Overview of function lacking in documentation.
I see a lot of people experiencing the same confusion in using 1Password as I have had. I am a fairly technical person, but I have a difficult time understanding what processes are going on in the 1Password operation. It would be very helpful to have an overview of the technique 1Password uses to do its thing.
I'm guessing that 1Password monitors URLs and looks them up in the database to see which one might be applicable. But I don't know what other qualifications allow it to know that the identification is complete or which of several entries might be the applicable entry.
I also don't understand what role the other saved data plays in the operation. Is that there just for diagnostic purposes later?
What about security questions that get asked sometimes when we login but not always? How does that enter into the process? Are multiple database entries made for a site that represent login without security questions and a separate entry made for login with security questions?
What kind of operations need to be performed in the desktop version only and cannot be performed in the iPad or iPhone version? What kind of operations need to be performed on the desktop version but not in the desktop toolbar invocation of 1Password?
These kinds of issues really need to be explained as the philosophy of how 1Password works for people to understand how to properly use the product. I am spending way too much time struggling with how to use the product.
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Edit: it's also not clear when I am supposed to use one password application, the 1Password icon on the Firefox toolbar, or simply use the browser search or URL windows to go to website and expect 1Password to operate automatically. If I use the 1Password browser, there's nowhere to have a bookmarks file to use it exclusively as my browser. An explanation of how the browser and the 1Password application work together as an overview would be very helpful.
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Hi, @Nazbuster!
We always recommend that users take a few minutes to read the “Introduction,” “Getting Started,” and “Tutorials” sections of the user’s guide, accessible from the Help menu and in the Support area of our web site. They’re short (and a tad out of date, in a couple of places), but they’re still the quickest way to get the most out of 1Password. As you use 1Password, we believe you’ll find the information in the “FAQ” section to be of use, as well.
As for your specific questions...
I'm guessing that 1Password monitors URLs and looks them up in the database to see which one might be applicable. But I don't know what other qualifications allow it to know that the identification is complete or which of several entries might be the applicable entry.
If you use "go & fill" (either from within the main program or from the browser extension) there's no reason for 1Password to determine which Login to use: you've explicitly told it. If you go to a web page and either press Ctrl+\ or click the 1Password button, the extension matches the currently displayed URL to URLs in your saved Logins to determine which ones might apply. If only one applies, 1Password uses it; otherwise, it asks you to choose from among matching URLs.
I also don't understand what role the other saved data plays in the operation. Is that there just for diagnostic purposes later?
I'm not sure what other saved data you're referring to. When 1Password automatically saves a Login item for you, it records most input fields on the login form. It identifies the two most important fields as containing the username and password, but you could edit the Login item (in the main 1Password program) to remove the other fields, if their presence is not desired. (Let me know if you're referring to some other saved data.)
What about security questions that get asked sometimes when we login but not always? How does that enter into the process? Are multiple database entries made for a site that represent login without security questions and a separate entry made for login with security questions?
The user's guide describes how to create Login items for sites with multiple-page login processes. If a site presents different "versions" of a single login page, though, you could create a separate Login item for each "variation", or you could edit the Login item to add "form fields" (though you'd have to know the HTML field names—certainly not impossible, but not simple either).
The extensions extend the functionality of the main 1Password program to your web browsers, and the UI of the extensions in the browsers show what can be done with them. 1Password for iOS, on the other hand, is a completely different UI for a completely different OS and comes with its own user's guide that thoroughly explains its use. I'd say that most things you can do in 1Password for Windows you can also do in 1Password for iOS, but it's going to look much different, in some cases, because of the utterly different platform.
Edit: it's also not clear when I am supposed to use one password application, the 1Password icon on the Firefox toolbar, or simply use the browser search or URL windows to go to website and expect 1Password to operate automatically. If I use the 1Password browser, there's nowhere to have a bookmarks file to use it exclusively as my browser. An explanation of how the browser and the 1Password application work together as an overview would be very helpful.
It sounds like you're referring to the 1Browser built into 1Password for iOS. If so, please see the 1Password for iOS user's guide. The 1Password for iOS forums are also the best place to get answers on that product.
If you're referring to a different browser, please let us know.
I hope that helps, @Nazbuster.
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Thank you for your thorough reply. I very much appreciate the responsiveness of you and the rest of your team to all of these questions you receive. As several of others have stated, I have read all the introductory material multiple times. I still felt that there was a lack of architectural overview that would allow the user to understand what was going on, especially given the differences between the iPad iPhone version and the windows version. I now understand that I can change URLs I can delete additional data if it was not relevant to my signing in and several other things from the discussion boards but that was not clear in the documentation as far as I recall.
A simple section for more advanced users explaining what each of the elements of the constructed items are and how it was derived and how it will be used in the future would be very helpful. You have a very nice product and I hope it continues to be developed in the future.
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Thanks for the feedback, @Nazbuster!
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