How to personalize the WinXP Control Panel to give it a makeover

1. Custom method

In fact, Microsoft's own Control Panel customization options can partially meet the user's need for personalization. In Windows 2000/ME/XP, you can set the feature options in Control Panel to a submenu under the Start * Settings menu. In Windows XP, the way to do this is to right click on the taskbar, select the Properties option, go to the Taskbar and Start Menu dialog box, select the Start Menu tab, and then click the Customize button to enter the Customize Start Menu dialog box, select the Advanced tab, and The Start menu item option selects Control Panel * "Display as menu", defines it as a menu display, clicks the OK button continuously, and closes all windows.

You can still view the function icon in the Control Panel in a window mode by selecting the "Start" * "Settings" * "Control Panel", double-clicking the Control Panel option or right-clicking it, and selecting either the "open" or "Browse" options. You can also customize the Control Panel window just as you would any other folder. On the View menu, choose options such as icon, list, or details.

2. Group Policy method

Although you can't add feature icons, rename icons, or change their appearance in Control Panel, you can remove unwanted icons. The method is to select "Start" * "Search" * "Files or Folders" (in Windows 2000/me), or "Start" * "Search" (in Windows XP). In the first text box in the left panel of the Search Results window, enter "*.cpl", specify the relevant path in the search scope, and click the "Search Now" or "search" button. The Control Panel file is located in the system or System32 folder. If you need to remove some feature 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 will have to double-click the files before you remove them to verify that they are the items you need to remove. For example, when you double-click the "prefcpl.cpl" file, you actually open the RealPlayer Properties dialog box and remove the. cpl file to remove the RealPlayer icon from the Control Panel (of course, The prerequisite is that the RealPlayer software is already installed in your system. However, this method applies only to Third-party icons in Windows XP systems, and for system built-in icons, the system automatically restores them if they are moved. Note: the "main.cpl" file is linked to several different control Panel feature icons, including fonts, keyboards, mice, and printers. If you move this file, the above feature icon will be removed at the same time.

In Windows 2000/XP, an easy way to remove a feature icon in Control Panel is to take advantage of the Group Policy Editor. 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 policy panel on the right, double-click the implicitly specified Control panel applet project. In the dialog box that pops up, select the Enable option on the Policy tab and click the Show button. In the Show Content dialog box, click the Add button. In the Add Project dialog box, enter the name of the icon that appears in the Control Panel, and then click the OK button. Then, for the Multiple Control Panel feature icons that you need to remove, repeat the last two steps above.

In addition, you should also note that when you have entered all the icon names you want to delete, carefully check the Display dialog box for spelling errors. If you have changed your mind after the above operation, just select the item, click the "Delete" button to remove the item from the list, and then click the "OK" button 2 times. It is useful to note that this method applies to any feature icon in the Control Panel, including those of non-Microsoft companies, but does not apply to the new category icon for Windows XP.

3. Hiding method

The Windows System Policy Editor can partially remove specific tabs from some Control Panel dialogs, rather than removing the entire Control Panel icon. In Windows 9x/me, locate and double-click the "Poledit.exe" file in the Execute installation CD. If you are prompted for a template file, search the hard disk for the Admin.adm file and open it. Then, in the System Policy Editor window, select File * Open registry, and double-click the local user icon to open the Local User Properties dialog box. Select the Control Panel icon and press the "*" key in the numeric keypad to expand all branches under this icon. Here, you can hide some tabs and buttons in the Control Panel. For example, in the System project, select the Limit system control Panel option; Then at the bottom of the dialog box, in the Limit system Control Panel Settings Item list, select the items that you want to hide, such as the "Hide Device Management page" or "Hide the virtual Memory button" options. When you are done, click "OK" and select "File" * "Save" and the change will take effect immediately. If you need to cancel the change, simply return to the appropriate dialog box, and then cancel the selected option and save it.

In Windows 2000/XP, you can choose "Start" * "Run", typing "gpedit.msc", and navigate to the local Computer policy * User Configuration * Administrative Templates * Control Panel. Then select the item in the left panel and set it in the Policy window on the right.

4. General Shortcut method

Knowing how to remove some of the icons from the Control Panel or remove some tabs from some dialog boxes is certainly useful, but why not experience the full customization? Why not try customizing the personalized Control Panel with your favorite project name? Right-click the "Start" button and select "Open" Options. Here, create a subfolder similar to the Control Panel (the author uses the name "Contr&ols", so that you can open it by pressing the CTRL + ECS + O) key combinations. Now that you open the Control Panel window, you need to select a category in the Category View mode of Windows XP. Then, select the feature icons that you want to include in the custom Control Panel, and drag them to the new folder. Release the mouse and select the Create shortcut from current Location option on the shortcut menu. You can rename these shortcuts to access them through keyboard shortcuts.

5. Self-setting method

You can also make control panels with multiple tabs on your own to replace the Windows default Control Panel. First, verify that the. cpl file is placed in the Windows system or SYSTEM32 systems directory and corresponds to the functional chart in Control Panel. Then, right-click the folder window where you want to create the Control Panel shortcut, right-click in the window blank, select New * shortcut, Pop the Create Shortcut dialog box, and type "control.exe" in the "enter the location of the item" entry box. Add a space bar followed by the. cpl file name that you want to open. Next, enter 2 commas and the number of tabs you want 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 properties of sound and audio devices, and have the 2nd tab appear in front (called the Sound tab in Windows XP, called the Audio tab in Windows 9x/me), the Create Shortcut Enter "Control.exe mmsys.cpl,,1" in the dialog box. Then click the "Next" button, enter the name of the shortcut created, and then click the "Finish" button.