Windows 7 / Networking

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Configuring and Deploying Remote Desktop Connection

After you have enabled Remote Desktop on the host computer, you must configure the RDC client software on the client computer. You can configure RDC in several ways:

• Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Remote Desktop Connection. This opens the Remote Desktop Connection UI.
• Type mstsc at a command prompt or in the Search box to open the Remote Desktop Connection UI, or type mstsc followed by various parameters to customize how the RDC client software will run. For help with Mstsc.exe parameters, type mstsc /? at a command prompt.
• Use Notepad to manually edit an *.rdp file previously saved from the Remote Desktop Connection UI. For more information, read the section titled "Configuring Remote Desktop Connection Using Notepad" later in this tutorial.
• Configure those Remote Desktop Services Group Policy settings that apply to Remote Desktop.

Table below summarizes the configuration options available on the different tabs of the Remote Desktop Connection client UI.

Configuration Options for Remote Desktop Connection Client

General	Logon Settings: Computer	Specifies the FQDN or IP address (can be IPv4 or IPv6) of the host computer.
	Logon Settings: User Name	Specifies the user account to be used to establish the Remote Desktop session. This is displayed only when credentials from previous Remote Desktop sessions have been saved.
	Logon Settings: Always Ask For Credentials	Select this check box to require the user to always supply credentials. This is displayed only when credentials from previous Remote Desktop sessions have been saved.
	Connection Settings	Saves the current configuration of RDC client as an *.rdp file or opens a previously saved *.rdp file.
Display	Display Configuration	Changes the size of your remote desktop.
	Use All My Monitors For The Remote Session	Configures the Remote Desktop session monitor layout to match the current client-side configuration.
	Colors	Specifies color depth for your remote desktop.
	Display The Connection Bar When In Full-Screen Mode	Makes it easier to use Remote Desktop in fullscreen mode without needing to remember keyboard shortcuts.
Local Resources	Remote Audio	Controls where remote audio is played back and whether it should be recorded.
	Keyboard	Specifies how Windows key combinations, such as Alt+Tab, behave when used from within a Remote Desktop session.
	Local Devices And Resources: Printers	Prints to network computers connected to the host computer from within the Remote Desktop session without having to install additional drivers.
	Local Devices And Resources: Clipboard	Shares a clipboard between the client and host computers.
	Local Devices And Resources: More	Redirects additional devices local to the host computer to the remote client including serial ports, smart cards, disk drives, and supported PnP devices such as media players and digital cameras.
Programs	Start A Program	Specifies a program that should automatically start when your Remote Desktop session is established.
Experience	Performance: Choose Your Connection Speed To Optimize Performance	Specifies the connection speed closest to actual available network bandwidth to obtain the optimal mix of functionality and performance for your Remote Desktop session.
	Desktop Background Font Smoothing Desktop Composition Show Window Contents While Dragging Menu And Window Animation Visual Styles Persistent Bitmap Caching	Enables or disables each desktop user interface feature that is indicated.
	Reconnect If Connection Is Dropped	Specifies that the RDC client should attempt to re-establish a connection with the remote host if the connection between them is unexpectedly terminated.
Advanced	Server Authentication: Authentication Options	Specifies whether unauthenticated Remote Desktop sessions should be allowed; if they are allowed, specify whether a warning message should be displayed. For more information, see the sidebar titled "Remote Desktop Connection Server Authentication" later in this tutorial.
	Connect From Anywhere: Settings	Configures Remote Desktop Gateway (RD Gateway) settings to allow RDC clients to connect to remote computers behind corporate firewalls.

Note In enterprise environments, administrators can also preconfigure RDC client configurations and save them as Remote Desktop files (*.rdp files). These *.rdp files can then be deployed to users as e-mail attachments or copied from a network share using a logon script.