How to Create a Scheduled Task

To launch the Task Scheduler, click Start, type Task Scheduler into the search bar, and then select the Task Scheduler icon in the search results.

When Task Scheduler opens, click on “Create Task” from the pane on the right side of the window.

Give the task a simple name—preferably without any spaces—that’s easy to remember and then tick the box next to “Run with Highest Privileges.” You can even give it a brief description if you want, but it isn’t necessary.

By default, if you’re setting up this task on a laptop, Task Scheduler won’t run the task unless your computer is connected to AC power. If you don’t disable this option, when you click on the shortcut, the task won’t initiate the program and stick in a “Queued” state until you plug in the AC power.

Click the “Conditions” tab and untick the box next to “Start the Task Only If the Computer Is on AC Power.”

Next, switch to the “Actions” tab and then click the “New” button to create a new action for the task.

Now, click “Browse” to search for the application to run when you start the task.

Locate the application you want to start and then click “Open” after selecting it in File Explorer.

Click “OK” to save the changes.

Click “OK” one more time to finish the task creation process.

After you create the task, that’s all you need to do for this part. If you want to make sure the task runs as expected, select the “Task Scheduler Library,” right-click on the task in the list, and then click “Run” from the context menu.

Once all systems are go, close Task Scheduler, taking note of the name you used for the task.

How to Create the Shortcut to Start the Task

Now that you’ve successfully made the task that will open the application, it’s time to create a shortcut that will run the task.

Right-click an empty spot on the Desktop and then select New > Shortcut from the context menu.

In the window that appears, we need to type in the command that runs the scheduled task, replacing <taskName> with the task name we used from earlier. Be sure to keep the quotations around the name. It should look like this:

schtasks /run /tn "<taskName>"

Click “Next” after you enter the command.

Give the new shortcut a useful name and click “Finish” to create it.

Now, the desktop has a shortcut icon that will run the task that launches the application in Administrator mode—without a UAC prompt—when you double-click on it.

However, the fun doesn’t end here. If you want to tweak it a bit more, right-click the shortcut and then select “Properties” from the context menu.

Because the shortcut runs a command to start the task, Command Prompt will open for an instance, run the schtasks command, and then close before the application opens. If you want, you can set it to minimize when you open the shortcut, so Command Prompt doesn’t flash on the screen.

Click the drop-down menu next to “Run” and choose “Minimized” from the list below.

Next, click “Change Icon” to personalize the shortcut’s icon.

If you receive this message, don’t worry, just click “OK” to continue.

Now, you can either scroll through the suggested icons or click “Browse” and locate the application that you’re opening with the task. Select “Open” to see its icons.

Select the application’s icon and click “OK” to save the changes.

Select “OK” one more time to save all changes and return to the desktop.

Now you have a shortcut that looks nice—even resembling the application you’re opening—and doesn’t have a pesky UAC prompt to get in your way.

That’s all there is to it. Repeat this process for any other applications you regularly use to bypass the UAC prompts