Implementing Control Panel Items

Control Panel items are DLLs or executable (.exe) files that let users configure the environment of Windows. They are typically accessed by clicking an icon in the Control Panel.

This section describes Control Panel items and explains how to create and register them so that they appear appropriately in the Control Panel. For Windows Vista, information is included that tells you how to add task links that appear under the Control Panel item and in Control Panel search results.

• User Experience Guidelines
• Registering Control Panel Items
• How To Register Executable Control Panel Items
• How To Register DLL Control Panel Items
• Using CPLApplet
• Control Panel Message Processing
• Executing Control Panel Items
• Extending System Control Panel Items
• Assigning Control Panel Categories
• Creating Searchable Task Links for a Control Panel Item
• Accessing the Control Panel in Safe Mode
• Canonical Names of Control Panel Items