In Windows 7, when you browse using Windows Explorer, you’ll notice there is a more advanced version of the Window XP navigation pane.
In Windows XP, all you had were a few links to “Other Places” like My Documents, Control Panel, and Share Documents. There also were a few links called “System Tasks”, which varied depending on what you were looking at.
In Windows 7, a few things have been moved around. Now the Details part like file size or how much space is left on your computer is in the status bar on the bottom. The left-hand navigation pane is now only about navigation.
However, one link that was missing for me was the Control Panel! I had it in XP and I couldn’t believe it was not here in Windows 7. So what happened to it actually and how to get it back? Pretty simple actually.
Simply right-click in an empty area in the navigation pane and choose Show All Folders.
Now the navigation pane will have a couple of more links like the Recycle Bin and Control Panel!
Note that you can also remove the Control Panel from the navigation pane in this view if you like, but it require a registry hack. Personally, I think it’s easier to uncheck “Show All Folders”, but if you really want this view without the Control Panel open the registry editor by going to Start and typing in regedit.
Navigate to the following key in the registry:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}\ShellFolder
Then right-click on ShellFolder in the left-pane and choose Permissions. Click on the Administrators group and check off Full Control.
Click OK and then right-click on the Attributes key in the right-hand pane and choose Modify.
If you want to show the Control Panel in the navigation pane, type in a value of a0000004. If you want to hide the Control Panel, type in a value of a0900004. By default, it’s a0000004.
That’s it! Close the registry and restart your computer. So now you know how to fully tweak the navigation pane in Windows 7 in order to either show or hide the Control Panel! Enjoy!
Hi, thanks for your info. I was also wondering where the Control Panel went!