Importing from Datavault? [Converter Available]

dugbee

I'm considering moving from Ascendo Datavault to 1Password on Windows/iOS. Is it possible to specify a custom delimiter on import? With some Excel fiddling I was able to wrap fields in double quotes. But some of my passwords have double-quotes, commas, etc - so the import never works properly. Being able to specify a custom, multi-character delimiter would fix this- is it possible? (I could add columns in Excel that simply say "DELIMITER" between fields, or something similar..)

Thanks, I hope there is a solution!

MrC

I no longer have Excel installed, so can't guide as to how to accomplish what you need to configure. Properly formatted CSV handles quoting of double-quotes and other meta-characters, and I'm sure Excel has a proper CSV exporter. But you may have to specify some options in its export dialog. You don't need to change the delimiter (and that approach alone would have its own issues, just shifted to a different character).

LibreOffice can handle this well, in case Excel proves unfruitful for you.

dugbee

Thanks for your quick response! I do have LibreOffice. It looks like it's escaping the quotes properly, however 1Password only imports a subset of items - about 100 fewer than the actual number of items. Would you happen to know the right way to export from LibreOffice, or what the format should be? Let's say I have an entry in Excel that like this: (I'll separate the fields by line for clarity for Name, Username, Password, URL)

• Example web site
• myname
• secret,123"pass
• www.example.com

I tried it with this data in LibreOffice (and a line for column headers), and exporting as CSV. I chose to quote the fields. Viewing it in notepad shows:
"Name","User","Password","URL"
"Example web site","myname","secret,123”pass","www.example.com"

However when I import it into 1Password, the password itself is garbled:
secret,123”pass

Thanks for any tips you might have!

MrC

Hi @dugbee,

1Password for Windows I believe only imports Login types:

https://guides.agilebits.com/1password-windows/4/en/topic/importing-data#delimited

So this leaves you with manually importing the other items.

I've written a bunch of converters, which convert to 1Password's 1PIF format, and that can allows importing all of your items into 1Password on Windows or OS X. I don't have a converter for Ascendo Datavault (and had not heard about it until your post). I can take a look at their format to see if a converter can be written for this, but I can't get to it for a day or two. If the converter can be written (I won't know until I see some sample export data), I'm happy to write it if you purchase 1Password (for which the AgileBits folks will be grateful).

Edit: I noticed much later that the CSV line posted by @dugbee above is not properly quoted. The password that includes a double-quote "secret,123”pass" should have its included double-quote doubled, resulting in "secret,123"”pass"

dugbee

I have access to a Mac, I may try it on there to see if the results differ. I will report back. Assuming I can get my data in 1Password w/o a lot of effort, I will be purchasing. (and likely again next year when I get a Mac for home) My biggest fear is a mistranslation (given my passwords have commas, quotes, and other symbols) when importing.

MrC

The Mac version of 1Password can import a few more types, but the types need to be in separeate CSV files. Be sure to check out: https://guides.agilebits.com/1password-mac/4/en/topic/importing-data#delimited

dugbee

Ok, getting closer! The Mac version seemed to import everything OK, even the freeform/multiline "Notes" field from Datavault. However I exported the .pif from the Mac and attempted to import on Windows... not much luck. 1Password will either freeze or fail partway through. I tried importing one or two entries, but they don't show up in the list. Are the .pif files compatible between Mac/Win?

MrC

You should be able to import the 1pif on eithe platform. Which version of 1Password are you running on Windows? You may need to enable beta updates and use the latest beta version on Windows.

dugbee

Well, I'm not having much luck. I was using the latest stable 1Password. I tried the beta 527 to import the .pif. That had different behavior - it attempted to import over 800 items (more than double of what I have) and didn't want to stop. I also tried exporting from Mac in CSV, it also seemed to incorrectly transpose some commas as importing back into Windows created 600+ items.

dugbee

Ok, I might be making some progress. It looks like Datavault exports an arbitrary number of fields, as it lets you define your own. So if I have one login that has a "pin" entry, it becomes a separate field. Secondly, the free-form Notes field was a mix of CR and CR/LF. Lastly, depending on if an item as a Datavault template, the web site could be in a "Web Site" field, or "URL" field.

So I am in the midst of moving all custom fields into the single Notes field. And in that notes field, trying to put everything on one comma-separated line. If it imports properly I can clean-up later. Will report back!

dugbee

Ok, I think I found the problem. One item actually had a backslash followed by a double quote (\") - and nothing after that got imported, even though the entire string was surrounded by quotes. I removed that from the CSV, and everything seems to have imported. I manually added the problematic entry afterwards. Now to do some cleanup and a sanity check...

DBrown

Wow, what an epic! Thanks for hanging in there, @dugbee, and for letting us know what you found.

I had thought the "backslash double-quote" problem had been fixed, but I'm not seeing anything about that in the release notes.

For the record, though, a properly formatted delimited-text file must have the same number of "fields" in each "row" (a.k.a. "columns per record"), as described in the 1Password 4 for Windows user's guide article cited in @MrC's reply #4, above.

MrC

I had thought the "backslash double-quote" problem had been fixed, but I'm not seeing anything about that in the release notes.

It was fixed for 1PIF: https://discussions.agilebits.com/discussion/comment/149146/#Comment_149146

dugbee

Well, I think I'm good now. The initial sync to my iPhone and iPad took a while (at least 20 minutes for around 400 items) and the desktop app seemed to hang here and there. However subsequent syncs were within a few seconds. Thanks for the help, I will likely purchase tomorrow!

AlexHoffmann

That is great news @dugbee‌!

Thank you for sticking with us and welcome to the 1Password family :)

Wyndham

I really wanted to start using 1Passport because of it's better browser integration, but have had to give up because of the extensive rework I would have to do to prepare the DataVault data before import into 1Password would be possible. :-1:

DBrown

Feel free to post a sanitized sample of a "login" item exported from DataVault, @Wyndham‌, so we can take a look at it, in case there's something we can do.

MrC

My offer in post #4 to look at the possibility of creating a DataVault converter still stands, but I'm a bit swamped right now, so we're probably looking at a week before I can get to it.

DBrown

Thanks again for your generosity with your time, @MrC!

NeilATL

Hello. I am ready to purchase 1Password to convert from DataVault. I simply do not have the time to manually convert all of my passwords and logins. Is ther any way to have a converter built to do this---the import from CSV alienates many of the custom fields I have setup in DataVault. The DVX format from DataVault is really what I need to be the source file for conversion. If I can get an easy import to 1Password, I will purchase the Mac/Windows suite immediately. Thanks!

DBrown

1PIF is the only built-in import format in 1Password for Windows that accommodates unlimited custom fields, @NeilATL.

@MrC is our gracious provider of CSV-to-1PIF conversion tools. I'm hoping he'll reply here at his earliest convenience.

MrC

Hi @NeilATL,

The DVX file contains encrypted data, so it isn't an option to use for export / conversion.

I took a quick look at the CSV export from DataVault version 5.1.32 for Windows, and it appears straightforward. I have some questions for you:

1. Have you customized any or many of the stock field names of the stock Types?
2. Do you have many custom Types?

Your answers will help me frame the limitations of conversion for you. Basically, the converter needs to match field names or field column locations in order to determine the meaning of the data. A converter has a table of types with key fields, and its entries are used to drive the conversion into proper 1Password categories. Notes: 1Password uses the term Category; the equivalent term in DataVault is Type, and DataVaults Categories would convert to 1Password Tags or Folders.

DBrown

Thank you, @MrC!

NeilATL

Thank you for the fast reply, Mr. Brown and Mr. C. A large percentage (over 50%) of my data in DataVault has customized fields for data. Is there any way for a converter to prompt the user to match fields for each entry? This would allow me to customize the fields for each of my DataVault entries as I populate 1Password. It would be slower than a mass conversion, but it would be faster than retyping every entry. Thoughts?

MrC

You're welcome.

It would not be practical for the converter to try to implement prompting in a record-by-record basis - this would bloat the complexity enormously both from a code standpoint and for the end-user (who would have to not only indicate the record type, but also indicate each field type of each record).

I can write a converter that will understand DataVault's stock record Types and Fields. Anything that is not understood would go into 1Password's Secure Notes in Field Name: Field Value pairs. Depending upon how you've customized, the converter might match a record with a default type. For example, if you've only added new fields to a stock record, and/or have not changed too many of the key stock field names, the converter would recognize the Type and do the right thing (your custom fields would go into the Notes section of the record, or the converter can easily be programmed to add your custom fields as custom fields in the 1Password record).

In addition, if you've created custom Types, and have a few records using this type, additional sections could be added to the converter table (by you, perhaps with help from me), to better route the records into the proper 1Password categories. This part really depends on how many records you have, and is it worth your while to do so.

cyberzombie

I too am looking for a way to automate conversion from DataVault. I have purchased the iOS and OS X versions (holding off on the Windows version until I get everything over).

MrC

@cyberzombie,

Do you have custom Types or fields, or just the stock Types and stock fields?

cyberzombie

I have a mix depending on the entry. Shot in the dark is 80% stock/20% custom...and a few entries that likely have to be manually entered. I started out in November by manually entering everything and stopped around 14 entries in...gave up.

I don't see anywhere in the docs a discussion of CSV formats...mayhap I can whip up something to massage a CSV export...

MrC

Ok, good, that's not too bad. I have a few things on my plate, but can look into creating a converter.

Here are the links to the docs for importing on Windows and on OS X. Note that each platform's 1Password has its limitations on CSV importing.

MrC

Hi @cyberzombie,

I've looked at the DataVault CSV export, and know what needs to be done to create the converter. The CSV export from DataVault is a little lossy - it does not export the Category, Type, and Template information. And since an entries type is not included, the converter will guess the 1Password category based on the entry's field names.

Nothing will need to be manually entered - your exported data will convert and will be imported into 1Password - some customized or non-stock types may not be recognized as belonging to a certain Category, in which case the entries will end up in Secure Notes (you may be able to customize the converter more for your needs to better match or suit your templates or entries).

Let me know if you still want to convert and are interested in this.

cyberzombie

I would love it!