ghost
commented
12 years ago For users migrating from the Satoshi client (as I did) this is also important as typically they will want to import at least some keys. I know I did because I want my transaction history to come with them. In this case remembering the seed is not enough.
I could implement this as a button in pro mode and system menu item in lite mode. This is a menu item next to "Brainwallet Info" and "Change Server". If it detects that no imported keys are present then perhaps it could backup just the seed as that would be very small and still allow full recovery. Also, perhaps when you run Electrum and choose restore it might support a file chooser option and copy the file.
maran
The satoshi client has a button to backup the wallet file. In my opinion this would be a nice addition to electrum as well.
The usecase would be for new users getting started on Bitcoin. The idea in electrum is that one memorizes the passphrase, however, since the passphrase is never used, one will forget it over time. A techy user will use spaced repetition to commit it to long term memory, but when I help someone getting started, I would like to have them set up securely and instantly, without having to remind them to learn their passphrase.
I would tell them to put a password on their wallet (=encrypt it), then backup the wallet and send it to themselves via mail, or save it via dropbox (or send it to me so I'll add it to my backups).