Create Shortcuts to Themes, Desktop Background, Screen Saver, Display Settings and More

In our daily computer tasks, we use Desktop Properties quite often. Sometimes to change Desktop wallpaper, sometimes to change Windows theme and sometimes to change Display settings like screen resolution, monitor settings, etc.

For each change, we need to go through various steps: right-click on Desktop and select "Properties / Personalize" and then go to the desired tab and make required changes. Will not it be easier if we could create direct shortcuts to these tabs so that we can launch the desired tab just by double-clicking on the shortcut?

So in this tutorial, I'm going to tell some useful commands to open various Desktop Properties tabs. You can use them to create shortcuts, to create programs or you can directly run them from RUN dialog box or Windows Explorer.

So here are the various commands to launch Desktop Properties tabs directly:

Command to open "Themes" page:

control desk.cpl,,@themes

Command to open "Desktop Background" page:

control desk.cpl,,@desktop

control desk.cpl,,@background

Command to open "Screen Saver" page:

control desk.cpl,,1

control desk.cpl,,@screensaver

Command to open "Appearance" page:

control desk.cpl,,2

control desk.cpl,,@appearance

Command to open "Display Settings" page:

control desk.cpl,,3

control desk.cpl,,@display

NOTE: You can use any integer from 3-9 in the first shortcut command for creating shortcut for Display Properties.

Command to open "Desktop Icon Settings" page:

control desk.cpl,,0

control desk.cpl,,@web

Command to open "DPI Scaling" page:

dpiscaling

Command to open "Window Colorization" page:

explorer shell:::{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}\1\::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921}\pageColorization

PS: The command for "DPI Scaling" and "Window Colorization" will only work in Windows Vista. Rest commands will work in other Windows versions as well.

You can run these command directly from RUN dialog box or if you want to create shortcuts, then right-click on desktop and select "New -> Shortcut", it'll open a wizard:

Enter the desired shortcut command and click on "Next" button. It'll ask for name of shortcut, provide a meaningful name:

And click on "Finish" button. That's it. It'll create the shortcut.

I'm also attaching a ZIP file containing all the above mentioned shortcuts, just download it, extract it and you'll get the ready-made shortcuts:

Download Ready-Made Desktop Properties Tabs Shortcuts

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This article was posted in Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP.

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27 Comments

VG

^^ Please check the last part of the above tutorial.
Houston

This was very helpful and perfectly explained. Thanks a lot!
Els

Thank you so much, have been wanting something like this for ages. Its so annoying whenever I plug in a secondary monitor to my laptop to have have to navigate to the display settings in order to configure the displays to be the correct way round! This shortcut will accumulatively save hours of frustration.
archijs

hello how with this can manual make web page on desktop using control desk.cpl,,@web?
SandiaNerd

Great shortcuts - especially screensaver - Netflix Silverlight doesn't override the screensaver.
Can disable it quickly this way.
MAGNUMHEART

hi vg. howdy. can u give me a tutorial on how to create a shortcut

for removing a certain removable drive (on USB) in xp.

thx ^^ and also do u have a shortcut for making removable drive read-only.
VG

^^ Use following command:

RunDll32.exe shell32.dll, Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll
MAGNUMHEART

will i run it as a single command. in the run dialog? thx ^^
MAGNUMHEART

ive done all possible command using u gave.

but doesnt work

it doesnt show thumbnail previews.

what service does handles this case (in services.msc)

and does this something to do

if i hack (change the icon) in "shimgvw.dll"

ive reverted back to the default but doesnt works

and the windows fax and pic viewer doesnt work also.

if i "preview" on the image nothing happens.

thx for the help. ^^
MAGNUMHEART

oh well. thanks to google.

i have found the solution mr. vishal

thx anyways. more power.

love the way u help people out. ^^

from what country u represent for.

hope we meet sumday. ^^