In the fields of data analysis and machine learning, Anaconda is a software that many developers cannot do without. Anaconda not only provides a Python distribution, but also offers package management and environment management functions, making it very convenient to solve the problems of multiple versions of Python coexisting, switching, and installing various third-party packages. During the use of Anaconda, we may encounter issues with the default environment, such as not knowing how to set the default environment or being unable to switch between default environments.

How to set the default environment for Anaconda?

When using Anaconda in daily life, every time we open the terminal, it defaults to the base environment, and we need to manually switch to the desired environment, which can become troublesome over time. Therefore, we can set commonly used environments as default environments. Below, I will introduce the method of setting default environments for Anaconda.

Method 1: Modify Anaconda Prompt shortcut properties

We can achieve default entry into the specified environment by modifying the properties of the Anaconda Prompt shortcut. The specific steps are as follows:

1. Right click on the Anaconda Prompt shortcut and select [Properties].

2. In the [Target] box, modify the installation path of Anaconda to the save location of your virtual environment, as shown in the following figure. This means keeping the content before [activate. bat] and modifying the content after it to the path of the virtual environment.

3. After the modification is completed, restart Anaconda Prompt to enter the virtual environment by default.

Figure 1: Attributes

Method 2: Set default environment using commands

We can also set the default environment by following these steps:

1. View the current available environment

Open Anaconda Prompt and enter the command 'conda info -- envs' to view a list of all available environments and their paths. By default, there is an asterisk (*) in front of the path indicating the currently activated environment.

Figure 2: Viewing the activation environment

2. Switch to the target environment

After checking the exact name of the environment you want to switch to, execute the 【 conda activate xxx 】 command in Anaconda Prompt to activate the environment. We can run the 【 conda info – envs 】 command again to check if the path has an asterisk or if the environment name is displayed at the beginning of the command line to verify whether the environment switch was successful.

Figure 3: Switching Environment

3. Set as default environment

After successfully switching to the target environment, it can be set as the default environment. Run the command 'conda config -- set env-process' ({default_denv})' to update the default environment to the current environment.

Figure 4: Setting the default environment

What if Anaconda's default environment cannot be switched?

Sometimes we may encounter situations where Anaconda's default environment cannot be switched, which can seriously affect our normal use. Next, I will analyze possible reasons for you and provide corresponding solutions.

（1） Environment not activated correctly

If it is not possible to switch to the default environment, you can check the actual environment switched in the terminal and use the 'conda info' command to view the currently activated environment. If the environment is not activated correctly, you can try the following actions:

1. Run the 'conda activate environment name' command to activate the environment.

2. If the command prompt does not update to the specified environment name after activation, reconfigure Conda initialization and execute the 'Conda init' command.

3. Restart the terminal and try activating the environment again.

Figure 5: Configuring Conda initialization

（2） System PATH variable configuration error

In Windows systems, the PATH environment variable may point to the wrong installation path, which can prevent switching to the default environment. The following methods can be used to solve this problem:

1. Run the 'where python' command on the terminal to check if the output Python interpreter path contains the Anaconda path.

2. If the environment is confirmed to be activated but still invalid, the PATH variable can be manually modified. Open the system properties window, then select 'Advanced System Settings', and then click on' Advanced - Environment Variables'. In the user variable, check if there is a variable named [Path] and verify that the installation path of Anaconda has been added to the value of that variable. If there is no installation path, you may need to manually configure the environment variable by referring to the following diagram.

Figure 6: Environmental Variables

The above is how to set the default environment for Anaconda and what to do if the default environment cannot be switched. If you need to switch Anaconda Prompt to enter the environment by default, it is recommended to specify the virtual environment path in [Target]. If you also encounter situations where the default environment cannot be switched, you can refer to the methods introduced earlier to try to solve the problem. I hope this article is helpful to you.