Add classic personalization menu in Windows 10 build 10074

As you may already know, Microsoft ditched the classic appearance (personalization) and themes UI in Windows 10 because some of those settings are moving to the Settings Modern app. If you prefer the good old classic Personalization options, I would like to show you how to add a cascading menu for the Desktop. All items on this menu will open the classic appearance options.

Windows 10 classic appearance desktop menuThere are some built-in commands which can be used to access the classic appearance options in Windows 10. At the moment of this writing, all these commands work in Windows 10 build 10074, which is latest public preview build of Windows 10. These commands can be typed in the Win + R dialog.
The commands are as follows:

  • Screensaver
    The following command can be used to open screensaver settings:
    rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,screensaver,@screensaver

  • Sounds
    The following command can be used to open sounds preferences:
    rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL mmsys.cpl ,2


    Tip: Get new sounds from Windows 10 HERE.

  • Desktop Background
    Use the following command to open the Desktop Background settings:
    explorer.exe shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper

  • Desktop Icons
    To customize Desktop icons, run the following command:
    rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,,0

  • Window Color
    To open the familiar window color options, run the following command:
    explorer.exe shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageColorization

It is a good idea to add these commands to the Desktop context menu for fast access. You can add them to an "Appearance" submenu which will group all the items together:

To get it, apply the following Registry tweak:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; 
; Created by https://winaero.com
;

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\Appearance]
"MUIVerb"="Appearance"
"SubCommands"="Wallpaper;Colors;Sounds;Screensaver;Icons"
"icon"="desk.cpl"
"Position"="Bottom"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\Screensaver]
@="Screensaver"
"Position"="Bottom"
"Icon"="desk.cpl"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\Screensaver\Command]
@="rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,screensaver,@screensaver"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\Sounds]
@="Sounds"
"Position"="Bottom"
"Icon"="mmsys.cpl"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\Sounds\Command]
@="rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL mmsys.cpl ,2"


[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\Wallpaper]
@="Desktop Background"
"Icon"="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\desk.cpl"
"Position"="Bottom"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\Wallpaper\Command]
@="explorer.exe shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageWallpaper"


[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\Icons]
@="Desktop Icons"
"Icon"="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\desk.cpl"
"Position"="Bottom"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\Icons\Command]
@="rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,,0"


[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\Colors]
@="Window Color"
"Icon"="%SystemRoot%\\System32\\desk.cpl"
"Position"="Bottom"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\Colors\command]
@="explorer.exe shell:::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921} -Microsoft.Personalization\pageColorization"

I made a ready-to-use Registry tweak for you. The Undo tweak is included. You can download it here:

Download ready-to-use Registry tweak

Remember, these commands can stop working at any moment, because Microsoft might remove the classic appearance bits from Windows 10 sooner or later.

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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.

3 thoughts on “Add classic personalization menu in Windows 10 build 10074”

  1. Some of the locations I added to the ‘Picture Location’ no longer exist and give an error when selected. Reselecting ‘Windows Desktop Backgrounds’ which would normally display some themes, now does nothing, ditto Pictures etc. The only way to get back to normal is to close and reopen ‘Appearance/Desktop Background’.
    Is there a way to remove all entries added after the standard few.
    I’ve noticed too, that the pictures are being changed despite ‘Shuffle’ not being selected.

    1. I’ve just checked HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Wallpapers\Images again.
      I had already deleted the entries when the problem first appeared but they’re back with some duplicates. I couldn’t have manually selected them with ‘Browse’ since the locations don’t exist, so……?
      I’ve now deleted the lot again and checked the location entries – yup, now only the standard locations. Will have to see if it lasts this time.
      Wallpaper still shuffling at very short intervals.

  2. This is a new desktop context menu.
    NOTE: In the Windows 10 Creators Update builds, the items below in the “Personalize (classic)” context menu now open in Settings instead of the classic Control Panel location.
    1. Theme Settings
    2. Desktop Background
    3. Change Text Size (no longer works)
    4. Color and Appearance

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