Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 operating system also includes the classic Control Panel. However, as with the case of recent versions of Windows 10, you might not need to open the Control Panel frequently in Windows 11 as most of the settings can now be accessed via the Settings app.
In Windows 11, few settings appear only in the Control Panel, some settings appear only in the Settings app, and most of the settings appear both in Control Panel and Settings.
If a setting that you need to change frequently appears only in the Control Panel, you might want to pin the Control Panel to the Start menu and taskbar for easy access.
Note that, as always, you can use the Start menu search to open Control Panel.
Pin Control Panel to Start menu in Windows 11
Step 1: Search for Control Panel. When you see the Control Panel entry in the search results, perform a right-click on it and then click the Pin to Start option.
The above action will add the Control Panel to the Pinned apps section of the Start menu, but the Control Panel might not show up at the top of the Pinned apps list just yet (newly added items show up at the bottom of the list by default).
Step 2: To move the Control Panel to the top of the list, scroll down the Pinned apps list on the Start menu (hover the mouse cursor on the Pinned apps section and then scroll) to see the Control Panel entry, perform a right-click on it and then click the Move to top option. When you do so, the Control Panel will be the first item on the Pinned apps list.
Alternatively, you can drag and drop it to where you would like to see it on the Pinned apps list.
Pin Control Panel to the taskbar in Windows 11
If you do not want to open the Start menu to launch the Control Panel, you can pin it to the taskbar. Here is how.
Step 1: Open the Start menu search, search for Control Panel, right-click on the Control Panel entry and then click the Pin to taskbar option. The Control Panel icon will immediately appear on the taskbar.
Another way to pin Control Panel to Windows 11 taskbar
Step 1: Use the Start menu search or any other way to open the Control Panel.
Step 2: Right-click on the Control Panel icon on the taskbar and then click the Pin to taskbar option. That’s it!
To remove the Control Panel icon from the taskbar, right-click on it and then click Unpin from the taskbar.
How to auto-hide Windows 11 taskbar guide might also interest you.
