How to open Control Panel in Windows 10 – Control Panel is one of the important tools on Windows computers, you can change system settings adjustments here. These settings control almost everything related to your computer’s operating system.
In Windows 10, there are a few different ways to find and change your settings: Setting App, Control Panel, and Search box. Most of the settings that you want to change can be found in the app settings.
Follow the article to know more simple and fastest ways to open Control Panel in Windows 10.
Table of Contents
What is Control Panel?
Control Panel is a collection of small emulators (Applets) that can be used to configure various aspects of an operating system.
For example, a small Control Panel program allows you to configure mouse pointer resizing (or some other small customization). At the same time, another Applet will enable you to adjust all settings related to sound. Or another program you can use to change the state of network settings, set storage space, and much more. You can find and customize them in Control Panel’s program list.
So, before you make any changes to these programs in Windows, you need to open the Control Panel interface. Luckily, this is easy to do – at least in most current versions of Windows.
Note: Don’t be surprised, the way the Control Panel opens will differ greatly between Windows versions.
How to open Control Panel in Windows 10
Open Control Panel Shortcut
Step 1: Press the Windows key on the keyboard.
Step 2: Enter “control panel” in the search box. In case you’re not using a keyboard, scroll down the list of Start options and open the Windows System folder.
Step 3: Select Control Panel from the list.
Tip: In most Windows 10, the Control Panel opens in Category view, arranging Applets by category. You can change the view to Large icons or Small icons to see all Applets individually if you like.
Using Quick Access Menu
Press the Windows + X shortcut or right-click in the lower-left corner to open the Quick Access Menu, then select Control Panel from the list displayed.
Using Windows Settings
Open the Windows Settings using the Windows + I keyboard shortcut, type Control Panel in the search bar and open it up.
Open Control Panel in File Explorer
Click the File Explorer icon on the Taskbar, select Desktop and double-click Control Panel.
Open Control Panel from Run
Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box, type Control Panel in the search box, and click OK.
How to open Control Panel in Windows 10 using cmd
Step 1: Click the Start button to open the Start Menu, type “cmd” in the search box and click Command Prompt to open it.
Step 2: Type Control Panel in the Command Prompt window and press Enter.
Open Control Panel from Powershell
Step 1: Click the Start button and find the keyword Windows PowerShell, then right-click and choose Run as administrator.
Step 2: Type Control Panel in the Windows PowerShell window and press Enter.
How To Open Control Panel Windows 8
Using Windows Settings
Press the Windows + I keyboard shortcut to open the Settings window, then click Control Panel.
Open Control Panel using Apps
Step 1: Press the Start button on the computer screen, swipe up to go to the application screen. Or Use your computer mouse to click the Down Arrow icon.
Tip: If you’re using a keyboard, the Windows + X shortcut will take you to the Control Panel interface. In Windows 8.1, you can also right-click the Start button to bring up the Quick Access Menu to Control Panel.
Step 2: On the app screen, swipe or scroll right and find the Windows System category => Select Control Panel.
Windows 8 will switch to the Desktop and open the Control Panel.
Tip: Like most Windows versions, the Category view is the default view for Control Panel in Windows 8 and we recommend converting it to the right format so that you can easily manage it. To do this, select the Category from the dashboard’s Top Menu, then select the appropriate icon view.
How to Open Control Panel Windows 7, Vista & XP
Step 1: Select the Start button (Windows 7 or Vista) or Start (Windows XP}.
Step 2: Select Control Panel from the list in the right margin.
Windows 7 or Vista: If you don’t see the Control Panel listed, the link is most likely disabled as customization in the Start Menu. Instead, enter the term “Control” in the Search Box located at the bottom of the Start Menu and then click Control Panel when it appears in the list.
Windows XP: If you do not see the Control Panel option, your Start Menu tool may be installed in “Classic” mode or this link may be disabled.
Try navigating the Start => Settings => Control Panel order or using the Run search box.
In all three versions of Windows above, the Group view will be displayed by default. You can also easily change them to individual icon views to make them easier to manage.
How to use Control Panel in Windows 10
Knowing how to access the Control Panel, you can customize and install many things related to the operating system. Here are a few key components available in this app.
- System and Security: Manage Firewall, encryption, memory and some other options.
- Network and Internet: Change Local Network, Internet or network sharing options.
- User Accounts: Change permissions to allow access to user accounts.
- Hardware and Sound: Manage devices and sound systems.
- Appearance and Personalization: Customize screen resolution and font.
- Clock, Language, & Region: Change the time and date, add languages, and adjust language settings.
- Ease of Access: Adjust visibility sound and tooltip.
- Programs: Manage programs on the Desktop and manage default files.
Conclusion
Control Panel has always played an important role in Windows 10, so understanding it will help a lot in getting used to and using it. Hopefully, you already know how to open Control Panel in Windows 10 and the basic operations with the above sharing.
