log in confusion -generate password weirdness

asukulu
asukulu
Community Member
edited November 2011 in 1Password 3 – 7 for Mac
Please correct me if Im wrong but I have been using 1password for some time now and it really does seem to work the way it is supposed to. Instead what one has to do is use a somewhat cumbersome technique to save ones passwords. If you are new to 1password then I can see that you would be baffled as to how to actually make it work correctly.
Here is what I mean-

Step 1 I go to a website that requires a password so I must register.
Step 2 I fill out the registration form
Step 3 I generate a password using the extension
Step 4 I must highlight the password in the extension and use command c to copy it because if I leave the extension then go back to it a new password is generated and I cannot get the previous one back!!! Im sure there was a feature in previous versions that allowed me to see previous generated password. You might wonder why I need to copy at all, why not just click fill but you will see why if you read on.
Step 5 I click on fill to fill the password fields on the registration form
Step 6 I submit my form - when I do this 1password always asks me if I want to save. Newcomers to 1password would automatically think they must save here but this is not the case. If you save here and then try to use this to log in 1password will do one of two things -it will do something stupid like save your email as your username etc so your log in will fail or it will not recognise the log in page because it is different to the registration page that you saved. So instead you must click the cross and not save.
Step 7 Now once you have activated your membership to whatever website you will usually be logged in automatically. Now you must log out and go to the log in page.
Step 8 Enter your username and password (command v to paste it because remember you copied it before) in the fields and log in'
Step 9 Now 1password will ask again and this time you can save.
Step 10 now next time you log in it will work


Do the people at agile actually know that this is how this software works? Because it seems very odd to me that I must do this every time I want to save a password.
Particularly the having to manually copy and paste the generated password. Today I copied a password but I forgot and then copied something else and so I lost the password and had to get the website to reset it. I can cope with the illogical saving passwords technique but I really need to be able to see previously generated passwords otherwise that feature is rendered useless.

If i am doing it all completely wrong please enlighten me so I don't end up ditching your software for something else better.

Comments

  • khad
    khad
    1Password Alumni
    Hey asukulu,

    Thanks for asking about this! We are, of course, always working to improve 1Password, but the specifics of autosave in some instances can be a tough nut to crack. There just isn't an easy way for 1Password to reliably "know" whether the username and password you are submitting in a form are for a registration page or a login page. Of course, many sites have simplified (or even combination login and) registration pages, so saving a Login from the registration page on a site like that will work just fine. The tricky part is getting 1Password to know the difference between those two different pages. This is not something we have been able to reliably do yet, and because it is so tricky, I don't know of any other application that does it either. :S

    I certainly won't say it is impossible. Our developers are constantly accomplishing things that seem impossible until they do them. It's just not simple. I'm sorry I don't have a better answer right now, but perhaps this tip might help.

    If you generate the password with the extension, clicking the "Fill" button stores the generated password in your password history. So, just sign up for the site, dismiss the autosave prompt if it pops up, and then use the "View password history" button to get a list of your recently generated passwords on the actual Login page for the site. Your most recently generated password will be listed at the top. Click it, and 1Password will fill it into the Login form for you. No need to copy. No need to paste. :)
    20111130-cddf2xrha9bgsuik3x1km2trxf.png
    Additionally, if you are more concerned with the "false positive" type of behavior on the registration pages than missing autosave on login pages, you can disable autosave globally in the settings section and then just manually save Logins using the "+" button in the upper right corner of the extension.
    20111130-tq8gg7ds1yq73q8nagaygd9tug.png
    Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I'd love to help you make the most of 1Password.

    Cheers,
  • asukulu
    asukulu
    Community Member
    edited November 2011
    Thanks for the help. I never knew how to use the password history but now I know I shall use it. Cheers
  • khad
    khad
    1Password Alumni
    No problem at all. That's what I'm here for. :)

    Just holler if you need anything else.
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