Take Ownership of Any Windows File With This Nifty Shortcut

MakeUseOf

By Ben Stegner

Published Jun 21, 2017

When Windows tells you that you can't access a file or folder, it's a pain. Here's how to add a shortcut for taking ownership of anything to your right-click menu.

Have you ever tried to open a file or folder on your computer and received an "Access Denied" error? Even if you're the only user on your PC, this error still pops up at times and is frustrating to deal with. Taking ownership of the file in question solves the issue, but takes a few steps to reach. You can make it easier by adding a shortcut on your right-click menu for easy access.

This involves editing the Registry, which can damage your system if you're not careful. Since it involves several steps and different locations, it's easier to run a quick REG file to add the changes instead of making them yourself. First, open a Notepad window and paste this into it:

            Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"

Then go to File > Save As. Select All Files as the file type, and name it TakeOwnership.reg. The exact name isn't important, but it must end in .reg. After you save this file to somewhere convenient, just double-click it and accept the warnings to add the Take Ownership entry to your menu. Right-click on most files or folders and you'll see a new entry near the top of the list for taking ownership.

If you want to remove the shortcut later, just perform the same operation with this Registry code:

            Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]

Want more handy shortcuts like this? Check out other great entries you can add to your right-click menu.

Have you added this shortcut for easy access or do you not need it? When was the last time you had to take ownership of a file? Let us know down in the comments!

Image Credit: Thinglass via Shutterstock