With Windows 10, Microsoft is slowly moving away from the Control Panel in favor of the new Settings app that brings a more unified and consistent place to configure classic and advanced settings. But how do you open a particular page easily from a shortcut?
Almost every Settings page has its own URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) which allows you to open any Settings page directly with a special command. While you can pin settings to the Start menu, you cannot have direct access to specific settings from the desktop. But, if you know the URI then you can easily create shortcuts on the desktop to access your favorite settings.
Open a Settings Page Directly
Press “Win key + R” to open the Run dialog. Type or copy-paste the appropriate command into the Run box. The list of commands is available from the winaero website. For example, use the command;
ms-settings:windowsupdate
to open the “Windows Update” settings page directly. Use the
ms-settings:notifications
command to open the “Notifications & actions” settings page directly.
Create a Desktop Shortcut
Choose what settings you want to access and copy one of the settings paths. For example — ms-settings:windowsupdate to access the Windows Update settings page directly. Right click on an empty space on the desktop, select “New,” and click on “Shortcut.” A new window will open. Now paste the URI for Windows Update and click “Next.”
Choose a name for the shortcut, in this case “Windows Update,” and click “Finish.”
Double-click the shortcut and the Settings should open to the page you specified. Right click and hold on the new Windows Update shortcut, and click on “Properties.” Click on the “Web Document” tab, then click on the “Change Icon” button.
Select your icon, and click “OK.” Now you can access Windows Update right from the desktop. If you like, you can pin to taskbar, pin to start, add to All apps, or move this shortcut to where you like for easy use.
