Read [https://ravenforum.org/topic/21/the-private-key-and-the-wallet the private key and the wallet] on our forum for an understanding of the difference of what a wallet is compared to a private key.
=== General wallet guide ===Note: do '''not ''' use special chars for the passphrase for encryption of our wallet. We can download our wallet from [https://github.com/RavenProject/Ravencoin/releases Ravencoin Github] for our OS.* Extract all the compressed files.* Start wallet by double click Raven-qt(.exe/.app), allow the Raven-qt to access internet if your windows firewall notification pops up.* Choose were to store our data folder, it will contain our wallet.dat, blockchain and other config files. Default option is fine.* Assuming this is a hot wallet and we are connected to the internet, our wallet will now start to sync with blockchain.* Encrypting our wallet is always recommended, especially on a hot wallet, we can select "Encrypt Wallet" from "Settings" menu, remember to write down our passphrase and store it safely, use the same steps ans detailed in [[#Backups|Backups]] section on this page. Note: do '''not''' use special chars for the passphrase for encryption of our wallet.* From the "File" menu we can choose "Receiving Addresses.." click "New" give it a label, and click "OK" now we selected the new address and click "Copy" and paste it into our mining bat/sh file, or "Export" a text file with our new public address.* Nest step is to backup our wallet, we can do that from "File" menu "Backup Wallet..." select a location and give our backup a meaning full name like "06-05-2018-raven-wallet.dat" follow the steps in [[#Backups|Backups]] to keep our backups safe. We can also make a backup when our raven-qt wallet is completely shut down by copying wallet.dat file from our data folder.* Now is a good time to read the rest of this page. Default data folder locations: Windows: %AppData%/Roaming/Raven Mac: ~/Library/Application\ Support/Raven Linux: ~/.ravenNote that on mac and linux " ~/ " is the home folder, and is different from " / " root folder