Windows and “GodMode” (GUID and Canonical Names)

Recently there has been a spate of articles about how to access the so-called “GodMode” in Windows using a special shortcut code. Truth be told, this isn’t really new and there’s a bit more to these codes than these articles suggest. First of all, this shortcut is actually using something called a Globally Unique Identifier Number (GUID). To make a long story short, they are a sort of a reference system for accessing a particular part of a larger application; like large, old reference books have those scalloped cut outs along the edge so you can flip quickly to a section.

“GodMode” as many people are calling it, is handy to folks because many of the controls changed significantly from Windows XP to Windows Vista & 7 (where these GUID and their Canonical Names come into widespread use). It basically pulls up a highly detailed list of settings and controls; much more extensive than the default “Control Panel” shortcut found in the Windows Start Menu.

To use any GUID:

• Right click on your Windows 7 or Windows Vista desktop and select New | Folder to create a GUIDE shortcut.
• Name the new folder using the following convention (replacing GUID with the actual GUID number you want to access):
• WhateverYouWantToCallThisShortcut.GUID

Example:

• The GodMoe GUID is {ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} so you could use the following:
• GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

[flv:http://www.arcane.org/media/GUID_GodMode.flv 730 594]

Here is the exhaustive list of documented GUID for Windows Vista and Windows 7:

Control Panel Item	Canonical name	GUID
Add Hardware	Microsoft.AddHardware	{7A979262-40CE-46ff-AEEE-7884AC3B6136}
Sound	Microsoft.AudioDevicesAndSoundThemes	{F2DDFC82-8F12-4CDD-B7DC-D4FE1425AA4D}
Backup and Restore Center	Microsoft.BackupAndRestoreCenter	{B98A2BEA-7D42-4558-8BD1-832F41BAC6FD}
Windows Marketplace	Microsoft.GetProgramsOnline	{3e7efb4c-faf1-453d-89eb-56026875ef90}
Infrared	Microsoft.InfraredOptions	{A0275511-0E86-4ECA-97C2-ECD8F1221D08}
Pen and Input Devices	Microsoft.PenAndInputDevices	{F82DF8F7-8B9F-442E-A48C-818EA735FF9B}
Phone and Modem	Microsoft.PhoneAndModemOptions	{40419485-C444-4567-851A-2DD7BFA1684D}
Printers	Microsoft.Printers	{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
Problem Reports and Solutions	Microsoft.ProblemReportsAndSolutions	{FCFEECAE-EE1B-4849-AE50-685DCF7717EC}
Regional and Language Options	Microsoft.RegionalAndLanguageOptions	{62D8ED13-C9D0-4CE8-A914-47DD628FB1B0}
Windows Security Center	Microsoft.SecurityCenter	{087DA31B-0DD3-4537-8E23-64A18591F88B}
Speech Recognition Options	Microsoft.SpeechRecognitionOptions	{58E3C745-D971-4081-9034-86E34B30836A}
Welcome Center	Microsoft.WelcomeCenter	{CB1B7F8C-C50A-4176-B604-9E24DEE8D4D1}
Windows Sidebar Properties	Microsoft.WindowsSidebarProperties	{37efd44d-ef8d-41b1-940d-96973a50e9e0}