Running an app or a program enables you to perform tasks and functions that were previously inaccessible due to privilege restrictions. In this article, we discuss a few ways to run programs in the administrative mode in Windows. You may use the method which is convenient for you. Each method mentioned below will have its own advantages and disadvantages depending upon the situation you are in. For example, for a quick workaround, you may want to use a keyboard shortcut while at other times you may need a more permanent method of opening an app in admin mode. We will also discuss a method especially useful for power users and system administrators in which we can specify admin credentials one time and use applications without asking for passwords again and again.
Benefits of Running App/Program as Administrator
The Windows operating system keeps certains files and actions restricted which are only granted access to a certain group, i.e. the administrators. This is so that not everyone has access to critical system files, thus they cannot be maipulated. Moreover, iv any viruses or trojan horses were given administrator control, they could access directories and perform actions beyond your imagination. Running an application or a program with elevated privileges allows you to perform all actions and (almost) nothing is locked anymore. This gives you full control of the program, and then you may configure or use it as you please.
How to Run Programs in Administrative Mode in Windows
The simplest way to run a program in administrative mode is to right-click the program and select “Run as administrator” from the context menu. If the current user is not an administrator, Windows will ask for the administrator username and password. You can go abut it in two ways: You can set an app to always run in administrative mode, or you can run an app in administrator mode temporarily, which means that it will only have elevated privileges for the current session. Let’s check out what other options do we have to run programs in administrative mode.
Always Run Program As Administrator
Always Run a Specific Program as Administrator
To always run a specific program as administrator, we will create its shortcut on the desktop and make changes to the shortcut. Please follow the instructions below: Now when you run the program from Start Menu, it will run in administrative mode. The file will now open in File Explorer.
Always Run All Programs as Administrator
By not running programs as an administrator, Windows keeps the system secure by not allowing viruses and malware take admin access without user acknowledgement. But if you want to turn off this feature and always run all programs as administrator, please follow the steps below. This security feature is called “User Access Control (UAC).” Disabling UAC will also disable asking for administrative privileges. After applying this, you will not be asked anything and all programs will run in administrative mode.
Run Programs as Administrator using RunAs Tool
Windows built-in “RunAs” command allows a user to launch programs with different user credentials than the user you are logged in as now. To use the “RunAs” command, press Shift key and right-click on the program shortcut to show the “Run As Different User” option in the context menu.Run as different user option in context menu But you have to repeat this step every time you launch that specific program. If you want to always run a program as a specific user then the RunAsTool is for you. RunAsTool is a portable app in which you can save admin user credentials and then app can automatically run programs listed in the app as the specific user all the time. This is especially useful for system administrators who want to give administrative rights to standard users only for specific programs and applications. RunAsTool is a portable app so you can easily keep it in a pen drive and run it on any computer within a Windows Active Directory Domain. It’s a life saver if you want to give network users administrator access to specific programs instead of giving them local admin privileges.
Temporarily Run Program As Administrator
Keyboard Shortcut to Run a Program in Administrative Mode
You can also run a program in administrator mode directly from Start menu. Just find the program in Start Menu and press Ctrl + Shift keyboard keys and double-click on the program. This will open the program as an administrator. But you will always need to press Ctrl + Shift keys while opening the programs in admin mode. You can also use the CTRL + Shift + Enter keys to run a program in administrative mode.
Use the Run Dialog Box to Run Applications with Administrative Privileges
There are some system programs which we start directly from Run dialog. For example, I always open Command Prompt or PowerShell using Run –> cmd. If you are using Windows 10 Version 1803 or above, the good news is that you will be able to open the programs in administrative mode directly from the Run dialog. Just enter the command and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter. This will trigger Run dialog box to run applications with admin privileges.
Run Program in Administrative Mode using Task Manager
The Task Manager is used to manage system processes, amongst many other functionalities. You can run a process, which in this case, will be an app executable file, using the Task Manager. Here is how:
Conclusion
All the methods given above can be used for different purposes. As a power user or a system administrator, you must be aware of all these methods and can use them according to your situation. For a quick application, I use the keyboard shortcut + mouse click method. For domain users, I keep a copy of RunAsTool on a network drive and distribute it to users who want administrative access to specific programs. Also see:
How To Login As Administrator In Windows 104 Ways to Run Task Manager as Administrator in Windows 11/103 Ways To Run MSC Files As Administrator2 Ways To Open Control Panel as Administrator in Windows 10How to Always Run Command Prompt and PowerShell As Administrator
