Control Panel (Windows)

Control Panel was a component of Microsoft Windows that provided the ability to view and change system settings. It consisted of a set of applets that included adding or removing hardware and software, controlling user accounts, changing accessibility options, and accessing networking settings. Additional applets were provided by third parties, such as audio and video drivers, VPN tools, input devices, and networking tools.

Overview

Control Panel had been part of Microsoft Windows since Windows 1.0, with each successive version introducing new applets. Beginning with Windows 95, the Control Panel is implemented as a special folder (i.e. the folder does not physically exist), and as such only contains shortcuts to various applets such as ''Add or Remove Programs'' and ''Internet Options''. Physically, these applets are stored as ''.cpl'' files so that they can be shown on the Control Panel. For example, the ''Add or Remove Programs'' applet is stored under the name ''appwiz.cpl'' in the ''SYSTEM32'' folder.

Starting with Windows Me, the Control Panel home screen was changed to present a categorized navigation structure reminiscent of navigating a web page. Users can still switch back to the grid-based ''Classic View'' and the category view via a link on the Web view panel on the left-hand side or on a drop-down menu on the top-right corner of the window. In Windows Vista onwards, additional layers of navigation were introduced, and the Control Panel window itself became the main interface for editing settings as opposed to just launching separate dialogs. Many of the individual Control Panel applets can also be accessed in other ways. For instance, ''Display Properties'' can be accessed by right-clicking on an empty area of the desktop and choosing ''Properties''. The Control Panel can be accessed from a command prompt by typing ''control''; optional parameters are available to open specific control panels.

Starting with Windows 10, Control Panel was discontinued in favor of Settings app, which was originally introduced on Windows 8 as "PC Settings" to provide a touchscreen-optimized settings area using its Metro-style app platform.

List of Control Panel applets

The applets listed below were components of the Microsoft Windows control panel, which allowed users to define a range of settings for their computer, monitor the status of devices such as printers and modems, and set up new hardware, programs and network connections. Each applet was stored individually as a separate file (usually a .cpl file), folder or DLL, the locations of which were stored in the registry under the following keys:

#HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Control Panel\Cpls
This contains the string format locations of all .cpl files on the hard drive used within the control panel.
#HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ControlPanel\Namespace
This contains the location of the CLSID variables for all the panels not included as cpl files. These are commonly folders or shell applets, though Windows Vista allows physical programs themselves to be registered as well. The CLSID then allows items such as the icon, infobox and category to be set and gives the location of the file to be used.

The control panel then uses these lists to locate the applets and load them into the control panel program (control.exe) when started by the user. In addition to using the control panel, a user can also invoke the applets manually via the command processor. For instance, the syntax "''Control.exe inetcpl.cpl''" or "''control.exe /name Microsoft.InternetOptions''" will run the internet properties applet in Windows XP or Vista respectively. While both syntax examples are accepted on Windows Vista, only the former one is accepted on Windows XP.

Standard applets

Peripheral devices

These are options in the control panel that show devices connected to the computer. They do not actually offer a direct interface to control these devices, but rather offer basic tasks such as removal procedures and links to wizards (Printers & Faxes is an exception). Such applets include Scanners and Cameras, Game Controllers, and Portable Media Devices.

Other Microsoft-distributed applets

Third-party applets

Third-party software vendors have released many applets. Although it is impossible to mention all of them, some of them are listed here:

References

External links

How to run Control Panel tools by typing a command
at Microsoft.com

{{Windows Components

Computer configuration
Windows components