Friday, August 23rd 2024

Windows Control Panel Faces Sunset After Nearly Four Decades, Settings App to Succeed It

Aug 23rd, 2024 02:37 Discuss (64 Comments)

Microsoft has officially confirmed plans to phase out the Windows Control Panel, a feature that has been a key to the operating system since its inception in 1985. The tech giant recently stated on its support website, "The Control Panel is in the process of being deprecated in favor of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience." The Control Panel has undergone numerous transformations over its 39-year lifespan and has been a familiar tool for Windows users across generations. Its impending retirement signifies a major shift in Microsoft's approach to user interface design and system management. The Settings app, introduced with Windows 8 in 2012, has gradually absorbed the functionalities of the Control Panel. Despite rumors of its demise circulating for a while, this is the first time Microsoft has officially acknowledged the Control Panel's deprecation.

The company still needs to specify an exact timeline for the complete removal of this legacy feature. Microsoft is encouraging users to utilize the Settings app whenever possible, stating, "While the Control Panel still exists for compatibility reasons and to provide access to some settings that have not yet migrated, you are encouraged to use the Settings app, whenever possible." The Control Panel's longevity can be attributed primarily to two factors: ongoing compatibility concerns and the presence of certain functions not yet available in the Settings app. Microsoft's need to maintain backward compatibility with older software and hardware configurations has been a critical driver behind the Control Panel's continued inclusion in Windows. This legacy support ensures that users can still access essential system settings and utilities that still need to be successfully migrated to the more modern Settings interface. However, the complete transition is now seemingly ready.

Source: via Tom's Hardware

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64 Comments on Windows Control Panel Faces Sunset After Nearly Four Decades, Settings App to Succeed It

#26

AGlezB

I've already set aside time for meditation. That should help my satate of mind every time I have to spend 30 minutes changing registry settings to fix something that'd take 4 clicks with the CP because MS forgot or didn't want to add it to the new settings. :banghead:

#27

persondb

Microsoft has been trying to remove it since at least Windows 10 so at least a decade of those four decades, have been one in which Control Panel has been slowly slowly murdered.
At this rate, Microsoft will finish it by 2050 at which point they would spent more time murdering it than otherwise.

#28

phanbuey

It will never be fully gone. They will just hide it and it will be around as one of the 5+ places where you can make changes to the same settings in windows.

#29

geniekid

I don't like Settings because, like much of modern UI design, it reduces information density for the sake of looking nice. It makes things easier to process for the less experienced user at the expense of making things more difficult to execute for power users. Now there needs to be more clicking and more scrolling to accomplish the same things.

That said, it really is dumb to have both from a user perspective, and they knew this when they announced CP would be phased out nearly a decade ago. I can only assume the poor response to Windows 8 and Windows 10 (initially) made management extremely reticent to assign resources to this transition. I simply do not believe it would be more than four or five years of work for a small team (2-3 developers) to migrate the totality of CP functionality into Settings.

#30

Fokker

Settings is a wildly dumbed down application in comparison to Control Panel. I've hated it since it's inception and still only use it when absolutely necessary. It makes many settings that are available in it harder to find and provides very limited information in comparison to some of the applets within Control Panel (when it's not opening those same applets anyway).

I wish developers would move away from this all flash and no substance mindset and stop changing applications for the sake of changing them. It really stinks of them and their management simply trying to justify themselves and their position.

#31

ir_cow

I still use it because Microsoft still can't figure out to make it as easier with the "user friendly" version. Just leave it alone. All settings are in one place.

#32

Darmok N Jalad

“Settings vs Control Panel” just feels like moving around the deck chairs. I think “settings” was born to accommodate touch, which is why there was such low information density in the UI on Windows 10. The old control panel would work just fine with a high-precision input device, like a mouse or pen/stylus, but it was a mess using a finger. MS trying to make Windows accept touch input has really driven a lot of these design decision, and I think this is a big reason why Apple hasn’t made Mac a touch device. There are just too many design compromises to make, especially when potential third party software isn’t designed around touch.

#33

mechtech

Will I be able to give it the control panel icon and rename it to control panel?? :)

#34

trsttte

NoyandReally? Of all the settings, sound is among those that I've found to have a successful migration in win11 I didn't have to go into CP for years to change my sounds settings/balance/individual volume apps

If all you need is to change from one output device to another or the volume mixer sure, the new settings work. If you want to change device settings or input devices or whatever you need to go to the legacy interface. And audio is something relatively common and simple, if you get into more specific power user type stuff like network configurations and so on there's nothing on the settings app about it.

Windows is more and more becoming a broken mess, they seem to want to follow on apple's footsteps but contrary to macOS, windows has a much wider more diverse user base that requires certain functionality to work, not to be pretty or user friendly but to work as expected and in a predictable way.

#35

Aretak

Windows is just a complete mess at this point. It's not even reliable for gaming performance any more. Wendell's latest video showed how inconsistent and finicky it is, to the point Linux often outperforms it by a wide margin despite the translation layers in play. The current Windows team doesn't have a clue.

#36

windwhirl

They have been trying to sunset the Control Panel since Windows 8. I'll believe it when I see it.

b1k3rdude<Meh> there are ways to reinstall classic control panel aplets, so I dont see this being any different.

Maybe, but I imagine the APIs involved might also get deprecated or become defunct... though probably not for some time, due to Windows always seeking to keep a high level of compatibility with everything.

b1k3rdudeI imagine the enterprise version/s of windows/server will retain the CP for years.

At least for the normal Enterprise versions, they follow consumer Windows pretty closely, so, I think that they will remove the Control Panel on both Enterprise/Server at the same version they do for the Consumer variants, if they ever actually finish migrating things to the Settings app.

The Quim ReaperIt all just has the appearance of people at Windows HQ desperately looking for things to do and looking busy for the sake of it.

I'd rather they either stop migrating settings or just migrate everything at once already, tbh.

#37

Dr. Dro

TheinsanegamerNThat's unpopular for a reason: there is 0 evidence that MS will actually move all the settings. Thus far, all the granular control has been lost when moving to the settings menu. Like setting network priority, can only be done through control panel. Disabling IPV6? Same. Disabling fast start up? Same.

In fact it's become bloated and unwieldy because EVERYTHING is crammed into this new settings app - for example, if you want to change your wallpaper or access the volume mixer - it's ALL in this bloody settings app, and you cannot have both pages open at once. It's dreadful, honestly, if I didn't need Windows so much for gaming I would have dumped it a long time ago. 24H2 LTSC more or less works - for now - but it's only a remotely less problematic version of something that's already horrible

AretakWindows is just a complete mess at this point. It's not even reliable for gaming performance any more. Wendell's latest video showed how inconsistent and finicky it is, to the point Linux often outperforms it by a wide margin despite the translation layers in play. The current Windows team doesn't have a clue.

None whatsoever.

#38

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

neatfeatguyMore like "Trash App" to succeed it.

Exactly the Control Panel is Intuitive and has been fine tuned from 3.1-7, 8.1-11 use the 7 style. MS being retards as usual

#39

chrcoluk

Dr. DroIn fact it's become bloated and unwieldy because EVERYTHING is crammed into this new settings app - for example, if you want to change your wallpaper or access the volume mixer - it's ALL in this bloody settings app, and you cannot have both pages open at once. It's dreadful, honestly, if I didn't need Windows so much for gaming I would have dumped it a long time ago. 24H2 LTSC more or less works - for now - but it's only a remotely less problematic version of something that's already horrible

None whatsoever.

Thats a very good point, its a big downside of the settings applet in my opinion.

#40

THU31

If they want to remove it, they need to migrate 100% of the original settings. Like the Sound and Mouse sections in the Settings app are complete garbage.

And the biggest problem is you can only access one section at a time. With the old control panel, you can open everything in there and control multiple things at the same time.

Literally the only upside of the Settings app is dark mode. Everything else is worse. Why are we going backwards? Why are we devolving? Why change something that people have been using for decades? Change for the sake of change is so stupid.

#41

InVasMani

MS Control Panel Commits Seppuku...really not surprised at all and not excited about this decision change particularly since I hate the newer MS Settings menu in general it's a complete nuisance to navigate. I really hope it's at least optional until the next release of Windows.

#42

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator

THU31If they want to remove it, they need to migrate 100% of the original settings. Like the Sound and Mouse sections in the Settings app are complete garbage.

I agree with this. I am actually not against the move at all, and I dont mind the eye candy one bit. What I mind is swapping back and fourth. Have your UX grad student give me all of it before you terminate there internship or dont play with it until you can.

#43

Noyand

trsttteIf all you need is to change from one output device to another or the volume mixer sure, the new settings work. If you want to change device settings or input devices or whatever you need to go to the legacy interface. And audio is something relatively common and simple, if you get into more specific power user type stuff like network configurations and so on there's nothing on the settings app about it.

Windows is more and more becoming a broken mess, they seem to want to follow on apple's footsteps but contrary to macOS, windows has a much wider more diverse user base that requires certain functionality to work, not to be pretty or user friendly but to work as expected and in a predictable way.

I can still configure my input devices. The only settings that I don't see here are the software enhancement, or the software "listen to the device" for input (wich has always had a much higher lag compared to using an hardware based solution) or if you want to configure a 5.1/7.1 system...but the latter has always looked like a mess to me, those devices often have their own driver panels with their own set of settings that doesn't always seems to talk with windows own settings. The device driver give me a finer control over what I can do over the CP

#44

Wirko

A totally new user interface is also an opportunity to add useful new features. Such as undo. Interns, are you reading this? Microsoft Word, twice as old as you, had it. Now you can re-invent it and claim it's new.

#45

TheinsanegamerN

THU31If they want to remove it, they need to migrate 100% of the original settings. Like the Sound and Mouse sections in the Settings app are complete garbage.

And the biggest problem is you can only access one section at a time. With the old control panel, you can open everything in there and control multiple things at the same time.

Literally the only upside of the Settings app is dark mode. Everything else is worse. Why are we going backwards? Why are we devolving? Why change something that people have been using for decades? Change for the sake of change is so stupid.

We're devolving because tech companies constantly target the lowest common denominator. Once upon a time, tech companies would demand you LEARN to use their tools, and if you didnt want to, then too bad you dont get the new shiny. Now they do the opposite, if you dont fit into the tiny pre defined box thats been set up, you dont matter. Everything must be an iphone.

Ive raged against it for years, it makes my job in IT that much harder, and as a power user I lose options to cater to the 99% who dont know how to copy files, who will never learn even if you put a playskool tier tutorial in there.

#46

Melvis

As long as it doesnt get removed from W10 I dont care.....Control Panel is light years above the settings app

#47

INSTG8R

Vanguard Beta Tester

Jeebus No! I literally still keep it on my desktop…..

#48

Vincero

I made this up a while ago... funny to think it's still relevant:

#49

Wirko

Oh no! A long-term strategy that gets turned around every few hours:

www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsofts-windows-control-panel-gets-a-reprieve-as-wording-about-its-deprecation-is-removed

Also, CP could really use a serious update. It lacks search, multiple-level undo/redo, save/load/compare config - all of that being universal, usable in all CP categories. Of course that won't happen because Settings exists (which at least has a decent search function).

#50

AGlezB

WirkoAlso, CP could really use a serious update. It lacks search, multiple-level undo/redo, save/load/compare config - all of that being universal, usable in all CP categories. Of course that won't happen because Settings exists (which at least has a decent search function).

CP has had a better search function than Settings for 25 years. It's called Google. It's the same search you use when the search in Settings can't find what you're looking for.
:D

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Windows Control Panel Faces Sunset After Nearly Four Decades, Settings App to Succeed It

64 Comments on Windows Control Panel Faces Sunset After Nearly Four Decades, Settings App to Succeed It

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