Do you have a program that requires administrative privileges but can’t make it work as a Standard user? You might be daunted by granting administrator access on one level or across various organizations; however, there is an easy way. This article will discuss ways to run a program as Administrator for all users on Windows.
Why Run A Program As an Administrator For All Users?
Running a program as an administrator for all users has several advantages, ensuring seamless functionality and enhanced security. Firstly, it allows the software to access system resources without restrictions, enabling smooth performance across various user accounts. This is particularly beneficial for applications that require elevated privileges to function correctly or perform specific tasks.
Secondly, running programs as an administrator prevents unauthorized changes by standard users who may inadvertently modify crucial settings or introduce vulnerabilities. Consequently, this approach safeguards your system against potential threats while maintaining optimal performance.
Run a Program as Administrator for All Users
This section discusses methods you can use to run a program as an administrator for all users. We will discuss native as well as third-party software methods. So make sure that you check all of them out. Here’s all that’s covered:
- Using Compatibility Options
- Using RunAs Software
- Run Tasks using Scheduler
Let’s now have a detailed look at each of these methods.
1] Using Compatibility Options
Using compatibility options for a program will allow you to run it as an administrator by default. As the users will open the application, it will ask for the admin credentials to run finally. Here’s how to use compatibility options to run a program as an administrator for all users:
- Right-click the program shortcut on your desktop and open properties from the context menu.
- If you don’t have the shortcut for the respective program on your desktop, search for it in the Start menu, right-click it, and click on Open file location. Now, you can right-click the program and open properties.
- In the properties window, open the Compatibility tab and click on the Change settings for all users button.
- A new window will open. Enable the Run this program as an administrator option in the new window.
Now, the program will run as an administrator by default for all users. To run the program as an administrator, the users must provide the administrator account password.
2] Use RunAs Software
RunAs software is a freemium utility that allows Administrators to pre-allow certain apps to be run as administrators for general users. This forbids the need to enter the password for those applications to run as an administrator. Here’s how to use the software:
- Firstly, download and extract the software file.
- Now, from the extracted folder, run the software.
- You will now be asked to select the admin account and enter the password for the respective admin account.
- Once done, You can add the programs you wish to be run as administrator for general users.
- Configure various options regarding the software from the right pane.
- Now, on the general user account, repeat steps 1 and 2.
- Once the software is run on the general user account, they will see the apps added by the administrator to be run as administrator. They can access the apps by double-clicking them.
3] Run Tasks using Scheduler
Windows Scheduler allows one to set up a task and trigger it manually or automatically based on situations. One of the most significant advantages of using Scheduler is that you don’t need to share or enter the admin password.
Here are the steps to set up a scheduled task:
- Open Run prompt using Win + R
- Type taskschd.msc, and press the Enter key
- In the Task scheduler, click the Create Basic Task option and follow the prompts to set up the task. You must point to the program, script, or bat file, depending on your need.
- The task scheduler allows setting specific command lines and assigning security rights.
- Done this, save the task, and then we must set up a BAT file or Shortcut to call the task when required.
Here’s an example of how to run a task called “OpenAdminProgram”:
- Create a batch file or shortcut to run the command “schtasks /run /tn OpenAdminProgram”
- Save the batch file or shortcut and use it whenever you need to run the specific command.
Make sure to do copy the BAT file and save it on the user’s desktop. Next time they want to run the task, they need to run the BAT file, which will open without any password prompt.
One of the advantages of this method is that it only requires admin rights or a password when setting up the scheduled task. Running the task once set up does not require a password or elevated permissions. Additionally, the admin password is saved as part of the scheduled task and is not globally and blindly saved to the user’s profile. This means it only affects that specific task and won’t allow the user to modify or change it or start a new elevated console prompt.
Conclusion:
In this article, we went through various ways you can run a program as an administrator for all users. Running a program as an administrator for general users will allow them to gain temporary access to the elevated functionality of specific programs on the system. We hope you found the article to be insightful. Please make sure that you share it with everyone.
