Two Electrum Questions

[dkbit98]

I have been using Electrum as my standard wallet for years and it's working just fine for me, even if I would like to see some improvements and better design.
There are few questions I didn't find any answer on their website or here in forum.

Question 1:
Is there a way to set one wallet as default when opening Electrum?

I created several wallets including Legacy, Native Segwit and other connected with hardware wallet, and I would like to set one as default when I open Electrum.
Only way to do this now if I manually open wallet that I want and I don't understand how Electrum decides what wallet to open, maybe one that last had some transaction.

Question 2:
Is it possible to hide and disable address in Electrum wallet?

I know there is Freeze option in Electrum but I couldn't find any way to hide and disable some addresses I don't want to be seen or used.
This address should be disabled and not shown in Addresses tab or shown when I click New Address in Receive tab.
There are also limited number of addresses and change addresses shown in Addresses tab and I would like to show more of them if that is possible, and I hope I made myself clear enough.
Transactions details for everything could still be seen in History tab.

[1714157280]

1714157280

[1714157280]

1714157280

[1714157280]

1714157280

[1714157280]

1714157280

[ranochigo]

Only way to do this now if I manually open wallet that I want and I don't understand how Electrum decides what wallet to open, maybe one that last had some transaction.

It will open the last wallet that is closed.

Electrum determines which wallet file to open by checking the config located in the data directory, %appdata%/Electrum if you're using Windows. Unless you're able to edit it after every Electrum shutdown, you can't set the wallet at launch. However, you can make use of a shortcut for this. Create a shortcut for Electrum and edit its target in this format: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Electrum\electrum-4.0.9.exe" -w C:\Users\usr\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets\default_wallet. You would have to specify the exact directory.

There are also limited number of addresses and change addresses shown in Addresses tab and I would like to show more of them if that is possible, and I hope I made myself clear enough.

Gap limit.

For receiving address, change gap limit like this: changegaplimit('30', 'iknowwhatimdoing')

For change address, change gap limit like this: wallet.gap_limit_for_change = 30

Both are to be entered into the console. A fair warning, you have to remember that you changed the gap limit. If you were to use addresses that were generated 21 receiving addresses ahead, you will have to change the gap limit when restoring the wallet.

[dkbit98]

Electrum determines which wallet file to open by checking the config located in the data directory, %appdata%/Electrum if you're using Windows. Unless you're able to edit it after every Electrum shutdown, you can't set the wallet at launch. However, you can make use of a shortcut for this. Create a shortcut for Electrum and edit its target in this format: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Electrum\electrum-4.0.9.exe" -w C:\Users\usr\AppData\Roaming\Electrum\wallets\default_wallet. You would have to specify the exact directory.

Thanks for helping!
That is a nice workaround solution, I tested it and it works exactly like I wanted, but it would be nice if they could add this option in settings.
Gap limit change is not urgent yet, and I was more looking for a way to hide and disable few old addresses that I never used but I may posted them in forum and I don't want to use them.
Currently my solution for this is with labeling and freezing.

[o_e_l_e_o]

and I was more looking for a way to hide and disable few old addresses that I never used but I may posted them in forum and I don't want to use them.

Assuming that your wallet was created from a seed phrase then there is no way to do this at present. Only if you have imported individual private keys or addresses can you delete individual addresses from your wallet. It is possible to decrypt your wallet file, open it with a text editor, and delete individual private keys that way, but you will then be met with the following error every time you load the wallet, and it may malfunction and require you to restore from your seed phrase, so I wouldn't recommend doing it.

Code:

Wallet file corruption detected. Please restore your wallet from seed, and compare the addresses in both files.

The other possibility would be to use the same seed phrase to create a brand new wallet with a new derivation path, so you can effectively hide all your old addresses by just not opening the old wallet, but without having to remake all your back ups, etc.

[dkbit98]

The other possibility would be to use the same seed phrase to create a brand new wallet with a new derivation path, so you can effectively hide all your old addresses by just not opening the old wallet, but without having to remake all your back ups, etc.

But if I never used this (hidden) address for receiving any coins than it is possible that same address could be generated again in future, right?

Wasabi wallet for example can hide individual addresses and not reuse them, but I am not a big fan of their interface, so I hope someone can add this option for Electrum in future.
I am not a developer so I can't say exactly how hard this is to make but it sure does look simple to me in theory

[o_e_l_e_o]

But if I never used this (hidden) address for receiving any coins than it is possible that same address could be generated again in future, right?

As long as you have your seed phrase and you know the derivation path of the wallet/addresses in question, then you will always be able to generate them again in the future. If you mean "Is there a chance my wallet might, at a different derivation path, generate an address I've previously generated, not used, and hidden?" then the answer is essentially no. You have as much chance of your wallet generating the same private key twice as you do of it generating the private key to one of Satoshi's addresses.

I am not a developer so I can't say exactly how hard this is to make but it sure does look simple to me in theory

Why not open a request on their GitHub? It's not a feature that I have ever felt the need for, but I'm sure you're not the only one who would use it.