How to find the control panel on Windows 10. How to open the Windows Control Panel. Creating a launch shortcut

Microsoft is slowly moving away from the Control Panel. I suggest using the new Settings window instead, the link to which is in the Start menu. But, the Control Panel is still in the system and can be used. In this material we will tell you where the Control Panel is and the easiest way to open it.

Start button context menu.

The easiest way is to use the context menu of the Start button. Click right click Click the “Start” button and select “Control Panel” from the menu that opens.

Search in the Start menu.

You can also open Control Panel by searching in the Start menu. To do this, simply open the Start menu and enter the phrase “Control Panel.” After that, all you have to do is open Control Panel from the search results.

Another option for opening the Control Panel is the control command. This command can be executed using the Run menu. To do this, click Windows + R
and in the window that appears, enter the control command. If necessary, the same command can be executed using the command line.

Shortcut on the desktop.

You can also create a shortcut to open Control Panel. To do this, right-click on the desktop and select “Personalization”. After this, a window with desktop settings will appear on the screen. Here you need to go to the “Themes” section.

And then, open “Desktop Icon Settings”.

After this, a window with desktop icon settings will open. Here you need to check the box next to the “Control Panel” item and click on the “Ok” button.

As a result, a Control Panel shortcut will appear on the desktop. With its help, you can quickly open the Control Panel without unnecessary manipulations.

The Start menu has reappeared, almost the same as in Windows 7. But, unlike Windows 7, there is no longer a “Control Panel” item in the Start menu. Therefore, many users who switched from Windows 7 to Windows 10 are interested in how to open the Control Panel in Windows 10.

Method No. 1. Context menu of the Start button.

IN operating system In Windows 10, you can open the Control Panel in several ways. The easiest way is to right-click on the button in the lower left corner of the desktop. After right clicking, a large context menu will open, with which you can access many system utilities and tools. Here you can also open the Control Panel.

It should be added that this context menu can also be opened using the keyboard; for this you need to use the Windows-X key combination.

Method #2: Add Control Panel to the Start menu.

If the previous one seems inconvenient to you, then you can add the “Control Panel” menu item to the Start menu. To do this, right-click on an empty space on the taskbar and select “Properties”.

After this, the “Taskbar and Start Menu Properties” window will open in front of you. Here you need to go to the “Start Menu” tab.

On the Start Menu tab, click the Customize button.

This will open the “Customize Start Menu” window. Here you need to check the box next to the “Control Panel” function and close all windows by clicking on the “OK” button

After this, the “Control Panel” item should appear in the Start menu.

Method number 3. Search in the Start menu.

You can also use the search bar in the Start menu. To do this, open the Start menu and enter search bar the phrase "Control Panel". The Control Panel will then appear at the top of the search results.

Method number 4. “Run” menu.

Another way to open the Control Panel in Windows 10 is through the Run menu. Press combination Windows-R keys to open the Run menu. After that, enter the command “control panel” in the line that appears and press the enter key.

You can also use the “control” command, it will also open the Control Panel.

Looks like a long bar at the bottom of the screen. In a classic assembly it is always visible, i.e. various windows folders and applications will not be able to block it.

Users interact with the taskbar almost constantly, so it is important to make it extremely convenient.

Each Windows version offers many settings for this functional element and the 10th version is no exception. First, let's study its most important components.

The taskbar in Windows 10 by default includes:

  • Start icon;
  • Windows search button;
  • task view button;
  • middle part where windows are displayed open folders and programs;
  • notification area.

As you can see, there have been no fundamental changes in it.

Customizing the appearance of the taskbar

In the taskbar in Windows 10, you can freely change the color scheme. You can activate automatic color adjustment to the gamma of the installed wallpaper or install your own design from the proposed palette. There you can also activate full transparency of the panel.


To start customizing the color scheme, right-click on your desktop and select “Personalize.” In it, open the “Colors” tab.

After selecting the appropriate color, make sure that the “Show color in Start, taskbar, and action center” toggle is active. Only in this case, the gamma you select will be displayed not only in the theme itself, but also on the taskbar.


“Automatic selection of main background color” should be deactivated (this slider is located at the top of the same menu) if you want to set the color of the taskbar yourself.

Adding and removing tools from the Windows 10 taskbar

Icons for system services and applications can be added or removed from the Windows 10 taskbar. If you don’t need system search or don’t want to receive continuous notifications about your location, then simply remove them in the “Turn system icons on and off” tab. To go to it, you need to:



Toolbars– another type of active elements on the taskbar, organizing instant access to all kinds of system elements. The user can create his own toolbars. To add a standard toolbar you need:

  • right-click on the taskbar;
  • select “Panels”;
  • and add a suitable option from the list.

Let's look at what the tools offered by the system mean:

  1. The Desktop panel is needed to access any element of the desktop directly through the taskbar.
  2. The Links panel integrates your web bookmarks folder into the taskbar. As a result, when you see an interesting site, you can simply drag it from the browser to “Links”. This will instantly create a new bookmark.
  3. The Addresses panel replaces the browser bar. You enter the site address there, and it redirects you to the default main browser, where the web resource is loaded.
  4. In addition, you can create your own toolbars or activate those offered by various software.

Changing the size of buttons and the location of the taskbar on the Windows 10 desktop

In Windows 10, as in other versions of the OS, the taskbar is placed at the bottom as standard. If you are not satisfied with this functional solution, then you can fix it in an arbitrary part of the screen.

You can activate its automatic hiding so that it does not interfere with your work on the computer. To adjust the position of the taskbar on the screen, you must:


In Windows 10, you can customize the grouping, size, and names of taskbar buttons, and turn notifications on and off for apps:


You can change the size of the shortcuts, “collect” them in one folder, or turn off the display of names. As in previous cases, all manipulations are carried out through the properties of the taskbar.

If you want to reduce the size of the shortcuts, check the box next to “Use small buttons on the taskbar.” There you can also change the size of individual blocks.

Grouping is managed through the “Taskbar Buttons” item. There you can select one of the items. When is grouping needed? First of all, when there are a lot of shortcuts on the taskbar, and unnecessary inscriptions and open windows They only interfere with comfortable work. To save all changes, click on the “Ok” button.

See you in the next article, with respect - Vladislav Nikitin.

The classic Control Panel (CP) contains many elements that open various windows and settings. Experienced users have been using for a long time this tool. With this information you will learn how to open the Control Panel in Windows 10 basic and additional ways, and also how to enable it.

How to access the control panel using basic methods

There are 9 ways to call the PU. Let's look at each in more detail.

1. Hold down , then click R on your keyboard. As a result, the “Run” window will open, where in the line type control. Then click on OK or Enter.

2. Use the combination Win + E, or open Explorer in the classic way. Now click on the arrow (see screenshot) and select “Control Panel” from the menu.

3. Using the Win + S combination, or by clicking on the magnifying glass icon on the taskbar, start the search. Accordingly, write “Control Panel” in the line, then select the found element.

4. In “Start”, find and expand the “Windows System” object. Next, use an already known component.

5. The executable file of the control panel is called control.exe, it is located in C:\Windows\System32. Letter system disk Yours may differ. All that remains is to go to the System32 directory in Explorer, find and double-click LMB control.exe.

6. In the address area of ​​the explorer, type control, then click Enter, this will open the control panel in Windows 10. It looks like there is method 1.

7. Open Windows settings via “Start” (gear icon). Type "Control Panel" into the options search bar. A prompt will pop up that you need to click on.

8. . In Cmd, type control, click Enter. Instead of Cmd, you can use PowerShell.

9. Open the task manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc). Click “File,” then “Run New Task.” Enter the familiar control command and click OK.

Additional ways to find your control panel

There are also additional opening methods. To use them, follow these steps.

1. Find the control panel through the search, right-click on it. There are two options in the menu, namely, pinning to the taskbar and the start screen.

Choose the option you need. Ultimately it looks like this. Opening the PU using this method is very convenient and fast.

2. Right-click on an empty space on your desktop. Select "Personalization" from the menu. Click "Themes", scroll to related options, and use the desktop icon manager.

Check "Control Panel" and click OK. Look for the PU icon on your desktop.

3. To enter the panel Windows management 10 in this way, do this. Right-click on the taskbar, point to “Panels” in the menu, click “Desktop”.

As a result, an inscription with an arrow will appear on the taskbar; clicking on it opens a list of the desktop panel, where, among other things, there is a control panel with the ability to obtain a list of elements when hovering over it.

4. In the Explorer navigation panel on the left, right-click and select “Show all folders” from the menu. Thus, the control panel will appear in this area.

5. Right-click on an empty area of ​​the desktop. In the menu, point to “Create”, click “Shortcut”. Specify this location:

%windir%\System32\control.exe

Next, specify a name, for example, classic control panel, click on “Finish”.

On the PU shortcut, right-click and select “Properties”. Move the courses to the shortcut area, hold down Ctrl, then select any letter, for example P, by clicking OK. Now you can open the control panel with the combination Ctrl + Alt + P. You can also pin this shortcut to home screen, on the taskbar.

6. B address bar conductor copy the design:

%LocalAppdata%\Microsoft\Windows\WinX\Group2

It is also possible to enter Group1, Group3 are visual groups for dividing the menu by calling Win + X or right-clicking on “Start”. After entering the design, click on Enter. You will be redirected to the folder where the Win + X menu shortcuts are located. Download the shortcut and unzip it. Now copy the Classic Control Panel shortcut to the Group2 folder.

Open Task Manager, find the File Explorer process, and restart it. By right-clicking on “Start”, a menu will launch where the classic PU will appear in the second section.

All of the above actions will open the control panel. But it happens that it does not start due to administrative restrictions, read the information below, problem solving of this nature.

How to enable the control panel

It happens that the control panel does not open due to the set restriction parameters. It looks like this.

To enable the PU follow these steps:

  1. Download reg file, then unzip it.
  2. Double-click on Vkl_PU to open the reg file. Next, make a series of clicks: “Run”, “Yes”, “Yes”, OK.
  3. Log out and log back in or restart your PC.

If your edition is not Windows 10 Home, but Higher, then you can use this method. In the search, type gpedit.msc and press Enter.

In the editor group policy In the user configuration, open “Administrative Templates”, then select “Control Panel”. On the right side, double-click LMB to open the option to prohibit launching the launcher.

Set it to "Disabled". Click OK.

These are the ways you can open the Control Panel in Windows 10. It’s up to you to decide which one to use, based on your predispositions. If problems arise, you can always turn on the control panel using a method convenient for you.