Quick Tip: A Keyboard Shortcut to Start a Taskbar App as an Administrator

Sean Killeen - Dec 10 '20 -

I can’t believe I hadn’t come across this yet! Posting in case you can benefit from it, too.

Challenge

On Windows, I often need to open a taskbar app as an admin, such as Powershell or Windows Terminal.

I thought my options were limited to:

Right-click the icon, (and in the case of windows terminal, right-click again), and select “Run as Administrator”.
Set the app to always run as an administrator via the security settings in the shortcut – not something I love doing from a security standpoint, and not an option with Windows Terminal to my knowledge.

I had no idea about this and I absolutely love it.

You can use Win + Ctrl + Shift + [Position number] to open a pinned taskbar app as an admin.

For example, I have the windows terminal pinned as the farthest left icon on my taskbar. Win + Ctrl + Shift + 1 opens it as an admin.

You can also hold Ctrl + Shift and then click the icon to start it in admin mode. I feel more productive already.

Happy elevating!