Fred2012
Level 1 (5 points)

Q: Safari preferences passwords

Under preferences for Safari, you can select "Passwords".  There is a block there that you can check and your passwords will be shown.  You have to enter the password for the machine, but then the passwords for websites will be listed.  This has stopped working on my iMac very recently.  I just updated the OS, but I don't know if the problem is related to that.

 

What needs to be done to restore the "show passwords" function for websites?

 

Fred

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.3), 24" 2009, 2.93 GHz Intel, GT-120

Posted on Oct 31, 2015 9:11 PM

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Fred2012

Q: Safari preferences passwords

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  • Helpful answers

  • by dominic23,

    dominic23 dominic23 Nov 1, 2015 3:04 AM in response to Fred2012
    Level 8 (42,105 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 1, 2015 3:04 AM in response to Fred2012

       Delete com.apple.Safari.plist file and test.

     

     

        Empty the Trash.

        Quit all applications.

        Hold the option key down and click the "Go" menu in the Finder menu bar.

     

        Select "Library" from the drop down.

     

        Library > Preferences >  com.apple.Safari.plist

        Right click on it and select "Move it to Trash".

        Restart.    Relaunch Safari.

     

        If this doesn’t help, “Put Back” the com.apple.Safari.plist

     

        Right click on  the Trash icon in the Dock and select “Open”.

        Right click on the com.apple.Safari.plist and select “Put Back”.

  • by Fred2012,

    Fred2012 Fred2012 Nov 1, 2015 6:03 AM in response to dominic23
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Nov 1, 2015 6:03 AM in response to dominic23

    dominic23, thank you for responding.  I went through the procedure, including the restart, but saw no change.  The characters of the passwords appear as 8 bold dots.  When I check the box to show the passwords and enter my machine password, the 8 bold dots remain.  No characters of the passwords show like they used to.  I did the "Put Back" of the com.apple.Safari.plist after the procedure didn't work.

     

    Since one of the OS updates, a keychain box appears if I want to use Facebook.  "Safari wants to use your confidential information stored in "api.facebook.com" in your keychain.  Do you want to allow access to this item?  Always allow    Deny      Allow  "

     

    I have denied this at times and have allowed it at times.  I don't know what it is doing.  I have not used keychain to manage passwords.

     

    This seems unrelated to my "show passwords" problem, but I'm mentioning it because it involves passwords.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Nov 1, 2015 6:20 AM in response to Fred2012
    Level 9 (74,064 points)
    iTunes
    Nov 1, 2015 6:20 AM in response to Fred2012

    What version of the OS are you using? Your profile shows 10.7.3. Try booting into the Safe Mode and see if the problem is the same.

     

    Safe Mode

  • by Fred2012,

    Fred2012 Fred2012 Nov 1, 2015 7:33 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Nov 1, 2015 7:33 AM in response to Eric Root

    I am using OS 10.11.1.

     

    I tried to boot into the Safe Mode several times, but wasn't able to make it happen.  I did a restart and when the iMac did the start-up chime, I held the shift key down until the Apple appeared.  I also tried holding the shift key down until the login screen appeared.  I used the link you supplied for the instructions, a Mac OS X book, and other links for the instructions.  I don't know what I am doing wrong.  I have done this before with no problem.

     

    I checked the software profile in the utilities and it said that the machine was in a "normal" boot mode.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Nov 2, 2015 7:42 AM in response to Fred2012
    Level 9 (74,064 points)
    iTunes
    Nov 2, 2015 7:42 AM in response to Fred2012

    Here are the links for 10.11.

     

    Safe Mode - About El Capitan

     

    Safe Mode Startup – El Capitan.

  • by Fred2012,

    Fred2012 Fred2012 Nov 2, 2015 11:45 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Nov 2, 2015 11:45 AM in response to Eric Root

    That procedure no longer works on my machine.  I have been unable to reboot in Safe Mode.

     

    I used "First Aid" in the "Disk Utility" to check the start-up disk.  It found no problems.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Nov 3, 2015 7:54 AM in response to Fred2012
    Level 9 (74,064 points)
    iTunes
    Nov 3, 2015 7:54 AM in response to Fred2012

    If you have FileVault enabled, you can't boot into the Safe Mode.

     

    Try running Keychain Access/First Aid and resetting the original keychain.

     

    Keychain Reset

     

    Keychain Issues - Resolve  see post by Kappy