The toolbar of the Keychain Access application allows for the creation of new keychain items, including passwords and notes. The lock button on the toolbar can be used to lock or unlock the currently selected keychain. Figure 1 Keychain Access.app on Mac OS X for secure management of passwords. Jan 10, 2015 Software OS X 10.9.5 (13F34) Keychain Access Version 9.0 (55153) I attempted to export about 10 keychain items following the procedure in Keychain Access Help. After selecting the items. I found that Export Items was greyed out. I then selected the items one-at-a-time and found that Export Items was grayed. Out for each item. What is the problem?
Keychain Access User Guide
Keychain Password
Your login keychain password is normally the same as your user password (the password you use to log in to the computer). At login, if your keychain password somehow differs from your user password, it doesn’t automatically unlock, and you’re asked to enter the keychain’s password. It’s recommended that you enter your previous user password. If this doesn’t unlock the keychain, the keychain automatically resets.
If you don’t remember your previous user password, you need to reset your default keychain. Resetting the default keychain deletes all the passwords saved in the keychain, but lets you sync your login password and the password stored in the keychain.
To do this, change your password in Users & Groups preferences, and the keychain password is automatically changed to match it.
It’s recommended that you manually reset your keychain only when advised to by Apple Support. Resetting default keychains requires you to log out and log back in to your Mac to complete the process.
- In the Keychain Access app on your Mac, choose Keychain Access > Preferences.
- Click Reset Default Keychains.
- In the Finder on your Mac, choose Apple menu > Log Out. When you log in again, save your current login password in a keychain.
Keychain Access
If your user password was reset because you forgot your password, and you can’t provide the old password for the keychain, you won’t be able to access the information in the old keychain, and a new blank keychain is created.
See alsoIf a Mac app you’ve already trusted asks for keychain accessIf your Mac keeps asking for your keychain passwordLearn how passwords are used on Mac