Create new password database

The first step is creating a new password database. KeePass will store all your passwords in this database. Click 'File > New...' in the main menu or click the leftmost toolbar button.

A window will appear, which prompts you for a master password. The database will be encrypted with the password you enter here. The password you enter here will be the only password you'll ever have to remember to henceforth access your password database. It should be long and built-up of mixed characters. Please take great care with your just-created password.  If someone were to get your database file and ascertain your master password they could access all of the user names and passwords stored in the database.   Further, if you were to lose or forget the master password it might be difficult or impossible to recover passwords stored in the database.   Your H: drive is a preferred location for your password database.

After clicking [OK], a second dialog appears. In this dialog you can configure some database properties like name and description.  You can specify these if you wish.

Add Entries to database

You will now see the main window. On the left, you will see the entry groups. On the right, you see the actual password entries (if any are entered yet). The password entries are grouped together into the password groups you see on the left. Depending on which group on the left you selected it will show you the entries in this group in the right view. There are a few default groups for you but you can delete them and/or create your own groups.

To add an entry, right-click into the right password entry view and choose 'Add Entry...'.

A window will pop up. In this window you can now edit your entry: enter a Title, User Name, a Password a URL, etc. If you don't need some of the fields, just leave them empty. When you're done, click [OK].

Use Entries

You will now see your new entry in the password list on the right now and can thereafter use the entered information to populate password prompts.

Right-click onto the entry for option to copy User Name and Password to clipboard for posting into login form.  You can also launch the given website from KeePass by selecting ‘URL(s)’>Open.  You can double-click User Name or Password to copy to the clipboard or double-click URL to launch website from KeePass.

As an alternative you can drag/drop fields into other windows or login forms.

Save Database

Click onto the 'Save' toolbar button (looks like a disk - 3rd toolbar button). If you are saving the database the first time you must specify a location where you want the database file to be stored (H: drive is preferred).  You should save the database often as you make entries so that these entries are not inadvertently lost.  Please take great care when saving your database.  If someone were to get your database file and ascertain your master password they could access all of the user names and passwords stored in the database.   Further, if you were to lose the database or forget the master password it might be difficult or impossible to recover passwords stored in the database.   To reiterate, your H: drive is a preferred location for your password database.

If you have any questions/issues, please contact Pathology Helpdesk at support@pathology.wisc.edu or 608.261.1197.