Windows God Mode: access 720 Windows settings with one click

Windows 7 has been designed to be more user-friendly than other Windows versions but, when you need to customize system settings, you still have to go through a series of stages, which can be time-consuming and frustrating. What if could we have all the functionalities we need listed in a single place and do it with one only click? This can be done by enabling a hidden Windows feature, called God Mode.

How to enable God Mode 

To activate God Mode you have to create a new folder wherever you like (I selected the desktop to have anything at hand with one click, Fig. 1, Fig. 2) and name it according to this rule: an arbitrary name string (I called it ALLSETTINGS in the video but you can name it whatever you like) followed by a dot (.) and by this hexadecimal string: {ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}  

In my case the folder was named ALLSETTINGS.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
After doing this, the folder icon turns into the Control Panel icon (Fig. 3).

God Mode folder will list all Control Panel functionalities  in one single place in a way that makes more sense to users, who can find what they need with a click. For example, if you want to change User Account Control (UAC) settings, you only need to click Change User Account Control Settings to open the configuration window, without having to go through a series of steps to get the same result (Start/Control Panel/ System & Security: see Fig. 4, Fig. 5)

What it is and how it works

God Mode is a special folder created by using a particular GUID (Global Unique Identifier).
GUID is a unique reference number used as an identifier by computer software in general and by Windows; it's usually written as a sequence of hexadecimal digits, separated by hyphens into five groups and enclosed into braces. Windows Registry uses two kinds of GUID's: IID (Interface Identifier), stored in the registry key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface and CLSID (Class Identifiers), stored in the registry at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID.

The hack described here uses a CLSID identifier. It's also called Windows Master Control Panel Shortcut. It's been officially documented by Microsoft since 2007 for Windows Vista but it works well with Windows 7 and 8, too.

 

Disclaimer: God Mode should be activated by experienced users only. Some unexpected behaviors and crashes have been reported and it isn't recommended for 64-bit Vista versions (it causes Windows Explorer to crash and restart until the user deletes the folder in Safe Mode).

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Fig. 1

Fig. 2

                                                            
                                                                                 
  

Fig. 4 (Click to enlarge)

Fig. 5 (Click to enlarge)