Microsoft KB Archive/325852

= HOW TO: Hide Control Panel Tools in Windows Server 2003 =

Article ID: 325852

Article Last Modified on 12/3/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, 64-Bit Datacenter Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition

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This article was previously published under Q325852



For a Microsoft Windows 2000 version of this article, see 261241.

IN THIS TASK
SUMMARY
 * Hide Control Panel Tools
 * Show Only Specific Control Panel Tools
 * List of .cpl Files



SUMMARY
This step-by-step article describes how to hide Control Panel tools and folders by using Group Policy in Windows Server 2003.

You can use a policy to hide Control Panel tools and folders in the Control Panel window and the Start menu. You can configure Group Policy settings to hide specific Control Panel tools or hide all Control Panel tools except for the items that you specify. The Group Policy settings that you configure can apply to the local computer, sites, domains, and organizational units.

NOTE: These settings apply only to the Control Panel window and the Start menu. They do not prevent users from running Control Panel tools.

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Hide Control Panel Tools
 Click Start, click Run, type mmc in the Open box, and then click OK. On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in. Click Add. Click Group Policy Object Editor, and then click Add. Click the target Group Policy object (GPO). The default GPO is Local Computer. Click Browse to select the GPO that you want, and then click Finish. Click Close, and then click OK. Expand User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, and then click Control Panel.</li> In the right pane, double-click Hide specified Control Panel applets.</li> Click Enabled. This setting removes Control Panel tools from the Control Panel window and the Start menu. To specify the Control Panel tools that you want to hide, click Show.</li> In the Show Contents dialog box, click Add, type the file name of the Control Panel tool that you want to hide in the Enter the item to be added box, and then click OK. Control Panel tools use the .cpl extension and are located in the %Systemroot%\System32 folder. To find the file name of a Control Panel tool, search for .cpl files in the %Systemroot%\System32 folder. To do so: <ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha;"> Click Start, and then click Search.</li> Click All files and folders. In the All or part of the file name box, type *.cpl, in the Look in box, click Local Disk , where  is the drive on which Windows is installed, and then click Search.</li></ol> </li> Repeat step 10 for each Control Panel tool that you want to hide, and then click OK.</li> Click OK, and then quit the Group Policy Object Editor snap-in.</li></ol>

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Show Only Specific Control Panel Tools
<ol> Click Start, click Run, type mmc in the Open box, and then click OK.</li> On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.</li> Click Add.</li> Click Group Policy Object Editor, and then click Add.</li> Click the target GPO. The default GPO is Local Computer. Click Browse to select the GPO that you want, and then click Finish.</li> Click Close, and then click OK.</li> Expand User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, and then click Control Panel.</li> In the right pane, double-click Show only specified Control Panel applets.</li> <li>Click Enabled. This setting removes all Control Panel tools from the Control Panel window and the Start menu, except for the items that you specify. If you do not specify any tools or folders to display, the Control Panel window is empty. To specify the Control Panel tools that you want to display, click Show. Control Panel tools use the .cpl extension and are located in the %Systemroot%\System32 folder. To find the file name of a Control Panel tool, search for .cpl files in the %Systemroot%\System32 folder. To do so: <ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha;"> <li>Click Start, and then click Search.</li> <li>Click All files and folders. In the All or part of the file name box, type *.cpl, in the Look in box, click Local Disk , where  is the drive on which Windows is installed, and then click Search.</li></ol> </li> <li>In the Show Contents dialog box, click Add, type the file name of the Control Panel tool that you want to display in the Enter the item to be added box, and then click OK.</li> <li>Repeat step 10 for each Control Panel tool that you want to display, and then click OK.</li> <li>Click OK, and then quit the Group Policy Object Editor snap-in.</li></ol>

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List of .Cpl Files
The following is a list of .cpl files and the corresponding Control Panel tool. <pre class="fixed_text">  .cpl File                       Control Panel Tools ==============                 ===============================   Access.cpl                      Accessibility Appwiz.cpl                     Add or Remove Program Desk.cpl                       Display Hdwwiz.cpl                     Add Hardware Inetcpl.cpl                    Internet Options Intl.cpl                       Regional and Language Options Joy.cpl                        Game Controllers Keymgr.cpl                     Stored User Names and Passwords Liccpa.cpl                     Licensing Main.cpl                       Mouse Mmsys.cpl                      Sound and Audio Devices Ncpa.cpl                       Network Connections Nwc.cpl                        Netware client connectivity Odbccp32.cpl                   ODBC Data Source Administrator Powercfg.cpl                   Power Options Sysdm.cpl                      System Telephon.cpl                   Phone and Modem Options Timedate. cpl                  Date and Time Sapi.cpl                       Speech back to the top

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