6 Ways To Run Programs As Administrator In Windows 11/10

Windows runs programs in user mode by default. If you want to run programs in administrative mode, you will need to specify that explicitly in a Windows OS. Running programs in Windows 11 and Windows 10 as an administrator is easy.

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 certain 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 manipulated.

Moreover, if 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 about 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 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:

1. Search for the desired program using the Start menu, right-click it, and click “Open file location.”

   

   The file will now open in File Explorer.

2. Right-click the program and click Properties.

   

3. In the Shortcut tab, click Advanced.

   

4. Check the box next to “Run as administrator” and click Ok.

   

Now when you run the program from the Start Menu, it will run in administrative mode.

Always Run All Programs as Administrator

By not running programs as an administrator, Windows keeps the system secure by not allowing viruses and malware to take admin access without user acknowledgment. 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.

1. Type in “msconfig” in the Run Command box to open the System Configuration window.

   

2. Switch to the Tools tab.

   

3. Select “Change UAC settings” and click Launch.

   

4. Move the slider to the bottom to turn off User Account Control and click Ok.

   

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 the Shift key and right-click on the program shortcut to show the “Run As Different User” option in the 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 the 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.

1. Download RunAsTool.

2. Extract its contents.

   

3. Run “RunAsTool.exe” or “RunAsToolx64.exe” (depending on your system architecture).

4. Enter the administrator account’s credentials and click Apply.

   

5. Now drag and drop the applications you want to run as administrator into the tool.

   

6. Now you can double-click any application from within RunAsTool to run directly in administrative mode without asking for administrator password.

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 lifesaver 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 the Start menu. Just find the program in the 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 that we start directly from the 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 the 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:

1. Open the Task Manager by pressing the CTRL + Shift Esc shortcut keys.

2. Click “Run new task.”

   

3. Enter the file name or the complete path to the program, check the box next to “Create this task with administrative privileges” and then click Ok.

   

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.