Theme options now moved to the Settings app

Jan 10, 2017 13:10 GMT  ·  By

In addition to many new features and improvements, Windows 10 build 15002 also comes with a substantial change that concerns the transition of OS configuration options from the classic Control Panel to the modern-looking Settings app.

The theme configuration screen has been moved to Settings and users can now work with themes from the very same Personalization screen without having to open the Control Panel.

The new themes menu is available in Settings app > Personalization > Themes and includes information about the background, colors, sounds, and mouse cursor that you are using at a given moment. You are allowed to apply new themes or save the existing one, just like it was the case with the classic menu in Control Panel.

Additionally, you can also replace the background, change the color, the sounds, or the mouse cursor and virtually create your own theme from the very same Settings app.

“As we’ve mentioned in the past, one of our ongoing efforts is to consolidate Settings and Control panel, and we use your feedback to prioritize the convergence into Settings. We’re happy to unveil the next piece of this project: Management of themes has now moved out of Control panel and in to the Settings app,” Dona Sarkar, head of the Windows Insider program, said today.

The demise of Control Panel

Killing off the Control Panel is part of Microsoft’s plans to create a little bit more consistency in the operating system, and the whole process started when the company introduced Windows 10 in July 2015.

At that point, however, the Settings app was still in its early days and came with only a few configuration options, but as Windows 10 itself evolves, more items originally included in Control Panel are transferred to Settings.

Removing the Control Panel is just a matter of time, as having it alongside the Settings app is clearly redundant. It could take a little bit longer until all options are transitioned to Settings, so there’s no deadline when the Control Panel should go dark, but it goes without saying that this is projected to happen at some point in the future.

In the meantime, Control Panel continues to be available in Windows 10 build 15002, and you can access it from File Explorer by typing “Control Panel” in the address bar. The Control Panel shortcut in the Win+X menu is no longer available.

Control Panel in Windows 10 build 15002
Control Panel in Windows 10 build 15002

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Themes in the new Windows 10 Settings app
Control Panel in Windows 10 build 15002
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