Configuring Remote Desktop Connection from the Command Line

To use the RDC client from the command line or custom shortcut, type mstsc followed by the appropriate command-line switches. For example, to initiate a Remote Desktop session using a custom display resolution of 1680 x 1050, type mstsc /w:1680 /h:1050 at a command prompt.

You can use the /span switch to initiate a Remote Desktop session that spans across multiple monitors. Note that when both the /span and /h: /w: switches are present, the /span switch takes precedence. In addition, when the /span option is selected, the slider for adjusting remote desktop size is unavailable on the Display tab so that users cannot change their initial settings, which can cause confusion.

New in Windows 7 is the /multimon switch, which configures the Remote Desktop session monitor layout to match the current client-side configuration.

Using the /public switch runs Remote Desktop in public mode. When an RDC client is running in public mode, it does not persist any private user data (such as user name, password, domain, and so on) either to disk or to the registry on the computer on which the client is running, nor does the client make use of any saved private data that may exist on the computer (a trusted sites list, the persistent bitmap cache, and so on). This means that the client essentially functions as if there were no registry or secondary storage present for storing private data. A client running in public mode still honors Group Policy settings, however. Finally, the /console switch used in previous versions of Mstsc.exe was removed in Windows Vista SP1 and has been replaced with the /admin switch.

Note For more help with Mstsc.exe parameters, type mstsc /? at a command prompt.