What's the deal with the primary section in 1Password 7?

per360

Hi,

I set up my vaults back in 1Password 6 and recently upgraded to 7. In v6, I could easily customize the primary section of any item by adding and removing fields as I saw fit, so I did. Now in v7, item editing has been simplified somewhat. It seems I can no longer add custom fields to the primary section, and if I remove one I added in v6, I can no longer add it back. From this post I understand that editing the "template" fields has been deliberately disabled. A few questions:

1. Are my items with customized primary sections safe? It's one thing that I'm no longer allowed to edit these fields as I've done previously, but I'm worried that 1Password will one day drop support for displaying them entirely, which would be devastating to my vaults. Should I be redoing my items to fit with the new edit limitations?
2. Can I restore the default template fields to an old item now that they receive special treatment in v7? It makes perfect sense to me that I shouldn't be allowed to remove the default fields, but as v6 did allow that, the damage is done.
3. Even though I can't add a custom field directly to the primary section, I can still add it further down and then drag it up into place, and 1Password will happily save and display that. Since I'm not actually allowed to add the field directly to that section, this behavior feels to me like a bug. Is it?
4. If it is the intended behavior, how come I can't place it as the last field of the primary section? It's either the second-to-last field in the primary section or the first field after it.

Thank you for your time.

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1Password Version: 7.0.7
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: 10.13.6
Sync Type: Not Provided

Lars

Welcome to the forum, @per360! Thanks for the sharp-eyed observation and thoughtful questions. You're correct, the behavior is inconsistent. And yes, that means we have a bug. :) So you're clear, the intention here is to not have the default section be modifiable going forward. There are certain fields in each record type that make it what it is. For example: a Login item without a username is simply a password. A Drivers License without a DL number is...well, I don't know what it is, exactly - a Secure Note? Anyway, the point is: in each case, those few fields which literally define a record are what comprise that default section.

Unlike in past major versions of 1Password, we now not only have to contend with separate platform versions of 1Password, but also the 1password.com server, which means there are a lot more "moving parts" that need to work well together. You'll always be able to edit your items and add custom fields...but not to the default section any longer. Considering this is a bug at all that you're still able to do so (even by a back-door method like you described), I'd not rely on being able to do so with critical information/fields, if I were you. There are other ways to get that information into a 1Password record than attempting to place it in the default section of a record. Hope that helps! :)

per360

Thanks for the reply.

The reasons for simplifying records are understandable and acceptable. The issue with this particular change is that potentially a lot of people have done the same as me, making their records essentially incompatible with future 1Password versions through no fault of their own.

You've already answered my questions 3 and 4, and I assume the answer to 2 is a no. I'm fine with changing my own behavior for records that I create from now on, but what's most important for me to know is this: am I expected to go and make all my existing records conform to the new style?

Ben

I don’t know of any changes planned that would cause an issue with existing records.

Ben