Get-ControlPanelItem
Gets control panel items.
Syntax
RegularName (Default)
Get-ControlPanelItem
[[-Name] <String[]>]
[-Category <String[]>]
[<CommonParameters>]
CanonicalName
Get-ControlPanelItem
-CanonicalName <String[]>
[-Category <String[]>]
[<CommonParameters>]
Description
The Get-ControlPanelItem cmdlet gets control panel items on the local computer. You can use it
to find control panel items by name, category, or description, even on systems that do not have a
user interface.
This cmdlet gets only the control panel items that can be opened on the system. On computers that do not have Control Panel or File Explorer, this cmdlet gets only control panel items that can open without these components.
This cmdlet was introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0. It works only on Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 and newer.
Examples
Example 1: Get all control panel items
This command gets all control panel items on the local computer.
Get-ControlPanelItem
Name CanonicalName Category Description
---- ------------- -------- -----------
Action Center Microsoft.ActionCenter {System and Security} Review recent messages and...
Administrative Tools Microsoft.AdministrativeTools {System and Security} Configure administrative s...
AutoPlay Microsoft.AutoPlay {Hardware} Change default settings fo...
BitLocker Drive Encryption Microsoft.BitLockerDriveEn... {System and Security} Protect your computer usin...
Color Management Microsoft.ColorManagement {All Control Panel Items} Change advanced color mana...
Credential Manager Microsoft.CredentialManager {User Accounts} Manage your Windows Creden...
Date and Time Microsoft.DateAndTime {Clock, Language, and Region} Set the date, time, and ti...
...
Example 2: Get control panel items by name
This example gets control panel items that have Program or App in their names.
Get-ControlPanelItem -Name "*Program*", "*App*"
Example 3: Get control panel items by category
This command gets all control panel items in categories that have Security in their names.
Get-ControlPanelItem -Category "*Security*"
Example 4: Open a control panel item
This example opens the Windows Firewall control panel item on the local computer.
Get-ControlPanelItem -Name "Windows Firewall" | Show-ControlPanelItem
The Get-ControlPanelItem cmdlet gets the control panel item. The Show-ControlPanelItem cmdlet
opens it.
Example 5: Get control panel items on a remote computer
This example gets the BitLocker Drive Encryption control panel item on the Server01 remote computer.
The Invoke-Command cmdlet runs the Get-ControlPanelItem cmdlet remotely.
Invoke-Command -ComputerName "Server01" {Get-ControlPanelItem -Name "BitLocker*" }
Example 6: Search the descriptions of control panel items
This example searches the Description property of the control panel items to get only those that contain the name Device.
Get-ControlPanelItem | Where-Object {$_.Description -like "*Device*"}
Name CanonicalName Category Description
---- ------------- -------- -----------
AutoPlay Microsoft.AutoPlay {Hardware} Change default settings fo...
Devices and Printers Microsoft.DevicesAndPrinters {Hardware} View and manage devices, p...
Sound Microsoft.Sound {Hardware} Configure your audio devic...
The Get-ControlPanelItem cmdlet gets all control panel items. The Where-Object cmdlet filters
the items by the value of the Description property.
Parameters
-CanonicalName
Specifies, as a string array, the control panel items by their canonical names or name patterns that this cmdlet gets. Wildcards are permitted. If you enter multiple names, this cmdlet gets control panel items that match any of the names, as though the items in the name list were separated by an "or" operator.
By default, this cmdlet gets all control panel items in the system.
Parameter properties
| Type: | String[] |
| Default value: | None |
| Supports wildcards: | True |
| DontShow: | False |
Parameter sets
CanonicalName
| Position: | Named |
| Mandatory: | True |
| Value from pipeline: | False |
| Value from pipeline by property name: | False |
| Value from remaining arguments: | False |
-Category
Specifies, as a string array, the categories of the control panel items in the specified categories that this cmdlet gets. Enter a category name or name pattern. Wildcards are permitted. If you enter multiple names, this cmdlet gets control panel items that match any of the names, as though the items in the name list were separated by an "or" operator. By default, this cmdlet gets all control panel items in the system.
Parameter properties
| Type: | String[] |
| Default value: | None |
| Supports wildcards: | True |
| DontShow: | False |
Parameter sets
(All)
| Position: | Named |
| Mandatory: | False |
| Value from pipeline: | False |
| Value from pipeline by property name: | False |
| Value from remaining arguments: | False |
-Name
Specifies, as a string array, the names or name patterns of the control panel that this cmdlet gets. Wildcards are permitted. You can also pipe a name or name pattern to this cmdlet.
Parameter properties
| Type: | String[] |
| Default value: | None |
| Supports wildcards: | True |
| DontShow: | False |
Parameter sets
RegularName
| Position: | 0 |
| Mandatory: | False |
| Value from pipeline: | True |
| Value from pipeline by property name: | True |
| Value from remaining arguments: | False |
CommonParameters
This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutBuffer, -OutVariable, -PipelineVariable, -ProgressAction, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.
Inputs
String
You can pipe a name or name pattern to this cmdlet.
Outputs
ControlPanelItem
This cmdlet gets control panel items on the local computer.
