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- 10 Ways to Open Control Panel Windows 10/8/7
By Alisa |
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If you are wondering how to open Control Panel in Windows 10/8/7? This post provides 10 ways, incl. Control Panel Windows 10 shortcut, open Control Panel with command/cmd, etc. If you suffer data loss in your Windows 10 computer or other storage devices, MiniTool software can help you easily recover lost data for free.
What Is Control Panel?
Before learning how to use the 10 ways to open Control Panel Windows 10/8/7, let’s first have a brief review of what Control Panel is.
The Control Panel is a Windows component that allows users to access, view and change most of the Windows computer’s settings. It consists of a pack of applets. You can open Control Panel in Windows 10/8/7 to remove hardware or software, control Windows user accounts, repair Windows 10 issues and control almost everything about how your Windows computer works or looks.
To find and open Control Panel in Windows 10/8/7 computer, you can use the following 10 ways.
>> Video Guide:
Way 1. Open Control Panel Windows 10 with Search Box
You can click the search box at the taskbar of Windows 10, and type control panel. Choose the top best matched result Control Panel app to open it in Windows 10.
You can click Start, type control panel, and select the top result Control Panel app from the list to open it.
If you want to pin Control Panel to the taskbar or to Start menu, you can right-click Control Panel and choose Pin to Start or Pin to taskbar. Then next time if you need to access Control Panel to change some settings, you can easily open it from taskbar or Start menu.
To open Control Panel Windows 7, you can click Start menu and select Control Panel from the list in the right column. You can also click Start and type control panel in the search box and click Control Panel shortcut to open it.
To open Control Panel Windows 8/8.1, you can switch to the Start screen and type control panel in the search box, tap Control Panel to open it.
Way 3. Open Control Panel Windows 10/8/7 via Run
You can press Windows + R keys on the keyboard to open Windows Run dialog, and type Control Panel in Run, click OK to open Control Panel in Windows 10/8/7.
Click Start and scroll down the list to find Windows System category and expand it. Select Control Panel to open it.
You can press Windows + X keys on the keyboard, or right-click Start, and select Control Panel from the list. Some Windows 10 computer systems have Settings instead of control panel.
Way 6. Open Control Panel Windows 10 through Cortana
In Windows 10, you can also get into Control Panel windows though talking to Cortana. You can awake Windows 10 Cortana by saying “Hey Cortana” or “Hello Cortana”. And then you can say “Launch Control Panel” to Cortana. It will open Control Panel window for you.
Way 7. Open Control Panel Windows 10 with Command Prompt
You can press Windows + R keys on the keyboard to open Windows Run. Type cmd and click OK to open Command Prompt in Windows 10. Then type control panel in Command Prompt window and hit Enter key to open Control Panel with command prompt (cmd).
Related: Best 2 Ways to Boot to Command Prompt in Windows 10
Way 8. Open Control Panel Windows 10 with PowerShell
Right-click Start and click Windows PowerShell to open it. Type control panel and hit Enter to open it.
Way 9. Open Control Panel Windows 10 with Shortcut
Some Windows 10 system has a default Control Panel shortcut on the desktop screen. You can double-click Control Panel shortcut icon to open it.
If you don’t find a shortcut icon of Control Panel, you can create a shortcut for Windows 10 Control Panel for easier use.
- Right-click a blank area on the desktop, and click New -> Shortcut to open Create Shortcut window.
- Type %windir%\system32\control.exe in the box and click Next.
- Type a name like Control Panel and click Finish to create the shortcut for Control Panel.
Way 10. Open Control Panel Windows 10 with Task Manager
- Press Ctrl+ Shift + Esc keys on the keyboard at the same time to open Windows Task Manager.
- Click File -> Run new task.
- Type control panel and press Enter to open Control Panel window.
Verdict
These are the 10 ways to help you open Control Panel in Windows 10. Some ways can be also applied to open Control Panel in Windows 8/7.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Alisa is a professional English editor with 4-year experience. She loves writing and focuses on sharing detailed solutions and thoughts for computer problems, data recovery & backup, digital gadgets, tech news, etc. Through her articles, users can always easily get related problems solved and find what they want. In spare time, she likes basketball, badminton, tennis, cycling, running, and singing. She is very funny and energetic in life, and always brings friends lots of laughs.
Summary
This article describes how to run Control Panel tools in Windows by typing a command at a command prompt or in the Open box.
More Information
To run a Control Panel tool in Windows, type the appropriate command in the Open box or at a command prompt.
NOTE: If you want to run a command from a command prompt, you must do so from the Windows folder. Also, note that your computer may not have all of the tools listed in this article, as your Windows installation may not include all of these components.
Control panel tool Command
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Accessibility Options control access.cpl
Add New Hardware control sysdm.cpl add new hardware
Add/Remove Programs control appwiz.cpl
Date/Time Properties control timedate.cpl
Display Properties control desk.cpl
FindFast control findfast.cpl
Fonts Folder control fonts
Internet Properties control inetcpl.cpl
Joystick Properties control joy.cpl
Keyboard Properties control main.cpl keyboard
Microsoft Exchange control mlcfg32.cpl
(or Windows Messaging)
Microsoft Mail Post Office control wgpocpl.cpl
Modem Properties control modem.cpl
Mouse Properties control main.cpl
Multimedia Properties control mmsys.cpl
Network Properties control netcpl.cpl
NOTE: In Windows NT 4.0, Network
properties is Ncpa.cpl, not Netcpl.cpl
Password Properties control password.cpl
PC Card control main.cpl pc card (PCMCIA)
Power Management (Windows 95) control main.cpl power
Power Management (Windows 98) control powercfg.cpl
Printers Folder control printers
Regional Settings control intl.cpl
Scanners and Cameras control sticpl.cpl
Sound Properties control mmsys.cpl sounds
System Properties control sysdm.cpl
NOTE: The Scanners and Cameras applet (sticpl.cpl) cannot be run in Windows Millennium. It has been replaced by the Scanners and Cameras Folder, which is similar in function to folders like Printers and Dial-up Networking.
Windows substitutes the name of the tool you want to run for %1%. For example:
«rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL appwiz.cpl».
To run the Users tool in Control Panel, type control Ncpa.cpl users, and then press ENTER.
To run the Users tool for Windows 95/98/Me, type «control inetcpl.cpl users» (without the quotation marks) and then press ENTER.
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1
Open the Start menu. To do so, either click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen, or press the ⊞ Win key.
- On Windows 8, you’ll instead hover your mouse in the top-right corner of the screen, then click the magnifying glass icon.
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Type command prompt into Start. This will bring up the Command Prompt icon at the top of the Start window.
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Click Command Prompt. It’s a black box at the top of the Start window. Doing so invokes a drop-down menu.
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Type start control into Command Prompt. This command will call up the Control Panel program when you run it.
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Press ↵ Enter. Doing so will run your command. After a brief moment, Control Panel will open.
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Question
How can I open file explore using cmd during a recovery environment?
It’s not possible directly, but it is possible indirectly. While in recovery, go to System Image Restore Program. There should be an option there to find drivers. Click it, then click OK, and voila! You’ve got your mini but useful file manager!
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Question
Why was the control panel changed from how it used to be?
Because Microsoft needed to modernize Windows and that’s how they accomplished that.
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On Windows 10 computers, you can right-click the Start icon (or press ⊞ Win+X) to bring up the advanced user menu. You’ll find Command Prompt as an option here.
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If you’re on a shared or networked computer, you may not be able to access Command Prompt at all.
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In Windows 10, to open the Control Panel from CMD, type control (or control.exe) and press enter.
You can also use the control command to launch the Control Panel using the Run dialog box.
The Windows control command includes options for launching individual Control Panel applets. For example, to open mouse properties, run the control mouse command.
The following table shows the list of control command options:
| Command | Control Panel Applet |
|---|---|
| control wscui.cpl | Security and Maintenance |
| control timedate.cpl | Date and Time |
| control admintools | Administrative Tools |
| control folders | Folder Options |
| control desk.cpl | Display Setting |
| control access.cpl | Ease of Access Center |
| control fonts | Fonts |
| control inetcpl.cpl | Internet Properties |
| control ncpa.cpl | Network Connections |
| control printers | Devices and Printers |
| control keyboard | Keyboard Properties |
| control mouse | Mouse Properties |
| control tabletpc.cpl | Tablet and Pen Settings |
| control powercfg.cpl | Power Options |
| control appwiz.cpl | Programs and Features |
| control scannercamera | Scanners and Cameras |
| control mmsys.cpl | Sound |
| control sysdm.cpl | System Properties |
| control nusrmgr.cpl | User Accounts |
| control firewall.cpl | Windows Defender Firewall |
The location of the control panel (control.exe) in Windows 10 is C:\Windows\System32. Shortcut to open the control panel is available in the Start menu, under the Windows System.
In Windows 11, The Start menu shortcut is available under the All apps | Windows Tools.
You can open control panel through CMD / Command Prompt in Windows 10, this could be useful if you’re task bar isn’t working anymore or you simply can’t access the Control Panel any other way. In this article we will help you on How To Open Control Panel from CMD Windows 10
1. First of all you need to open a Command Prompt window, there is no need for an administrator Command Prompt. You can open command prompt by right-clicking the Start icon and then choose Command prompt. You can also start Command Prompt from the Run window by pressing the Windows + R key at the same time and then type cmd and hit enter.
2. Once Command Prompt has opened type the following command and hit enter
control
3. The control panel should now open.
That’s really all you’ll have to do to open Control Panel from CMD in Windows 10. We hope this article helped you, if you have any more questions then feel free to visit our forums where we will help you for free.
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