8 Simple Ways to Access Control Panel in Windows 10, 8.1 & 7

1. Find it with Search Box

For us, the first and fastest way to access Control Panel in Windows 10, 8.1 and 7 is typing ‘control panel’ in the Search box.

It is a simple way to locate Control Panel on your Windows PC.

For this, you use the Search box, present next to the Windows Start menu button on your desktop. You can simply type ‘control panel’ in the Search dialog box and press the Enter key.

You’ll see the Control Panel app at the top of the search list. Click on it to open Control Panel window.

While this is the simplest and quickest way to find Control Panel app and open it, you can also use this method to create quicker access for the app.

Also Read: How Do I Get To “My Computer” On Windows 10?

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2. Pin Tile to Start Menu

And, one such way to create a quick access to Control Panel is pinning the app to Start menu.

In Windows 10, Control Panel can be pinned as an app tile on the Start menu.

You get this feature in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 as well.

Now, pinning the Control Panel tile to Start menu is simple

• Follow #1 and find Control Panel from Search box
• Now, go to the Control Panel from the search results and right-click on it
• In the context menu, you find an option that says ‘ Pin to Start’
• Click on it

Now, open your Start menu. You’ll see the Control Panel tile pinned to the menu.

Next time, you can simply go to the Start menu and click on this tile to open Control Panel.

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3. Use Keyboard Shortcuts

If you like using keyboard shortcuts, you can try three different ways to enable Control Panel in Windows 10.

You can open the Control Panel app on your Windows PC by using just a combination of keys and a click. Here’s how to open Control Panel in Windows 10 by using keyboard shortcuts.

• Settings menu – You can go to your Windows 10 desktop. Use the ‘Windows’ + ‘I’ key shortcut combination to open “ Settings” menu. You’ll see the Control Panel option in the menu. You click on it.

• Taskbar menu – While you’re on the desktop, press the ‘Windows’ and ‘X’ keys together. This opens a context menu in the lower-right corner of the desktop screen. Click on ‘Control Panel’ from the menu. You can also press ‘P’ key instead of clicking on it.

• Run dialog box – You can press ‘ Windows ’ and ‘ R ’ keys to launch the Run program. In the Open dialog box, type ‘ control panel ’. Now, press the Enter key or click on OK to open the Control Panel window.

Use these keyboard shortcuts if you need to use Control Panel frequently.

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4. Add Control Panel Shortcut to Your Desktop Taskbar

Adding a Control Panel icon on the taskbar is another shortcut to open the app on Windows 10.

So, you read the steps on how to create a Control Panel shortcut on Start menu (read #2 ).

Now, you follow the same steps to find Control Panel app on the search results. When you right-click on the app, select ‘ Pin to taskbar ’ option instead of ‘ Pin to Start ’.

Also Read: What to Do When Windows 10 Taskbar Goes Blank?

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5. Ask Cortana

If you use Windows 10, Control Panel is just another app that Cortana can open for you. It is easy to use Microsoft’s virtual assistant – Cortana – to open Control Panel.

• Go to your Windows 10 taskbar
• You’ll see a microphone icon at the right corner
• Tap on it to launch Cortana
• You can also say the words ‘ Hey Cortana ’ to launch the virtual assistant with voice command
• Now, say ‘ launch control panel ’ clearly into your PC microphone
• Let Cortana take a second or two for comprehending your command

In a jiffy, you see the Control Panel window popping up on your Windows 10 desktop. It’s almost like a cool trick to open Control Panel using Cortana on Windows 10.

You can also try saying ‘Open Control Panel’ or ‘Start Control Panel’ as commands. But, saying ‘Launch Control Panel’ gets it done sooner.

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6. Use Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt

We know you won’t find this easy, but there’s a way to access Control Panel using a command-line interface program such as Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt.

To open Control Panel using Windows PowerShell,

• Go to Start menu on your Windows 10
• Type ‘ powershell ’ in the search box and press the Enter key
• Now, select ( click on ) the Windows PowerShell app from the search results
• Type the command ‘ control panel ’ in it
• Press the Enter key
• This action launches Control Panel immediately

You can access Control Panel through Command Prompt with the following steps.

• Press ‘ Windows ’ and ‘ R ’ keys to launch the Run program
• Type ‘ cmd ’ in the Open dialog box
• Now, click on OK or press the Enter key to open the Command Prompt window
• Here, type ‘ control panel ’ as the command and press Enter
• This action launches Control Panel immediately

Either way, it takes some time to open Control Panel on Windows 10 in this manner.

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7. Open with File Explorer

There’s another detour for opening Control Panel on Windows 10. You can open a File Explorer window and launch the Control Panel app within it.

• Open a Windows Explorer or File Explorer window on your PC
  Go to ‘ My Computer ’ (or ‘This PC’ for Windows 10)
• Look for a tab that says ‘ Open/Launch Control Panel ’ on the toolbar
• Click on it

This trick comes in handy when you want an instant access to Control Panel while surfing through your folders on a File Explorer window.

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8. Look for control.exe in System32 Folder

Finally, for all Windows versions, here’s a roundabout way to open Control Panel. You can open the app’s executable file called ‘control.exe’.

To run the Control Panel file,

• Open a File Explorer window
• Click on the address bar and type in the following - C:\Windows\System32
• Now, press the Enter key to go to the System32 folder
• Here, type ‘control’ in the search box or scroll down to locate the Control Panel file
• Now, just double-click on it to open Control Panel immediately

Surely, that’s a method not many of us are aware of. After taking a look at all the above ways, you may consider the ones that help you access Control Panel on Windows 10 quickly.

Let us know which way you prefer through your comments below.

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• Easy Fix for “Get Help with File Explorer in Windows 10” Problem

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