How to open the Control Panel in Windows Vista and 7

1. On the Windows desktop screen, click the Start button.

2. Click Control Panel on the right-hand side of the start menu.
3. You may see a window similar to the following image. You may also see the
expanded version of the Control Panel, with icons for all the various utilities
available in the Control Panel.

Microsoft Windows 7 Control Panel

Tip: If you are having trouble finding a specific icon, there is a search box in the top right-hand
corner of the Control Panel window.
Control Panel (Windows)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Control Panel

A component of Microsoft Windows

Control Panel on Windows 10

Details

Type Control panel

Included with Every version of Windows except the

first release of Windows Embedded

Related components

Settings (Windows)

The Control Panel is a part of the Microsoft Windows, in older versions, which allows users to
view and manipulate basic system settings and controls via applets, such as adding hardware,
adding and removingsoftware, controlling user accounts, and changing accessibility options.
Additional applets can be provided by third party software.
The Control Panel has been an inherent part of the Microsoft Windows operating system
since Windows 2.0,[1] with many of the current applets being added in later versions. Beginning
with Windows 95, the Control Panel is implemented as a special folder, i.e. the folder does not
physically exist, but only contains shortcuts to various applets such as Add or Remove
Programs and Internet Options. Physically, these applets are stored as .cpl files. For example,
the Add or Remove Programs applet is stored under the name appwiz.cpl in
the SYSTEM32 folder.
In recent versions of Windows, the Control Panel has two views, Classic View and Category
View, and it is possible to switch between these through an option that appears on either the
left side or top of the window.
Many of the individual Control Panel applets can 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 classic view consists of shortcuts to the various control panel applets, usually without any
description (other than the name). The categories are seen if the user use "Details" view.
The category view consists of categories, which when clicked on display the control panel
applets related to the category. In Windows Vista, the category used applets below the name of
the category.
The Control Panel can be accessed quickly by typing control in the Run dialog box ( ⊞ Win + R ).
On Windows 10, Control Panel is partially deprecated 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. Some functions, particularly the ability to add
and remove user accounts, were moved exclusively to this app on Windows 8 and cannot be
performed from Control Panel.[2][3]
The applets listed below are components of the Microsoft Windows control panel, which
allows 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 networkconnections. Each
applet is stored individually as a separate file (usually a .cpl file), folder or DLL, the locations of
which are stored in the registry under the following keys:

1. HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Control Panel\Cpls

This contains the string format locations of all .cpl files on the hard drive used within
the control panel.
2. HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\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. [4]
WINDOWS 7 CONTROL PANEL FEATURES

The Control Panel in Windows 7 is the place to go when you need to make changes to various

settings of your computer system. You can control most Windows commands and features

using the various options and sliders in the Control Panel.

To open the Control Panel, click the Start button on the taskbar and then click Control Panel on

the Start menu. Windows 7 gives you three different views for looking at your computer’s

Control Panel: To switch views, click the View By drop-down button (labeled Category by

default) in the upper-right corner of the Control Panel and then choose one of the views from

the button’s drop-down menu.

CATEGORY VIEW

By default, the Control Panel is displayed in Category view, which is separated into eight

categories, ranging from System and Security to Ease of Access. To open a window with the

Control Panel options for any one of these categories, simply click the category’s hyperlink.

The following table gives you a description of all the Control Panel categories, including the
various programs you can find by clicking each category’s hyperlink.

Click This Category Link . . . . . . To Display These Groups of Links

System and Security Action Center, Windows Firewall, System, Windows Update, Power
Options, Backup and Restore, BitLocker Drive Encryption, and
Administrative Tools

User Accounts User Accounts, Windows Cardspace, Credential Manager, and Mail
(32-bit)
Network and Internet Network and Sharing Center, Homegroup, and Internet
Options

Appearance and Personalization Personalization, Display, Desktop Gadgets, Taskbar and Start
Menu, Ease of Access Center, Folder Options, and Fonts

Hardware and Sound Devices and Printers, AutoPlay, Sound, Power Options, Display,
and Windows Mobility Center

Clock, Language, and Region Date and Time, and Region and Language

Programs Programs and Features, Default Programs, and Desktop

Gadgets

Ease of Access Ease of Access Center and Speech Recognition

You’ll notice that some Control Panel windows and dialog boxes can be accessed in more than

one way. You can also find most Control Panel programs by doing a Start Menu search.

ICON VIEWS

The Control Panel’s other two views are Large Icons view and Small Icons view. When the

Control Panel is in one of the icon views, Windows displays an alphabetical listing of the more

than 50 Control Panel programs on your system, ranging from Action Center to Windows

Update. To view (and possibly change) the settings for a particular Control Panel option in one

of the icon view modes, you need to double-click the Control Panel program icon.