SyncGoogleDrive

PasswdSafe with Google Drive

Google Drive files can be synced by PasswdSafe Sync with limited access. Recent Google security permissions limit Sync access to files which have been created or modified by the app itself. Google does not provide a file chooser in order to select individual files to start syncing. There also is no method to grant an app access to a file. If a file has been modified by PasswdSafe and synced, it is likely they will continue to work with the new permissions. Other files will be removed from the synced file but will remain in the Drive.

PasswdSafe support for Google Drive files can be enabled with the process below for Sync access. Or, the files can be opened using the file chooser in PasswdSafe.

PasswdSafe Sync Use

The following steps are needed to start syncing existing files from Google Drive.

1. In PasswdSafe Sync, add the Google Drive account if not already present. Reauthorization may be required with the update to the new permission limits.
2. Open PasswdSafe and select the Google Drive account from the top-left navigation menu
3. Use the New File icon to create a new Google Drive file.
4. Enter the name of the file which will be synced. The particular password does not matter as the file will be overwritten later.
5. Select OK to create the file
6. Close the file without creating any records
7. Open the Drive account in a web browser from a PC
8. Find the existing password file and download it to the PC
9. Find the created password file in the top 'My Drive' directory
10. Right click on the created password file and select 'Manage versions'
11. Select 'Upload new version' and upload the existing file from the PC
12. Re-open PasswdSafe and select the Google Drive account
13. Use the Sync icon to manually sync the changed file. It should be updated.
14. Open the file and verify it has the desired contents from the existing password file
15. Test updates to ensure the sync permissions are set. After verifying, the existing password file can be archived.

PasswdSafe Use

The following steps can be used to access Google Drive files in PasswdSafe without use of the PasswdSafe Sync app. Offline access should be possible by using the Drive app to mark the file as available offline.

1. Open PasswdSafe and select Files from the top-left navigation menu
2. Use the open button at the bottom right to open the file chooser
3. Select the Google Drive account from the file chooser's top-left navigation menu
4. Navigate and select the password file. The file should be open and be writable. Updates should be synced back by the Drive app. The file should remain in the recent files list for easier access.