Show all categories in 1Password Mini

Yvo
Yvo
Community Member

Would it be possible to force the 1Password Mini app to always show all categories?

I've searched the forum and found this topic, but it is closed:
https://discussions.agilebits.com/discussion/30021/show-all-categories-in-1password-mini

The thing is I use 1Password Mini a lot to to fill in server passwords, and the "Servers" category now isn't visible. The extra click isn't that bothersome to do once, but it gets a bit annoying after the tenth time on a day. My screen could easily fit 40 categories, but I only have 7. And "Servers" is of course the 6th category that is hidden by default.

I can think of two possible solutions:
1. Add a small yes/no option to 1Password Mini that enables/disables category hiding
2. Or / and track the categories that I use a lot and show those in the top 5

Both shouldn't be that hard to implement and would add a lot of user-friendliness to your app.


1Password Version: 5.3.530029
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: OS X 10.10.4
Sync Type: Not Provided

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Comments

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @Yvo: If it were me, I'd say go even a step further and make it possible to determine which categories are shown at all. After all, even if a category is hidden, you can still find those items using search. However, I don't want to give the impression that we're working on this, only that I think it's an interesting idea that I'll be sure to pass along. Hopefully we can add more customization like this in a future version though. Thanks for the feedback! :)

  • rekkss
    rekkss
    Community Member

    I would love to see this feature too. I agree with Yvo, when you have to click on "Show more categories" multiple times a day, it gets a little annoying. And I also agree with brenty in that it would be great if we could determine which categories get show. Please add my vote for this request. Thanks!

  • Hi @Yvo and @rekkss. I think we all agree that this could be done better. It certainly gets annoying for me on the days where I need to click it multiple times. As Brenty said, this isn't something we're currently working on, but definitely something that's on our mind, and hopefully we can do better in the future.

    Rick

  • Yvo
    Yvo
    Community Member

    Hi rickfillion,

    I find it a bit strange that you guys say "it certainly gets annoying" together with "this isn't something we're currently working on".

    1Password mini always showed all of the categories and since one of the updates it only shows the first 5. It makes completely no sense on my display of 2560 x 1440 to show a list of 5 items instead of 8 items. Are people with a 640 x 480 display the main focus here? Otherwise I see no logical reasoning behind this.

    Sorry if I seem a bit agitated by this, but actually I am... when you guys introduce features like this please provide some kind of off switch (settings, config file, magical gesture). Same applies to the new "All Vaults" feature. Please don't go down the same road as Microsoft with the "Everybody is going to love tiles instead of a Start Menu and everybody has to use it"-approach.

    Please add this to your bug tracking system as a UI / usability bug.
    Thanks!

  • littlebobbytables
    littlebobbytables
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @Yvo,

    It's odd, I didn't think this had been altered recently at all and I've just checked 1Password 4.4.3 and it's showing the same behaviour. Are you thinking of 1Password 3 at all? That's just for my curiosity to be honest, it doesn't change the request you've made at all and it is filed with both your vote and rekkss's added.

    Just to say though, with the exception of All Vaults 1Password does use the top 5 categories as ordered in the main 1Password window and this is already user configurable. It won't alter the ordering in some sort of automated usage based on usage but you can manually set which five are visible. We're still working on All Vaults view so the same doesn't quite apply there yet. So for me and my primary vault the top 5 items are Logins, Credit Cards, Bank Accounts, Identities and Passports but if I want to change that I can. I have different orderings in other vaults and 1Password mini changes as I jump between them. It's not exactly what you asked for in option 2 but it's close.

    ref: OPM-3764

  • Yvo
    Yvo
    Community Member
    edited February 2016

    Hi @LittleBobbyTables,

    Thanks for your reply. Still love your username :)

    I don't think I've ever used a 4.x version of 1Password, but I believe that older 5.x versions (of a few months ago) didn't hide any of the categories. Perhaps it is something that I or a colleague triggered by creating an item in a new category or by starting using multiple vaults.

    Another weird thing, when you open 1Password and change "All Vaults" to a specific vault, it stops hiding the categories.

    The thing is, I use the Servers category a lot, and I always have to click the silly "Show x more categories" option to get there. And I simply can't understand the added value of hiding the categories. It doesn't track the ones I use a lot, so it just seems to be there to annoy me :)

    Also thank you for filing a work item on this!

  • littlebobbytables
    littlebobbytables
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @Yvo,

    The All Vaults view is new as of 1Password 6 for Mac and 1Password 6 for iOS and we're still ironing out some of the kinks. Because it isn't a real vault it currently doesn't allow you to alter the ordering of the categories like you can when you're viewing a single vault. Now I believe the developers understand that the users really do want the ability to order the categories even if it's not a real vault as they're used to having this in single vault view and like above, it is affecting people's workflows.

    I don't see them as being one or the other either, these seem like two very independent requests that could both be fulfilled at some point. With a fixed number of categories it isn't like we don't know exactly what amount of space they're going to take up after all :smile:

  • Gasman2014
    Gasman2014
    Community Member

    1Password 6.3

    I think this issue of "Show more Categories" has been around for several major point interactions of the 1Password software but it is a continuing gripe. Using the 1Password mini app from the menu bar I am always presented with "Show 3 more categories" which I have to click on to get to see all the categories.I know I can reorder the five that are shown in the main app but I refer to 8 sections regularly. On an iPhone screen I could see the point but on a 27" iMac it is just annoying. After all - clicking on it expands it to fill space that is there - it is not like it has to scroll or anything. There are a number of comments from Team members that they are aware that this is a problem. Could it not be a preference? I have to say it was always one of my pet gripes with Windows but at least there you can turn it off and show the whole menu by default.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @Gasman2014: You're right that on a large screen there's no need for this, but not everyone has a 27" iMac. Don't forget that you can find items of any category without having to navigate any menus by searching, and on a 27" screen, it's not particularly fun to be clicking around in menus of any kind — even if they don't need to be expanded. For reasons previously enumerated it isn't a high priority to redo 1Password mini, but it's something we'd like to do in the future, most likely as part of a more substantive redesign. So the answer is still "not now", but it's definitely on our radar. :)

  • texastoby
    texastoby
    Community Member

    Bump.

    Like Gasman2014, really wish their was an option to at least re-arrange the order, especially if you aren't going to allow us (even on 13" MacBooks) to show all the categories. Saying, "it's something we'd like to do in the future" but then not doing it for two years, feels a bit like false hope. You guys have the security parts figured out, but it's the little things that make things truly great. I just want to add a voice to the chorus that says, thank you for thinking about making this better, now lets get 'er done.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    You guys have the security parts figured out, but it's the little things that make things truly great. I just want to add a voice to the chorus that says, thank you for thinking about making this better, now lets get 'er done.

    @texastoby: First of all, thank you for the compliment! It means a lot to hear that you're satisfied with the security that 1Password offers. We put a lot of time and effort into that, as it's absolutely our priority.

    Like Gasman2014, really wish their was an option to at least re-arrange the order, especially if you aren't going to allow us (even on 13" MacBooks) to show all the categories. Saying, "it's something we'd like to do in the future" but then not doing it for two years, feels a bit like false hope.

    And while I agree in principle that it would be a nice thing to have, I have to disagree that it's something that should take precedence. I don't mean to give anyone false hope. In fact, I try to go out of my way to make it clear that changes like this one aren't something you should hold your breath for ("most likely as part of a more substantive redesign. So the answer is still 'not now'").

    That probably sounds contradictory and rather infuriating, but I hope you'll appreciate that security is not a single problem that's already been solved; it's a moving target. And likewise, any changes we make to 1Password — even those that are most important, which involve security or general improvements that help the majority of users — have a ripple effect that usually means more work than you'd expect.

    I'm not suggesting that category display is a prime example of this. However, the other changes we've made over time mean a lot of work, both in your face and behind the scenes. And while this could very well be one of the "little things", it probably makes more sense (better use of resources and bigger payoff) that we do something like this, as I said, while addressing the overall user interface. For example, there are probably a number of ways we could make 1Password both more usable on small displays and more accessible.

    Speaking of which, a lot of the work we've done in the past year or so is perhaps not something you or I would ever notice unprompted, but is absolutely critical for folks with different ways of interacting with 1Password for Mac than what most of us are accustomed to in our daily lives. That's both a lot of work and also largely taken for granted by those of us fortunate enough not to depend on accessibility features, but incredibly important nonetheless.

    So along with security and wide-reaching improvements, that's the sort of thing we need to say "get 'er done" to. Showing additional categories in the menu would be helpful as well, but since we have to choose, this is the sort of choice we'll continue to make, given the option.

  • texastoby
    texastoby
    Community Member

    Yes, you guys have been busy, developing Team$ and Familie$ and 1Pa$$word.com. While I appreciate there are lots of backend updates us users never see, the direction you've taken with so much development to the rental angle, and (apparently) to the detriment of small UI change options, is disappointing. But, it's your train set. We'll have to agree to disagree.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni
    edited August 2016

    @texastoby: So, again, a lot of the work we've done this past year has been on user interface, but as I mentioned this may not be things you see. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to see the things you're concerned with. That's my point. You may not care enough about that to give my response any credence, but it's the truth. You can ignore it and gloss it over with some dollar signs, but the reality is that there are a lot of people out there that benefit from this work. Maybe you or no one in your life now falls into that category, and perhaps never will. Regardless, that doesn't make it unimportant, and by comparison having to do an extra click to view categories in the 1Password mini UI is insignificant. That isn't to say that it isn't worth doing, but it's all about choices. And we feel strongly that making it possible for more people to use 1Password and be more secure in the first place needs to take precedence. Better late than never. Cheers.

  • michaelosity
    michaelosity
    Community Member

    I've been using 1Password for a while now and this is my top usability complaint. I've subscribed to the beta updates just hoping that one day an update will finally address this issue.

    'The current UI appears broken to me and, until finding this forum, I just assumed it was me not being able to find some obscure preference. I'm really disappointed that there doesn't seem to be a fix forthcoming. If you truly feel that "one extra click to view categories in the 1Password mini UI is insignificant" then, well, I don't know what to say other than maybe other vendors don't feel this way and that might be something to consider.

  • Drew_AG
    Drew_AG
    1Password Alumni

    I'm sorry this has been so frustrating for you! We certainly didn't mean that we think your complaint is insignificant, and I'm sorry if it sounded that way. Brenty was simply trying to explain that our developers need to assign a priority to everything they work on, and there are many factors that can determine that priority. Everyone has something they want fixed or added or changed or improved, and while we wish we were able to address every single thing we hear about from customers, unfortunately that's just not feasible.

    That doesn't mean this particular feature will never be changed, but I can't make any promises that it will, because I simply don't know. I'd like to think it will be addressed at some point since it's clearly annoying for some customers, but even if that happens, I don't have any sort of timeframe for when.

    I'm sorry that's not the answer you want to hear. But please know that we understand this is something that negatively impacts your workflow, and we don't want that to be the case. I really hope we'll be able to do something about that! In the meantime, if you have other questions, please don't hesitate to let us know. :)

  • michaelosity
    michaelosity
    Community Member

    No worries.

    I'm a software developer too so I fully understand the tradeoffs you face. For now, I've canceled my 1Password subscription and moved to Dashlane.

    That said, I'd love to come back to 1Password when these types of usability issues are addressed. Dashlane isn't perfect either and has it's own usability issues, but they are not as important to me as this constant gripe I had with 1Password. I understand it isn't a top priority now, but maybe if other people move to competing platforms because of it it might change some priorities. Or not. Either way, thanks for hearing me out.

  • Drew_AG
    Drew_AG
    1Password Alumni

    Thank you for the feedback! We're sad to see you go, but we completely understand that you need to make the choice that's right for you. There's no single solution that will be the right fit for everyone, so you'll need to go with the app/service you feel best meets your needs. I'm glad you're keeping your data secure with a password manager, even if it isn't 1Password! :)

    I'm also happy to hear you're open to the possibility of switching back to 1Password in the future! If you'd like to stay up-to-date on announcements we make about 1Password, be sure to check out our blog, follow us on Twitter or Facebook, or sign up for our email newsletter. Or if you want more detailed information about changes we make to 1Password, feel free to take a look at our release notes.

    As always, we're here for you if you ever need anything else! :)

  • ings
    ings
    Community Member
    edited January 2017

    I might be having a brain check, but my recollection is that sometime in the not so distant past if you clicked on "Show n more categories" it was sticky, although I don't recall how long the stickiness lasted (next browser relaunch)? I think this because it's only recently that this behaviour has started to bother me (and I've not added any new categories).

    I've read the various threads. This seems to be bothering a number of customers. Why not apply the 80/20 rule and adopt a simple mitigation - increase the default number of displayed categories to a larger number than 5? And while like a previous poster I am typing on a 27" iMac :-) retina displays have been shipping for over 4 years now, so perhaps 5 is no longer the optimal default.

    In the meantime, I will re-order the categories in the main app as suggested above. This is a great tip that I was unaware of.

    However while I am here I want to reiterate that I am a huge fan of 1Password and the team behind it. :-)

    Dave Ings

  • Drew_AG
    Drew_AG
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @ings,

    Thank you so much for taking the time to send us your feedback about having to click "Show n more categories"! I'm sorry that's been so annoying for you. I agree, I think it might be better to show more categories there by default, or perhaps to have some sort of option to change that. Although I can't say for sure if or when we'll change that, I'll certainly add your comments to our internal tracker to let our developers know about your request & suggestions. We really appreciate it!

    Aside from that, I'm happy to hear you're such a huge 1Password fan! If you need anything else, please be sure to let us know. Cheers! :)

    ref: OPM-3764

  • chrisdressler
    chrisdressler
    Community Member

    Adding my voice to this chorus (and hopefully another vote for this feature in your defect tracking system). This is my biggest gripe about 1Password and I'm a bit fan and recommend it to lots of friends. I do lots of work with servers throughout the day and after clicking "Show n more categories" for like the 15th time in a day I'm completely exasperated that this is such a big deal to remedy.

    As a software developer I understand priorities--but I also understand the scope of what something like this would actually take to address and it isn't much (unless you've done something insane architecturally in the app that makes this difficult to change). Please again consider this update to enable a setting to remove the auto filtering of "Show n more categories" in 1Password mini for those of us that don't want it. I've basically had to resort to just leave 1Password running minimized which at the end really defeats the purpose of the mini application. #pleasehelpus

  • chrisdressler
    chrisdressler
    Community Member

    That did the trick, thanks @rudy!

  • Lars
    Lars
    1Password Alumni

    @chrisdressler - on behalf of rudy, you're quite welcome; glad that worked for you!

  • Yvo
    Yvo
    Community Member
    edited November 2017

    @rudy Thank you so much!

    @brenty

    1. "Regardless, that doesn't make it unimportant, and by comparison having to do an extra click to view categories in the 1Password mini UI is insignificant."

    Please don't decide for us if an extra click is "insignificant". I am using 1Password a lot and that extra click is really annoying, especially as it doesn't make any sense. The fact that other users are chiming in says enough.

    1. "You're right that on a large screen there's no need for this, but not everyone has a 27" iMac". True, but as you can see in the statistics here, a lot of people are using large screens / resolutions.

    Nothing is stopping you from adding: if resolution height < y then show only a few categories, otherwise show it all.

    Some people using 1Password might have poor sight, that doesn't mean you should set the fonts to 20, so that most people can use the app. You can try to detect the proper configuration for the user and add a few settings so that people can customize their experience. This example might seem silly, but your screen size logic is similar.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    Thanks for the feedback! Good to get a different perspective. :)

  • Yvo
    Yvo
    Community Member
    edited March 2018

    Temporary workaround as suggested in the other topic:

    Open the Terminal app.

    If you purchased 1Password from the AgileBits Website, enter the following command:

    defaults write 2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword4-helper OPPrefCategoryShowMoreLimit -int 10

    defaults write 2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword4-helper OPPrefSearchResultsShowMoreLimit -int 10

    If you purchased 1Password from the Mac App Store, enter the following:

    defaults write 2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword-osx-helper OPPrefCategoryShowMoreLimit -int 10

    defaults write 2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword-osx-helper OPPrefSearchResultsShowMoreLimit -int 10

    That changes the number in the list to 10. If you want no limit at all, change 10 to -1

  • Lars
    Lars
    1Password Alumni

    @Yvo - thanks for reposting the terminal commands to change that preference. :)

  • Yvo
    Yvo
    Community Member

    @Lars No problem :)

    Unfortunately it isn't possible with a setting in the app, so I thought I'd safe other users a bit of time searching for the solution.

    A few lines of code to detect a large display would make 91.9% of your users (according to W3schools stats of Jan 2018) happy ;)

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    "A few lines of code" — can I quote you on that? ;)

    Certainly it's something we'll take into account as we develop future versions of the UI though. Cheers! :)

  • Yvo
    Yvo
    Community Member
    edited March 2018

    Feel free to quote me :), or should I send a quote ;)?

    Apple - Objective-C:

    if (NSScreen.mainScreen.frame.size.height >= 1800) {
      // Show at least 10 items
    }
    

    Apple - Swift:

    if let screen = NSScreen.main, screen.frame.size.height >= 800 {
      // Show at least 10 items
    }
    

    Windows - C# with WPF

    if (SystemParameters.VirtualScreenHeight >= 800) {
      // Show at least 10 items
    }
    

    Windows - C# with WinForms

    if (SystemInformation.VirtualScreen.Height >= 800) {
      // Show at least 10 items
    }
    

    Are some examples. Multi-screen might take a few more minutes, but probably already works fine with code like this.

    The "Show at least 10 items" part is already implemented, otherwise OPPrefCategoryShowMoreLimit / OPPrefSearchResultsShowMoreLimit wouldn't work.

    All jokes aside, small enhancements like this make the product more enjoyable to use.

This discussion has been closed.