New User: Can't Import a CSV file.

K49

I can't Import a CSV file.

When try, I get:

"Could not read items from file. Check import format."

I viewed the file, the format looks good to me.

---

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

danco

Where were you importing from?

Some direct CSV imports are not quite in the right format for 1PW. A long-time user named MrC has provided importers from many other password managers. He isn't an AgileBits staff member but AgileBits are happy with his importers.

MrC

Hi @K49 - I'm happy to help you.

How was the CSV file constructed? Was it from an App export, or something you created yourself - in s spreadsheet, or text editor, or ?

K49

Hello MrC

It is an export from mSecure 3.5.7 (a simple Mac password program that I LOVE, but now has become bloatware in v5.6). So I am testing out 1Password.

MrC

@K49.

There is an msecure converter in the converter suite that can directly convert an mSecure export file. Just follow the directions in the README.pdf. There's a section that describes how to export your mSecure data for the converter, and the exports limitations.

K49

Thanks MrC,

I have downloaded your tools. (That must been quite a project for you! )
In the PDF instructions you ask to name the mSecure export file, > pm_export.txt <

However, when I watched one of your videos I saw that the file was named > pm_export < so mSecure will add the extension "csv".

So, I'm confused as to exactly how this name should look including the extension.

Thanks

MrC

@K49,

The name of the file does not matter. I suggest a simple, common name so that the instructions are consistent and easier to write. Name it whatever you want. Just be sure you know what it is!

K49

So, you don't care if the extension is "CSV" or "txt" ?

MrC

@k49

It is totally inconsequential. The converter does not care what you suffix the export file has.

K49

MrC, Thank you for sticking with me.

I was able to do an import. Sort of.

With mSecure, I had NO categories. This didn't bother me. Next to each data element I could do one click and the data would be copied to the clipboard. When I did the import into 1Password everything went into "Secure notes". My data is in various fields, and I must drag across the characters to select them before they can be copied.

Bear in mind, I don't know a good way to categorize my mSecure data. I can have login credentials for a website or I might have a 4 digit code for a padlock. But having my data as a Secure Note is hard to use.

MrC

@K49,

I'm not clear what you mean by "With mSecure, I had NO categories". Are you saying you never used mSecure's "Types" at all?

mSecure 3.5x supported the following stock Types:

bankacct birthdays callingcards clothes combinations creditcard email frequentflyer
identity insurance login membership note passport prescriptions registrationcodes
socialsecurity unassigned userdefined vehicleinfo voicemail

and the converter will convert those into the appropriate 1Password categories of:

bankacct creditcard email identity login membership note passport rewards socialsecurity

The first 4 values of each mSecure export represent the same thing - they are the record's Group, Type, Description, and Notes.

So a few questions:

1. Is your mSecure language not English?
2. What do you get when you run the converter with the option --dumpcats, as in:

$ perl convert_to_1p4.pl  msecure TestFiles/msecure354_mac.csv  --dumpcats
                                     Fields    Fields
               Categories   Known?  Expected   Actual
            Bank Accounts    yes        9      9
                Birthdays    yes        5      5
            Calling Cards    yes        6      6
             Clothes Size    yes        8      8
             Combinations    yes        5      5
             Credit Cards    yes       10      10
           Email Accounts    yes        8      8
           Frequent Flyer    yes        9      9
                 Identity    yes       22      22
                Insurance    yes        9      9
              Memberships    yes        7      7
                     Note    yes        4      4
                 Passport    yes       12      12
            Prescriptions    yes        9      9
       Registration Codes    yes        6      6
          Social Security    yes        6      6
               Unassigned    yes       10      10
             Vehicle Info    yes        8      8
               Voice Mail    yes        6      6
               Web Logins    yes        7      7
Bank Accounts:
1 entries found with 9 columns
      Wells Bank
Birthdays:
1 entries found with 5 columns
      my birthday

The --dumpcats option will output what it finds for your mSecure "Types" (what 1Password calls Categories).

K49

Perhaps my problem is that I wasn't using mSecure the right way. ALL of my data was categorized as "none". It's not as bad as it sounds. When I wanted to log-in to a website, using mSecure I would just click on a button next to the data. That copied it to the clipboard. I then went to the website and pasted in the data. It took about two seconds. I used the "Notes" field a lot. See a screenshot below.

Is one possible avenue for me to look at is moving the data in 1Password from Secure Notes to Logins?

MrC

@K49,

Oh, that's very unfortunate. You've basically circumvented the design of the password manager and have used it essentially as an encrypted note taking app.

Since you've not used the mSecure fields, the data in the export, which will all be crammed into the Note area, I'm guessing is likely to be inconsistent and non-uniform. If you had in your notes fields, consistently, something like:

Username: my_username_value
Password: my_password_value
Website: http://example.com

then it would be possible to automate extracting that data and putting into a usable format within 1Password. But I'm guessing that the Notes field in the export (that is, the 4th value of what is essentially a pseudo-CSV file) is just a sequence of semi-random values in some field/value, or even just value-only form. I hope I'm wrong about my hunch here, and you come back and say "No, MrC... All of my data in the notes area is in exactly the same format of Username followed by Password followed by Website, without exception!"

Otherwise, yes, you’ll have to manually move your data to Login entries. I could ease that burden a bit for you by forcing the converter to create Login entries for you, for all your records. Would that help?

K49

My "Notes" in 1Password look something like:

Field 0: usually, but not always an email address (this was "User:" in mSecure)
Field 1: a password (this was "PW:" in mSecure)
Field 2: phone #, D.O.B etc. (this was "Note:" in mSecure)
Field 3: phone # or other data (this was "Phone:" in mSecure)
Field 4: answer to secret question etc. (this was "Extra:" in mSecure)

I also had Notes below this. It looks like 1Password has notes also.

Very rarely would I save a URL.

Does 1Password have a way to move / copy data that is in a Note to Logins?

Part of the reason that I ended up using mSecure as a "encrypted note taking app" is that a lot of the data had nothing to do with a website or even computers.

I couldn't figure out where I should put things like gate codes, combination locks etc. So I just started using "none". So with 1Password I would like to try to do things more the correct way. So I guess, for things like a gate code, or combination lock, I SHOULD use notes for those?

MrC

@K49

Given the nature of your data, it seems best to use what you have in 1Password now, and as you want to log into some website, create a Login Record in 1Password, and copy/paste your date from the relevant Secure Note to the correct fields in the Login Record. Just copy the entire Note data to th Login’s Note area first, the move portions to the correct fields. Then you can delete that old Secure Note, and henceforth use the Login as intended. This lazy approach will ease the burden by spreading the effort out over time.

K49

Don't I need to install something into Firefox to make that work? Also, 99% of the time I am never asked for login credentials because Firefox remembers them. I suspect this would prevent 1Password from being "sent" any data?

Because I was always manually copy everything when needed, I don't understand how 1Password builds up its database. In some ways it would be easier to just copy things over?

Does 1Password have a way to move / copy data that is in a Note to Logins? As I experiment, it seems like I must copy EACH field one at a time to move the data out of notes.

For things like a gate code, or combination lock, I SHOULD use notes for those?

MrC

@K49

I'm not sure which version of 1Password you are going testing out (1Password.com or a standalone vault)?

At any rate, this is probably a good place to start: https://support.1password.com/getting-started-mac/

1Password Login entries eliminate the need for you to do what you've been doing - Copy and Paste. It will auto-fill or help you fill the username and password data into the proper fields. And it will help you form-fill other types of data.

Since your current data is in a free-form format as Notes data, you're going to need to copy/paste into each field - there's no other way to get it done, since you're the only one who knows the meaning of said data.

Let me suggest that you not worry just yet about the more esoteric things like gate codes and combination locks. Get a few Logins working correctly, then work on your Identity and some Credit Card data. With a bit of usage, you'll gain experience.

K49

I'm not sure which version of 1Password you are going testing out <<

The latest one from the Mac app store. V7.2.1

When logging into a website I have noticed that 1Password will offer to save credentials. I click yes. However, when I go back and look at those credentials in 1Password, it is ONLY saving the password, but not the username.

Lars

@K49 - here are some instructions for getting familiar with how to use 1Password to save and fill data in web fields (login forms). You can also fill credit card and identity data, though other types of data will need to be manually copy/pasted.

Give that a try -- make sure you have 1Password's extension installed in Firefox -- the latest version is 4.7.3.90, and you can get it from this link. Then please restart both Firefox and 1Password, and make sure you have the box marked "Detect new usernames and passwords and offer to save them" checked in Preferences > Browsers within 1Password for Mac. Let us know how you get on! :)

K49

Hello Lars,

Thank you for helping me.

I have the extension installed in Firefox. It appears to be partially working. Many websites that I go to automatically fill in my username, so when 1Password saves it, it only records the password, but not the username. If used on a website I have never been to it does store everything.

MrC gave me lots of help to get my data out of mSecure. However, all of that data went into "Secure Notes". Copying most of these over to Logins is very tedious. Mainly because the data fields in Secure Notes do not have a "click to copy" button like the other categories do. This means I have to drag across all of the characters to copy them. Interestingly, I discovered that the data transferred from mSecure to "Secure Notes" does not have a "click to copy". BUT, if I create a
Secure Note I DO get the essential "click to copy" button.

By the way, how do I turn off the weak password warning?

Lars

@K49 - if you are going to websites and your username is being automatically filled, that sounds like you've still got your browser's password manager active, which is something we recommend you turn off, to avoid confusion.

I'm sorry you're having a tedious time of copying over your data that was all in the notes field in mSecure, but my advice would be the same as MrC's -- use 1Password "organically" (after shutting off the built-in browser password manager), and eventually, over time, you'll have most if not all of the data saved automatically by 1Password, instead of having to laboriously having to copy it over manually. The other advantage of this approach is that, when you let 1Password save Login items, it records all the necessary data for sign-in, not just what you can see on the page. Many sites have hidden fields or various other form fields that aren't just username and password, and when you allow 1Password to capture the data, it records all of this for smoother sign-ins with less chance of problems than if you try to manually enter these items into a new Login item created by using the plus button.