Microsoft KB Archive/812631

= Appearance Tab Is Not Selected When You Use Control.exe and Desk.cpl to Programmatically Open the &quot;Display Properties&quot; Dialog Box =

Article ID: 812631

Article Last Modified on 10/26/2006

-

APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows XP Professional
 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

-



SYMPTOMS
When you use Control.exe and Desk.cpl to programmatically open the Display Properties dialog box and select the Appearance tab, the Appearance tab may not be selected. The Display Properties dialog box opens, but a different tab, such as the Screen Saver tab, is selected.



CAUSE
This problem may occur if you use the following command to open the Display Properties and select the Appearance tab:

control.exe desk.cpl, , 2

Windows XP does not process the value 2 correctly to select the Appearance tab. As a result, a tab other than the Appearance tab is selected when the Display Properties dialog box opens.



Service pack information
To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322389 How to obtain the latest Windows XP service pack

Hotfix information
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. Date        Time   Version         Size    File name --- 09-Jan-2003 18:59  5.1.2600.1155  129,024  Desk.cpl 09-Jan-2003 18:59  5.1.2600.1155  236,544  Desk.cpl   IA64 09-Jan-2003 16:45  5.1.2600.1155  129,024  Wdesk.cpl  IA64



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.



MORE INFORMATION
For additional information about Control Panel files in Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

313808 Description of Control Panel Files in Windows XP

Keywords: kbhotfixserver kbqfe kbwinxpsp2fix kbqfe kbwinxppresp2fix kbfix kbbug KB812631

-

[mailto:TECHNET@MICROSOFT.COM Send feedback to Microsoft]

© Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.