May 26, 2016 - My question is this. In the RDP profile entry under the Display tab, the Remote Desktop Size is set to 'Default' is there a place I can set what this Default is so that. Sep 8, 2015 - While using Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) with a remote Windows VPS or Windows server, many users are unaware that the session can.
I remember reading about this feature when Windows 8.1 was made generally available in late 2013, but for I didn’t have time then to try this out. Today while being connected to my home server to do some development work I decided to test if the new features in Remote Desktop (RDP) work or provide any real benefits.
My number one gripe with RDP has in the past few years been the amazingly clumsy way to resize a remote session from full screen to something smaller. Experienced RDP users know how to do this, but less regular users always seem to struggle with this view:
You first have to close the current connection, and start a new connection. Before clicking Connect you have to scroll theslider from Large (Full screen) to something smaller. Just small enough as not to fill your desktop (and to fit in a window, so less than your max resolution on the host), but large enough to actually be useful. It’s a tiny thing but annoying.
Several tools, like Remote Desktop Connection Manager from Microsoft (download) have kind of resolved this issue, but it would always mean an additional software install on whatever host system you were working on. There’s also the fabulous Remote Desktop Manager, which does all this and “just works”, but it’s not free. Admittedly, paying for good software is something we all should do more often, but still, $84,99 for a tool I already (kind of) have as part of the OS seems too steep.
So what’s new in RDP?
In Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2, Remote Desktop Connection client (mstsc.exe) introduces resolution and scaling support, among other things. While the resolution is still being when you initiate the connection, you can now freely adjust it while being connected.
Here’s how it works:
First, you’ll need to connect from Windows 8.1/Server 2012 R2 to Windows 8.1/Server 2012 R2. No way around this.
My home server is a Windows 8.1 Update, and my client workstation is also a Windows 8.1 Update, so that’s enough to get dynamic scaling to work. When connecting, you must first connect with Full Screen, as in the picture above.
After you’ve connected, press Ctrl-Alt-Break. On my laptop it actually requires Ctrl-Alt-Fn-Break, since Pause/Break button nowadays seems to have to functions.
This actually toggles between full screen and windowed mode. Now, in the windowed RDP session, click the top-left corner and in the menu enable Smart sizing:
You can now resize the RDP window and see smart sizing in action. Here’s a screenshot from my RDP session with about 50% scaling:
And again in about 25% scaling:
Based on my testing it works just like it should: You don’t have to think about after setting Smart scaling once.
Smart scaling is a small update but long overdue – RDP’ing to servers feels just that much nicer from now on!
I help organizations create secure cloud and hybrid solutions using Microsoft Azure and Office 365. I’m a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional & Microsoft Regional Director. Based in Helsinki, Finland.
Related
Information in this topic applies to desktop and web applications. |
By default the Microsoft Windows operating system includes the Remote Desktop component that allows you to connect to a remote computer and work with it as you work with your local computer.
Using this component you can run and monitor automated tests on remote computers: you can connect to a test computer using a Remote Desktop connection and use the Remote Desktop window to work with the remote computer on your PC. For more information on running automated tests by using the Remote Desktop component, see About Running Tests via Remote Desktop.
While running GUI tests via the Remote Desktop component, keep in mind that the Remote Desktop window must be visible on screen. If you minimize the Remote Desktop window or disconnect from the Remote Desktop Connection session, the GUI tests will fail. To work around this problem, see the Running Tests in Minimized Remote Desktop Windows help topic.
However, sometimes, you may need to follow test running, so you may need to control the remote desktop. In this case, the screen resolution on the remote computer must be the same as on the master computer. Sometimes, it may be inconvenient. To work around this problem, you can specify the properties of the Remote Desktop connection in a special way. Below is a step-by-step instruction on how to do this.
- Open the 'Remote desktop connection' window. To do this, click Start | All Programs | Accessories | Remote Desktop Connection.
- Click Options and then click Save As.
- Specify the path to the .rdp file that will store the Remote Desktop Connection options.
- Click Save and then close the Remote Desktop Connection options window.
- Open the created .rdp file in an editor, for example, in Notepad, and add the following string at the end of the file: Make sure that the parameters desktopwidth:i:1280 and desktopheight:i:1024 match the server's desktop resolution. You can also change the color settings. For this purpose, replace the value session bpp:i:8 with the session bpp:i:24 string.
- Double-click the .rdp file's icon to start a Remote Desktop Connection session.
After that, you can resize the Remote Desktop window as you wish, at that, the window will show the entire remote desktop. So, you can make the Remote Desktop window smaller and you will be able to control your test remotely.
See Also
Running Tests via Remote Desktop
About Running Tests via Remote Desktop
Running Tests in Minimized Remote Desktop Windows
Running Tests
Running Tests on Locked Computers
About Running Tests via Remote Desktop
Running Tests in Minimized Remote Desktop Windows
Running Tests
Running Tests on Locked Computers