Can you force Visual Studio to always run as an Administrator in Windows 8?
uac, visual-studio, windows-8
Solution
In Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11, you have to right-click `devenv.exe` and select "Troubleshoot compatibility".
- Select "Troubleshoot program"
- Check "The program requires additional permissions"
- Click "Next"
- Click "Test the program..."
- Wait for the program to launch
- Click "Next"
- Select "Yes, save these settings for this program"
- Click "Close"
If, when you open Visual Studio it asks to save changes to devenv.sln, see this answer to disable it:
Disable Visual Studio devenv solution save dialog
If you change your mind and wish to undo the "Run As Administrator" Compatibility setting, see the answer here: How to Fix Unrecognized Guid format in Visual Studio 2015
Problem
In Windows 7, you could go into a programs compatibility settings and check off to always run as an Administrator. Is there a similar option in Windows 8? I've always disabled UAC on my machines, and did the same after my Windows 8 upgrade, or so I thought. It turns out there is no `off` option, only turning off the notifications. This means nothing is run as an Administrator despite being in the Administrator group. I need to keep closing and reopening my consoles\Visual Studio when I try to debug (attach to process, not F5), which is very frustrating. It's really annoying that I need to either remember to take extra steps to open it as an Administrator or tell it to close and re-open when I go to debug for the first time.