Suggestion Sync/Backup to multiple locations

Haravikk

One thing I'd like is if 1Password would automatically sync the agile keychain to one or more devices, so that I can have a copy on my iPod, phone, or USB stick automatically whenever I go somewhere, so I can login away from my computer. Currently I've got a script just doing a copy of my computer's file onto devices I choose, but it'd be nice to have something a bit more official, and also capable of syncing changes back into my computer's file (in case I sign up for something while away from my computer and it add to my iPod's copy of the keychain. We don't all have iOS devices, and a USB stick is generally the easiest way since it just plugs in and works on most computers without any fuss at all.



Similar goes for back-ups, it'd be nice if I could specify more than one location, I've currently done this again using a script to copy it across so that I have backups on both an external drive, and a secure remote server.



I think the multiple back-up targets should be relatively easily, though I appreciate proper syncing would take more time as it'd need to detect when a device is reconnected and copy over any updates, possibly by checking a non-encrypted field then asking for the agile keychain password to proceed? Plus it might be nice to be able to specify exactly what format the keychain is synced to a device as, so it could be the portable (html) format only for example.



Anyway, both nice features to have I think, currently do-able via other means but not as well as a properly unified feature in 1Password itself.

Nik

Thank you for your feedback! We appreciate that you would find something like this useful. It's very easy to fall into the "Kitchen Sink" trap, adding lots of very cool features to satisfy different needs. We want to keep 1Password as simple as possible. The built-in backup exists as a safety net for those who may not otherwise backup their data and also so that you have a certain number of revisions of your data file, just in case you need to restore a previous version. For more sophisticated backup tasks like what you describe, we think that it would be best to continue using solutions designed specifically for that purpose so that you can trust them to do it right, every time.

Haravikk

Well, the backup is the more minor of the features really, as I have backups sent by 1Password to a drive, and also have a Time Machine backup.



The syncing however I would still think is a good feature to include, as only iOS devices seem to get this with the 1Password iOS app? But I have none of those devices (and not everyone will) so it'd be nice to be able to sync to a USB stick, regular iPod, or other device for on-the-go access.

Nik

[quote name='Haravikk']The syncing however I would still think is a good feature to include, as only iOS devices seem to get this with the 1Password iOS app? But I have none of those devices (and not everyone will) so it'd be nice to be able to sync to a USB stick, regular iPod, or other device for on-the-go access.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure I understand how this would be helpful. Sync implies that changes can be made at both ends and that's only possible if you have 1Password running on the other end, such as on the iDevices, with which 1Password syncs. Anything else is just a scheduled backup, isn't it? I think the confusion may be here:



[quote]…also capable of syncing changes back into my computer's file (in case I sign up for something while away from my computer and it add to my iPod's copy of the keychain.[/quote]



This is not possible. If you take your data file with you on a USB stick, you can use 1PasswordAnywhere, but you can't make changes or add new information, so there would be nothing to sync back to 1Password. Basically you can only make changes to 1Password data if you have some version of 1Password running.



I hope that clears things up, I'm sorry for the confusion.

MikeT

[quote name='Haravikk']One thing I'd like is if 1Password would automatically sync the agile keychain to one or more devices, so that I can have a copy on my iPod, phone, or USB stick automatically whenever I go somewhere, so I can login away from my computer. Currently I've got a script just doing a copy of my computer's file onto devices I choose, but it'd be nice to have something a bit more official, and also capable of syncing changes back into my computer's file (in case I sign up for something while away from my computer and it add to my iPod's copy of the keychain. We don't all have iOS devices, and a USB stick is generally the easiest way since it just plugs in and works on most computers without any fuss at all.



Similar goes for back-ups, it'd be nice if I could specify more than one location, I've currently done this again using a script to copy it across so that I have backups on both an external drive, and a secure remote server.



I think the multiple back-up targets should be relatively easily, though I appreciate proper syncing would take more time as it'd need to detect when a device is reconnected and copy over any updates, possibly by checking a non-encrypted field then asking for the agile keychain password to proceed? Plus it might be nice to be able to specify exactly what format the keychain is synced to a device as, so it could be the portable (html) format only for example.



Anyway, both nice features to have I think, currently do-able via other means but not as well as a properly unified feature in 1Password itself.[/QUOTE]



CronoSync is a nice tool that I use to do the same thing your script does (both way sync as long as 1PW is shut down first).



In the future, dropbox syncing will allow you another point of sync target, the cloud as central location.