Using the Control Panel and God Mode

  
Windows 7 is a very user friendly Operating System, especially when compared to previous versions of Windows. Windows 8 is great, but not everybody has a touch screen. Unless you have a brand new computer chances are you are going to be running Windows 7, and why not? Windows 7 is solid and if you know how to utilize the power under the hood you can get a lot out of your system.

Making changes and adjusting settings in any Windows OS all starts at the control p anel . When Microsoft made the leap to Windows 7 they adopted a more user friendly look and feel and everything seemed a little.. bigger. In truth, the perception of size in Windows 7 is the result of the icons being a bit larger, but the real trick here is what they do. Everything in Windows 7 follows a basic philosophy of Libraries. Not like the Libraries in Windows Explorer, but the concept that one icon can represent many. It comes down to much better organization.

Within the control panel the same philosophy exists. In previous versions of Windows the control panel was a window with a bunch of icons. Each icon represented a different tool or task. In the Windows 7 version of the control panel you are greeted with 8 categories each containing the various tasks and options that were previously available. Organization is the key here. Another aspect that makes the new control panel, and the rest of Windows 7 really, more user friendly is the fact that you have the power to change the way the control panel is presented to you by adjusting the icon size or even if you would like the “classic” view.

As I mentioned earlier, anything that a user does to their system will generally start at the control panel. Why not? The control panel gives the user all the options they need and if not directly than indirectly with a link or a path to the setting to be adjusted. The control panel gives the user full control over the aspects of their computer. Even though everything is neatly laid out and organized into categories the developers did design a little trick that helps to put the control panel tools in one nice list. It is called God Mode .

Similar to the God Mode that would make a player in a video game invincible, this listing of commands and tools can make you invincible giving you all the power you need over your computer in one place. Here is how you do it, and it is pretty simple. All you have to do is right-click on your desktop and make a new folder. Once done, rename your new folder with the following text. All of it.

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Once complete your folder will now have an icon that resembles the control panel and you are off and running, all the commands available to you in the control panel are now available to you by clicking on your new icon. The control panel has always been an important part of adjusting your computer’s settings, fixing problems, or just changing the way your OS functions. Using the God Mode trick puts everything at your fingertips. Although the categories are nice and the Windows 7 control panel is organized and neat, having every command listed in front of me without having to go through the category headings to find things does appeal to me. Maybe it’s not for you, maybe you prefer the standard control panel. Either way you have options and isn’t that what Windows is about, options?