Let Windows XP's control panel "belong to yourself"

If you want to know which control panel option icon you need to open in Windows XP, Windows XP's new organization method is not so convenient, it just means you need to make more clicks. Now this article will introduce you to five ways to make the control panel truly "belong to yourself" so that you can easily customize the control panel in any version of Windows, so that it has a personality that meets everyone's needs.

1, Customization Method

In fact, Microsoft's own control panel customization options can partially meet the needs of users for personalization. In Windows 2000/Me/XP you can set the function options in the Control Panel to the submenu under the "Start" * "Settings" menu. In Windows XP, the setting method is: Right click on the "Taskbar", select the "Properties" option, enter the "Taskbar and [Start] Menu" dialog box, select the "[Start] Menu" tab, and then click " Customize the button, enter the "Customize [Start] Menu" dialog box, select the "Advanced" tab, select "Control Panel" * "Show as Menu" in the "[Start] Menu Item" option, define it as a menu In the form display, click the "OK" button continuously and close all windows. If you are using a Windows 98 system, please see the "Reinforcement" section below.

You can still view the function icons in the control panel in window mode by: Select "Start" * "Settings" * "Control Panel", double-click the "Control Panel" option or right click on it, and Also select the "Open" or "Browse" option. You can also customize the Control Panel window just like you would define other folders. Here's how: In the View menu, choose options such as Icon, List, or Details.

2, Group Policy Method

Although in the Control Panel, you can't add function icons, rename icons or change their appearance, but you can delete unwanted icons. The method is to select "Start" * "Search" * "Files or Folders" (in Windows 2000 /Me), or "Start" * "Search" (in Windows XP). Enter "*.cpl" in the first text box on the left panel of the "Search Results" window, specify the relevant path in the "Search Scope", and click the "Search Now" or "Search" button. The control panel files are located in the System or System32 folder. If you need to remove some function icons, you can move the related items to any other folder.

But sometimes the names of these files are not particularly intuitive. This way you have to double-click on these icons to verify that they are the items you need to remove before removing them. For example, when you double-click the "prefcpl.cpl" file, RealPlayer's "Properties" dialog box is actually opened. You can remove the RealPlayer icon from the control panel by removing the .cpl file (of course, the premise is your system). The RealPlayer software has been installed). However, this method only works for third-party icons in Windows XP, and for system built-in icons, if you move these icons, the system will automatically restore them. Note: The "main.cpl" file links several different control panel function icons, including fonts, keyboards, mice, and printers. If you move this file, the above function icons will be removed at the same time.

In Windows 2000/XP, an easy way to remove function icons from the Control Panel is to use the Group Policy editor. To do this: Select Start* Run and enter gpedit.msc. In the Tree directory on the left side of the Group Policy window, select Local Computer Policy* User Configuration* Administrative Templates* Control Panel. Then, in the Policies panel on the right, double-click the Implicitly Specified Control Panel Applet project. In the pop-up dialog box, select the "Enable" option in the "Strategies" tab and click the "Show" button. In the "Show Content" dialog box, click the "Add" button. Enter the name of the icon displayed in the Control Panel in the Add Item dialog box and click the OK button. Then, repeat the last two steps above for the multiple control panel feature icons you need to delete.

In addition, everyone should also note that when you enter all the icon names you need to delete, please check the display content dialog box for spelling errors. If the above operation is completed and you change your mind, just select the item, click the "Delete" button to remove the item from the list, and then click the "OK" button twice. It should be noted that this method is applicable to any function icons of the control panel, including those of non-Microsoft companies, but does not apply to the new classification icons of Windows XP.

3, Hidden Method

The Windows System Policy Editor can partially remove specific tabs from some control panel dialogs instead of deleting the entire control panel icon. In Windows 9x/Me, locate and double-click the "poledit.exe" file on the installation CD. If you are prompted for a template file, search for the admin.adm file on your hard drive and open it. Then select File*Open Registry in the System Policy Editor window and double-click the Local User icon to open the Local User Properties dialog. Select the "Control Panel" icon and press the "*" key in the numeric keypad area to expand all branches under this icon. Here you can hide some of the tabs and buttons in the control panel. For example, in the "System" project, select the "Restricted 'System' Control Panel" checkbox; then in the "Restrictions 'System' Control Panel Settings" item list at the bottom of the dialog box, select the items you want to hide, such as " Hide device management page or "hide 'virtual memory' button" and other options. When you are done, click the "OK" button and select "File" * "Save", the changes will take effect immediately. If you need to cancel the change, just return to the corresponding dialog, then cancel the selected option and save it.

In Windows 2000/XP, you can select "Start" * "Run", type "gpedit.msc", navigate to "Local Computer Policy" * "User Configuration" * "Administrative Template" * " control panel". Then select the item in the left panel and set it in the "Policy" window on the right.

4, ordinary shortcut method

Understanding how to delete some icons from the control panel or delete some tabs from some dialog boxes is undoubtedly very useful, but why not experience it completely What is the custom feeling? Why not try customizing your own control panel with your favorite project name? Right click on the "Start" button and select the "Open" option. Create a subfolder similar to the control panel here (the author uses the name "contr&ols" so that you can open it by pressing the "Ctrl" + "Ecs" + "o" key combination). Now open the "Control Panel" window, in the "Category View" mode of Windows XP, you need to select a category. Then, select the feature icons you want to include in the custom control panel, right-click and drag them into the newly created folder. Release the mouse and select the "Create a shortcut at current location" option in the shortcut menu. You can rename these shortcuts to access them via keyboard shortcuts.

5. Self-setting method

You can also make a control panel with multiple tabs instead of the default control panel of Windows. First, make sure that the .cpl file is placed in the Windows System or System32 system directory and corresponds to the function chart in the Control Panel. Then, right-click the folder window where you want to create a control panel shortcut, right click in the blank space of the window, select "New" * "Shortcut", pop-up "Create Shortcut" dialog box, enter "Please type the location of the project" Type "control.exe" in the box, followed by a space bar and the name of the .cpl file you need to open. Next enter 2 commas and the tab values ​​you need to open. Tab values ​​are arranged from left to right starting with "0". For example, if you want to create a shortcut to open sound and multimedia properties or sound and audio device properties, and have the second tab appear in front (called "Sounds" tab in Windows XP, in Windows 9x/Me Named "Audio" tab, enter "control.exe mmsys.cpl,,1" in the "Create Shortcut" dialog. Then click the "Next" button, enter the name of the shortcut created, and finally click the "Finish" button.