If you have been a Windows user for many years, you may be familiar with a tool called “Control Panel» from which the configuration settings of the main tools of the operating system were accessed.
Launched in 1985 when Windows 2.0 was released, the Control Panel – which is accessed from the Start menu – has been with Windows users for almost 40 years. However, Microsoft has confirmed this week that it is closing the tool for good.
Although it has not indicated the exact date on which the Control Panel will be discontinued, it has confirmed that it is abandoning its development, will not include it in new software, and will progressively prevent its use. This is not too surprising, since since October 2020 Microsoft has been showing messages to users trying to access the Control Panel to redirect them to the Settings app.
But from now on, the redirection will be automatic. According to Microsoft, “because it offers a more modern and aligned experience” with the Windows operating system. The Settings app was launched in 2012 as part of Windows 8, and has since become the company’s preferred tool for users to carry out tasks such as adding devices and printers, setting the time and day, customizing their desktop, uninstalling programs, etc.
All of these functions could be performed from the Control Panel, where users had access to basic operating system settings and controls. For many years, the instructions for adding new hardware were to “go to the Windows Control Panel.” User accounts could also be managed there, Windows sound settings could be configured, and many other actions could be performed.
It was also the place from which you could access the Windows Taskbar, the Security Center, where you managed Windows Update automatic updates, accessibility options, and the computer’s network and Internet connections. From now on, all of this will have to be managed from the Windows “Settings” app.
