What is a control panel?

A control panel is a small piece of software that allows you to change your computer's settings to meet your needs. For example, you can change the pattern or color of your computer's desktop using the Desktop Patterns control panel.

You can use the Extensions Manager control panel to turn off any control panel you don't need on your computer.

Depending on the type of computer you have, the contents of your Control Panels folder may vary. You might have control panels that were added by third-party applications, and you don't need all the control panels described below. For complete instructions on using control panels, see Macintosh Guide, available in the Guide (question mark) menu when the Finder is the active program.