Editing System Settings (section)

=== System Preferences (Mac OS X) ===
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When Mac OS X was released, preference panes replaced control panels. Preference panes are not applications but loadable [[bundle (OS X)|bundles]] for the System Preferences application, similar to the arrangement used under System 6. By default, System Preferences organizes preference panes into several categories. As of [[Mac OS X v10.7]], these categories are "Personal", "Hardware", "Internet & Wireless", and "System". A fifth category, "Other", appears when third-party preference panes are installed. Users can also choose to sort preference panes alphabetically. System Preferences originally included a customizable [[toolbar]] into which frequently used preference pane icons could be dragged, but this was removed in [[Mac OS X v10.4]] and replaced with a static toolbar that featured back and forward navigation buttons and a search field.

Apple has added new preference panes when major features are added to the operating system and occasionally merges multiple panes into one. When [[Exposé (macOS)|Exposé]] was introduced with [[Mac OS X v10.3]], a corresponding preference pane was added to System Preferences. This was replaced by a single "Dashboard & Exposé" pane in Mac OS X v10.4, which introduced [[Dashboard (Mac OS)|Dashboard]]. When the [[.Mac]] service was replaced by [[MobileMe]], the corresponding preference pane was also renamed.

In OS X Mountain Lion, the "Universal Access" pane is changed to "Accessibility" and "Speech" is changed to "Dictation & Speech".

In [[OS X Yosemite]], the user interface was redesigned to be in standard with other system applications,
being less detailed and more minimalist than in prior versions.