How to Open Configuration Manager Control Panel on Windows

In this guide, I will show you how to open the Configuration Manager control panel on Windows devices. From the Configuration Manager Properties dialog box, you can view and configure the SCCM components installed on your Windows computer.

When you install the Configuration Manager client on a Windows computer, there are two important components that are installed: the Software Center and the Configuration Manager control panel applet. Both of these components offer distinctive features and are directly under SCCM’s control.

The SCCM control panel is like a Windows control panel that contains all the settings, configurations that can be viewed in one place. For example, you can initiate client actions from the control panel to force the client to synchronize the policies from the management point.

Configuration Manager Properties Dialog box

You can view and configure the following several client properties for Microsoft Configuration Manager using the Properties dialog box. The table below lists all the tabs available in the SCCM Control Panel Properties dialog box.

Property Name	Description
General	Displays client properties such as assigned management point, client certificate, co-management capabilities, site code and client version
Components	Displays a list of all components installed with the SCCM client, along with their status and version.
Actions	A set of Configuration Manager client actions
Site	Options for configuring SCCM service location, site code, and DNS suffix.
Cache	Configure cache settings for the client, change the location of CCMCache, and delete cache files.
Configurations	Displays the assigned configuration baselines, offers the options to evaluate, view and refresh the baselines.
Network	Configure settings for Internet-based management points.

Open Configuration Manager Control Panel

There are two ways to launch the SCCM control panel on a Windows computer: Control Panel and SMSCFGRC command. I will demonstrate both methods, and you can choose the one that is easiest for you.

Windows Control Panel

In the search box next to start on the taskbar, type control panel. Select the Control Panel from the list of results to launch. Switch to Small icons to view all the control panel items. From the list of items, select Configuration Manager applet. This opens the control panel window of the SCCM client.

Control SMSCFGRC Shortcut command

Among the list of SCCM shortcut commands, control smscfgrc is the most useful command to directly launch the SCCM client control panel applet.

On the Windows PC, right-click on the Start button and select Run. In the Run box, type “control smscfgrc” and click OK.

The smscfgrc command-line shortcut launches the ConfigMgr Control Panel applet.

Note: If you are unable to open the Configuration Manager properties box on your Windows computer using any of the methods discussed above, it means either the SCCM client is not installed or the agent is malfunctioning. You can choose to repair the SCCM client to resolve such issues.