List of Control Panel Applets in Windows

The Taskbar Control Panel applet is used to mange the various aspects of the taskbar on the Desktop, including lock and auto-hide settings, notification area icons, jumplists, toolbars, and more.

Execute control /name Microsoft.Taskbar from the Command Prompt to access Taskbar directly.

Taskbar replaced Taskbar and Start Menu beginning in Windows 8.

Taskbar is available in Windows 8.

The Taskbar and Start Menu Control Panel applet is used to mange the various options available for the taskbar and Start menu. With Taskbar and Start Menu you can choose to auto-hide the task bar, change Aero Peek settings, set the default power button action, and much more.

Execute control /name Microsoft.TaskbarAndStartMenu from the Command Prompt to access Taskbar and Start Menu directly. In Windows XP, execute rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Options_RunDLL 1 instead.

Taskbar and Start Menu was replaced with Taskbar beginning in Windows 8.

Taskbar and Start Menu is available in Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

The Text to Speech Control Panel applet is used to manage text-to-speech settings in Windows.

Execute control /name Microsoft.TextToSpeech from the Command Prompt to access Text to Speech directly.

Text to Speech replaced Speech beginning in Windows Vista.

Text to Speech is available in Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista.

The Troubleshooting Control Panel applet is a centralized place to access troubleshooting wizards that can help fix problems with software, sound playback, network and Internet connections, display problems, and more.

Execute control /name Microsoft.Troubleshooting from the Command Prompt to access Troubleshooting directly.

Troubleshooting is available in Windows 8 and Windows 7.

The User Accounts Control Panel applet is used to manage user accounts in Windows. With User Accounts, you can change and remove Windows passwords, change account names and pictures, and more.

Execute control /name Microsoft.UserAccounts from the Command Prompt to access User Accounts directly. In Windows XP, execute control userpasswords instead.

User Accounts is available in Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

The Welcome Center Control Panel applet is a collection of shortcuts to other applets and programs that you might need access to when first using your computer.

Execute control /name Microsoft.WelcomeCenter from the Command Prompt to access Welcome Center directly.

Welcome Center was replaced by Getting Started beginning in Windows 7 and both were removed in Windows 8.

Welcome Center is only available in Windows Vista.

The Windows 7 File Recovery Control Panel applet is used to create, manage, and restore backups using Windows Backup.

Execute control /name Microsoft.BackupAndRestore from the Command Prompt to access Windows 7 File Recovery directly.

Windows 7 File Recovery is a direct replacement for Backup and Restore Center, which was available in Windows 7. File History, first available in Windows 8, is another applet that can be used to backup files.

Windows 7 File Recovery is available in Windows 8.

The Windows Anytime Upgrade Control Panel applet is used to purchase and install an upgraded edition of Windows.

Execute control /name Microsoft.WindowsAnytimeUpgrade from the Command Prompt to access Windows Anytime Upgrade directly.

Windows Anytime Upgrade was replaced by Add Features to Windows 8 in Windows 8.

Windows Anytime Upgrade is available in Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

The Windows CardSpace Control Panel applet is used to manage secure digital identities from within Windows.

Execute control /name Microsoft.CardSpace from the Command Prompt to access Windows CardSpace directly.

Windows CardSpace was removed beginning in Windows 8.

Windows CardSpace is available in Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

The Windows Defender Control Panel applet is used to manage the Windows Defender antimalware tool.

Execute control /name Microsoft.WindowsDefender from the Command Prompt to access Windows Defender directly.

Windows Defender is available in Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista.

Note: Windows Defender is also available in Windows XP under the Software Explorers Control Panel applet.