User Account Control, or just UAC is a part of the Windows security system which prevents apps from making unwanted changes on your PC. When some software tries to change system-related parts of the Registry or the file system, Windows 10 shows an UAC confirmation dialog, where the user should confirm if he really wants to make those changes. Usually, the apps that require elevation are related to the management of Windows or your computer in general. A good example would be the Registry Editor app. If the application you are using frequently requires a UAC request every time you start it, confirming the prompt on every launch can get a bit annoying. In this article, we will see how to create a shortcut to run apps elevated without a UAC prompt in Windows 10.
To skip the UAC prompt and start an app elevated, you need to create a special task in the Windows Task Scheduler which allows executing apps with admin privileges. The Task Scheduler has a graphical MMC version (taskschd.msc) which we will use.
In the tutorial below, I will show you how to make Regedit run elevated without a UAC prompt showing up. You can use these steps for any app you want to launch elevated.
Creating a shortcut to run apps elevated without a UAC prompt in Windows 10
- Open Control Panel.
- Go to Control Panel \ System and Security \ Administrative Tools.
- In the newly opened window, double-click the shortcut "Task Scheduler":
- In the left pane, click the item "Task Scheduler Library":
- In the right pane, click on the link "Create task":
- A new window titled "Create Task" will be opened. On the "General" tab, specify the name of the task. Pick an easily recognizable name like "App name - elevated". In my case, I will use "Regedit - elevated".
You can also fill in the description if you want.
- Now tick the checkbox named "Run with highest privileges":
- Switch to the "Actions" tab. There, click the "New..." button:
- The "New Action" window will be opened. There, you can specify the path to the executable (.exe file) of the app you are trying to run elevated without a UAC prompt. In my case, I will enter
c:\windows\regedit.exe
See the following screenshot:
Note: by default, apps started by tasks like the one we just created will start with no focus. Their windows might appear in background.
If you are not happy with this issue, then use the following trick:
- In "Program/Script", enter the following:C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe
In "Add agruments", type the following:
/c start "" program.exe [program arguments if required]
In my example with Regedit it will look as follows:
- Click "OK" in the "New Action" dialog to apply your settings and close it.
- Switch to the "Conditions" tab:
Untick options
- Stop if the computer switches to battery power
- Start the task only if the computer is on AC power
See the following screenshot:
- Now, click "OK" to close the "Create Task" window. Now that you've created the task, it's a good time to test it. Right click it and select "Run" from the context menu. It should open the app you specified:
- Now, to create a new shortcut to launch the app from your Desktop.
Right click the empty space on your Desktop and select New -> Shortcut:
- In the location of the item, enter the following:
schtasks /run /tn "your task name"
In my case, it should be the following command:
schtasks /run /tn "Regedit - elevated"
- Name your shortcut however you like:
- Finally, pick an appropriate icon for the shortcut you have created and you are done:
Watch the following video to see all steps in action:
That's it. As you can see, creating elevated shortcuts involves a lot of actions and a notable amount of time.
To save your time, you can use Winaero Tweaker. The feature called "Elevated Shortcut" does exactly everything mentioned above and helps you to create elevated shortcuts quickly.
- Download and unpack the Winaero Tweaker app.
- Go to Tools \ Elevated Shortcut:
- Create a shortcut using its friendly user interface and you are done!
Also, there is another good thing about Winaero Tweaker. By default Task Scheduler run all tasks at Below Normal process priority. But Winaero's Elevated Shortcut fixes this by running the shortcut at Normal priority.
The same can be done in Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.
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To ensure the program being opened appears in focus I use just “cmd” (without quotes) in the “Program/Script” field. This way there is only the briefest flash of the Command Prompt window before the desired program starts, rather than it opening fully first.
Thank you for this very detailed description but I have one further question. Do you have to be logged in as an admin user for it to work? What I want to do is to allow regular users to run an old program without admin privileges and without having to remember extra passwords every time.
The computer in question will be used by a number of people and I want to lock it down as tightly as possible but still allow the use of the old software that falls foul of the UAC.
Any help will be much appreciated. Joe Edwards
Hello Joe,
Yep, you need to be signed in as an admin user. This elevated shortcut feature doesn’t work under the limited user.
how can we convert this scheduled tak to work in a batch file ?
Can you share more details what exactly you are trying to get?
Sure i am trying to create the scheduled task by the command line i have tried it by importing the xml created by win aero tweaker and also via batch the task is created exactly the same and i use the same shortcut yet i am unable to make it open please help me
Sure i a trying to create a task in via a batch file so that i canj just create a shortcut to that task like u have show here so for example:
SCHTASKS /Create /SC ONSTART /TN “SCCM Connect” /TR /c start “” “‘%PROGRAMFILES%\SCCM Connect\SCCM Connect.exe'” /RL HIGHEST
buit that does not work how would i do this correctly ?
i have changed this to
SCHTASKS /Delete /TN “app.exe_285108820” /f
SCHTASKS /Create /TN “app.exe_285108820” /XML “C:\Users\username\Desktop\TS.xml”
the tasks are created fine but the shortcut does not work ?
Большое спасибо, Сергей, сделал Elevated Shortcut, все работает.
Пожалуйста!
WinAero is a very useful set of tweaks, and this is with regards to Elevated Shortcut. Being forced to run with UAC Disabled is not wise, but it is the only alternative for those who write their own program executables in Basic, C etc.
a) Can a shortcut be created for an executable with arguments %0 %1 %2…..%9 so that this shortcut can be called from several batch files with different parameters?
b) Is it feasible to create a CMD line UAC Off/UAC On so that batch files do not need to have shortcuts created for all the executables that may be called on?
Greetings!
I have tried to create a UAC-disable…thing! (I don´t know the name) using winaero.
On your webb site you write in the ens:
3. “Create a shortcut using its friendly user interface and you are done!”
I shall do what with what now? How???
I have no idea what to do. There is no description exacly what to do. “..using its friendly user inteface” I dont even know what that means. Exacly WHAT shall I do???
Sincerely yours
Lasse Andersson
Use this:
Select an executable file you want to create a shortcut for, then provide the desired name for you shortcut, and then click on the Create Elevated Shortcut button.
What if in step 9 I don’t want cmd window to show up at all?! How to do this?
If you omit it, your elevated app may start unfocused. I have no other solution at this moment.
A heads-up for those who use the elevated shortcut function in winaero tweaker:
After you created the shortcut, the NEXT TIME you startup your computer you may see the UAC prompt. This is NORMAL, and it will not show up again.
I thought it was some bug, so I deleted and created the shortcut again and again, and the prompt kept showing after rebooting…until I stopped the cycle and rebooted one more time.
Does it not work with the latest Windows 10 update? I followed the steps, but now get UAC warning to run “Task Scheduler Configuration Tool” when clicking the link.
It works with any Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, and Windows 10 version.
This does not seem to work. It creates a UAC request for schtask.exe which does not help. Windows 10 1909.
No it doesn’t show the UAC prompt if you carefully follow the steps.
I created my shortcut and when I click on it it opens for a split second and then disappears right away. Any ideas?
Winaero is the best way.
the Agruments i like to add set __COMPAT_LAYER=WINXPSP3 but it don’t seen to work do anybody know why ?
Thanks, works perfectly. I appreciate the effort you put in to publish this recipe, screenshots included.