Control Panel

The Control Panel is a part of the Microsoft Windows graphical user interface which allows users to view and manipulate basic system settings and controls via applets, such as adding hardware, adding and removing software, controlling user accounts, and changing accessibility options. Additional applets can be provided by third party software.
The Control Panel has been an inherent part of the Microsoft Windows operating system since Windows 2.0,^[1] with many of the current applets being added in later versions. Beginning with Windows 95, the Control Panel is implemented as a special folder, i.e. the folder does not physically exist, but only contains shortcuts to various applets such as Add or Remove Programs and Internet Options. Physically, these applets are stored as .cpl files. For example, the Add or Remove Programs applet is stored under the name appwiz.cpl in the SYSTEM32 folder.

In recent versions of Windows, the Control Panel has two views, Classic View and Category View, and it is possible to switch between these through an option that appears on either the left side or top of the window.
Many of the individual Control Panel applets can be accessed in other ways. For instance, Display Properties can be accessed by right-clicking on an empty area of the desktop and choosing Properties.
The classic view consists of shortcuts to the various control panel applets, usually without any description (other than the name). The categories are seen if the user use "Details" view.
The category view consists of categories, which when clicked on display the control panel applets related to the category. In Windows Vista, the category used applets below the name of the category.

List of Control Panel applets

The applets listed below are components of the Microsoft Windows control panel, which allows users to define a range of settings for their computer, monitor the status of devices such as printers and modems, and set up new hardware, programs and network connections. Each applet is stored individually as a separate file (usually a .cpl file), folder or DLL, the locations of which are stored in the registry under the following keys:

1. HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Control Panel\Cpls
   This contains the string format locations of all .cpl files on the hard drive used within the control panel.
2. HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\ControlPanel\Namespace
   This contains the location of the CLSID variables for all the panels not included as cpl files. These are commonly folders or shell applets, though Windows Vista allows physical programs themselves to be registered as well. The CLSID then allows items such as the icon, infobox and category to be set and gives the location of the file to be used.

The control panel then uses these lists to locate the applets and load them into the control panel program (control.exe) when started by the user. In addition to using the control panel, a user can also invoke the applets manually via the command processor. For instance, the syntax "Control.exe inetcpl.cpl" or "control.exe /name Microsoft.InternetOptions" will run the internet properties applet in Windows XP or Vista respectively. While both syntax examples are accepted on Windows Vista, only the former one is accepted on Windows XP.

Standard applets

Accessibility Options (Access.cpl)
Allows users to configure the accessibility of their PC. It comprises various settings primarily aimed at users with disabilities or hardware problems. The behavior of the keyboard can be modified, this is aimed at people who have difficulty pressing key-combinations, or pressing a key just once. (StickyKeys, FilterKeys and ToggleKeys) Behavior of sounds can be modified. (SoundSentry and ShowSounds) High contrast mode can be activated. The keyboard cursor can be customized. The pointer can be controlled using the keyboard. (MouseKeys) Note that in the next generation of Windows, the Ease of Access control panel superseded the simple access.cpl control panel in previous versions.
Add New Hardware (hdwwiz.cpl)
Launches a wizard which allows users to add new hardware devices to the system. This can be done by selecting from a list of devices or by specifying the location of the driver installation files.
Add or Remove Programs (appwiz.cpl) (Renamed "Programs and Features" in Windows Vista and later)
The Add/Remove Programs dialog allows the user to manipulate software installed on the system in a number of ways; Allows users to uninstall and change existing software packages, as well as indicating how much space individual programs take and how frequently they are used. Allows users to manually install software from a CD-ROM or Floppy Disk, and install add-ons from Windows Update. Allows users to change which Windows components are installed, via the Windows setup Wizard, which includes Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player and Windows Messenger Finally, it allows users to specify the default applications for certain tasks, via the 'set program access and defaults' wizard, such as internet browsers, media players and email programs and whether access to these programs is available
Administrative Tools (control admintools)
Contains tools for system administration, including security, performance and service configuration. These are links to various configurations of the Microsoft Management Console such as the local services list and the Event Viewer.
Automatic Updates (wuaucpl.cpl)
This is used to specify how the Automatic Updates client (wuauclt.exe) should download updates from the Microsoft Update Website, by default this is set to download and install daily, however this can be changed to a more suitable frequency. This also allows the user to specify whether to ask permission before downloading and/or installing updates or to simply switch off Automatic Updates all together.
Date and Time (timedate.cpl)
Allows user to change the date and time stored in the machines BIOS, change the time zone and specify whether to synchronize the date and time with an Internet Time Server and which server to use.
Display (control desktop) (desk.cpl)
Allows the user to change the display characteristics of their computer; Allows users to change the desktop background (wallpaper) to a picture of their choice and specifies how it should be shown. Allows the user to change or disable the screensaver, and specify how long it takes to activate and whether to ask for a password on resume Allows the user to specify the color styles of all elements within the system, primarily whether to use the Windows XP / Vista styles (blue by default in XP) or to use the classic Windows 98 / Me styles, this also allows the user to change the My Computer and Recycle Bin icons. Allows the user to change the screen resolution and colour quality, and provides trouble shooting advice for displays.
Folder Options (control folders)
This item allows for configuration of how folders and files are presented in Windows Explorer. More specifically it allows the user to specify general settings like whether folders open in a new window or the existing window and whether the common tasks pane is shown, as well as more advanced tasks such as whether windows should hide critical system files and whether to show file extensions. It is also used to modify file type associations in Windows; i.e., which program opens which type of file and other settings like actions for each file type and the file extension.
Fonts (control fonts)
Displays all fonts installed on the computer. Users can remove fonts, install new fonts or search for fonts using font characteristics. Note that "explorer \Windows\Fonts" has the same effect. sumber : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_Panel_%28Windows%29