Attach a file versus linked to a related item

camner

I guess I fell behind on keeping up with changes to 1P, but I just discovered that version 8 of 1P now supports attaching a file to an item (a feature that disappeared back in version 7 and whose loss was much mourned) in addition to the newer "link to a related item" feature.

I'm trying to understand exactly how these features differ, and this is what I have discovered thus far:

• with link to a related item, if the original item is moved to another vault, the link to the related item is broken, but in the case of an attached file, the attached file moves with the item
• with link to a related item, the linked item has its own entry, of course, but with an attached file, the attached file is not an "item"

Are there other differences I should be aware of?

After the file attachment feature was removed in 1P7, the migration process turned all the attachments into related items, and then I painstakingly went through my related items and created "back links" to what I considered to be the "parent" item so that when I did a search in 1P and came across a document, from there I could link back to the item to which the document was related. The net result of this is that I have a large number of documents that are their own items, and thus clutter my 1P item list.

In my primary use case for related items (keeping track of registration emails for software licenses), I think that file attaching is a much more natural way to proceed then treating registration emails as a separate document item and then creating relationship links. But, before I go to the time and trouble of converting all these related documents back into attached files, I want to make sure I understand as fully as possible what the implications are of the two methods of associating a file with a 1P item.

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andrew.l_1P

Hi @camner,

Thanks for your insight here and being a long time 1Password user. We've certainly learned over the years how to best handle attachments. We have a couple open feature requests to persist item links and warn users about links breaking, but you're spot on in describing the current behaviour.

Personally, if I'm confident an attachment will only be relevant to one particular item, like in the use case you describe, I add it to that item. If you'd like to keep an eye on which items have attachments without them taking up the space of being their own items, I'd recommend using a tag.

Let me know if you have any questions or want to explore other workarounds. 😊

camner

Thanks

Dave_1P

@camner

I'm happy that Andrew was able to help. 😊

-Dave

markbot

Hi 1Password Helpers,

I'm coming in late on this message thread from earlier this year. I realize that I have the same question as "camner," the original poster, had back in January.

At some point in past iterations of 1PW (I'm thinking v7) I couldn't "attach a file" to an item, as I can now in v8. I had to create a "Document" for the file, than navigate to the item and link the Document to it.

So for example, if I had an invoice file (e.g., a .pdf) for an application license I purchased, I couldn't store it with the Software License for the application. I had to add it as a "Document," then open up the Software License entry for the app and link the invoice Document.

Now, if I'm correctly reading what "camner" was writing, and youse guys response, I can now simply attach the Invoice File from within the Software License entry. There's not need to create a separate "Document" for the invoice.

And as "camner" mentioned, I can actually delete an existing Invoice Document (after having saved it to my Downloads Folder), then simply attach the Invoice file from the Downloads Folder. (Or any other place it might be stored.)

No need to link things anymore, or so it appears, and in fact, existing links can be removed in favor of simply attaching a file.

I have actually done this, so it appears that this is how v8 is intended to work. And I'm glad it does, because I found the linking part, and even having to create a Document, to be a bit cumbersome.

I realize that linking still has its uses, for example, if you'd like to link a Document to two or more other items. That could be useful, although I've never needed to do it.

I was hoping if you could confirm that if I've got the v8 behavior down correctly.

I hope so, but if not, I'd be grateful for your clarification.

Also, if this has been documented somewhere, please let me know.

Best regards from the States, not far from Canada,

-markbot

P.S. Thank you, Andrew, for that tip to use Tags. I've never used them before, will give 'em a try. Come to think of it, if there's documentation regarding Tags, or maybe a video, please let me know.

GreyM1P

@markbot

Now, if I'm correctly reading what "camner" was writing, and youse guys response, I can now simply attach the Invoice File from within the Software License entry. There's not need to create a separate "Document" for the invoice.

Yep! You can attach a file to any item in 1Password by clicking Edit, then + add more > Attach a File.

I realize that linking still has its uses, for example, if you'd like to link a Document to two or more other items. That could be useful, although I've never needed to do it.

Exactly. For example, I linked my Credit Card item to the Login I use to sign in to my credit card account, so that I can jump from one to the other easily. Bear in mind, links are one-way, but you can set them up in both directions to be able to switch back and forth.

I was hoping if you could confirm that if I've got the v8 behavior down correctly.

Sounds like it. :) Let us know if you need any other help or have questions.

markbot

Hi GrayM,

Thank you for that confirmation.

re: "I linked my Credit Card item to the Login I use to sign in to my credit card account, so that I can jump from one to the other easily. Bear in mind, links are one-way, but you can set them up in both directions to be able to switch back and forth."

Aha!

This is FIENDISHLY clever.

BUT -- I ran into a problem when I tried to link a credit card (in the Shared Vault) with the corresponding login (in my Private Account). I couldn't do it. It appears that you can only link to items in the SAME Vault. Once I changed the login to the Shared Account, it worked.

Could you please confirm that?

-markbot
Boston, MA, Sub-Canada

P.S. Again, if this documented anywhere, please let me know.

GreyM1P

@markbot

This is FIENDISHLY clever.

I can't take the credit for that – it's an example scenario in the article linked below. 😁

you can only link to items in the SAME Vault

That's right – it keeps things easier. Imagine, for example, someone in the family looking at an item in the Shared vault and they saw a link to something but couldn't tell what it was because it was in your Private vault and they can't decrypt that. We know that an entire vault is always decrypted at the same time, so that "dead link" situation can't happen within the same vault.

There's more about how to link items here: Link related items in 1Password.

Linking items is one of those parts of 1Password where there's no single "right" way to do it but you can use it in whatever way makes sense to you. Happy to help with anything, so let me know how you get on. :)