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Windows 11 Control Panel Commands to Open Applets Directly

Here is the list of Windows 11 Control Panel commands to open its applets directly. You can type these commands into the Run dialog, or create a shortcut for such a command. The shortcuts will allow you to open the Control Panel items faster, or pin the to the Start or taskbar.

Windows 11 Control Panel Commands

The classic Control Panel plays a minor role in Windows 11. Most of its options are already available in the modern Settings app. By going forward with this change, Microsoft has removed most of links to legacy applets, making them harder to discover for an average user.

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This is where Windows 11 Control Panel commands come into play. By using them, you can access most of the legacy applets directly. For example, if you type appwiz.cpl in the Run dialog, you will see the classic Uninstall a program dialog.

Here is the list of the classic Control Panel commands available in Windows 11.

Windows 11 Control Panel Commands

Control Panel appletCommand
Control Panel - default viewcontrol
Control Panel - category viewexplorer.exe shell:::{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}
Control Panel - icon viewexplorer.exe shell:::{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Control Panel - All Tasks (God Mode)explorer.exe shell:::{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
Add a Device wizardDevicePairingWizard.exe
Add Hardware wizardhdwwiz.exe
Add a Printer wizardrundll32 shell32.dll,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL AddPrinter
Additional Clocksrundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL timedate.cpl,,1
AutoPlaycontrol /name Microsoft.AutoPlay
Backup and Restore (Windows 7)control /name Microsoft.BackupAndRestoreCenter
BitLocker Drive Encryptioncontrol /name Microsoft.BitLockerDriveEncryption
Color and Appearanceexplorer shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageColorization
Color Managementcontrol /name Microsoft.ColorManagement
Credential Managercontrol /name Microsoft.CredentialManager
Date and Time (Date and Time)control /name Microsoft.DateAndTime

OR

control timedate.cpl

OR

control date/time

OR

rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL timedate.cpl,,0

Date and Time (Additional Clocks)rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL timedate.cpl,,1
Default Programscontrol /name Microsoft.DefaultPrograms
Desktop Backgroundexplorer shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper
Desktop Icon Settingsrundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,,0
Device Managercontrol /name Microsoft.DeviceManager

OR

control hdwwiz.cpl

OR

devmgmt.msc

Devices and Printerscontrol /name Microsoft.DevicesAndPrinters

OR

control printers

Ease of Access Centercontrol /name Microsoft.EaseOfAccessCenter

OR

control access.cpl

File Explorer Options (General tab)control /name Microsoft.FolderOptions

OR

control folders

OR

rundll32 shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 0

File Explorer Options (View tab)rundll32 shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 7
File Explorer Options (Search tab)rundll32 shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 2
File Historycontrol /name Microsoft.FileHistory
Fontscontrol /name Microsoft.Fonts

OR

control fonts

Game Controllerscontrol /name Microsoft.GameControllers

OR

control joy.cpl

Get Programscontrol /name Microsoft.GetPrograms

OR

rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL appwiz.cpl,,1

Indexing Optionscontrol /name Microsoft.IndexingOptions

OR

rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL srchadmin.dll

Infraredcontrol /name Microsoft.Infrared

OR

control irprops.cpl

OR

control /name Microsoft.InfraredOptions

Internet Properties (General tab)control /name Microsoft.InternetOptions

OR

control inetcpl.cpl

OR

rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL inetcpl.cpl,,0

Internet Properties (Security tab)rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL inetcpl.cpl,,1
Internet Properties (Privacy tab)rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL inetcpl.cpl,,2
Internet Properties (Content tab)rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL inetcpl.cpl,,3
Internet Properties (Connections tab)rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL inetcpl.cpl,,4
Internet Properties (Programs tab)rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL inetcpl.cpl,,5
Internet Properties (Advanced tab)rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL inetcpl.cpl,,6
iSCSI Initiatorcontrol /name Microsoft.iSCSIInitiator
Keyboard Propertiescontrol /name Microsoft.Keyboard

OR

control keyboard

Mouse Properties (Buttons tab 0)control /name Microsoft.Mouse

OR

control main.cpl

OR

control mouse

OR

rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL main.cpl,,0

Mouse Properties (Pointers tab 1)control main.cpl,,1

OR

rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL main.cpl,,1

Mouse Properties (Pointer Options tab 2)control main.cpl,,2

OR

rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL main.cpl,,2

Mouse Properties (Wheel tab 3)control main.cpl,,3

OR

rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL main.cpl,,3

Mouse Properties (Hardware tab 4)control main.cpl,,4

OR

rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL main.cpl,,4

Network and Sharing Centercontrol /name Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter
Network Connectionscontrol ncpa.cpl

OR

control netconnections

Network Setup Wizardcontrol netsetup.cpl
Notification Area Iconsexplorer shell:::{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}
ODBC Data Source Administratorcontrol odbccp32.cpl
Offline Filescontrol /name Microsoft.OfflineFiles
Performance Options (Visual Effects)SystemPropertiesPerformance.exe
Performance Options (Data Execution Prevention)SystemPropertiesDataExecutionPrevention.exe
Personalizationexplorer shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921}
Phone and Modemcontrol /name Microsoft.PhoneAndModem

OR

control telephon.cpl

Power Optionscontrol /name Microsoft.PowerOptions

OR

control powercfg.cpl

Power Options - Advanced settingscontrol powercfg.cpl,,1
Power Options - Create a Power Plancontrol /name Microsoft.PowerOptions /page pageCreateNewPlan
Power Options - Edit Plan Settingscontrol /name Microsoft.PowerOptions /page pagePlanSettings
Power Options - System Settingscontrol /name Microsoft.PowerOptions /page pageGlobalSettings
Presentation SettingsPresentationSettings.exe
Programs and Featurescontrol /name Microsoft.ProgramsAndFeatures

OR

control appwiz.cpl

Recoverycontrol /name Microsoft.Recovery
Region (Formats tab)control /name Microsoft.RegionAndLanguage

OR

control intl.cpl

OR

control international

RemoteApp and Desktop Connectionscontrol /name Microsoft.RemoteAppAndDesktopConnections
Scanners and Camerascontrol /name Microsoft.ScannersAndCameras

OR

control sticpl.cpl

Screen Saver Settingsrundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,,1
Security and Maintenancecontrol /name Microsoft.ActionCenter

OR

control wscui.cpl

Sound (Playback tab)control /name Microsoft.Sound

OR

control mmsys.cpl

OR

rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL mmsys.cpl,,0

Sound (Recording tab)rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL mmsys.cpl,,1
Sound (Sounds tab)rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL mmsys.cpl,,2
Sound (Communications tab)rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL mmsys.cpl,,3
Speech Recognitioncontrol /name Microsoft.SpeechRecognition
Storage Spacescontrol /name Microsoft.StorageSpaces
Sync Centercontrol /name Microsoft.SyncCenter
System Iconsexplorer shell:::{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9} \SystemIcons,,0
System Properties (Computer Name)SystemPropertiesComputerName.exe
System Properties (Hardware)SystemPropertiesHardware.exe
System Properties (Advanced)SystemPropertiesAdvanced.exe
System Properties (System Protection)SystemPropertiesProtection.exe
System Properties (Remote)SystemPropertiesRemote.exe
Tablet PC Settingscontrol /name Microsoft.TabletPCSettings
Text to Speechcontrol /name Microsoft.TextToSpeech
Troubleshootingexplorer shell:::{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}\0\::{C58C4893-3BE0-4B45-ABB5-A63E4B8C8651}
User Accountscontrol /name Microsoft.UserAccounts

OR

control userpasswords

User Accounts (netplwiz)netplwiz

OR

control userpasswords2

Windows Defender Firewallcontrol /name Microsoft.WindowsFirewall

OR

control firewall.cpl

Windows Defender Firewall Allowed appsexplorer shell:::{4026492F-2F69-46B8-B9BF-5654FC07E423} -Microsoft.WindowsFirewall\pageConfigureApps
Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced SecurityWF.msc
Windows FeaturesOptionalFeatures.exe

OR

rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL appwiz.cpl,,2

Windows Mobility Centercontrol /name Microsoft.MobilityCenter
Windows Toolscontrol /name Microsoft.AdministrativeTools

OR

control admintools

Work FoldersWorkFolders.exe

Open Control Panel Applets Directly

  1. Press Win + R on the keyboard to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type or copy-paste a command from the above table, for example,OptionalFeatures.exe.Windows 11 Control Panel Commands In Run Dialog
  3. Press the Enter key to execute it. This will open the applet instantly; in our case, it will be the Windows Features dialog.Open A Control Panel Applet Directly

Also, you can use the above Windows 11 Control Panel commands to create a shortcut for any applet or tool with a couple of clicks. Shortcuts created this way can be easily pinned to the Start menu or taskbar.

Create a shortcut to a Control Panel applet

  1. Right-click the empty space on your Desktop.
  2. Select New item > Shortcut from the context menu.Create New Desktop Shortcut
  3. Type or copy-paste the command from the above table for the item you want to create a shortcut to. For example, control appwiz.cpl.Create A Control Panel Applet Shortcut
  4. Name your shortcut to reflect what it does, for example "Uninstall a program".Item Shortcut Name
  5. Customize the shortcut icon if you want.

Finally, it is important to note that there is an easier way to create a shortcut for any Control Panel applet. Just open it, and then drag-n-drop its icon from the Control Panel address bar to the Desktop.

Create A Control Panel Item Shortcut Via Drag N Drop

This will instantly create the applet shortcut. However, if you try to pin to the taskbar, it will pin the Control Panel itself instead of the individual applet. This is the only disadvantage of this method.

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Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

2 thoughts on “Windows 11 Control Panel Commands to Open Applets Directly”

  1. Hello!
    Thank you for sharing correct Devices and Printers’s command (not printers only, as this I’ve seen on the Internet: rundll32.exe Shell32.dll,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL PrintersFolder). I’ve quietly (=easily) added it to my Classic Shell (Start Menu) for Windows and now it works fine for me.

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