How to Launch VoiceAttack as Admin with no UAC prompt - Task Method

[SemlerPDX]

How to Launch VoiceAttack as Admin with no UAC prompt - Windows Task Method

This is a very simple, but mostly unfamiliar process for most Windows users.  When Windows UAC settings are higher than 'Never notify', running VoiceAttack as Admin will darken the screen and present a confirmation prompt.  Follow this method to create a desktop (or taskbar/start-menu) shortcut that can launch VA as admin without a UAC confirmation prompt.  This method can also be applied to most any other program in Windows.


--Instructions--
Step 1:
 Click on the Start Menu and start typing "Task Scheduler", then click on the Task Scheduler application to open it (or press Enter if it is already highlighted).


Step 2:
 Click "Create Task" on the Actions pane on the right



Step 3:
 Type a name for this task - you will refer to this name later when creating a shortcut.  Next, check the box for "Run with highest privileges"




Step 4:
 Select the "Actions" tab along the top.  Click "New" to add a "Start a program" action, pointing to your VoiceAttack.exe (wherever that is).



Step 5:
 Ensure the Action type is "Start a program", and click "Browse" - navigate to the VoiceAttack.exe in your programs folder (wherever that is on your PC).  The path shown may be different if you have the Steam version, a different operating system version, or if you changed your install location from default.

-OPTIONAL-
 Under the "Add arguments (optional)" line, you can add any additional VoiceAttack command line options at any time now or in the future.  See VoiceAttack Manual for a list of accepted options.


Step 6:
If you have a laptop or rely on battery power at any time, you can click on the "Conditions" tab and uncheck the box for "Start the task only if the computer is on AC power"



Step 7:
Click on the "Settings" tab, change the bottom most option to "Stop the existing instance" as shown.  Verify options are set exactly as in this image, allowing task to be run on demand, and forcing it to stop if not ended when requested.


When done, click OK to create this as a task.  (*Note or copy the task name to create a shortcut)



Create a Shortcut for desktop, start-menu, or taskbar

• Right Click on an empty area of the desktop, and select "New", and in it's submenu, Left Click on "Shortcut"

•   This "Create Shortcut" window will have a blank line for text, as shown in this picture:
  

• Paste this into the blank text line, where the name of this task is the same as the task you just created. The Task Name must be surrounded by double-quotes:
  

Code: [Select]

C:\Windows\System32\schtasks.exe /run /tn "VoiceAttack_AsAdmin_NoUAC"

• Click "Next" when done.
  
• Name the shortcut anything you want, and click "Finish" to create it.

• Find this new shortcut and Right Click on it, and select "Properties"
• Click "Change Icon" (under the "Shortcut" tab)

• Click the "Browse" button and navigate to the VoiceAttack.exe in your programs folder to use it's icon for your new shortcut. Just select the .exe, and click OK to set it for your shortcut, and then click OK on the Properties windows to save it.
  

 



Any questions, feel free to ask!  I've been using this method for many years now, and of course you can add any additional command line arguments to the Windows Task as needed for your particular use case at any time.  You can even create several of these tasks for launching VoiceAttack with different command line options, using this method as an example, so you can have a variety of task-specific launchers that run as admin while bypassing the UAC prompt.

 Cheers! 

[SemlerPDX]

If you would like to use this system to launch VoiceAttack in this manner each time Windows starts up, you can edit the Schedule Task you created above and add a Trigger.


Step 1.  Open the Windows Task you created, and select the Triggers tab along the top, and click on "New"


Step 2.  Under the 'Begin the task' drop-down menu, select 'At startup', then click OK


Step 3.  When done, click OK to save this change to your Scheduled Task