The Windows Master Control Panel shortcut, labeled All Tasks and also called Windows God Mode by bloggers and All Tasks folder by at least one Microsoft developer, is a short-cut to access various control settings in Windows Vista and later operating systems. By creating a folder with a certain name, users have access to all of the operating system's control panels from within a single folder. The hack was published outside of Microsoft documentation in 2007 and gained popularity when the name God Mode was used by bloggers. Variations of the same method can access different settings, and have also been called “God Mode” folders.
Contents
Implementation
The functionality that was discovered and named Master Control Panel or God Mode was designed as the base folder for searching control panel options using the new start menu's search function. This allows users to type what they want to do (e. g. “Change screen resolution”) and they will get the right control panel options as search result. The shortcut is implemented by creating a folder with the extension, “.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}” (without quotes). GodMode was the original folder name used when the feature was publicised, but any name can be used. The same functionality can be achieved by creating a standard Windows shortcut with the path “explorer.exe shell:::{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}” or by creating a Desktop.ini file in a folder that includes the extension's CLSID (Class ID).
Discovery
The general method of creating the shortcuts is documented by Microsoft, though Microsoft had not publicized the specific GUID ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C for the Master Control Panel. Third parties have published the method since at least 2007 under the more modest title “[Registry Hack] VISTA - All Control Panel & Setting tasks at one place”. Numerous blogs and tweets on the subject appeared in December 2009 and January 2010 as “Windows 7 Godmode”, with many sites repeating the same information available elsewhere.
Related shortcuts
The general folder shortcut format is <FolderDisplayName>.{<GUID>} where <GUID> is a valid Class ID (CLSID) with a System.ApplicationName entry in the Windows Registry. The technique is documented by Microsoft as “Using File System Folders as Junction Points”. The CLSID {ed7ba470-8e54-465e-825c-99712043e01c} is of particular interest because the associated widget allows access to many Windows settings. Microsoft documents the GUIDs for the regular Control Panel applets on MSDN. A CNET article attributed many of the GUID shortcuts to the head of Microsoft's Windows division, Steven Sinofsky.