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Using AutoElevate to install applications
AutoElevate is the tool that lets IT approve a single install or higher-permission action on your work computer without giving you full control of the machine. When a regular installer would have asked for an IT approval password, AutoElevate replaces that prompt with a request your IT team can approve from their side. Here is how to use it cleanly. For the full overview of why we use it, see the AutoElevate process page.
What It Is
How AutoElevate works in plain English
Most work computers do not let you install apps directly
Your account has standard access on the company-managed computer, not full-control access. That is by design because it stops random apps and malware from changing the computer.
AutoElevate is the bridge
When you double-click an installer that needs higher permission, AutoElevate intercepts the usual "enter an IT approval password" prompt and instead lets you submit a quick request to IT. IT can approve, deny, or set a rule for that exact app.
Approvals can be one-time or remembered
For many common apps (signed installers your company already trusts), AutoElevate may approve automatically or after one approval. Less common installers usually need a real human to look at the request before they will run.
Step One
What to do when an AutoElevate prompt appears
Read the prompt before you click
Confirm the app name shown matches what you expected to install. If a prompt appears for software you did not start, do not approve — close it and contact IT. Surprise prompts are a flag.
Pick the request reason from the list
AutoElevate usually offers a short list of reasons (install, update, change settings, etc.). Pick the most accurate one. If "Other" is the only fit, keep the typed reason short and specific.
Add a one-line note IT can read
"Installing Bluebeam Revu 21 update for the project review" is helpful. "Idk, app says it needs permission" is not. The faster IT understands the request, the faster it gets approved.
Submit and wait, do not click again
Submit the request and let it sit. Re-clicking the installer or submitting again creates duplicate requests that can land in IT in a confusing order. Give it a minute or two before you assume nothing happened.
Step Two
What approval, denial, or no response actually mean
Approved — the installer runs
AutoElevate runs the installer after IT approves the request. Follow the installer's normal prompts the rest of the way through. If the installer asks "Restart now?" — choose Restart Later if you have unsaved work, then restart manually.
Denied — you will see a message
AutoElevate will tell you the request was denied. Common reasons: the installer is not approved by company policy, the app has a known security issue, or it is the wrong version. Read the denial reason and contact IT through the normal ticket channel if you need to escalate.
No response — the request is queued
If nothing happens for a few minutes, the request may still be queued for an IT tech to review. Avoid resubmitting. If it is urgent, send a quick ticket pointing IT at the existing AutoElevate request.
"Already approved" — try again
Sometimes a previous approval is already cached. The installer may run on a second try without prompting again.
Examples
Common situations
Installing an Autodesk app from the company-approved installer
Run the installer as you normally would. When AutoElevate prompts, select Install / Update, name the app and version (for example "AutoCAD 2026 update"), submit, and let IT approve. Then continue through the Autodesk installer.
Installing a Bluebeam, Adobe, or Microsoft 365 update
If the app's built-in updater asks for higher permission, the AutoElevate prompt may pop up automatically. Approve it with a one-line note like "Bluebeam Revu update from in-app updater" and let it run.
Installing a small utility you found online
Be cautious. AutoElevate is a security control — random utilities should usually be denied. If you genuinely need a less common tool, send a ticket first describing what you need to do; IT can recommend an approved alternative or pre-approve the install.
Adding a printer driver from a vendor's site
Use the company-approved driver if there is one. If you have to use the vendor download, name the printer and the exact driver version in the AutoElevate request — that is enough for IT to verify.
Slow Down
Do not do this
Do not approve a prompt you did not start
If AutoElevate prompts for an app you did not run yourself, deny it and contact IT. That is the most important rule — surprise prompts can be malware trying to escalate.
Do not write generic reasons like "test" or "needed"
Vague reasons are the fastest way to get denied. Take ten seconds to write a real one-line description of what the install is for.
Do not submit the same request multiple times
One submission, one wait. Multiple submissions clutter the IT queue and make it harder to know which one to approve.
Do not try to bypass AutoElevate
Closing AutoElevate and re-running the installer with right-click "Run as administrator" usually fails on a managed computer, and it bypasses the security control IT relies on. Always use the AutoElevate prompt path.
If You Need IT
What to include if a request was denied or stuck
The exact app name and version
"Bluebeam Revu 21.0.50 update," "Autodesk AutoCAD 2026.0.1 patch," not "the CAD update."
Where the installer came from
Vendor's official download page, an emailed link, the IT-provided installer share, the in-app updater. IT needs this to confirm the source.
What you were trying to do
"Install Bluebeam Revu update so I can open the project's Studio Session." That gives IT the business reason and the urgency in one sentence.
The denial reason if you saw one
Copy the message AutoElevate showed you, or take a screenshot. That tells IT whether to override, recommend an alternative, or escalate the request.
Related
Related guides
License or sign-in error
If the prompt is sign-in related rather than install related, start here.
Open articleBefore contacting IT: what to collect
The five details every IT ticket should include — including AutoElevate denials.
Open articleApp help by vendor
If you need a specific app's installer or update guidance.
Open app helpContact IT
Send a ticket if the install is blocked or the request will not go through.
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