Hide Control Panel Applets without gpedit.msc

[Elmer B.]

This is a relatively easy way to hide the Control Panel Applets (Icons) you never use, making it quicker to locate the ones that you do use.
Using Regedit.exe navigate to:-
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\Explorer
and create a new D_Word value called DisallowCpl and give it a value of 1 (1 is "On", 0 is "Off")



Next make a sub-key to Explorer called DisallowCpl.
In the right hand window, for every Control Panel Applet you wish to disable you make a new Reg_SZ value with a number as its name. The data to disable the applet has to be its canonical name, a typical example being Microsoft.EaseOfAccessCenter.



And that's all there is to it!



To "see" the hidden applets again just change the value of the registry D_Word entry of HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Policies\Explorer\DisallowCpl to "0".

A simple .reg file to turn off Disallowcpl would be:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"DisallowCpl"=dword:00000000

And to turn it back on:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"DisallowCpl"=dword:00000001

A full list of the canonical names which also usefully includes the CLSID numbers of the Control Panel Applets can be found here.

[HappyAndyK]

Thanks for the tutorial Elmer B. The Technet link is good!

Add Or Remove Control Panel Applets in Windows 7 & Vista and Quickly Launch Windows Control Panel Applets amy also interest some!

[Elmer B.]

....The Technet link is good!

Add Or Remove Control Panel Applets in Windows 7 & Vista and Quickly Launch Windows Control Panel Applets amy also interest some!

Hope this isn't a "duplicate" Andy. If it is feel free to remove. I did a (very) brief search first!!

[Capt.Jack]

Thanks for the Share !

[HappyAndyK]

Ofcourse not; its not a duplicate