Login item - Open and fill

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shhh
shhh
Community Member
edited February 2023 in Windows

If my login item's website field is set to https://www.company.com and I click the Open and fill button on the Windows app, it opens a browser with the URL https://www.company.com/?xyz=abc where abc is the item's UUID and xyz is some random alphanumeric string

Curious - what is the purpose of adding these values to the URL, why not just open the listed URL? I can imagine situations where the website may not function properly with random key/value pairs added to the query string.

Thanks


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Comments

  • shhh
    shhh
    Community Member
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    Thanks @MrC

    We append those characters as instructions to the extension, essentially saying "when this page loads, fill this entry's credentials"

    The best suggestion we have at the moment is to open your browser and navigate to those sites manually. Then you can use the extension to fill on that page (as opposed to using open and fill from the desktop app).

    However, I am not sure I understand the explanation provided. The 2 statements above seem to contradict each other. The Windows app provided those extra characters as instructions to the extension but the extension is able to retrieve and auto-fill credentials perfectly fine without them.

    Also, that thread is dated March 2022 and this issue still exists in the latest Windows beta/nightly. Little disappointing.

  • MrC
    MrC
    Volunteer Moderator
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    @shhh

    There's no contradiction. The app needs to provide the handshake secret to the extension when using Open and fill from the app.

    When the page is already loaded, and you use the browser extension to fill the credentials, it can query the 1Password DB for the matching URL, and thereby fill the credentials.

    Here's a more comprehensive explanation:
    https://1password.community/discussion/comment/633896/#Comment_633896

  • shhh
    shhh
    Community Member
    edited February 2023
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    And the reason that these URL strings don't appear when you're using the extension is that it doesn't need them, because it's already connected to the 1Password for Windows app and it pulls the relevant information based on the URL you've browsed to. By contrast, Open and Fill is a proactive action taken from within the 1Password for Windows app, sort of the equivalent of saying, "Go to this website and put the login in now, even though we're not currently on the page."

    I do appreciate the comprehensive explanation but I am still not quite sure I understand. Since the browser extension is already capable of performing the auto fill simply by looking at the URL, why is it not sufficient for the Windows app to simply send the URL to the browser and the extension can take it from there, same as what happens when I manually type in the URL in the browser address bar or click on a known URL on some other web page?

  • MrC
    MrC
    Volunteer Moderator
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    @shhh

    Think about the situation where you have three Login items, each with the same URL, yet different credentials. Which one should be filled when you click Open and fill? You probably want the item that you clicked Open and fill from, and not either of the other two.

    When you already on the page, the extension has to provide you with all the items that match the URL, so you can select the correct of the three Login items.

  • shhh
    shhh
    Community Member
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    Fair point but in my opinion, it is sufficient for the Windows app to just take me to the site and let me pick which login to use, same UX as the browser extension, instead of stuffing random strings in the URL and potentially breaking the site which is more likely if the site URL already has some query string parameters.

  • Tertius3
    Tertius3
    Community Member
    edited February 2023
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    It might be easier if you don't use 1Password as favorites list. Ignore 1Password. Add all your websites into the browser favorites. As soon as you click one, and you open a website that requires a login, the 1Password browser extension will look up your credentials for that site in the background and offer autofill. One click to choose the correct credentials (in case there are multiple), another click on the submit button and you're in.

    Much more convenient in my opinion and less disruptive workflow than to search for the item in 1Password, then change to the browser.

  • shhh
    shhh
    Community Member
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    @Tertius3 Agreed, I can live with that. The 1Password Windows apps is, tbh, gorgeous and I like using it to manage my vault, make edits, move things around, use Markdown and all the great features it offers. I rarely use the Open and fill button to launch a site. Most of the time I am in the browser and use the 1Password extension and Favorites list to open and fill sites I need.

    Thanks

  • Hello @shhh,

    We appreciate the very kind feedback about 1Password 8. I'm sorry for the delay, but happy the community was able to assist. Thanks @MrC and @Tertius3 for the assistance! 😊

This discussion has been closed.