Finding and using an entry

Seclave offers several ways to find an entry, so you can pick whichever suits how you organise your passwords. Each one is an item in the main menu.

The views

Quick

Quick is a short, hand-picked list of the entries you reach for most often. Unlike the other views it is not built automatically; you decide which entries appear and in what order, using the Manage -> Quick item (see Managing entries). Each Quick entry also remembers how you like to use it, so choosing it can go straight to typing the password, for example.

Recent

Recent lists every entry sorted by how often you use it, with the most-used entries first. The order updates itself as you go, so your common passwords rise to the top.

Pwds (browse all)

Pwds lists every entry sorted by label, grouped into sub-menus by first letter. This is the view to use when you know the name of the entry.

Groups

Groups lists your entries by their group. Choose a group, then choose an entry within it. Within each group the entries are sorted by label. This is handy for entries you rarely open but can remember the category of.

A worked example

Imagine you have these entries:

  • house_alarm, the PIN to your house alarm. You will probably only reach for it after a holiday, so find it under Groups in the alarm group.

  • laptop_user, the login to your laptop, used seldom - best found in Pwds by its label.

  • pgp_private, an often-used password - best found in Recent, or add it to Quick.

  • pgp_work, your work PGP password - found in Recent or the pgp group.

What you can do with an entry

When you choose an entry from any view, Seclave shows an action menu for it:

Device display showing the action menu for the entry github-work, with Pwd highlighted

The action menu for an entry, here github-work. Your last choice is pre-selected next time.

  • Pwd - show the password on the device’s screen.

  • Send to usb - have Seclave type the entry into the computer. This opens a sub-menu of sending styles (password only, username and password together, and so on); see Typing passwords to the computer.

  • Username - show the username on the screen.

  • Optional - show the optional field on the screen.

  • Group - show the entry’s group on the screen.

Device display showing the password of github-work

Pwd shows the password on the device’s own screen; it never touches the computer.

The action menu remembers your last choice for that entry, so the option you use most for a given login is pre-selected the next time you open it.

Note

Showing a field on the screen keeps the secret entirely on the device. Send to usb requires the device to be plugged into a computer and is covered in Typing passwords to the computer.