How to elevate a standard user account to administrator privileges to run programs in Windows 11 or 10

Some programs require administrator privileges to run; however, default settings in Windows may prevent users from running these programs. This is because standard users cannot run certain commands, such as "Run as administrator". When you try to run the program with administrator rights, it fails.

For example, you may need to allow other users to use your system for some reason or for official purposes, in which case you will need to assign standard user accounts to them. This helps you control their online activities, any program installations, or any changes made to system or application settings.

However, you may need to allow standard users administrator rights to run programs, though. While you can use free 3rd party tools such as RunAs Tool, you can also create shortcuts for desired programs that users will need administrator rights for. Once created, you don't need any username or password to run this shortcut.

Luckily, there is an easy way to enable this feature. Let’s see how:

How to allow standard users to run programs with administrator rights by creating a shortcut

This method will help you create a shortcut that allows standard users to run programs with just a click Can run programs with administrator rights but does not require access to administrator user details or password. Let’s see how to create this shortcut, let’s first extract some details such as the system name and the username of the administrator account:

Step 1: To know your system name, press ## simultaneously #Win I key to launch the Settings window.

Step 2: In the

Settings app, click the System option on the left side of the pane.

Step 3: Next, go to the right side of the window, scroll down and click

About.

Step 4: Now, go to the right side of the window and under the "Device Specifications" section, write down "

Device Name".

Step 5: Once you have done this and got the system name and device details, go to the desktop,

right click on the empty space and select New.

Then select

Shortcut.

Step 6: In the "Create Shortcut" window that opens, click the "

Browse" button.

Step 7: It will open the Browse for Files and Folders dialog box.

Here,

Select the program you want to run with administrator privileges and press OK.

Please note that typically installed programs will be located in

C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86)

For example, I Selected the Paint.Net application that I want standard users to run with administrator privileges.

Step 8: Next, go back to the Create Shortcut window, copy and paste the following command before the selected path:

runas /用户：计算机名\用户名/保存

Please Replace ComputerName with the computer username you noted in step 4.

Also, to know your computer username, just open command prompt and run the following command: -

回显%用户名%

Step 9: For example in In my case, the complete command looks like this:

runas /user:TGP /savecred "C:\Program Files\paint.net\paintdotnet.exe"

Step 10: Return to the Create Shortcut window and press

Next.

Step 11: In the next screen, name the shortcut of your choice under the “Type a name for this shortcut” field.

Press

to complete .

Step 12: Your custom shortcut is now successfully created.

Now, go to the desktop and when you double click on it, it will ask you once for your administrator credentials. Afterwards it will be stored in the credential manager and the administrator password will not be asked.

How to change shortcut icon

The created icon will automatically appear in normal mode without icon. So, if you want to change the icon, you can follow the following process:

Step 1: Go to the shortcut icon on your desktop and right click on it.

Step 2: Next, select Properties from the submenu.

Step 3: In the Properties window, under the Shortcuts tab, click Change Icon.

Step 4: You will now see a confirmation prompt - Change Icon.

Press to confirm.

Step 5: In the Change Icon dialog box, select an icon from the Choose an icon from the list below field or click Browse to browse to download from your system icon file.

After selecting, press OK to save changes.

Step 6: Return to the Properties window, press Apply and then press OK to apply the changes and exit.

Step 7: Now, go to the desktop and you should see the new icon applied to the shortcut file.

Double-click the run shortcut to run the program with administrator privileges, you only need to enter the administrator password.

Press Enter to continue.

Now, starting from next time, standard users can run with administrator privileges by simply double-clicking the program shortcut without entering an administrator password.

This is because the savecred syntax in the command saves the administrator password to allow standard users to run the program with administrator privileges without entering the administrator password.

How to check your Windows credentials

You can also check your saved passwords in Windows Credential Manager. To do this, follow this process:

Step 1: Press the Win R keys simultaneously on your keyboard to launch the Rn command window.

Step 2: In the Run command search box, type control.exe and press Enter.

Step 3: This will open the Control Panel window.

Here, navigate to the View by field and select Category from the drop-down list next to it.

#In the list, click User Account.

Step 4: In the next window, go to the right and click on Credential Manager.

Step 5: Now, navigate to the right side of the window.

Under the Manage your credentials section, click Windows Credentials, where you will find your saved passwords.

*Note- If at any time in the future, you want to revoke administrator access from a standard user to an application or program, you can simply delete the shortcut or simply remove the Remove saved passwords in Windows Credential Manager.

How to enable standard users to run programs with administrator rights by changing permissions

Although creating shortcuts is easier for administrators to allow standard users Run the program with administrator privileges, but change the permissions on the target program or file to also allow standard users to have administrator access. However, by changing the permissions, standard users do not have permission to edit any other system settings that a program may require, such as the Registry Editor.

However, this approach is supported by the fact that it allows standard users to run programs with administrator privileges only. Let's see how to change the permissions of the program folder:

*Note -Be sure you are logged in as an administrator before proceeding with the changes.

Step 1: Right-click the program folder and select Show more options.

Step 2: Next, select Properties from the submenu.

*Note -For some programs, changing the security permissions of the exe file is possible, but for ceriaon porgrams, changing the security permissions of the entire folder is required.

Step 3: In the Properties window, select the Security tab.

Click Edit.

Step 4: In the "Permissions" dialog box, click "Add".

Step 5: Add users and click OK.

Step 6: Grant the user Full Control and click Apply and OK.

*NOTE –You can also click the Add button if you want to add a new user and then click Full Control access.

Press Apply, then OK to save changes and exit.

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