Description of Control Panel Files in Windows XP (313808)

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Each tool in Control Panel is represented by a .cpl file in the Windows\System32 folder. The .cpl files in the Windows\System32 folder are loaded automatically when you start Control Panel.

NOTE: Occasionally, Windows uses entries in the [MMCPL] section of the Control.ini file to load Control Panel files.

The following table lists the most common .cpl files, including all the .cpl files that are included with Windows:

File name	Purpose
Access.cpl	Accessibility properties
Appwiz.cpl	Add/Remove Programs properties
Desk.cpl	Display properties
Hdwwiz.cpl	Add Hardware properties
Inetcpl.cpl	Internet properties
Intl.cpl	Regional Settings properties
Irprops.cpl	Infrared Port properties (located in C:\Windows\Driver cache\I386\Driver.cab until you install an infrared device)
Joy.cpl	Joystick properties
Main.cpl	Mouse properties
Mmsys.cpl	Multimedia properties
Ncpa.cpl	Network Connections properties
Nusrmgr.cpl	User Accounts properties
Nwc.cpl	Gateway Services for NetWare properties
Odbccp32.cpl	Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) Data Source Administrator properties
Powercfg.cpl	Power Options properties
Sapi.cpl	Speech Properties (located in C:\Program files\Common files\Microsoft Shared\Speech)
Sysdm.cpl	System properties
Telephon.cpl	Phone and Modem Options properties
Timedate.cpl	Time and Date properties

Third-party software and hardware manufacturers add Control Panel icons to provide an interface for you to use when you configure settings for their products. An icon is displayed in Control Panel after the program's Setup tool places the .cpl file in the Windows\System32.

To create a shortcut to a Control Panel tool, either drag an icon from Control Panel to the desktop or another location or manually create a shortcut, and then specify the path to the .cpl file.

For additional information about Control Panel files, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: