How To: Sync your Mac with Dropbox
Introduction
The recommended syncing solution for 1Password is Dropbox. This document will walk through the process of syncing a single Mac with Dropbox. Then at the end, discuss how to tell another Mac to use the same data file.
Dropbox has a free plan available that gives users 2 gigabytes of storage space, more than enough to store 1Password's data file and hundreds of other documents. Users that need more space can pay for storage upgrades, but for the average user, 2 gigabytes is more than enough.
Note: This article assumes a data file is already setup and being used. New users will need to setup a new data file first.
Installing Dropbox
The first step is to install the Dropbox application and create a Dropbox account. Both of these can be done from the Dropbox website.
- Create Dropbox account.
Remember to store the password in a safe location along with the email addressed used. Preferably in 1Password itself.
- Install the Dropbox application and make sure it is running.
Note: When Dropbox asks where to put the Dropbox folder, choose the "User" home folder. 1Password from the Mac App Store requires it in this location. Mac App Store sandboxing requires 1Password to specify an exact location for the data file and the specified location is with the Dropbox folder in the user's home folder which is the default location for Dropbox.
Moving the Data File to Dropbox
The next step is to open the 1Password application. Then click 1Password, and Preferences in the menu bar.
Under the General pane is a "Move to Dropbox" button. Clicking this will move the data file to Dropbox. If this button is grey there are two reasons. The first is that the data file is already on Dropbox. The second is that the Dropbox folder is not in the default location (for 3.9/Mac App Store users), see the note above under Installing Dropbox.
Let Dropbox finish syncing. When it is complete the Dropbox icon will look like the the following:
When Dropbox indicates syncing is complete, the file is now available to other devices.
Setting up additional Macs to use Dropbox
Once a data file is fully synced to Dropbox, other Macs can be told to use this file:
- Confirm 1Password is installed, but don't launch it.
- Locate the file on Dropbox. It should be in ~/Dropbox/1Password/ and will be called 1Password.agilekeychain.
- Double click the 1Password.agilekeychain file
This will open the file in 1Password and prompt you for your master password.
This will be the same as the master password on the Mac where you originally set up 1Password. Enter that and unlock your data file. You're all set!