Use the settings app

  • 3 minutes

Windows continues to use many of the same computer controls that previous versions have included, such as the Control Panel. However, many of the Control Panel functions in Windows are available in the Settings app. The Settings app contains several settings that you can use to configure your device. While the UI in Windows 10 and 11 are different, you'll find many settings in the same or similar locations.

Windows 10 Settings App

Windows 11 Settings App

Screenshot of the Windows 10 settings app showing the main settings categories.

Screenshot of the Windows 11 settings app showing the main categories, with the System category selected by default.

You can access the Settings app in any of the following ways:

  • Open the Action Center, and in the lower portion, select the All Settings tile (Windows 10) or icon (Windows 11).
  • Select the Start menu icon, and then select Settings on the menu.
  • Type Settings in the search box located on the taskbar, and then press Enter.

The Settings app page has separate icons representing the main categories you can configure. When you select any of these icons, you'll access a page with subcategories that appear in a console tree on the left of the page. Depending on the subcategory you select, more items and configurable settings appear in the details pane.

Desktop Administrators may wish to restrict users from accessing specific settings within the settings app. Group policy can control these settings as either a user or computer policy in the Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Settings Page Visibility path. Policies can either specify settings pages that are only shown, or specify a list of settings pages that are hidden.

Note

You will learn more about Group Policy in a future module.