Use Anki without admin access to computer

Anki Help
5

Anki installs and starts just fine without admin rights. The only issue is that the installer is packaged in a way that demands them. This can be bypassed. This works for me:

  1. Download the Anki installer. We’ll assume it’s called anki-2.1.49-windows.exe and that it’s downloaded to your Downloads folder (the one with the blue downward arrow icon in Explorer).
  2. Push Start and search for “Command Prompt”. Run it. A black command window appears.
  3. Take note of the path to the left of the >. It’s C:\Users\user for me. Select it with the mouse (excluding the >) and push Return to copy it to the clipboard.
  4. Enter the following commands, pushing Return after each line:
   set __COMPAT_LAYER=RUNASINVOKER
   cd Downloads
   anki-2.1.49-windows.exe
  1. The Anki installer should open. The default install path is C:\Program Files\Anki, but we can’t write there.
  2. Replace the path by pasting from the clipboard and append a subdirectory you like. Don’t use any “special characters” for this (see note below). I’ll use \Anki. My home path is C:\Users\user, so my install path box now says C:\Users\user\Anki.
  3. Copy the whole path to the clipboard
  4. Click “Install” to complete the installation
  5. This way of installing doesn’t seem to create start menu icons. Open an Explorer window, paste the Anki installation path into the address bar and press Return
  6. There should be an anki.exe in the folder you’re looking at. Run it, or create a shortcut, or whatever. :wink:

Note: It seems Anki refuses to start if the install path has special characters. I.e. it installed but then didn’t start properly from C:\Users\俺様\Anki (on a Japanese Windows).

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