Merge vs Sync vs ????

mhbx

Seems easy, but ding dang, it isnt... and hours later trying to make work what seems to be obvious... are lost.
Condition:
1P on Mac (v5)
1P on ios8 (from app store)

ios has the current verision of my data.. and is sync w iCloud
starting a new mac install ... but it is a store bought so it (()(&^&^$) wont work w iCloud... makes sense somewhere.. not here..
it has an old data set it finds on dropbox or ?? ... dont konw where actually, since it does not identify what folder it is getting the IP data file from.

so i have to change the sync to dropbox...
i create a place for it to on dbox.
turn off macbook iP
change sync to dropbox on ios8 device to a folder and a place called "Primary 1P" (to make distinction from other vaults i may add later)
presumably it syncs...

open up macbook ...
preferences
find the folder in dropbox
"1password foudn existing data in dropbox .. It will be merged w current vault".

NO>>>>
i simply want to point to the existing vault that is there...no merge required.
WHY IS THAT NOT AN OPTION?
who knows...

So.. I go the other way.
On macbook, create an new empty vault.
put one item in it...
assuming it will merge w/ the ios when i attach... no biggie...

NO>>>>>>>
I try and point ios8 to the new vault created by 1P v5 on the macbook...
brand new one remember
and "Cannot sync."

doesnt ask to merge, replace, do anything ... just says NO...

So i think i'll get the backup from ios8
but
NO>>>
cant do that either it is stuck in itunes or something....

and besides apparently it is not syncing anyway... so while it would be useful to have current data, it still has 2 separate areas ...

So. now what?

Beats me.

(this diatribe leaves out a few other attempts trying to cajole the system into accepting various permutations of the vault that would somehow start to sync. basically variations on a theme. )

damn frustrating...

Because i cant get my passwords where i really need them...
on my new system...

littlebobbytables

Hi @mhbx‌

Whenever you want to sync to an existing .agilekeychain we will use the word merge. If there are no differences between your vault and the contents of the .agilekeychain then there is nothing to merge but until the .agilekeychain is unlocked and compared against your local vault it is impossible to tell if there are differences or not.

If for whatever reason there are significant differences you will be asked for a second confirmation before proceeding. The one time we won't use the word merge is if you loading a new vault from an existing .agilekeychain. When I say that I differentiate between manually creating a new vault and then connecting it to an existing .agilekeychain (where we will again say merge) and double clicking on an .agilekeychain and having 1Password ask if you want to create a new vault from this .agilekeychain's contents. Those examples apply to the Mac and not an iOS device.

If you want we can explore ways to achieve the same thing. Now if you're saying you need to replace the current vault on your Mac with the sync data in Dropbox then that's slightly different. I assume that means there is obsolete or even worse, incorrect data that you don't want to end up in your iOS device. If that's the case then what you would want to do is follow our guide for Starting Over on your Mac. This would leave you with no vault on your Mac and it should find your Dropbox .agilekeychain and ask to unlock that. Given you don't have a vault this is the situation where we wouldn't call it a merge.

If I've misunderstood anything or you have any questions do please ask.