Understanding the Control Panel

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 26, 2018)

1

Windows is a complicated operating system that attempts to be as user-friendly as it can. Part of the attempt includes allowing you to modify the user interface and settings by which Windows does its work. The central place where you can make changes to the settings that Windows relies upon is in an area known as the Control Panel.

To display the Control Panel on a Windows 7 system, simply click the Start button and then click Control Panel.

If you are using Windows 8, displaying the Control Panel is a bit more complex. For that version of the operating system, see the tip entitled Displaying the Windows 8 Control Panel.

If you are using Windows 10, perhaps the easiest way to display the Control Panel is to type "control panel" (without the quotes) in the search bar. Windows will then display the Control Panel app. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Windows Control Panel

Virtually everything you see in the Control Panel is a link to a place where you can make the changes you desire. All you need to do is figure out what you want to do, and then click the link that leads to where that task can be accomplished.

Many of the tips published in WindowsTips rely upon adjusting things in the Control Panel.

 This tip (10709) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Concatenating Ranges of Cells

Putting the contents of two cells together is easy. Putting together the contents of lots of cells is more involved, as ...

Discover More

Repeating Rows on a Printout Except On the Last Page

When setting up a worksheet for printing, you can specify that Excel repeat some of your rows at the top of each page ...

Discover More

Can't Save Edited Document

Each day of using Word is filled with opening documents, editing them, and then saving those changes to disk. So it can ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Putting the Control Panel on the Desktop

The desktop is designed to hold all your most commonly accessed programs, files, and folders. If you access the Control ...

Discover More

More Power to You

Needing more power options than "god mode" provides? Here are some additional "god modes" that give you more access control.

Discover More

Displaying the Control Panel

The Control Panel is (or has been) the heart and soul of controlling Windows. How you display the control panel, however, ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is seven minus 4?

2018-11-28 12:18:23

LD

thanks for this tip. To me, it is just strange that you have to type 'Control Panel' in 10. When you click on the Start button, wouldn't it jsut make sense to include 'Control Panel' as one of the choices you can click on?


Newest Tips