Dropbox syncing

connor_g

I just downloaded 1Password for Windows hoping to use my existing 1Password keychain which is stored in my Dropbox account. Unfortunately, due to my employer's restrictions on applications which use P2P technology (ridiculous, I know) I am not allowed to install Dropbox on my work PC. I figured that the Windows app would just use Dropbox's API access to sync my keychain itself. Instead, the app expects me to already have Dropbox installed on my computer.



Because of this, my only avenue for syncing with my work computer is manually uploading and downloading the file from the Dropbox website. Would it be possible for a future version of 1Password to use Dropbox API access to handle syncing itself rather than depending on an existing install of the Dropbox desktop app? This would be a huge help to me and (I assume) other people who aren't able to use the Dropbox app for any reason.



Has anyone else encountered this issue and had any good workarounds? I'd really appreciate any advice.

DBrown

Welcome to the forum, Connor!



Our users whose employers prevent them from installing Dropbox all face this issue, and there is currently no alternative sync method in 1Password for Windows. <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' />



Copying your entire [i]1Password.agilekeychain[/i] folder (NOT just its contents) to and from your private Dropbox web site sounds like a functional workaround. You'll get the best results if you delete the folder at the target location each time before you start the copy; otherwise, you could end up with "clutter"—files representing items that no longer exist in your 1Password data—and I'm not sure what potential side effects that might have.



We apologize for the inconvenience.

connor_g

Thanks for the response, I'll make sure I delete the files each time before manually copying them.



Any chance that a future version of the app might take advantage of the Dropbox API directly to handle syncing without depending on the Dropbox desktop app? I assume that's how the iOS app works and it seems like that would solve the problem for me and anyone else in the same situation.

khad

You are correct. That is how the 1Password iOS app works. It is a possibility for the future in 1Password for Windows, but we don't normally announce features until they are actually shipping. I'm sorry I don't have a better answer for you [i]right now[/i], but please know that this is not being ignored.



Best regards,

JudiS217

Can I add my +1 for this topic? Thankfully, my employer hasn't actively blocked my installation of Dropbox but I suspect they won't be thrilled that I did it.

DBrown

Connor, the developer reminds me that any employer policy of blocking installation of Dropbox probably blocks use of the Dropbox API, as well. He explains that the Dropbox APIs require the same sort of access to the same URLs as the Dropbox UI. That's why we decided to let Dropbox handle the sync'ing and focus our attention on making 1Password great.