How to Create a Control Panel Shortcut that Always Opens to Icons View in Windows 7 and Windows 8
Information
This will show you how to create a Control Panel shortcut that will always open to either Large icons or Small icons view in Windows 7 and Windows 8.
Note
The Control Panel Icons View shortcut below will open to either the Large icons or Small icons view as it was last closed as.
EXAMPLE: Control Panel Icons View
OPTION ONE
To Download the "Control Panel Icons View" Shortcut
1. Click on the download button below to download the file below
Control_Panel_Icons_View.zip
2. Save the .zip file to the desktop.
3. Open the .zip file and extract the Control Panel Icons View shortcut to the desktop
.
4. Right click on the
Control Panel Icons View shortcut, and click on
Properties,
General tab, and on the
Unblock button. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If you do not have a Unblock button under the General tab, then the shortcut is already unblocked and you can continue on to step 5.
5. In
Windows 7, you can now
Pin to Taskbar or
Pin to Start Menu, add to
Quick Launch,
assign a keyboard shortcut to it, or move this shortcut to where you like for easy use.
6. In
Windows 8, you can
Pin to Taskbar on desktop,
Pin to Start screen, add to
Quick Launch,
assign a keyboard shortcut to it, or move this shortcut to where you like for easy use.
7. When done, you can delete the downloaded .zip file on the desktop if you like, or save it to use again.
OPTION TWO
To Manually Create the "Control Panel Icons View" Shortcut
1. Right click on a empty area on desktop, and click on
New and
Shortcut.
2. Type the location below into the location area, and click on the
Next button. (see screenshot below)
%windir%\explorer.exe shell:::{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
3. Type
Control Panel Icons View for the name, and click on the
Finish button. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: You can name this anything you would like though. 4. Right click on the new
Control Panel Icons View shortcut on the Desktop and click on
Properties.
5. Click on the
Shortcut tab, then click on the
Change Icon button. (see screenshot below)
6. In the line under "Look for icons in this file", type in the location below and press
Enter. (see screenshot below)
%windir%\System32\imageres.dll
7. Select the icon highlighted in blue above and click on
OK. (see screenshot above)
NOTE: You can use any icon that you would like instead though.
8. Click on
OK. (see screenshot below)
9. In
Windows 7, you can now
Pin to Taskbar or
Pin to Start Menu, add to
Quick Launch,
assign a keyboard shortcut to it, or move this shortcut to where you like for easy use.
10. In
Windows 8, you can
Pin to Taskbar on desktop,
Pin to Start screen, add to
Quick Launch,
assign a keyboard shortcut to it, or move this shortcut to where you like for easy use.
That's it,
Shawn