#12 Feature (Chekbox) - add current Title-windows to auto-type for selected entry

[Dmitry]

1. I use Autotype search for situations when keepas could not recognize the window title and match with the record (for example, if it's just not configured)

2. Keepass has a native Auto-type, but it is inconvenient and time consuming to set up for each password entry. You need to set the target title of the window where auto-type is triggered.

3. The idea is to combine the features of Auto-type sarch and native auto-type, so that in the record selection dialog via autotype search - it would be great to be able via "checkbox" to automatically save the current window title to the auto-recognition list for selected password-entry.

4. In this case, when pressing the auto-type hotkey again, the native auto-type keepass will work well and recognize the title of the window. And there will no longer be a need to search for an entry manually by typing on the keyboard via auto-type-search.

Thus, auto-type-search can play the role of a plug-in that allows you to enrich and gradually tune entries to native auto-type by adding window titles to the recognition list for password entries.

Is it possible to implement this? It would save a lot of time and improve UX

[AlexVallat]

Thank you for the suggestion, this makes sense to add as an option. I will try to add it when I have time.

[AlexVallat]

Please give the attached 1.4 candidate a try. I decided that instead of a checkbox it should show a message asking if you want to save the window title as an auto-type target. This should not be something that happens silently, but require a positive user confirmation each time - whether a window title is a sensible target for an entry is a decision that needs to be made every time.

There is a "don't ask again" checkbox on the message which will disable the feature.

[Dmitry]

Thank you for feature!
Sorry for late reply.
Already test it, generally works, but sometimes the request to save windows doesn't happen. I dont know why.
There is a suspicion that this happens if the selected entry already has target windows (but they did not work, for example, if the site changed the title),
But this also may not work on recordings where target windows have not yet been configured.

[AlexVallat]

The request will not happen if it isn't searching for a window title. So if you have just used the hotkey and searched for an entry, rather than having it appear automatically because the target window was not found, it won't have a window title associated with the search.

[Dmitry]

Is there any possibility for the plugin to get information about the title at the moment of pressing Ctrl + shift + A, so that then (even if the focus is changed to the AutoTypeSearch window), you can use the previously obtained window title for saving and richness in the record?

[AlexVallat]

Sorry, I don't understand what you are asking for here. If you perform auto-type into a window and it fails, it should offer to save that window title to the entry because it knows you were expecting auto-type to work for that window and it did not.

If there isn't an attempt to auto-type then I don't think AutoTypeSearch should offer to add the title, as that could get quite irritating if your workflow is just to use search and not autotype (probably because you know the window title isn't helpful).

[Dmitry]

Hi Alex,

Sorry for the late reply. Here are the details to clarify my proposal:

Current behavior on my setup when pressing Ctrl + Alt + A (option "Show AutoTypeSearch automatically if global auto-type no match" is turned on):

If the current window is not found in any KeePass entries, the AutoTypeSearch window appears, and we manually search for the needed entry.
If the current window is found in one entry, auto-type works (Yay!).
If the current window is found in more than one entry, the global auto-type window appears, offering to select an entry. Here, it might happen that you can't select an entry (because global auto-type is not configured for it, or more commonly, if the window title has changed). When pressing Esc or closing the window, AutoTypeSearch is triggered, where we manually search for the needed entry.
I follow the principle: if a machine can do it for you, it should do it. If it can't, do it yourself.

In the current mode, when cases 1 and 3 occur, I always go to KeePass and add the target window to the auto-type settings so that everything works automatically in the future.

These actions can be accelerated with the help of AutoTypeSearch:

Acceleration #1: Instead of going to KeePass (click tray, search entyty...), you can press Shift + Enter in AutoTypeSearch to save the target window to the entry."

Acceleration #2: In the auto-type form, offer the option "Add current window for the selected entry." Then I wouldn't need to go anywhere - the target window will be attached to the entry settings with the help of the auto-type helper.
This acceleration will work only if AutoType can recognize the active window title when Ctrl + Alt + A was pressed.

The display of such a checkbox in the auto-type input form can be optional (enabled from the settings).

I hope I was able to clarify the idea. I would appreciate your help in implementing these improvements.

Best regards,
Dmitry

[AlexVallat]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I still believe having the prompt after performing the AutoType from the search window is the best way to handle this. I will not add any additional UI to the search window in any case.

I do take your point that this currently does not work for the case where KeePass shows the multiple matches window and you cancel it because none of them are the right one. This logically also counts as a failed auto-type and shows the AutoType Search window, so it should also offer to add the window title to the entry. I've attached a candidate 1.5 which should fix that.

I think it's better to have the prompt automatically appear when you do the auto-type action from the search window rather than have a dedicated Shift + Enter keypress. There's no reason to add the target window to the entry if you have not auto-typed it, and that would take up one of the two valuable action slots unnecessarily.

Please give the attached 1.5 candidate a try, and let me know if it does the job for your workflows.

Regards,

Alex

[Dmitry]

Thanks, Alex.

However, I wasn't able to see how this works. I didn't see any options to add the window title to the entry when using AutoType. Could you provide a screenshot or explain what settings are needed to make this work? Maybe a new version of AutoTypeSearch.dll is required?

[AlexVallat]

I think if you have AutoTypeSearch.dll as well as AutoTypeSearch.plgx then the dll takes priority, so delete the dll and the plgx should be used.

If you do an autotype into a window that either fails to match, or shows the multiple matches window that you then cancel, then AutoTypeSearch will appear with a small yellow banner at the top telling you the title of the window which wasn't found. If that banner doesn't appear then AutoTypeSearch wasn't triggered through an un-found window, and so it won't offer to add the title to the entry.

If that yellow banner is present, then if you autotype any entry from the results of the search it will pop up a message box asking you if you would like to add the window title to that entry.

There are no options to configure, other than a "Don't show this again" checkbox on the message box if you prefer not to use the feature at all.