Control Panel (Windows)

The system control is a key tool to adjust the settings of the computer to the personal needs of computers with the operating system Microsoft Windows. The Control Panel is a folder in Explorer (a kind of "virtual file folder " ) which is compiled by the operating system from a series of control panels. These are in the form of CPL files in the system directory C: \ WINDOWS \ system32 or C: \ WINNT \ system32 (ie % SystemRoot % \ system32) available.

Tasks

In the control panel you can do the following main changes:

  • System Information ( sysdm.cpl )
  • Appearance and Themes: The representation of the Windows PC to change ( screen resolution, display of windows, icons or the desktop background change) ( DESK.CPL )
  • Configure several interfaces: mouse ( MAIN.CPL ), Joystick ( JOY.CPL )
  • Printers and Other Hardware: install, uninstall, or update ( DESK.CPL, hdwwiz.cpl - Hardware Wizard) Printers and Other Hardware, Power Options ( powercfg.cpl )
  • Network and Internet Connections: Setting up network configuration, new Internet connections, or delete ( Windows XP only) Disable the Windows firewall or change the settings of these ( NCPA.CPL - Network and Dial-up Connections, inetcpl.cpl - Features of Internet Explorer and other )
  • User accounts ( Windows NT only): Create a new user account and delete existing user accounts
  • Software: Overview of the existing software with options to install or uninstall new software ( Appwiz.cpl )
  • Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options: change the time and time zone and date, changing system language ( TIMEDATE.CPL )
  • Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices: Modify the Windows internal sounds or configure settings for Sprachein-/ausgabegeräte ( Intl.cpl, mmsys.cpl )
  • Accessibility: Setting the Accessibility for impaired computer users, such as magnifier ( Access.cpl )
  • Pen and Touch, from Windows 7 ( TabletPC.CPL )
  • Action Center: Safety and maintenance of the system ( Wscui.cpl )
  • Performance and Maintenance: Do the computers running such as Disk Defragmenter or Disk Cleanup
  • Create schedules for actions: Scheduled Tasks
  • Security Center ( XP): Configure Automatic Updates, or configure the Windows Firewall settings. In addition, there is an overview of any existing personal firewall or virus scanner available

Furthermore, there are several other modules for the configuration of devices such as mouse, phone, scanner, and the like.

In addition, also third-party software can edit with a matching CPL file in the Control Panel, use this technique as Java, Quicktime, or various virus scanners.

CPL file

A CPL file is nothing more than the content of a renamed dll file. By so changing file extension it is possible to automatically create all of the dialog boxes in the overview display "Control Panel" of the Explorer - For details see technical details.

Files with the extension CPL could use % SystemRoot % \ system32 \ control.exe be assigned, which would at least launch the standard applet CPL file. From this concept from the 1990s Microsoft has lost in this context, but has long been - the CPL files contain a number of other dialog boxes, which are not accessible through this assignment. In fact, the call is now in the form

And it is completely irrelevant whether the ending of the panel file. CPL or. DLL is. Under rundll32.exe examples are also listed.

CPL files should be the same as other DLL and EXE files against manipulation (malware) are protected by administrators only (and not even any administrator ) write access permitted.

Technical details

CPL / DLL all have the entry point CPlApplet. The CPlApplet is to be programmed by the person providing the CPL file. This can be any software and especially hardware provider that wishes to use the product conveniently via the Control Panel. And is determined for a series of calls to the CPlApplet.

Full List

On a certain " query " call series of CPlApplet is a list of provided by their main dialog code with reference numbers on their respective national language Partly name, description and icon details returned by this DLL ( CPLINFO / NEWCPLINFO ).

Rundll32 shell32, Control_FillCache_RunDLL goes (just like today every time with open "Control Panel" ) by all the% SystemRoot % \ system32 \ *. by CPL, collects this information presentation and their associated file including the calling code. Until about XP, the result also in the key HKLM \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Controls Folder Presentation cache was stored in the field to accelerate the representation. Since, however, are allowed to change icons and text elements depending on the situation with each call, the latch on today's fast machines but will (by default) no longer used.

Rundll32 shell32, Control_RunDLL (without parameters) opens a special Explorer windows Control Panel and is the (updated) overall result for selection. Meanwhile, all of the listed CPL files are open. When you close the Control Panel all CPlApplet be called again several times.

CPL files that are marked as " hidden", apparently remain permanently hidden from the Control Panel. CPL files that not everyone or user has read rights, but can only read and execute administrators not betray their icon and title and thus do not appear for normal user in the Control Panel. This then helps the clarity when normal users anyway control options could not change and the current settings also do not want to hear.

Execution

Through interactive clicking an entry in the Control Panel window, or rundll32.exe shell32, Control_RunDLL panel file, arguments, or even written directly calling the corresponding call of CPlApplet series takes place in the mode Run. As CPlApplet argument is passed to the code of the desired main dialog box, another code example, may denote a tab - tab.

The national language Partly name can apparently also be used as call parameters of Control_RunDLL.

There is the respective user dialog and then the appropriate storage and realization of the desired settings - whatever.

CONTROL.EXE

CONTROL.EXE makes today probably nothing more than rundll32.exe shell32.dll, call Control_RunDLL ( and the forwarded parameters). In the 1990s, some standard CPL as MAIN, DESK, INTL, PORTS, TIMEDATE were in addition preset with English key words for each specific dialogues.

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