Wraplist – triggering and setting position

Two questions regarding wraplist:

1. The below list is data provider for a button. The problem is that the plugin is called only when I try to manipulate the list (like move to next element with Control.Move). How to force loading it on window load?

Code:
<control type="wraplist" id="334">
<itemlayout></itemlayout>
<focusedlayout></focusedlayout>
<content>plugin://plugin.stiff?path=$INFO[Container.FolderPath]&amp;fetch=decades</content>
<visible>false</visible>
</control>

2. Is there a way to set wraplist to its initial item? By index or by label.