Some customers used 1Password for Mac first, but then want to copy their data to their Windows PC at work, or vice versa. One great option for doing this is to actually keep your 1Password data in sync between Mac, PC, and even mobile devices with Dropbox using this guide.

If you cannot install Dropbox on your other computer or are simply switching from one platform to another, you can just copy your 1Password data over. Both the OS X and Windows versions of 1Password can read the same data, so you simply need to locate this file and copy it over to the other computer like you would a document, photo, or song. Well, almost.

Where is my 1Password data located?

The data you need is called 1Password.agilekeychain. Yes, like Word documents use .doc for their extension, or iTunes Store songs use .m4a, the 1Password data uses .agilekeychain for its extension.

• OS X Mac App Store releases: Your data must be in this folder path: ~/Library/Containers/com.agilebits.onepassword-osx-helper/Data/Documents/
• OS X AgileBits Online Store releases: ~/Library/Application Support/1Password/ by default
• Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\your-name\My Documents\1Password\
• Windws Vista, 7: C:\Users\your-name\Documents\1Password\

You can copy this file to a USB drive or transfer it over your network to the other computer. Once your data gets to where it's going, do not double-click it to start using it. There's a simple process for telling 1Password which file to use.

Important note for OS X 10.7 and up users: To access the locations above, open the Finder, then select the Go menu, then select Go to Folder. Copy and paste the file path above that you need (be sure to include the ~ as it is important) into the prompt. Click the Go button to be taken to the correct folder.

How to tell 1Password to use a new data file

Whether you are making this switch on the Mac or PC version of 1Password, open the app and go to the General preferences pane:

• OS X Mac App Store releases: you must copy the data to the specific location listed above — there is no "step 2".
• OS X AgileBits Online Store releases: 1Password > Preferences > General
• Windows: Click the Preferences toolbar button, then click the General pane

In that window, click the button to pick a new data file, and select the file you just copied over to your computer. 1Password should then lock and require the Master Password for your new file.