Part 7 · Control Panel and Settings

Chapter 16 · Windows Settings Application

2 min read

Status: ✅ COMPLETE

Scope: The modern Windows Settings app: how it is built, what its main pages do, how it differs from the classic Control Panel, and how to open pages directly with ms-settings: links
Time to complete: 60–90 minutes of reading + lab
Prerequisites: Chapter 15 (the Control Panel); basic comfort with Windows. Chapter 8 helps with the idea of drivers and devices.
What you'll know after: What runs when you press Win + I, what each main Settings page controls, how organisations lock settings, and why some pages still send you to the old Control Panel

INTRODUCTION

Every time you change your wallpaper, join Wi-Fi or install an update, you probably use the Settings app. It looks simple. Behind it is a modern app, a set of helper components, a search index, and rules that a company can use to lock pages.

This chapter uses plain words. It has no screenshot of Settings, so it uses simple sketches (ASCII mock-ups) and tables, and it compares Settings with the classic Control Panel using one real Control Panel screenshot. Every technical term is explained the first time it appears. Where details are not public or change between Windows versions, the chapter says "may look different on your version".

This chapter explains:

  • Why Windows has two places for settings, and how they are built
  • How pages, handlers, search, deep links and policy fit together
  • What the nine main pages do: System, Accounts, Network, Privacy, Apps, Windows Update, Personalization, Accessibility and Devices
  • Where the settings are stored, and what "managed by your organization" means
  • Why some Settings pages still open classic windows
  • How to see for yourself which program runs behind each door

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Related chapters: Chapter 15 (the Control Panel) and Chapter 8.

Chapter Status: Complete
Estimated reading time: 60 minutes
Practical time: 25 minutes
Knowledge check time: 25 minutes