Getting used to Windows 8? Since I am a computer technician, one place I always go to on my computer is the Control Panel. I’m just so used to hitting the Start button and then opening the Control Panel from there. In Windows 8, since there is no Start button, you have to do some fun things before you can access it!
In this post, I’m going to show you four different ways to access Control Panel from Windows 8 and how to customize it so that you can access it very quickly, rather than having to navigate to multiple menus and click.
Method 1. Desktop icon
First method – desktop icon
The easiest way to access Control Panel is to add it to the Windows 8 desktop. You can do this by right-clicking on the desktop and choosing Personalize.
Then click on Change Desktop Icons in the left pane.
Now go ahead and check the box next to the computer and control panel. I mention the computer because it is used in the second method below.
This is it. The control panel icon will now appear on your desktop for quick access. Let’s move on to the second method!
Method 2 – Computer Icon
The second way – computer icon
In method 1, I said to check the computer, and the reason is that it has a special view in the explorer, thanks to which you can quickly access the control panel. If you click on “Computer” on the desktop, you will see a menu at the top of “File”, “Computer”, “View”. Click Computer.
There is an option on the ribbon called “Open Control Panel”. You can click on it to enter it. So this is the second way.
Method 3 – Home Screen
Third method – start screen
The third method involves using the start screen. Go to the Start screen by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard, moving your mouse to the lower left of the screen, or by moving your mouse to the upper right of the screen and clicking the Start button on the charms bar that appears.
Once there, right-click on any empty spot and you will see the All Apps option displayed at the bottom.
Click on it and scroll to the right. After that, you should see the control panel item listed. You can just click on it to open the control panel.
Method 4 continues from now on and adds a control panel to the home screen and taskbar.
Method 4 – pin to start, pin to taskbar
Method 4 – Pin to Start, Pin to Taskbar
Finally, the last thing you can do is right-click the Control Panel on the last screenshot from Method 3 and you will see the Dock to Start and Dock to Taskbar options.
Docking to the Start screen saves you the hassle of going to the Start screen, right-clicking, selecting All Apps, and then clicking Control Panel. Instead, it will simply appear on the main home screen. Pin to taskbar will obviously just add it to the Windows 8 taskbar.
And it’s all. You can now easily access Control Panel in Windows 8. Questions? If so, please leave a comment and we’ll try to help. Enjoy!