope that clarifies things. :)

jpbene

Yes, it does. Thanks for your help

Lars

@jpbene - great! Let us know if there's anything further we can do to assist you. Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your week! :)

scottwoz

Hi Lars,

I've just followed this thread and have a similar question I need to clarify. If add a document to my vault, is it safe to then remove the document from the original location on my hard drive and thus destroy it. I refer to documents that contains sensitive information that I would to remove from my HDD completely. Does this mean they're safe in my 1PW vault, and 'stored' there?

Thanks in advance

Lars

Hi @scottwoz -- Those are two questions. The answer to the technical one is that yes, files (Documents) stored within 1Password should be just fine, which means it should be OK to delete the file from wherever you had it on your hard drive. I'm speaking primarily here about files stored as documents in a 1password.com vault. These enjoy multiple redundant offsite backups, so will be available to you and safe under more or less any circumstances.

If you're attaching documents to 1Password items in local vaults, you should be OK...but you're now relying on your own local file system, potential for data corruption, etc. If you're using local vaults, I'd be sure to have a robust backup structure so that you can approximate the same level of redundancy available with a 1password.com account. Thanks for the question!

scottwoz

Thanks Lars,

Just to be clear as I'm not 100%. What's the difference between 'files stored on 1Password' and 'attaching documents to 1Password items in local vaults'?

Thanks

Scott..

Lars

@scottwoz - The difference is between whether you are using local vaults (and perhaps syncing via Dropbox or iCloud or WLAN), or whether you have a 1password.com account. The former (local vaults) allows users to directly attach files to a particular item in 1Password. The latter uploads users' files as Documents (it's a separate record type, not a direct attachment to another record) directly to the 1password.com servers, encrypted just like everything else in their 1password.com account.

scottwoz

Ok, thanks.

I do have a 1Password account and don't use (have never used) any cloud services for 1PW. However, I have uploaded files as 'documents' and have subsequently attached them to records. After further investigation however I've noticed that they've been stored in my 1pw settings folders 'hidden' on my hard drive. It's this that I want to remove, and also the same duplicates from my regular file folders. I just need to clarify that if I've uploaded docs to my desktop 1pw 'app', that I can 'safely' destroy these documents locally. Hope that makes sense.

Thanks.

Lars

@scottwoz - gotcha. I'm not trying to confuse the issue for you. Files stored in 1Password should be safe, meaning you can delete other, non-encrypted versions of the same files elsewhere on your hard drive.

scottwoz

Thanks Lars, my only concern now is your use of the word 'should'.

Many thanks..

Lars

@scottwoz -- well, we work in security. We know better than a lot of people that nothing is 100% safe. There's a chance your hard drive could fail, and if that's the only place you have these attachments, you'd lose them. There's a chance the database could become corrupted. I mean, all of these are fairly remote, but it's up to the user to determine just how important/critical these documents are to them. And that, in turn gets into an area that's not really our purview here - how you back up your data, and in how many places. I certainly think if you've got files imported into 1Password, they should be safe and you should be able to delete unencryped copies elsewhere on your hard drive...but if you're a belt-AND-suspenders kind of guy, then you may wish to make multiple redundant copies. "Should" just acknowledges that nothing is perfect and that each user must determine his or her level of risk tolerance based on various factors. :)

scottwoz

That makes perfect sense and is a fair point. I completely understand. I appreciate all your help Lars and will take extra steps just in case.

Thanks again.

Scott.

AGAlumB

Glad that helped! We're here if you have any other questions. :)