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I need to create an NSIS installer, which runs with administrator privileges. I request these privileges with

RequestExecutionLevel admin

So far this works. But I also need to place shortcut links on the users desktop. I do NOT want to create the shortcuts for all users but only for the currently logged in user. So I use 

SetShellVarContext current

in the installer sections. If the current user has admin privileges, this works. If I have a normal user, Windows (7) asks for credentials for a privileged user, which is also correct. But the installer then creates the icons on the privileged users desktop, and not on current users.

So, how can I tell NSIS, that it should create desktop icons for the current user if she has no admin privileges?

FYI, if I omit both RequestExecutionLevel and SetShellVarContext, I am also prompted for administrative rights but the installer creates icons on the current user desktop as well as for the admin user. I think this is some kind of compatibility behavior.

McNumber
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1 Answers1

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You are not really supposed to do this (because of this exact issue) and you are basically asking how to create a installer that is broken by design. This is not a NSIS specific problem and not even UAC specific, it has existed since runas was added in Win2000! When you elevate with runas/UAC the new process is executed as that user and with their HKCU and shell folders...

If you need "RequestExecutionLevel admin" in your script then you are doing machine level things and should therefore call "SetShellVarContext all" and install the files in $ProgramFiles and write the uninstall registration under HKLM. This is true for any version of NT, not just Vista+/UAC. (Most people forget to test as non-admin on NT4 and NT5)

If creating shortcuts for all users is such a big problem then I suggest you enable the "Don't create shortcuts" checkbox on the startmenu page so the user can decide.

If you still want to force broken behavior then you need to use this plugin. (You should be able to find plenty of topics about this plugin on the NSIS forum)

Anders
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  • Ok, thanks for the clarification. I was irritated, because most programs allow to choose between installing icons for all users or just for the local user. I suppose this works only if the installer is run by an admin user. – McNumber Aug 13 '12 at 12:21
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    True, this is a bit stale, but for those people who do wind up here and wonder WHY: [this answer, especially the last sentence](https://stackoverflow.com/a/1508012) sheds a little more light on the subject – djvg Oct 12 '17 at 11:36