Snap-ins and consoles
The management console can host Component Object Model components called ''snap-ins''. Most of Microsoft's administration tools are implemented as MMC snap-ins. Third parties can also implement their own snap-ins using the MMC's application programming interfaces published on theKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (m ...
and KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\MMC\Snapins/code> registry Registry may refer to:
Computing
* Container registry, an operating-system-level virtualization registry
* Domain name registry, a database of top-level internet domain names
* Local Internet registry
* Metadata registry, information system for re ...
keys. A snap-in combined with MMC is called a ''management saved console'', which is a file with .msc extension and can be launched using this syntax: mmc path \ filename.msc a 64 32/code>.
Common snap-ins
The most prolific MMC component, Computer Management, appears in the "Administrative Tools" folder in the Control Panel, under "System and Security" in Category View. Computer Management actually consists of a collection of MMC snap-ins, including the Device Manager
Device Manager is a component of the Microsoft Windows operating system. It allows users to view and control the hardware attached to the computer. When a piece of hardware is not working, the offending hardware is highlighted for the user to d ...
, Disk Defragmenter
Disk or disc may refer to:
* Disk (mathematics), a geometric shape
* Disk storage
Music
* Disc (band), an American experimental music band
* ''Disk'' (album), a 1995 EP by Moby
Other uses
* Disk (functional analysis), a subset of a vector sp ...
, Internet Information Services
Internet Information Services (IIS-pronounced 2S, formerly Internet Information Server) is an extensible web server software created by Microsoft for use with the Windows NT family. IIS supports HTTP, HTTP/2, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, SMTP and N ...
(if installed), Disk Management
The Logical Disk Manager (LDM) is an implementation of a logical volume manager for Microsoft Windows NT, developed by Microsoft and Veritas Software. It was introduced with the Windows 2000 operating system, and is supported in Windows XP, Windo ...
, Event Viewer
Event Viewer is a component of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system that lets administrators and users view the event logs on a local or remote machine. Applications and operating-system components can use this centralized log service to repo ...
, Local Users and Groups (except in the home editions of Windows), Shared Folders, Services snap-in, for managing Windows services
In Windows NT operating systems, a Windows service is a computer program that operates in the background. It is similar in concept to a Unix daemon. A Windows service must conform to the interface rules and protocols of the Service Control Ma ...
, Certificates and other tools. Computer Management can also be pointed at another Windows machine altogether, allowing for monitoring and configuration of other computers on the local network that the user has access to.
Other MMC snap-ins in common use include:
* Microsoft Exchange Server
Microsoft Exchange Server is a mail server and calendaring server developed by Microsoft. It runs exclusively on Windows Server operating systems.
The first version was called Exchange Server 4.0, to position it as the successor to the related ...
(up to version 2010)
* Active Directory
Active Directory (AD) is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It is included in most Windows Server operating systems as a set of processes and services. Initially, Active Directory was used only for centr ...
Users and Computers, Domains and Trusts, and Sites and Services
* Group Policy
Group Policy is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems (including Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2003+) that controls the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts. ...
Management, including the Local Security Policy snap-in; included on all versions of Windows 2000 and later (Home editions of Microsoft Windows disable this snap-in)
* Performance snap-in, for monitoring system performance and metrics
Version history
* MMC 1.0, shipped with Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack.
* MMC 1.1, shipped with SQL Server 7.0 and Systems Management Server
Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, formerly System Center Configuration Manager and Systems Management Server (SMS) is a systems management software product developed by Microsoft for managing large groups of computers providing remote cont ...
2.0, and also made available as a download for Windows 9x
Windows 9x is a generic term referring to a series of Microsoft Windows computer operating systems produced from 1995 to 2000, which were based on the Windows 95 kernel and its underlying foundation of MS-DOS, both of which were updated in sub ...
and Windows NT
Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released on July 27, 1993. It is a processor-independent, multiprocessing and multi-user operating system.
The first version of Wi ...
. New features:
** Snap-in taskpads
** Wizard-style property sheets
** Ability to load extensions to a snap-in at run-time
** HTML Help support
* MMC 1.2, shipped with Windows 2000. New features:
** Support for Windows Installer
Windows Installer (msiexec.exe, previously known as Microsoft Installer, codename Darwin) is a software component and application programming interface (API) of Microsoft Windows used for the installation, maintenance, and removal of softwar ...
and Group Policy
Group Policy is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems (including Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2003+) that controls the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts. ...
** Filtered views
** Exporting list views to a text file
** Persistence of user-set column layouts (i.e. widths, ordering, visibility and sorting of lists)
* MMC 2.0, shipped with Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was release to manufacturing, released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Wind ...
and Windows Server 2003
Windows Server 2003 is the sixth version of Windows Server operating system produced by Microsoft. It is part of the Windows NT family of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on March 28, 2003 and generally available on April 24, ...
. New features:
** Operating system-defined visual styles
** Automation object model, allowing the capabilities of an MMC snap-in to be used programmatically from outside MMC itself (e.g. from a script)
** 64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit CPUs and ALUs are those that are based on processor registers, address buses, or data buses of that size. A comp ...
snap-ins
** Console Taskpads
** View Extensions
** Multilanguage User Interface
Multilingual User Interface (MUI) enables the localization of the user interface of an application.
MUI is provided by Microsoft as an integrated feature of its operating system Windows 11 down to Windows 2000 with some limitations in older ver ...
help files
* MMC 3.0, shipped with Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows XP SP3 and subsequent versions of Windows. Also downloadable for Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1. New features:
** A new "Actions pane", displayed on the right-hand side of the MMC user interface that displays available actions for currently-selected node
** Support for developing snap-ins with the .NET Framework
The .NET Framework (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a proprietary software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was the predominant implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) until bein ...
, including Windows Forms
Windows Forms (WinForms) is a free and open-source graphical (GUI) class library included as a part of Microsoft .NET, .NET Framework or Mono Framework, providing a platform to write client applications for desktop, laptop, and tablet PCs. Wh ...
** Reduced amount of code required to create a snap-in
** Improved debugging capabilities
** Asynchronous user interface model (MMC 3.0 snap-ins only)
** True Color Icon Support (Windows Vista Only)
** New Add/Remove Snap-in UI
** DEP is always enforced. All snap-ins must be DEP-aware.
See also
* List of Microsoft Windows components
The following is a list of Microsoft Windows components.
Configuration and maintenance
User interface
Applications and utilities
Windows Server components
File systems
Core components
Services
This list is not all-inclusiv ...
* Microsoft Windows
* Windows PowerShell
PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management program from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and the associated scripting language. Initially a Windows component only, known as Windows PowerShell, it was made open-s ...
References
External links
Microsoft Management Console documentation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Management Console
Windows components
Microsoft application programming interfaces
System administration
Windows 2000