Add the Settings app to the Classic Control Panel in Windows 10

You can add the Settings app to the Classic Control Panel in Windows 10 for your convenience.

Since very first version of Windows 10, released in July 2015, Microsoft is actively trying to migrate the Classic Control Panel options to the new Settings app. After six years, many users still prefer the old Control Panel. Nevertheless, lots of the Windows 10 settings are now available exclusively in the new Settings app. Thus, Microsoft makes users to use both Control Panel and Settings.

There are many ways to open the Settings app in Windows 10. If you actively use the Classic Control Panel, you may want to add the Settings app shortcut to the former. In fact, you can add anything you want to Control Panel - apps, files, folders, wizards, etc. For example, some users add MSCONFIG to Control Panel for faster access.

Tip: You can launch the Windows Settings app from anywhere in the system using the Win + I shortcut.

To add the Settings app shortcut to Control Panel, you need to apply a tiny registry tweak. All it does is creates another shortcut in the Classic Control Panel.

Tip: Be careful with registry files, executable and DLL libraries downloaded from sources you don't trust. To make sure a Registry file is safe, always check what it does. To do so, right-click the file and select Edit. Windows will open Notepad, where you can see what the registry file does when launched.

How to Add the Settings app to the Classic Control Panel

1. Download the registry files in this ZIP archive.
2. Unpack the archive to any folder you prefer. It can be Desktop, Downloads, Documents, etc.
3. Unblock the downloaded files if needed. If Windows 10 doesn't prevent you from opening the archive and registry files within it, skip this step.
4. Click the Add Settings to Control Panel.reg file and confirm changes to Windows Registry.

That is it. Now you can access Windows Settings from the Classic Control Panel. If you use the Large Icons or the Small Icons view, the Settings entry will be right there in the list, together with other applets.

If you prefer the Category view, go to System and Security. Windows Settings will be there at the bottom of the list.

Remove the Settings app from the Classic Control Panel

To remove Settings from Control Panel, you should use a special *.reg file included in the same archive you have already downloaded. Just click on the Remove Settings from Control Panel.reg file and confirm the Registry changes.

Done. There is no need to restart the computer or the explorer shell.

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