Introduction
KeePass can insert data stored in different
entries into fields of an entry.
This means that multiple entries can share a common
field (user name, password, ...), and by changing the actual data entry,
all other entries will also use the new value.
To create a field reference, you can either use the
convenient field references wizard (in the entry editing window,
click the 'Tools' button at the bottom left and select
'Insert Field Reference'), or insert the placeholder manually
(see the syntax below).
Note that field references are intended for referencing data stored
in different entries. If you want to insert data from the
same/current entry, you should use local placeholders, like
{TITLE} and {S:FieldName} ;
see Placeholders.
Placeholder Syntax
The placeholder syntax for field references is the following:
{REF:<WantedField>@<SearchIn>:<Text>}
The WantedField and SearchIn parts need to be replaced by
1-letter codes identifying the field:
Code | Field |
T | Title |
U | User name |
P | Password |
A | URL |
N | Notes |
I | UUID |
O | Other custom strings (KeePass 2.x only) |
The Text part is the search string that
describes the text(s) that must occur in the specified field of an entry to match.
If multiple entries match the specified search criterion, the first
entry will be used.
To avoid ambiguity, an entry can be identified by its UUID, which is unique.
Example:
{REF:P@I:46C9B1FFBD4ABC4BBB260C6190BAD20C} would insert the
password of the entry having 46C9B1FFBD4ABC4BBB260C6190BAD20C as UUID.
KeePass 2.x Only
Referencing fields of other entries only works with standard fields, not
with custom user strings.
If you want to reference a custom user string, you need
to place a redirection in a standard field of the entry with the custom string,
using {S:<Name>} ,
and reference the standard field.
Custom strings can locally (i.e. within an entry) be referenced using
{S:<Name>} ,
see the page Placeholders for details.
You can use the O code to make KeePass search the database for
custom string fields (to identify the referenced source entry),
but O cannot be used to retrieve data from custom fields (i.e. the
code can't be used as WantedField).
Example
Let's assume you have two entries: one with title "Example Website"
and one with "Example Forum", and you want to insert the user name
of the website account into the URL of the forum entry. Within the forum entry's
URL, you could reference the user name like this:
https://forum.example.com/?user={REF:U@T:Example Website}
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