How do I run Visual Studio as an administrator by default?

Question

I recently discovered that even while logged into my personal laptop as an administrator, Visual Studio does not run in administrator mode and you need to explicitly use Run As Administrator.

Is there a way to make it run as an administrator by default, other than creating a shortcut, etc.?

score 961 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 21 '22 at 21:41

961

Copied and pasted from here, the Using Advanced Properties section. This will allow you to always have the program run as an administrator when you open it.

Right click on the shortcut of the program, then click on Properties.
Click on the Shortcut tab for a program shortcut, then click on the Advanced button.
Check the 'Run as administrator' box, and click on OK.
Click on OK.
Open the program.
If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes to apply permission to allow the program to run with full permission as an Administrator.

NOTE: If you are doing this is while logged in as standard user instead of an administrator, then you will need to provide the administrator's password before the program will run as administrator.

edited Jun 21 '22 at 21:41

Machavity

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answered Mar 11 '12 at 12:21

hamid reza mansouri

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W7 prompts everytime to run this program "devenv.exe" , anyway to get rid of that ? – Kumar Mar 11 '12 at 12:37
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This method doesn't work if opening .sln files directly. Use this other method instead: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12257110/can-you-force-visual-studio-to-always-run-as-an-administrator-in-windows-8 – goku_da_master May 06 '13 at 14:55
On Windows 8 this solution did not work for me, use this approach http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12257110/can-you-force-visual-studio-to-always-run-as-an-administrator-in-windows-8 – Paleta Nov 04 '13 at 15:22
After doing this for some reason it won't allow me to undo this change. VS 2013. arggggg! – RayLoveless Apr 24 '14 at 17:55
And also doesn't work with the jumplist - because apparently when using the jumplist you are not really using the shortcut ... – Torben Junker Kjær Sep 12 '14 at 08:27
For Win7 do the following: right-click devenv.exe -> Properties -> Compatibility -> in 'Privilege Level' section check on 'Run this program as an administrator' – SimonD Dec 15 '16 at 10:39
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For everyone saying the Windows 7 method works on Windows 10; if you use the Windows 7 method on Windows 10 then opening a sln file will not run as administrator. For that to work you need to use the Windows 10 method. – Caltor Jun 21 '17 at 08:08
It spends ~60 seconds generating a report, crazy - either it's writing a giant repo or something inefficient happening there. – Cameron Wilby Mar 26 '21 at 21:38
I would also recommend doing the same to **VSLauncher.exe** too. This is to avoid annoying prompts whether to save changes to devenv.sln when launching VS. See https://www.rickvandenbosch.net/blog/running-visual-studio-as-an-administrator-causes-save-changes-to-devenv-sln-when-double-clicking-solutions/ – kamilk Jun 01 '21 at 10:51
Coming from a *nix background, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that you apparently can't just sudo commands up to elevated privileges directly from a command line in Windows. Do I have that right? I must be wrong about that. If not, then, are we seriously supposed to run a development IDE with admin privileges?? Inconvenience aside, does anyone else see maybe just a wee bit of a problem with this idea? Hope your system backups are up to date... – Erik Midtskogen Jan 05 '23 at 14:26

score 242 · Answer 2 · edited Mar 09 '19 at 17:35

242

Try the following steps on Windows 10:

Search for Visual Studio on the Start window and select "Open file location":
Select "Troubleshoot compatibility" :
Select "troubleshoot program":
- Raise permissions:
Select "Yes, save these settings for this program"
Select "Close"

Once that is done, Visual Studio should be running as administrator.

edited Mar 09 '19 at 17:35

Timisorean

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answered Jan 20 '17 at 08:07

Tshilidzi Mudau

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For Windows 11, before you see that "Troubleshoot compatibility", you have to select "Show more options". The rest is identical – Hans Keﬆing Jun 30 '22 at 08:43
Great answer, this was especially helpful to make devenev.exe as administrator (not the shortcut), cause I was trying to run it as a macros from the Logitech keyboard. – Arsen Khachaturyan Nov 25 '22 at 12:29
Not sure how this isn't the accepted answer. Modifying a shortcut is nice to know how to do, but this appears to solve the issue at the root. – Clint Warner Jun 08 '23 at 12:34

score 57 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 11 '12 at 12:20

57

Right click on the application, Props -> Compatibility -> Check the Run the program as administrator

answered Mar 11 '12 at 12:20

Matan Shahar

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I did: right click devenv.exe -> troubleshoot compatibility, run through the wizard and select 'this program needs additional permissions'. Now just double clicking on a .sln will open it as admin. – Keith Nov 02 '13 at 09:22
Indeed it is the best answer, solve my problem too. I just use this on on VS2010 short-cut icon which is pinned inside start menu and it did the work! – Saad Qureshi Jan 20 '14 at 06:29
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Does not work in all scenarios. Did not work for me in win8 with jumplists. What worked for me was Deblaton Jean-Philippe's solution – Torben Junker Kjær Sep 12 '14 at 08:36
This is the incorrect answer. It will still launch under normal (user) privileges when NOT launching from a shortcut. – Tomas Beblar Jun 25 '20 at 23:00

score 43 · Answer 4 · edited Oct 07 '15 at 12:50

43

Windows 10

Right click "Visual Studio" and select "Open file location
Right click "Visual Studio" and select "Properties"
Click "Advanced" and check "Run as administrator"

edited Oct 07 '15 at 12:50

Deblaton Jean-Philippe

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answered Sep 07 '15 at 16:08

Jsen Fruge

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How do you prevent it from prompting? – Demodave Sep 25 '16 at 01:13
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This only applies to the specific shortcut. – Mikael Dúi Bolinder Aug 21 '17 at 15:46
How do you know if VS2017 is running as administrator or not? – FrenkyB Apr 12 '19 at 06:20
Wrong answer. Only works when VS is launched via the shortcut. – Tomas Beblar Jun 25 '20 at 23:01

Nate · Answer 5 · 2014-09-08T14:52:44.597

Applying this change will make it so that when you double click on a .sln file Visual Studio will not open. Also, you will not be able to drag and drop files into Visual Studio.

Follow the numbered instructions for each file in the bullited list. The paths are for a standard 64-bit install so you may have to adjust them for your system.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared\MSEnv\VSLauncher.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 11.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe
1. Right click on the file and select Properties
2. Select the Compatibility tab
3. Optional: Select Change settings for all users
4. Select Run this program as an administrator
5. Select Ok and close the dialog

score 24 · Answer 6 · answered May 05 '20 at 07:31

24

1- either from start menu or when visual studio is open in the task bar, right click on the VS icon

2- in the context menu, right click again on the visual studio icon

3- left click on prorperties

4- choose advanced

5- choose Run as Administrator

click ok all the windows, close the visual studio and reopen again.

answered May 05 '20 at 07:31

Mohammad Hossein Amri

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This only works for directly starting it. Not when you open a solution or click a solution from the Recent list. – Roel May 06 '22 at 07:48

score 22 · Answer 7 · answered Sep 28 '14 at 08:51

22

Follow these simple steps:

Right Click on "devenv.exe"
Click "Troubleshoot compatibility"
Click "Troubleshoot program" Check "The program requires additional permissions"
Click "Next"
Click "Test the program...". It should launch Visual Studio as Administrator
Click "Next"
Click "Yes, save these settings for this program"
Click "Close the troubleshooter"
Now the Visual Studio will always run as Administrator.

answered Sep 28 '14 at 08:51

Hadi Salehy

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How do I remove it though when I need to? – John Demetriou Jul 13 '15 at 07:26
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@JohnDemetriou You can go through the same troubleshooting wizard and remove changes it has made. – Matthew Sharpe Aug 03 '15 at 15:40
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Yes - this is the only solution that works on Win 10 64 bit and VS 2015. I needed VS as administrator so that I could use Chrome as the PHP debug tool as well as IE and Edge – Seti Net Dec 02 '16 at 16:36

Deblaton Jean-Philippe · Answer 8 · 2015-10-07T12:51:02.097

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windows 8

there is no advanced tab anymore. So, to do it automatically, you need to follow the next steps :

-right click on the shortcut
-click on properties
-under the "Shortcut" tab, click on "Open File Location"
-then, right click on devenv.exe
-Troubleshoot compatibility
-Troubleshoot program
-Check "The program requires additional permissions"
-Then next, next next,...

edited Oct 07 '15 at 12:51

answered Dec 06 '13 at 11:06

Deblaton Jean-Philippe

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score 19 · Answer 9 · answered Sep 09 '19 at 13:23

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In Windows 10 do the following steps: - Download and install the 'Everything' application that locates files and folders by name instantly. - Find the 'devenv.exe' and locate it.

Right-click on 'devenv.exe' and select "Troubleshoot compatibility". Then select "Troubleshoot program". Then check "The program requires additional permissions". Then test the setting and save setting in next page.

answered Sep 09 '19 at 13:23

Behzad Ebrahimi

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Great answer, this was especially helpful to make `devenev.exe` as administrator (not the shortcut), cause I was trying to run it as a macros from the Logitech keyboard. – Arsen Khachaturyan Nov 25 '22 at 12:28

score 13 · Answer 10 · answered Jan 28 '16 at 07:54

13

One time fix :

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers]
"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\\Common7\\IDE\\devenv.exe"="~ RUNASADMIN"

answered Jan 28 '16 at 07:54

Efe ÖZYER

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I needed to add a little to this answer for my needs.... but the short of it is, the HKLM entry was not enough, needed to add the same thing in the HKCU, and remove the tilde from both lines. THANK YOU FOR A SUPER SWEET SOLUTION!! – pithhelmet May 09 '16 at 20:58
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The only solution that works on Win10 (2022) but (for me) only when adding to [Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers] not HKLM. – Phil Blackburn Jul 29 '22 at 06:50

score 4 · Answer 11 · answered Nov 04 '13 at 15:54

4

Right click on icon --> Properties --> Advanced --> Check checkbox run as Administrator and everytime it will open under Admin Mode (Same for Windows 8)

answered Nov 04 '13 at 15:54

codingpirate

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score 4 · Answer 12 · edited Aug 25 '17 at 23:25

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Right-click the icon, then click Properties. In the properties window, go to the Compatibility tab. There should be a checkbox labeled "Run this program as an administrator." Check that, then click OK. The next time you run the application from that shortcut, it will automatically run as the admin.

edited Aug 25 '17 at 23:25

Community

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answered Mar 11 '12 at 12:25

Scott 混合理论

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score 0 · Answer 13 · edited Jun 03 '14 at 04:46

0

For Windows 8

right click on the shortcut
click on properties
click on the "Shortcut" tab
click on Advanced

You will find Run As administrator (Checkbox)

edited Jun 03 '14 at 04:46

Bob Gilmore

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answered Jun 03 '14 at 04:10

Mohm4z

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score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Jan 10 '19 at 22:10

There are two ways to Run Visual Studio as Administrator:

1. Only 1 time: For this go to startup search bar, search for Visual studio 2017 or what ever version you have, then Right click on VS and Run as Administrator.

2. Permanent or Always: For this go to startup search bar, search for visual studio, right click to it and go to properties. In the properties click on advanced button and check the Run as Administrator check box and then click on ok.

score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Jul 06 '23 at 08:43

0

To open Visual Studio or Rider, always in admin mode, follow the steps below (works for WINDOWS 11) It works even if you double-click a *.sln file to open.

answered Jul 06 '23 at 08:43

Alper Ebicoglu

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score -1 · Answer 16 · answered Feb 05 '13 at 19:49

-1

@Kumar

"W7 prompts everytime to run this program "devenv.exe" , anyway to get rid of that ?"

Yes. You can prevent Windows from prompting you by going to Control Panel/User Accounts/Change User Account Control settings and move the slider down.

answered Feb 05 '13 at 19:49

cameronjchurch

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I think it's a bad idea to disable the UAC – Deblaton Jean-Philippe Dec 06 '13 at 11:02
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This is a very bad idea. – Shahedur Rahman Feb 26 '14 at 14:49
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I've had UAC disabled since the second it was introduced and have no regrets over the years I've had it that way. The developer is a little more knowledgeable beast. – Josh Mouch Sep 10 '15 at 11:49
This does not answer the question. – TylerH Dec 02 '21 at 14:30

score -1 · Answer 17 · answered Jul 21 '21 at 14:48

-1

In addition to the above suggestion, to setup admin rights for Visual Studio, if you still get the following intermediate prompt; enter image description here

You will have also to click on Show more details or go to Control Panel Security and Maintenance and click on Change User Account Control Settings;

enter image description here

and choose Never Notify:

enter image description here

answered Jul 21 '21 at 14:48

Iron Mask

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This is a bad advice. UAC exists for a reason. Just fully disabling if for your whole system is not something to take lightly. – Joep Beusenberg Jul 21 '21 at 20:24
This does not answer the question. – TylerH Dec 02 '21 at 14:30

score -4 · Answer 18 · answered Mar 11 '12 at 12:18

-4

I have always done it by creating a shortcut, which is not really much of a problem. I believe there is no way of doing it otherwise.

answered Mar 11 '12 at 12:18

Schroedingers Cat

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How do I run Visual Studio as an administrator by default?

18 Answers18

Windows 10

windows 8

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