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How to Create Elevated Command Prompt Shortcut in Windows 10

Rather than constantly right-clicking and selecting Run as Administrator option, you can create a dedicated elevated Command Prompt shortcut to open CMD as admin. Let me show you how.

In one of my previous articles, I’ve shown a simple way you can always open Command Prompt as admin. This is helpful for system administrators or someone who requires constant access to the elevated Command Prompt. The thing is, those kinds of use cases are so very low. For the most part, most of us only ever need occasional access to the elevated Command Prompt.

In those cases, rather than constantly right-clicking and selecting the Run As Administrator option from the Start menu, it is better to create a shortcut. Once you create a shortcut, you can simply double-click on it to open the CMD as admin.

So, without further ado, let me show how you can create a dedicated shortcut to open elevated Command Prompt in Windows.

Note: I’m showing this in Windows 10 but the same procedure can be following in other Windows versions like 7 and 8.

Steps to Create Elevated Command Prompt Shortcut

To create the admin Command Prompt shortcut we can use the built-in shortcut creation wizard. This is the easiest and fastest way to do it.

1. First, right-click on the desktop and select “New → Shortcut” option. This option allows you to create custom shortcuts.

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2. The above action will open the shortcut creation wizard. In the blank field, type “%windir%\System32\cmd.exe /k” and click on the “Next” button to continue.

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3. Now, type in a name for the shortcut. This is the name that also appears on the Command Prompt title bar. So, name it something descriptive. In my case, I’m setting it to “Elevated Command Prompt”. Click “Finish” to complete the procedure.

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4. Till now you’ve only created a Command Prompt shortcut. We still need to add admin privileges. To do that, right-click on the newly created shortcut and select the “Properties” option.

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5. In the properties window, go to the “Shortcut” tab and click on the “Advanced” button appearing at the bottom section.

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6. In the next window, select the “Run as administrator” checkbox and click “Ok” to save changes.

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7. Click “Apply” and “Ok” buttons in the main window to save changes.

That is it. Double-click on the newly created shortcut and Command Prompt will open with admin rights.

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If you want to, drag and drop the shortcut on to the taskbar to pin it. That way, the elevated Command Prompt is just a click away.

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Hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.

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