Problems with SSH key in a portable installation

[umbongo]

I have a portable SecureCRT that has problems with the locations of my SSH keys. The key is stored in the config directory and the configuration shows the relative path of "./key.key". However when reopening the application they key is not recognised. When I edit the configuration of a host and attempt to re-point it to the cert file it completes the full path, but the fingerprint then shows. If I remove the absolute path and replace with the relative path again and click OK the connection then works as expected.

Running on Version 8.0.2

[jjh]

Hi umbongo

If SecureCRT is looking for a .key file, that would be a
keymap file that was created using the keymap editor. If
you open your Session Options to the Emulation category, you
can enable the "Select an alternate keyboard emulation
setting, then choose "Custom" from the dropdown list. Then
you can put the path to the .key file you want to use in the
entry box to the right. It sounds like that is the path you
need to change to be the relative path to your .key file.

Is this the problem you are encountering?

If not, would you be able to provide a screenshot of the
error message you are seeing?

We may need some more information about your Config that you
might not want to post on a public forum. If that becomes
the case, it might be better for you to contact us at
support@vandyke.com.

Thanks

JJH

[umbongo]

Sorry for taking so long to come back to you. For some reason I didn't realise I hadn't set an email alert.

The problem you have interpreted is not the problem I have. I have attached some screenshots that should help describe the issue more clearly.

Pic 1 shows the problem directly.


Pic 2 shows the root cause of the problem - the key can't be read.


Pic 3 show after I click the 'open' button and then just click OK (without changing the path or name, so it does appear to recognise the relative path correctly).


Pic 4 show after I correct the path again to be relative.


If I attempt the connection after pic 4 the connection then succeeds. This is rather annoying as I have to keep the path relative as it is a portable installation.

Does that make the problem description more readable?

[jjh]

Hi umbongo.

Thanks for providing the screenshots. Since you are using a
"portable" install of SecureCRT and you already have your
key stored in the Config directory, you can edit the SSH2.ini
to use the {VDS_CONFIG_PATH} template value. You would need
to change the following line in the .ini file to look like
this:

S:"Identity Filename V2"=${VDS_CONFIG_PATH}\phil.key

Does this work for you?

JJH

[umbongo]

Yes, that works.

However when I view the config I notice that the path resolves to the absolute path. Am I at risk of overwriting the variable with an absolute file location at some point in the future?

[jjh]

Hi umbongo.

That shouldn't happen. If you plug your USB stick into a
different computer that uses a different drive letter, it
should make sense on that computer as well.

JJH