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Currently (In Windows 10) - if I want to open a CMD prompt, I'll hit the Windows key, type CMD and hit Enter. If I want it open as an administrator, I have to right click the item and click Run As administrator. Is there a way I can do this without using the mouse?

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    on win10 and win8, you can right click start button and choose "command prompt (admin)". I think this is the fastest way. since i don't like to work with a mouse, i use CTRL SHIFT ENTER, just as suggested in the answers
    – SimonS
    Jan 21, 2016 at 14:40

8 Answers 8

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By holding CTRL + SHIFT whilst pressing Enter, it opens as an administrator.

Seems you can also hold CTRL + SHIFT + Left Click a CMD window on the taskbar (probably other applications too) to open a new one as an administrator also.

Confirmed working in Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10.

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  • Yes, it definitely works in 8/8.1. I believe it worked in 7, too, but I can’t try it right now.
    – Daniel B
    Jan 21, 2016 at 6:31
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    But it does. I use it daily.
    – Daniel B
    Jan 21, 2016 at 16:51
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    NIce! +1 Also if you have something you always want to launch as an admin, you can right-click, go to properties, click Advanced, and then check the "run as administrator" box. It will prompt for elevation every time you launch it. Not all shortcuts/links/programs allow that, though. For example, my MIcrosoft Edge shortcut won't let me right click and go to properties. I see Ben N has put this as an answer.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Jan 21, 2016 at 17:50
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    Note that this ONLY works on the Start menu bar. It does NOT work with Win+R's run prompt.
    – Nelson
    Jan 22, 2016 at 5:35
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    Great way to shave a few hundred milliseconds off your workflow. Changed my life. +1
    – Aloha
    Jan 23, 2016 at 16:20
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For Windows 8.1 and 10 English, to open an Adminstrator command prompt using the keyboard use

Windows Key + X followed by A

For other languages, the appropriate key to use will be indicated by an underline in the pop-out menu.

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    Have in mind that menu shortcut mnemonics tend to be localized, so it might be different for some languages. (Although admin is rather stable in that matter)
    – PTwr
    Jan 21, 2016 at 13:56
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    In my language, it's Windows+X, then C.
    – Petr Hudeček
    Jan 22, 2016 at 8:06
  • This should be the accepted answer. It's the fastest method out of all the answers here.
    – Aloha
    Jan 23, 2016 at 16:22
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    @PandaLion98 It doesn't answer the question. OP asked for a solution for any program, not just Command Prompt.
    – David Marshall
    Jan 23, 2016 at 17:11
  • @DavidMarshall Touche
    – Aloha
    Jan 24, 2016 at 0:50
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Ctrl+Shift+Enter is convenient, but if you prefer Linux-like environment, you can save this script as sudo.cmd somewhere in your PATH:

@echo Set objShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application") > %temp%\sudo.tmp.vbs
@echo args = Right("%*", (Len("%*") - Len("%1"))) >> %temp%\sudo.tmp.vbs
@echo objShell.ShellExecute "%1", args, "", "runas" >> %temp%\sudo.tmp.vbs
@cscript %temp%\sudo.tmp.vbs

Then you can use this command:

sudo cmd

Original Source

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    Apparently, you, yourself already have given attribution before :P : superuser.com/a/640599
    – d0nut
    Jan 22, 2016 at 17:06
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    @iismathwizard That's... interesting ;) Thanks!
    – gronostaj
    Jan 22, 2016 at 20:47
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If you find yourself opening administrative command prompts all the time, you can create a shortcut on the taskbar:

  1. Find Command Prompt in the search results. (Searching for cmd works.)
  2. Right-click it and choose Pin to taskbar.
  3. Open the taskbar shortcut's properties by right-clicking the icon, then right-clicking the Command Prompt entry that appears and choosing Properties.
  4. On the Shortcut tab, click the Advanced button.
  5. Check Run as administrator and OK out of the properties window.

You can now activate that shortcut by holding the Windows key and pressing the number that represents the position of that icon (not including the standard Windows 10 desktop switcher icon). For example, if your command prompt icon is the second pinned item, pressing Windows+2 would activate it. Pressing Alt+Y accepts the UAC prompt. That's just two keyboard commands, for a total of four keys, no mouse.

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    +1 Note that if the account you're using is not a local administrator (which it really shouldn't be!) you can't just Alt+Y, you actually have to put in a username and password of an administrative account. This method is perfect for launching any kind of admin tool, like Server Manager or Powershell where you want to have it run as a domain admin but don't want to log on to your computer as a domain admin.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Jan 21, 2016 at 17:53
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    Note that the Windows+2 trick (which I'd not seen before) acts essentially the same as clicking on the icon involved: it will launch the shortcut if it's not running, or switch to (or cycle between) it/them if it's already running. (This was on Windows 7).
    – TripeHound
    Jan 22, 2016 at 16:55
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If your keyboard has the menu key, you can use that instead of right click.

This is not as convenient as some of the other options in this case, but it's also more general.

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    If your keyboard doesn't have a menu key, you can use shift-f10 instead.
    – Gerald Schneider
    Jan 22, 2016 at 10:52
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I'm assuming that "fast" in the original question refers to speed of use, and the time investment to set this up is not a concern.

If this is true, The following will certainly lead to a fast startup since it elevates without needing to deal with the UAC prompt.

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/create-elevated-shortcut-run-programs-bypass-uac

To provide a synopsis of the technique, you create a task in task scheduler that runs your program of choice with elevated credentials. Starting this program does not require interaction with a UAC prompt, and by invoking task scheduler with suitable parameters, you can launch your program of choice with a double click on a shortcut.

This does require a separate task scheduler task for each different program you want to run elevated.

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EDIT: I just reread what you asked and saw that you didn't want to use a mouse. Sorry about that. I'll keep this comment for those that do want to use a mouse.

Why not right click the start menu icon in Windows 8/10 and click Command Prompt (Admin)?

Right click on:

Start Menu

then click:

Start Menu Context Items

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win+r, regedit.exe, ctrl+f "enablelua", wait a bit, set the d-word value to 0

Everything will now open with admin privileges by default.

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