Control Panels
Using Control Panel, users can configure operating system features and perform related tasks. Examples of system-level feature configuration include hardware and software setup and configuration, security, system maintenance, and user account management.
Items in Control Panel provide an easy, centrally located way for users to access system-level configuration features that don't have any other obvious or direct entry point. Applications should be configured directly from their user interfaces (UIs) instead of using Control Panel.
Control panel items are implemented using task flows or property sheets. Windows Vista® introduces task flow-based control panel items, which are fully integrated in Windows Explorer and provide task-based pages with an inductive navigation. For Windows Vista, task flows are the preferred UI. Only task flows are documented in this article.
New in Windows Vista
Organizing control panel items by task flow improves the user experience over using property sheets by:
- Balancing the helpfulness of wizards with the directness of property sheets, by using main instructions, descriptive labels, and concise explanatory text.
- Creating seamless navigation between the Control Panel home page and the control panel task pages, as well as between different control panel items. This eliminates having to open multiple dialogs or windows.
- Making browsing easier with Web-like navigation in Windows Explorer, helping users find and discover features.
- Providing a more scalable interface that can better handle large sets of settings. Tabbed dialog boxes don't scale well.
Look and feel
Task flow control panel items use a hub page to present the high-level choices, and spoke pages to perform the actual configuration.
Hub pages
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Task-based hub pages Task-based hub pages present the most commonly used tasks. They are best used for a few commonly used or important tasks where users need more guidance and explanation. Hub pages don't have commit buttons. Hybrid task-based hub pages also have some properties or commands directly on them. Hybrid hub pages are strongly recommended when users are most likely to use Control Panel to access those properties and commands. |
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Object-based hub pages Object-based hub pages present the available objects. They are best used when there could be several objects. Hub pages don't have commit buttons. There are three variations of this pattern. The standard version is implemented using a standard list view control. |  |
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The hybrid version is a standard object-based hub page that also has some properties or commands directly on it. Hybrid hub pages are strongly recommended when users are most likely to use Control Panel to access those properties and commands. |  |
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The shell view hub page is implemented using a list view along with page space control: |  |
Spoke pages
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Task pages Task pages present a task or a step in a task with a specific, task-based main instruction. They are best used for tasks that benefit from additional guidance and explanation. |  |
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Form pages Form pages present a collection of related properties and tasks based on a general main instruction. They are best used for features that have many properties and benefit from a direct, single-page presentation, such as advanced properties. |  |