There are applications that need administrative permission in order to work properly. Some applications might need access to special system resources, some may have been designed only for Windows XP and do not work that well on Windows Vista, or some may have different bugs and problems. Running them as an administrator will help these applications run without problems. However, each time you start such an application you will see an UAC (User Account Control) prompt asking for your permission to launch it.

This is the reason why many people choose to disable UAC. However, by eliminating the annoying UAC prompts they also lower the security of their system. Fortunately, there is a way to keep UAC turned on and, at the same time, eliminate the prompts for certain applications. In this guide we will show you how to do the following: set an application to always run as an administrator (if needed), create a UAC fix for it that turns off the prompts for that application and install/uninstall the fix.

How to run an application as an administrator

To run an application as an administrator you can right click on it's shortcut or main executable and select Run as administrator from the right click menu. However, doing this can be quite annoying if you use this application very often. The second and better option is to edit it's properties and set it to always run as an administrator.

To do this, select it's shortcut or main executable, right click on it and select Properties.

In the Properties window, go to the Compatibility tab. Check the option that says Run this program as an administrator and click on OK.

Every time you will launch this application an UAC prompt will show up asking for your approval.

How to create the UAC fix

First, download and install the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit.

Then, search for the Compatibility Administrator shortcut, right click on it and select Run as administrator. The shortcut ca be found in the Start Menu under Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit.

When you are in the Compatibility Administrator window, go to Custom Databases -> New Database. Right click on the new database and select Create New -> Application Fix.

The Create new Application Fix wizard will now start. Type the application name, the vendor (optional) and browse to the location of the main application executable. When done, click on Next.

When you are in the Compatibility Modes window, scroll down the list of available modes until you find RunAsInvoker. Check this mode and click on Next.

Now click on Next without changing anything.

When you are in the Matching Information window click on Finish.

Now you will return to the Compatibility Administrator window. Here, go to the File menu and click on Save or Save As.

In the Database Name window type a name for the fix you just created and click on OK.

Now, browse to the location where you want to save the database, type the file name and click on Save.

How to apply the UAC fix

To apply the fix you need to start the Command Prompt as administrator. Find it's shortcut, right click on it and select Run as administrator.

Type the following command: "sdbinst [path]\filename.sdb", where [path] is the location of the file you created using the Compatibility Administrator, and then press on Enter.

The application for which you have created and applied the fix should now start without any UAC prompts. If the fix doesn't work and you just want to uninstall it, start the Command Prompt again and type the command: "sdbinst [path]\filename.sdb -u".

Related applications:
How to disable UAC
Tweak the User Account Control (UAC)

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