merge and sync questions

jefferyn
jefferyn
Community Member
in Mac

Greetings,
I've been slogging thru the support forum. i didn't quite find answers, and wanted to check before making mistakes.

I recently replaced an old MacPro which had 1PW3. i also have a MBPro with 1PW5 already. the 1PW3 and 1PW5 files on the 2 computers have not been synced before. i have manually entered information into both computers over many years. on the new MacPro, I migrated the data from 1PW3 to 1PW5 on the new computer last week. so now i'm set for deciding on how to combine the data sets and move to syncing.

at this point, i'm planning on migrating to iCloud syncing between the 2 computers. both now computers have macos 10.11.5 with the same versions of 1PWs. have saved the 1PW backup from each computer already.

i've read a bit about syncing on the 1PW site. it seems to me that there are 2 ways to do this.

1- merge files and create a master file before setting up syncing to iCloud.
2- just try iCloud syncing as is with different versions of the files and see if 1PW figures it out.

my guess is that it might be safer to merge the files before, then to try to use syncing after creating the master file.

any suggestions or advice appreciated.
thanks!

1Password Version: v 5.4.3
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: 10.11.5
Sync Type: iCloud

Comments

  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @jefferyn,

    Well, I’m sorry that you didn’t find the answers that you were looking for by browsing the forums, but don’t worry, we’re happy to help you out here!

    Before we get started, I’d just like to confirm where we’re currently at. In particular:

    on the new MacPro, I migrated the data from 1PW3 to 1PW5 on the new computer last week. so now i'm set for deciding on how to combine the data sets and move to syncing.

    I’m not quite sure I understand this. Is this correct?

    1. Old MacPro has 1Password 3 and database #1.
    2. New MacPro has 1Password 5 and database #2.
    3. New MacPro also has a copy of database #1 ... in which format? Is it a copy of the 1Password.agilekeychain file or did you move over a backup or export the data in .1pif format?

    What is your end goal here? Are you migrating the data from the old MacPro to the new MacPro or do you intend to keep 1Password synced up across both computers?

  • jefferyn
    jefferyn
    Community Member

    hi megan,

    current status.
    new macPro, 10.11.5 and has 1PW5. the data from 1PW3 (from old macPro on 10.6) was imported successfully. so it is no longer part of the equation.

    in addition to my new macPro, i also have a macBookPro (MBPro), with 10.11..5. the MBPro has 1PW5 with it's own database.
    some of the data on the 2 computers will overlap because i was entering data manually into both in parallel for years. but i never tried to keep them in sync or replicate all the information.
    so current situation is 2 computer with the same OS and same versions of 1PW5, but different data files.

    my end goal is to have the data synced across both computers. as i understand it, i can't sync them point-to-point wirelessly. so i'll use the iCloud account to sync them.

    thanks for any suggestions or advice.
    jeffery

  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @jefferyn,

    Thanks so much for confirming your set up. I think I’ve got a better idea of where things are at now!

    In that case, your original assessment of your options is pretty accurate:

    i've read a bit about syncing on the 1PW site. it seems to me that there are 2 ways to do this.

    1- merge files and create a master file before setting up syncing to iCloud.
    2- just try iCloud syncing as is with different versions of the files and see if 1PW figures it out.

    First of all, regardless of which option you choose, I would suggest using File > Backup in 1Password before trying anything, just so that you have a nice, fresh backup to roll back to in case anything doesn’t go as you had hoped.

    For option 1, you could export (File > Export) your database as a .1pif file from one computer and import it into a second vault on the other computer. This would allow you to compare your databases before you sync. You can move any items that you need into your primary vault, and then delete the secondary vault once you’ve got all the useful information out. It would be a bit of a manual process, but it would be a great way to audit your password database and make sure that you didn’t have any old items that you don’t need anymore.

    With respect to option 2, 1Password is generally pretty good at merging databases, so setting up iCloud sync between the two computers will merge your existing databases, although since you’ve been adding items manually, you’ll likely need to go through and remove a few duplicates.

    As to which option is preferable, I think it really comes down to personal preference. For myself, I’d be inclined to user the first option and manually sort through the database to make sure I had everything the way I wanted before setting up iCloud sync.

    But the good news is that, with a fresh backup available, either option is easy to undo. You could try option 2, and if the database doesn’t merge the way you’d like, simply disable sync and restore to that backup and try option 1. :)

This discussion has been closed.