iCloud vs Dropbox syncing?

tuni12

I just noticed - my Dropbox doesn't show any updated syncs from 1PW - preferences show I am syncing to iCloud - that can be changed by disabling that - but don't know which would be the better option??? Pros and Cons from anybody would be appreciated.

tuni12

adding to the above question: when we used Dropbox syncing we can see update "agilebits keychain" etc....how do I know that my 1PW 4 is syncing to iCloud. I don't think we can see it there - so where would we look to gain assurance that it is really there and updated?

Eduardo Martinez

iCloud con: You can't share Vaults with other people.

MikeT

Hi guys,

@tuni12,
All of your iCloud data is stored in the ~/Library/Mobile Documents/ and in there, you should find the 2BUA8C4S2C~com~agilebits~onepassword that 1Password uses to store your data.

As for Dropbox, is Dropbox running and shows a green checkmark on its icon in your menu bar? If yes, can you create a new item in 1Password and tell me if Dropbox shows any activity?

@Eduardo_Martinez, That's a limitation for now, we do plan to improve this in the future.

tuni12

I've gone to finder - Library - cannot find ~/Library/Mobile Documents or the file within that you specify above - is there a simple path /method you can provide to me? Sorry, I'm not very geeky...... would appreciate further assistance. I even went to spotlight and searched for that file "2BUA8........" no joy :(

tuni12

I think I found it, Eduardo - 1 Password/Preferences/Backup shows backup dates and if you click on the "show files" it shows that 1 PW was backed up today. I still would like to know how to find the file you specify though...please. Also can one choose backup to Dropbox one time and then change the backup in Preferences to iCloud for the next - in other words change them back and forth so we will have the choice as to where to see the stored data? sort of a fail safe process - or will that screw things up?

Grunt_at_the_Point

To see the 1password database go to menu Favorites. Click All My File, then press Shft + Com + G. Enter the address: ~/Library/Mobile Documents/, the 1password folder is there.

Grunt_at_the_Point

Correction, I said menu - I meant to say finder.

tuni12

that did it - thanks - appreciate the help

sjk

Thanks for helping, guys!

@tuni12 asked:

Also can one choose backup to Dropbox one time and then change the backup in Preferences to iCloud for the next - in other words change them back and forth so we will have the choice as to where to see the stored data? sort of a fail safe process - or will that screw things up?

Dropbox and iCloud Sync are not 1Password data backup solutions so using those cloud services for that purpose is strongly discouraged. And, at least to me, regularly switching between cloud sync services seems like a way to tempt trouble. As long as whichever you've chosen is working reliably and supports what you're doing there's normally no reason to switch.

tuni12

What I interpret from your post above is that Dropbox and ICloud are not??? places in which to backup 1Password data? So where are you recommending I backup 1PW data to???? I think its going to backup in the Library right? What is it that I'm showing then re: 1 PW in Dropbox and iCloud? Are those just the sync'd data files and not a backup? I am really getting confused now. that's my 1st question.
Then, I now have 2 vaults which I established trying to get this done - unfortunately, I think I made a mistake by using the same password when I established a "vault" - I now have a "primary" and a 1PW vault. They merged! So I have 2x the amount of data in my backup files in Library that I had before I updated to 1PW4 on my Mac (MAS version). CAn I get rid of one of the vaults, and how do I know which one to delete, and how do I do it? Sorry, to be such a doofus here, however, I am really getting confused re. how to manage all this now....many thanks for your patience and assistance.

MikeT

Hi @tuni12,

1. No, Dropbox and iCloud sync (iCloud Backups for iOS devices are a separate service but not related to sync) are not backup services, you should not treat them as such, they are sync services first and foremost. 1Password will automatically back up your data to the proper place (~/Library/..) and if you have Time Machine or other backup tools, it'll back up the same data as long as you don't exclude the ~/Library folder.
2. I don't understand what you're asking here. The backups are supposed to contain all of your vaults, so if you have two separate vaults, it'll show up in the same backup file. However, if you go to the the 1Password Menu > Switch to Vaults, you should see two separate vaults on the list. If you select a specific vault, you can see the data show up in the main 1Password app. You can then compare it by switching to a different vault and see what that vault have.

To delete the vault, you can select the vault first and then go to the 1Password Menu > Delete (Vault name).

danco

Hi, Tuni12, the thing is that sync and backup are two different things (you could get the Take Control book about backups if you want to learn about good backup strategies.

Dropbox sync (and iCloud) will hold the latest version of your files. So if the original is corrupted, the Dropbox version will also be corrupted.

Whereas a good backup strategy will have (for instance) today's version, yesterday's, the day before's, and so on. So if the current version is corrupt one can use the ,ost recent version that is good.

It is always a good idea to have backups, whereas sync depends on your needs. You would not need sync if you only have one machine, but backups would still be advisable.

sjk

Thanks, @danco. I enjoyed reading your uncomplicated basic example of how syncing and backups differ. :)