Password Generator
I see it is a hot topic in these forums...
I work for an MSP where we need to quickly generate passwords for all manner of things that have nothing to do with our own machines. We just need to generate them, copy them and paste them elsewhere.
This was AWESOME in the old version. I would open up 1PW through clicking the menu bar pull down, click once more on the "Password Generator" item that was right there in the sidebar without intervention, copy the password with one click "copy" button, and leave.
Now... sigh...
I have to click on the 1PW top menu
Click "+ Password"
Click "Save and Copy"
Go back into 1PW and try to delete all of the new entries for each "new password" I created, when all I wanted was the password.
If this is how it now works, just let me know and we'll move our office to using yet another app for password generating.
Thank you!
1Password Version: 7.3
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: 10.14
Sync Type: Not Provided
Comments
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Welcome to the forum, @neotruth! Thanks for the feedback. Looking over your description of the differences, it seems like the first three steps (click mini in the menubar, click either Password Generator (previous versions) or + Password (7.3), and then click either Copy (previous versions) or "Save and Copy" (7.3) are essentially the same (only the names and locations are different). FYI, you can actually save yourself a click in either version by using the keyboard shortcut
⌥⌘\(opt + cmd + backslash), which will open the mini without having to mouse-travel to the top of your screen to click the menubar icon.So that's three clicks (or two, if you invoke the mini via keyboard shortcut). In both the previous and current versions, however, clicking "Save" (or "Save and Copy") results in the generated password being saved within the 1Password database in the Passwords category. So I'm not quite sure what you're referring to. Can you clarify?
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I agree with all the other users that are explicitly saying this feature used to be better and easier to use. I don't like to have to create an explicit new item to generate a pw either. in my case, I use the brave browser and haven't successfully managed to get 1pw to work in browser very well. So this just creates a lot of pw noise and doesn't always sync with my accounts. Please change back and stop just telling us how it's better now or it's just as good. Listen to the users. thanks.
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I was really dumbfounded when I couldn't find the "Passwort Generator" anymore... Why was it removed??
I used it multiple times per day and it worked great!
Do I really have to create a new password item in 1Password now when I just want to generate a password?0 -
Welcome to the forum, @Auser! Thanks for the feedback.
Listen to the users. thanks.
In fact, this is exactly what we did, in relation to the previous iteration of 1Password mini in pre-7.3. :)
I'm...genuinely not sure what you're talking about. The Strong Password Generator hasn't been removed, it's not hidden. In fact, the behavior/UI in the main app is entirely unchanged. In 1Password 7.3's mini, the location has changed from the left sidebar (where it was previously called "Password Generator") to the top right under the Search Bar (where it is called "+ New Password"):
I use the brave browser and haven't successfully managed to get 1pw to work in browser very well.
Please tell us:
1. The specific version of 1Password for Mac you have installed
2. The specific version of macOS you're currently running
3. The specific version of 1Password extension you have installed in Brave (current version is 4.7.4)
4. Specific details about what's not working. -- we'll be happy to work with you to get things working correctly. For what it's worth, I use Brave as my daily driver here and have experienced no such problem, so I'm confident we can get things working the same for you....this just creates a lot of pw noise and doesn't always sync with my accounts.
Not 100% sure what you mean by this; are you referring to 1password.com accounts? Or did you mean accounts at various websites. Can you be more specific regarding what you mean here? Thanks! :)
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@zoopzoop - sorry for the confusion! If you've already read my above comment to @Auser, then you'll know that the Password Generator wasn't removed. It has been relocated and re-named in the mini, in 7.3, but it's still there. :)
Do I really have to create a new password item in 1Password now when I just want to generate a password?
You always did. As far back as version 6, if you invoke 1Password mini, click "Password Generator" and create a new password, as soon as you click "Copy," to copy it to your clipboard, that password item is created in the Passwords category. This behavior hasn't changed. Hope that helps clarify things, but let us know if you have any other comments or questions regarding this update. :)
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@Wilson828 - please see my above replies, and let us know if you have additional questions. :)
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Ok, I see the "+ Password" in the mini version now.
But the fact that so many of us don't see it is maybe an in indicator that the placement and renaming (why change from "Password Generator" to "+ New Password"? The first is very clear, the second isn't.) is less than optimal.The Strong Password Generator hasn't been removed, it's not hidden. In fact, the behavior/UI in the main app is entirely unchanged.
So you're saying there didn't use to be a "Password Generator" link in the main app in the left sidebar?
What do I have to do to generate a password in the main app now?
Click on "+", click on "Password", click on the cog icon next to the password (Why?? The "cog" item means settings, 100% of the time, everywhere, and never "generate password"), then select the generated password (which is not autoselected), then click on "Cancel" (because I don't actually want to create a password item in 1Password, at least not right now!), then it asks me if I really want to cancel without saving, I click "Don't save"... and then i finally have my generated password ready to paste!Please tell me I'm stupid and there is a MUCH simpler way to generate a password that I'm not seeing...
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So you're saying there didn't use to be a "Password Generator" link in the main app in the left sidebar?
Not unless you found a feature that I wasn't aware of! :) Here's the UI of 1Password for Mac 7.2's main app window:
...and here's the same for 1Password for Mac 6.8.9 UI:
No "Password Generator" link in the left sidebar of either one. I believe you may be thinking of the mini in previous iterations, where there definitely was a link called "Password Generator." But -- as I said earlier -- that's now been moved and renamed, but not hidden or removed. :)Click on "+", click on "Password", click on the cog icon next to the password (Why?? The "cog" item means settings, 100% of the time, everywhere, and never "generate password"), then select the generated password (which is not autoselected), then click on "Cancel" (because I don't actually want to create a password item in 1Password, at least not right now!), then it asks me if I really want to cancel without saving, I click "Don't save"... and then i finally have my generated password ready to paste!
All of that is correct...and it's also the way it's always been done in the main app. 1Password is obviously a password-generating app...but because we're a password manager, we operate and design under the assumption that if you're generating a password, you're going to want to save it. So, if you click "Copy" or "Fill" from the mini, or you click Save on the item when generating it from the main app, 1Password is going to create a Password item for you -- so that you won't run the risk of not having it saved anywhere, when you need it. If all you need is to generate passwords and never remember them, there are plenty of password generators available via the web. I don't have any recommendations, because frankly, that's not how we recommend generating passwords. If you use a webapp, you're not sure how it was designed in terms of the actual randomness of the generator, as well as overall security and trustworthiness of the site. We recommend users use the Strong Password Generator within 1Password -- which will save your creation by default, so you don't lose it. It's not a common use-case for 1Password users to want to create an important password but NOT to save/remember it within 1Password itself, so we don't design for that use-case. Hope that helps! :)
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Ok then, I'm convinced. :smile: I guess the fact that I was 99% sure there used to be a "Password Generator" link in the sidebar of the main app shows that in my mind, the mini and the main app were indistinguishable. Why include the password generator in one and not the other?
Anyways, I understand why you don't want the app to generate a password and not save it. But please, think about adding the "+ New Password" button the main app as well!
And just to be clear - I love 1Password! :smile: It really saved my life a few times and I use it to save ALL my important data, not just passwords and logins. This password generator business is really the first time in years that I am confused by a change.
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@zoopzoop: All versions of 1Password have the password generator. We're just trying to put it in a context where people use it, rather than a user having to know to look for something called "password generator" somewhere in the app when what they're trying to do is make a new password. :) I am sorry for the confusion though. As someone who's been using 1Password for a long time, it was a bit of an adjustment for me too. But we want it to be easy for everyone to get a new strong, unique password with just a couple clicks where they need it, in the browser. It's definitely worth evaluating if changes are needed in the main 1Password app windows too though. Thanks for the feedback -- and for your support!
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I also work for an MSP and although it may not be a requirement of the bulk of your users, it seems it would be easy to keep everyone happy with the addition of a copy only button or copy only keyboard shortcut to the generate password page. I trust 1Password to be my password safe and generator so it makes sense for me to use it to generate initial passwords for my customers. I don't want to save these passwords however as they aren't to be used by me. For me, this missing feature is the only thing missing from a great app.
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Likewise, thanks for taking the time to share that with us. :chuffed:
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@brenty, I support @ben77 and others. Password Generator without saving item is needed feature. I created two gifs which show one case of use for 7.2.6 and 7.3.1 version.
Version 7.2.6. has a user-friendly implementation
Version 7.3.1 has no convenient implementation
I still use 7.2.6 version because it's more appropriate for me
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Welcome to the forum @targs08! And thank you for taking the time to prepare the two gifs with us. I can see how this could be useful to you, so while I cannot make any promises, I can tell you that I have shared your feedback internally :)
Once again, thank you and have a wonderful day!
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Add me as another long-time 1Password user who misses the easy functionality of the Password Generator. I miss it so much I regretted upgrading to v. 7 as soon as I discovered the change. . .
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@MrMojoOne - I'm sorry you found the changes a step backward, but I'm also a bit confused: what functionality did you use in previous versions that you feel is NOT present in the current version?
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Lars, I don't know why you are still confused. . . targs08 even provided a visual aid to illustrate the situation. I cannot think of anything that I can add that could make it any clearer for you.
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@MrMojoOne - just trying to be certain of what you meant by "easy functionality" and "the change." People frequently drop into ongoing threads via a Google search or even one on this forum itself, and have a different issue/question than the OP. Anyway, thanks for weighing in. :) :+1:
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Yes, Yes, Yes, 100000% what @targs08 shows and said. I repeatedly used the ability of 1Password to generate random strings that I do not want to save. I could do this in 7.2.6, I'm not able to do this in 7.3.1. Is there a support article that I can follow to downgrade to 7.2.6? I'd prefer to stay with a version that has the features I need than a newer version that may have features I don't.
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Welcome to the forum, @tm2! You can find our version history server here, where you can download any specific version of 1Password including the current one and beta versions.
That said, we don't recommend intentionally reverting to an older version in almost all circumstances, because it leaves you on a version that's a frozen snapshot in time, and as you update/upgrade other things around your system such as browsers and OS, leaving one critical component of your security intentionally on an older version that's no longer receiving updates will over time lead to greater chances of incompatibilities and potentially even security issues, since the security landscape is always changing, and old versions don't change.
There's also no need to revert to 7.2.6 or any previous version: the major difference between 7.3.1 and 7.2.6 or even earlier versions in this regard is not in functionality, but in display. The "Copy" feature has always saved a Password item in your 1Password database, because we never want it to be the case that a user generates a password and then - because they got called away from their computer immediately after, or saving a Login item with the generated password failed - that password is not retained anywhere in 1Password, potentially resulting in users being locked out of their own account somewhere. So, the way to prevent that occurrence is to save a Password item in 1Password as soon as a generated password is either copied or filled, which is what we've always done.
You can see this in the following GIF of password generation in the mini on version 7.2.6. In the beginning, there are no items in the Passwords category, so that category does not appear in the sidebar. After generating and saving a password, you'll see that category appear, and inside it is one item -- with the same password as the one we generated:
The major difference in @targs08's GIFs is in how apparent it is that this is occurring. But yes, anytime you click the "Copy" button, even in earlier versions, a Password item is saved in the 1Password database. Hope this helps clarify.
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I am one of those users who used the Password Generator feature specifically because it didn't save the password as a new item that I now have to delete afterwards. I would greatly appreciate it, along with what sounds like many other people, if the stateless Password Generator feature was restored. There are many uses for a password generator tool that doesn't save the password, especially for people like software developers or IT power users.
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@nickjbedford: There was never such a thing as a "stateless Password Generator feature". As far back as I can remember, at least all the way to version 3 circa 2010, 1Password for Mac has been automatically saving Password items when you use a generated password. You can probably even confirm that yourself by selecting the "Passwords" category and sorting by date, depending on how long you've been using 1Password. What's changed in recent versions is, rather, that Password items are being shown as an option for filling alongside Logins, as Lars mentioned above. That didn't used to be the case. Previously, 1Password would only show you Password items for filling when no matching Logins were found.
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