Is it possible to specify the minimum number of numbers in the password generator?

Some sites require at least a set number of digits and the generator doesn't seem to allow me to specify that. I have to keep generating passwords until I get the number of digits I need.

It would also be nice to be able to specify the symbols to use when generating with symbols... some sites don't allow the whole range of symbols and so I sometimes need to remove a few symbols to get the password to be accepted.

Can these settings be adjusted? I couldn't find anywhere, but I might have missed them.


1Password Version: 6.8.496
Extension Version: 4.7.0.90
OS Version: Windows 10
Sync Type: Not Provided
Referrer: forum-search:password generator

Comments

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @matty666: I've never actually encountered a site that required a set number of digits, only "at least one" of those and often symbols. We don't currently have any plans to add more complexity to the password generator as it not only decreases usability but also entropy (by specifying a specific number of digits, there are considerably fewer possible combinations). We would, however, like to make it possible to exclude certain symbols in the future because that's a more common problem, but we'll have to see what the best way of doing that will be. And I'd love to know the sites where you're running into the digits problem. Real-world test cases are always welcome! :)

  • matty666
    matty666
    Community Member

    @brenty yeah I have to admit they aren't common but I've had a few, and it's not a set number, it's usually 'at least x'. Typically, as you say, it's 'at least one' but occasionally I have come across sites that ask for at least 2.

    I realise that it reduces entropy, but when I have a site that requires it, then I have to resort to replacing a character with a digit manually.

    Perhaps it might be a setting that isn't normally shown, maybe in an 'advanced' options section of the generator?

    I'll try to dig out the sites I encountered that ask for more than 2 and post back here.

    Yes, the symbol exclusion would indeed be useful. I'm all for the generator creating passwords with the most entropy, but it's no good for sites that don't allow all the characters.

  • matty666
    matty666
    Community Member

    Also it might be good to be able to specify the password 'profile' in the login, so for sites that expire passwords, or when you want to change the password in the future the generator knows that this site shouldn't use these symbols, and should use this length of password etc.

  • @matty666: Although it may seem counter-intuitive trying to automate stuff like this usually adds more complexity and confusion than it alleviates. Our general design philosophy, not just with the password generator but with 1Password in general, has always been to keep things as simple as possible. It may be a small frustration to have to adjust to a website's password requirements every time, but it's simpler than asking folks to set up profiles for the password on every Login item. Of course, as brenty mentioned, we are considering some changes to the password generator and are already experimenting with some changes in 1Password X. If you're interested, you can see what the password generator looks like there in this blog post. :chuffed:

  • matty666
    matty666
    Community Member

    Yep, I get where you're coming from with keeping things simple! I'll have a play around with 1PasswordX it looks cool, i had only installed the regular chrome extension.

  • Greg
    Greg
    1Password Alumni

    @matty666: Please give it a try and let us know which one works better for you. Thanks! :+1:

    Cheers,
    Greg

This discussion has been closed.