How to Run Apps as Different User in Windows 11/10

If multiple users use one computer, to protect their private information, it is quite needed to switch accounts before using the computer or apps. Windows 10/11 has the function “run apps as different user”, allowing you to conveniently switch accounts. In the following content, 3 ways to run Apps as a different user in Windows 11/10 are explained.

How to Run Apps as A Different User in Windows 11/10

Way 1: Use the Context Menu Option

Context Menu offers a limited set of choices that allows the app to implement the chosen object. As the most convenient way to find “run apps as different user”, it will be introduced first.

Step 1: Press and hold the Shift button.

Step 2: Right-click on the app icon and select “Run as different user”.

Step 3: Input the information of the other selected account to sign in. Then you switch the account successfully.

Way 2: Apply Command Prompt

Some people like to use cmd to run as different user. But before doing this, you need to find the exe. file which is used to run an app. Here are the detailed steps.

Step 1: Right-click on the app icon and select “Open file location” to locate the exe. file quickly. Then, you are supposed to copy the path of this file by right-clicking on it and selecting “Copy as path”. In Windows 10, you need to press and hold the Shift button and right-click the file to find this choice.

Step 2: Press Ctrl+R in Windows 11 or Win+R in Windows 10, input cmd, and press Shift+Ctrl+Enter to open the command prompt window as the picture shows below.

Step 3: Run the command as runas /user: “Username” “FileLocation”. The Username refers to the account you are going to log on to. Only when the space exists in the name, quotation marks are needed.

In addition to using Command Prompt, you can choose Windows Terminal (PowerShell), released by Microsoft, to run this command. In Windows 10, you can find it by pressing Win+X and selecting PowerShell (Admin). But in Windows 11, you need to find Terminal (Admin) instead. You can find more convenient ways through this article: How to Open Windows Terminal (as Administrator) in Windows 11?

Way 3: Use the Local Group Policy Editor

If you want to directly select “Run as a different user” from the start menu, you can set it up through the Local Group Policy Editor. But this function is only supported by Windows 10/11 Pro or more advanced editions. Please check your Windows edition before trying this way.

Step 1: Press Win+S and input Local Group Policy (which may show as Edit Group Policy in Windows). Or press Win+R, type gpedit.msc, and hit Enter to open the window as follows.

Step 2: Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar.

Step 3: Find the “Show ‘Run as Different User’ command on Start” and double-click it.

Step 4: Select Enable and click Apply and OK buttons to finish the operation.

Step 5: After applying it, you could right-click the app icon in the start menu and find the “Run as a different user” choice in the More selection. Or you can type the app’s name in the search bar and find this choice in the context menu.

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Bottom Line

Three ways to run apps as a different user are explained in detail in this post. After setting it up, you could skip switching users’ account steps. Hope this post can resolve your problem and any question about the steps are welcome to express in the comment section.