84 ANDROID ADVISOR • ISSUE 45apps to input text and highlight fields. However, this
process was slow and extremely buggy. Filling in
passwords is not what it was designed to do. Google’s
Smart Lock came to Android in Nougat, and it worked
a little better, but most developers didn’t add support.
So, the autofill API was devised to make password
managers easier to use. Not all password manager
apps work with this feature, but most of the big ones
have announced support. 1Password, Dashlane, and
LastPass have all added support for Oreo that you can
try, but it’s still technically in beta for LastPass. If you
don’t use a third-party password manager, you might
still be able to use the autofill feature with Google’s
own autofill service from Chrome.Oreo’s autofill API
Oreo’s autofill features are disabled by default, and
they’re rather buried. To enable autofill, head into your
main system settings and look in System > Language
& input > Advanced > Autofill service. You can only
have one active at a time, but “Autofill with Google” is
built into the OS. Any other apps you’ve installed with
support for autofill will also show up in this menu.
Google’s option pulls in usernames and passwords
from Chrome. That means you’ll already have access
to lots of account credentials in Android if you’ve been
saving things to Chrome on your desktop. The first
time you open an app with a native login field (not
an embedded web frame), a window pops up asking
you to confirm your Google account so logins can
be found. A drop-down list of matching logins will let
you pick among several accounts.HOW TO