How to Create a Shortcut with Administrative Rights in Windows

When needed, you can create a shortcut with administrative rights or privileges to allow standard users to run admin programs. Here’s how.

In Windows, you can create custom shortcuts for almost any file, folder, or program. Generally, shortcuts don’t provide you with any admin rights. If a program requires admin privileges, it will ask for the same. Though not every day, there might be situations where you need to allow other users on your system to run programs that require admin rights. In those cases, you don’t have to give away the admin password. Rather, you can create custom a shortcut with admin rights to enable standard users to run a program(s) as admin.

Other than that, if you don’t like seeing UAC prompts, you can completely avoid them by creating the admin mode shortcut. For example, I have this neat little software that changes the DNS address with just a couple of clicks. But, it requires admin rights and shows the UAC prompt each every time I open it. So, to avoid that, I created a simple administrator mode shortcut for that specific program. You can do that too.

So, without further ado, let me show you the simple steps to create a shortcut with admin rights and let standard users run programs as admin.

Computer Name and Username

Before moving forward, know your computer name and the username and password of the admin account. We are going to need those details in the coming steps.

Steps to Create Shortcut with Administrator Rights

Creating an administrator shortcut for a program that enables a standard user to run it as admin is easier than you think. The best things about the below method are that you don’t have to giveaway the admin password and the admin rights are only limited to the program. Just follow the steps as is and you will be done in no time.

1. Just like with any custom shortcut, we can create it directly on the desktop. Just right-click on the desktop and select the “New → Shortcut” option.

2. In the blank field, copy and paste the below code. Replace the ComputerName with the actual computer name, Username with the actual username and the dummy file path with the actual path of the target program’s exe file.

runas /user:ComputerName\Username /savecred "C:\dummy\path\to\file.exe"

3. Click the “Next” button.

4. In this window, name the shortcut. You can name it anything you want. In my case, I just name it after the target program. Click the “Finish” button.

5. After creating the shortcut, double-click on it. For the first time only, you will be prompted for the admin password. Type the password and press Enter.

6. If the username and password are correct, the shortcut will be executed and the program will be launched with admin rights.

The username and password as automatically saved in the Windows Credential Manager. As such the other users don’t have to enter the password. Instead, Windows will automatically extract the password from the Credential Manager and launches the application.

If you no longer need users to launch the application as an admin, delete the shortcut.

That is it. I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible. If you like this article, do check out how to open Command Prompt always as admin.