Create Control Panel Shortcut in Windows 10

In Window 10, you can create a Control Panel shortcut. This will allow you to open the Control panel directly from the right-click menu of the Desktop. It is possible to make it open in the desired view like large icons, small icons or category icons. Here is how it can be done.

In Windows 10, the ability to quickly open the Control Panel has been eliminated. The button to open it from the Ribbon user interface was replaced with Settings. While many options in the classic Control Panel are currently available in Settings, the Control Panel still has dozens of exclusive applets which have not been not ported yet to the modern Settings app. As of this writing, the classic Control Panel still comes with a number of options and tools which are not available in Settings. It has a familiar user interface which many users prefer over the Settings app.

Previously, I wrote how to add a useful Control Panel context menu in Windows 10. Some users do not like to tweak the operating system using Registry, so shortcuts for them are more suitable.

To create the Control Panel shortcut in Windows 10, do the following.
Right click the empty space on your Desktop. Select New - Shortcut in the context menu (see the screenshot).

In the shortcut target box, type or copy-paste one of the following commands.
To open the Control panel in the default (last used) view:

control.exe

To open the Control panel in the Category view:

explorer.exe shell:::{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}

Control Panel (Icons view):

explorer.exe shell:::{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

To open the Control panel in the All Tasks view, which is also known as "God Mode", use this command:

explorer.exe shell:::{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Use the line "Control Panel" without quotes as the name of the shortcut. Actually, you can use any name you want.

Click on the Finish button when done.

Right-click the shortcut you have created and choose Properties in the context menu.

On the shortcut tab, click the button Change icon and select the following icon from the %windir%\System32\imageres.dll file.

Now, you can move this shortcut to any convenient location, pin it to taskbar or to Start, add to All apps or add to Quick Launch (see how to enable Quick Launch). You can also assign a global hotkey to your shortcut.