Menubar in 1Password Mac 4? (website version)

greg2222

Hi,

I was a little frustrated to find out that 1password from the website does not support the menu bar icon, which is supported in 3.9 from MAS. Here is a discussion about this:
http://support.agilebits.com/discussions/1password-38-for-mac-from-agilebits-website/17182-1password-in-menubar

For me, this is a major feature just because it is much more elegant. Most of my favorite apps work through the menu bar (e.g. Fantastical) Can we expect to see menubar support in the non-MAS version of 1Password Mac 4?

Thanks!

khad

Good question! I think Kyle explained it very well in the aforelinked thread, but to be clear: the menu bar icon was actually added out of necessity. It doesn't really do very much at all, but the Mac App Store rules dictate that we couldn't just launch a hidden process in the background automatically like we do in 1Password 3.8. (1PasswordAgent is the invisible background process in 3.8.) We needed to make it something that users opt in to (as part of the first run experience or later via preferences). We also needed to make it a visible process so users could easily quit it if they wanted to. That is why there is the option to disable it — just disable "Show helper icon in the menu bar" — rather than it being hidden by default with no way to make it visible.

All that said, there are certainly some doors that a menu bar icon can open up, and we're evaluating the possibilities for the future. I can't discuss future plans, but please let me know why you would like to have a menu bar icon. I'd love to pass your feedback along to the developers. :)

Cheers!

P.S. I should also mention that it is possible to have the Helper running and hidden in 1Password 3.9 just like in 3.8 which is how I have mine set up. The Helper doesn't need to be visible in order to be helpful — pun intended. It's primary functions are invisible: automatic daily backups, controlling keyboard shortcuts in the browsers, etc.

greg2222

I was thinking about something similar as in the browser, which allows you to access information saved in 1Password. That might be convenient for getting password when I log into a server through the terminal or any other situation where I need the stuff that is saved outside of the browser. My thought was that it would make access much easier without having to start the full app.

Best!

khad

Indeed. Auto-type would be a very useful feature. There doesn't need to be a menu bar icon for such a feature. (The Auto-Type feature in 1Password for Windows is proof of that.)

Things are a bit more complicated in OS X with Secure Input and application sandboxing, but I'll certainly pass your vote along to the developers for Auto-Type in 1Password for Mac. :)

Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with.

sovanbu

Isn't the Menu Bar icon just the Browser Extension? Or am I missing something?

khad

No. The menu bar item is in the menu bar. The browser extensions "reside in" the browsers' toolbars.