5.3 Class IDs of Interface Objects

Windows keeps track of its various components with Class IDs, 33-digit codes consisting of both letters and numbers , enclosed in { curly braces } . Class IDs are stored in the Registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID . Locate the key named for a Class ID under this branch to change any settings or behavior of the corresponding object. Use the Registry Editor's search feature to find the Class ID for an object not listed here by searching for the caption of the object.

The following is a list of the commonly used system objects and their corresponding Class IDs.

Object	Class ID
Administrative Tools	{D20EA4E1-3957-11D2-A40B-0C5020524153}
Briefcase	{85BBD920-42A0-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D}
Control Panel	{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Desktop	{00021400-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
Favorites	{1A9BA3A0-143A-11CF-8350-444553540000}
Fonts	{BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948F534}
Internet Explorer	{FBF23B42-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}
Internet Explorer ActiveX Cache	{88C6C381-2E85-11d0-94DE-444553540000}
Internet Explorer Cache	{7BD29E00-76C1-11CF-9DD0-00A0C9034933}
Internet Explorer History	{FF393560-C2A7-11CF-BFF4-444553540000}
My Computer	{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
My Documents	{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}
My Network Places	{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
Network Connections	{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}
Printers and Faxes	{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
Recycle Bin	{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
Scanners & Cameras	{3F953603-1008-4F6E-A73A-04AAC7A992F1}
Scheduled Tasks	{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}
Shared Documents	{59031A47-3F72-44A7-89C5-5595FE6B30EE}

TIP

A good way to avoid having to type these codes is to do a search in the Registry. For example, if you're looking for the Recycle Bin Class ID, do a search in the Registry Editor for Recycle Bin. When it's found, make sure the code matches the one listed above (as there may be more than one), and then right-click on the key named for the code and select Rename. Right-click the highlighted text in the rename field, select Copy, and then press Esc to cancel the rename operation. The Class ID will then be placed on the clipboard, waiting to be copied to the Registry Editor's Search field or anywhere else you please .