An attempt to setup 1Password with Dropbox on OSX Lion where the home directory of Dropbox is not the default location.

gistfile1.txt

As the description above suggests there are issues that arise when you attempt to use Dropbox sync for 1Password and your Dropbox is not setup to use the default location for it's files. This appears to only be an issue starting with OSX Lion and has to do with the application sandboxing that OSX Lion has started to introduce. Sadly a simple soft link from your home directory to your Dropbox file location will not work as this appears to violate the sandboxing restrictions. Perhaps/Hopefully this will be addressed on Mountain Lion.

** Read this whole thing first so you know what you are getting into and backup your 1Password files before you do anything! Don't blame me if you screw anything up. I wont care.

Here is my current setup:

Assuming you already have Dropbox setup and you have already adjusted the location where your Dropbox files are stored; on your primary computer (the one you wish to have the 1Password application installed, etc) create a folder in your home directory called "Dropbox" (Yes you need to create the folder, this is how 1Password knows (thinks) it can use Dropbox). Start 1Password, open the Preferences and click the "Use Dropbox" button, this will move your existing 1Password file(s) into a 1Password folder in the Dropbox folder you created. Quit 1Password (really this is just to be safe).

Now you need to create a symlink from where you have set Dropbox to store your files. Open terminal (or your favorite terminal replacement) and create a symlink as follows:

ln -s /Users/<homedir>/Dropbox/1Password /path/to/your/dropbox/directory

** replace <homedir> with your username and the path to your Dropbox folder needs to be the top level folder

Wait for Dropbox to finish syncing... If you then look in Dropbox via their website or another computer you have it setup on you will see all the 1Password data is in your Dropbox as expected. It will not be in your home directory on your other computers.

Once Dropbox is done you should be able to open 1Password and use it like normal. 

You now have the ability to do the following:

- Have the iPad/iPhone/Android applications sync to your 1Password data in Dropbox.
- From any computer use 1Password Anywhere; the web interface to access your 1Password data.

You do NOT have the ability to do the following:

- Have the 1Password desktop application set up on another computer in a similar way...

This is not an ideal setup but it gives me roughly what I want. I would love to have it work such that I can use the 1Password desktop application on multiple computers with Dropbox sync but until the sandboxing issues are worked out there does not really appear to be a way. So for the time being using one primary computer which has the 1Password application and using 1Password Anywhere from all others allows me to use Dropbox sync so I can access my password on my desktops and on my mobile devices.

Apple, 1Password, Dropbox please fix this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!