The Windows Control Panel joins the ranks of the undead

As users wail, Microsoft tweaks its text to drop the word 'deprecated'

Microsoft has updated its Windows system configuration tools document and excised all references to deprecating the venerable Control Panel in the wake of an outcry from Reg readers.

The support document originally included the text, "The Control Panel is in the process of being deprecated."

Yet just days later, the latest version has removed the text containing the dread word "deprecated" and replaced it with the far cheerier: "Many of the settings in Control Panel are in the process of being migrated to the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience."

Does this mean that the Control Panel has managed to claw its way out of the wooden box before a Microsoft engineer can hammer home the final nail? It's unclear.

What is clear is that Microsoft would much rather customers use its shiny new Settings app, which has become ever more useful as Windows has evolved. However, it is also clear that many users - Reg readers - were not ready to say goodbye to the Control Panel just yet. After all, it has been a stalwart of Windows since the days of version 1.0, and not all of its functionality is being migrated.

Microsoft has remained silent regarding the eventual fate of the Control Panel, although having two ways to adjust the settings of Windows is undoubtedly confusing. Being able to pop into the Control Panel before diving into the command line is enough to make any IT professional appear a wizard in the eyes of an average user.

We would not be surprised if Microsoft took another swing at the Control Panel before long. While Notepad and Paint have both managed to dodge the axe, there is an obvious successor to the Control Panel.

It could stay, perhaps, if some marketing whizz were to prefix its name with "Copilot" and add some generative AI to properly mess up your system settings.

We asked Microsoft to comment. ®