How to Run Bola in Administrator Mode
Running Bola in administrator mode is necessary for the program to function correctly. The permissions on the practice management software and Bola Voice must match or the program will not work as expected. This is especially useful when dealing with system settings, installations, or troubleshooting tasks that demand higher access rights.
Running Bola Voice as Administrator on Windows
Windows provides several ways to run programs with elevated privileges:
Use any of these when you want to test admin mode before deciding to make it permanent.
Option 1: Right-click the desktop icon
Close Bola Voice if it is already running.
Right-click the Bola Voice desktop icon.
Select Run as administrator.
Click Yes on the Windows User Account Control (UAC) prompt.
Option 2: From the Start menu
Click the Windows Start button.
Type Bola Voice.
Right-click the Bola Voice result and select Run as administrator.
Click Yes on the UAC prompt.
Option 3: From a pinned taskbar icon
Hold Ctrl + Shift and click the pinned Bola Voice icon.
Click Yes on the UAC prompt.
If Bola Voice does not respond after launching this way, confirm your practice management software (Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental) is also running with matching permissions. When elevation does not match between Bola Voice and your EHR, Windows can silently block Bola Voice from sending chart updates to the EHR even though the voice command appears correctly inside Bola.
If admin mode resolves the issue, follow the steps in Running Bola Voice as Administrator Permanently below so you do not have to repeat this every time.
Running Bola Voice as Administrator Permanently
If you frequently need to launch a program in administrator mode, you can set it to always run with elevated privileges:
Right-click the application and select Properties
Navigate to the Compatibility tab
Click the Change Settings for all users button
Check Run this program as an administrator
Click Apply and then OK
Click OK again in the main window
Running Bola Voice as Administrator on macOS
Mac computers use the sudo command in Terminal to run applications with administrative privileges:
Open Terminal (press Command + Space, type Terminal, and hit Enter)
Type sudo followed by the command to launch the app, e.g., sudo open /Applications/AppName.app
Enter your administrator password when prompted
For your IT team: what admin rights Bola needs
Some IT teams are understandably cautious about "run as administrator." Here is exactly what Bola needs and why, so you can make an informed decision.
Why Bola runs as administrator
Bola Voice is a Windows desktop app that enters charting and clinical notes into your practice management software (PMS) on the clinician's behalf. For Bola to send those commands into the PMS window, Windows requires both programs to run at the same privilege level. If the PMS is set to run as administrator, Bola must run as administrator too, or Windows will block it from interacting with the PMS.
This is a built-in Windows security feature called User Interface Privilege Isolation (UIPI). It applies to every Windows application, not only Bola.
What this does and does not mean
It is per-application elevation for the Bola program only, using the same "Run this program as an administrator" setting that many Windows business applications use.
It does not add the user to the local Administrators group.
It does not grant the user standing admin rights over the computer, the network, or any other software.
It applies only to the Bola process, and only while Bola is running.
Options for IT
Match the levels the other way. Check whether your PMS actually needs to run as administrator. If it can run as a standard user, Bola does not need elevation either, because the only requirement is that the two run at the same level.
Set the per-app flag. Enable "Run this program as an administrator" on the Bola shortcut (Properties > Compatibility), as described above. This is the simplest option; the user may see a Windows UAC prompt when Bola launches.
Use a Scheduled Task to avoid the prompt. Create a Scheduled Task set to "Run with highest privileges" that points at the Bola app, then a desktop shortcut that triggers it. IT controls the execution context. Contact Bola support and we will send step-by-step instructions.
Still have questions? Reach out to Bola support and we can walk your IT team through any of these options.