I needed to install some software today while logged in on my cousin's account, but wasn't able to because she is not an Administrator. The Vise installer would not let me authenticate, and I didn't really want to login as myself just for an install, so I thought this would be a great time to put Automator to use. This is an extremely simple hint, but hopefully it will save you some time in the future.
First off, you need Pseudo -- it's a utility that allows you to run programs as another user, provided you have their username and password. Download Pseudo and drop it in your Applications/Utilities folder. Now open Automator and start a new workflow. You only need one action to make this work.
Select Finder from the Applications list on the left and drag the "Open Finder Items" action to the workflow area on the right. By default, it says "Open with: Default Application." Click this drop-down, choose "Other..." from the bottom of the list, and find Pseudo in your Applications/Utilities folder.
Now choose File: Save As Plug-In..." and name it "Run As..." Also, make sure "Plug-in for: Finder" is selected. Now quit Automator and go find an application you'd like to open. Control- or (right-) click the app and choose "Automator -> Run As..." from the pop-up menu. You'll now be prompted for a username and password, and your app should run with the privileges of that user. Hopefully this will helpful to some of you.

