How do I access the Control Panel from the Command Line?

The Control Panel, a graphical user interface (GUI) in Microsoft Windows, provides access to system settings and configuration options. The Control Panel can be accessed from the command line by using various commands and programs.

The most common way to access the Control Panel from the command line is by using the “control” command. This command opens the Control Panel directly and gives you full access to all of its settings. To access the Control Panel this way, open the command prompt window by typing “cmd” into the Run box (pressing Windows Key + R). Type “control” and press Enter.

Another way to access the Control Panel from the command line is by using the Windows PowerShell. PowerShell is Microsoft’s task automation and configuration management framework. It allows you to manage system configurations and tasks from the command line. To access the Control Panel from PowerShell, open the PowerShell window (press Windows Key + X and click on Windows PowerShell from the list). Then, type “Control” and press Enter.

In addition to these methods, you can also access the Control Panel from the command line by using the “ms-settings” command. This command takes you directly to the Settings page of the Control Panel. To utilize this command, open the command prompt window as described above and type “ms-settings”. Press Enter to open the Settings page of the Control Panel.

Finally, you can open specific Control Panel applets from the command line by using the “rundll32” command. This command enables you to launch a specific Control Panel applet directly from the command line. To use this command, open the command prompt window and type “rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL . Press Enter to open the desired Control Panel applet. For example, if you want to access the Sound applet, type “rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL mmsys.cpl”.

In conclusion, there are several ways to access the Control Panel from the command line. The most common and straightforward way is using the “control” command, followed by the “ms-settings” command for direct access to the Settings page. The Windows PowerShell and the “rundll32” command can also be used to access specific applets from the Control Panel from the command line.