I already have a private key and simply want to add it. I don’t see a way to do that. It looks like I can only generate one or import from a file.
Hi Ted,
Importing a key from a file is the same as adding it to your keyring. If you have not already done so, you will need to export your private key from wherever it is stored and move that file to the computer to which you wish to add the key. Then, simply click the “import” icon in the Key Manager toolbar and navigate to the location of the file and select it.
If the key is stored on a GPG keyring already, you could also just copy the keyring files. They are usually located in: C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Roaming\gnupg [where “Owner” is your user account name]. The files you’re looking for are: “pubring.gpg” and “secring.gpg”. Be careful if you choose this method, however, because you may end up overwriting any existing keys on the computer you’re moving the file to.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Sean C.
OK, right now the private key is just a block of text in a text file. How can I convert it to a file?
GPG should be able to read it in the format it’s in, so no need to convert it. The key should be in one of two formats: ASCII or binary. If it is in ASCII format, the text should begin with “-----BEGIN PGP PRIVATE KEY BLOCK-----”. If it is in binary, the entire file should look like a bunch of nonsense symbols. Either way, GPG will be able to read it and import the key. Just select the text file in the import dialogue and GPG should do the rest.
Try it out. The worst that could happen is that GPG will fail to import the key. Let us know how it goes.
Regards,
Sean C.
That worked. Thank you!