Using the Password Generator to Create a Random Password

The password generator built into Password Vault can easily produce random passwords that satisfy the most stringent of password requirements. The password rules (called constraints) are stored in your Vault file along with your passwords, so that you can return later and generate similar passwords without defining the password constraints over again.

Suppose that you need to generate a random password that must meet the following password requirements:

• Must be at least 12 characters long
• First 3 characters must be uppercase or lowercase letters (A-Z, a-z)
• Last 2 characters must be numbers (0-9)
• May not contain the following characters: / \ [ ] < >

This tutorial will show you how to generate said password.

1. From the main Password Vault window, select the password record for which you want to generate a password.
   
   
   
   
2. Press the Password Properties toolbar button or press F4.
   
   
   
   
3. The "Password Properties" dialog box appears. Under Basic Properties, press the Generate Password button.
   
   
   
   
4. The "Generate Password" dialog box appears. Take a moment to examine its features.
   
   
   
   
5. Under Password Length, change the value to 12 characters. This fulfills the first requirement: Must be at least 12 characters long.
   
   
   
   
6. Press the Add Constraint... button.
   
   
   
   
7. The "Add Constraint" dialog box appears. This dialog box is used to configure character constraints, which limit portions of your random password to use only certain types of characters, such as letters or numbers, or even a single character.
   
   
   
   
8. Under Character Range End, change the Character index value to 3. Under Character Set, clear the following checkboxes: Numbers and Special characters. Press OK. Steps 6-8 together fulfill the second password requirement: First 3 characters must be uppercase or lowercase letters.
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. On the "Generate Password" dialog box, press Add Constraint... to display the "Add Constraint" dialog box. Under Character Range Start, change the Character index value to 11. Under Character Range End, check the Last character checkbox. Under Character Set, clear the following checkboxes: Uppercase letters, Lowercase letters, and Special characters. Press OK. This step fulfills the third password requirement: Last 2 characters must be numbers.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. The two constraints added in Steps 6-9 are displayed in the Constraints box on the "Generate Password" dialog box.
    
    
    
    
11. Under Constraints, type the following characters in the The following characters will be excluded box: /\[]<>. This step fulfills the fourth password requirement: May not contain the following characters: / \ [ ] < >.
    
    
    
    
12. Now that all the password requirements have been accounted for, your random password is displayed in the box at the bottom of the "Generate Password" dialog box. Your can press the Generate Password button to generate new passwords that are subject to the same rules. Press OK to accept the current password, and the random password will be entered in the Password box on the "Password Properties" dialog box. Press OK on this dialog box as well.