Lee Wilbur IT Solutions

Lee Wilbur
IT Solutions
A service of Multiverse Enterprises Inc.

Remote Desktop Configuration File Creator

Remote Desktop Connection

Remote Desktop (formerly known as Terminal Services) is a feature of Windows Servers and Windows Professional editions, such as Windows 7 Professional, Windows 10 Professional, and Windows 11 Professional. Remote Desktop allows the user to connect to a computer and remotely control the device. Remote Desktop has certain limitations or restrictions, depending on your perspective.

When used on a server, it can create multiple sessions (if licensed accordingly) and permit multiple users to share the server's resources without interferring with or seeing what other users are doing.

Windows Professional editions permit one user at a time to operate the computer. The user may be seated locally, in front of the console, or may connect remotely via Remote Desktop. When connected via Remote Desktop, the screen on the local computer shows a login prompt. Should another user try to login, the remote user is asked to permit the login which would terminate the connection for the remote user. (Remember, only one user at a time may use the computer!) Remote sessions, by default, do not end when a user disconnects. The remote session remains open as if the user left the computer while logged in, only in a locked state.

The Remote Desktop Connection application, included in all versions of Windows since at least Windows 2000, is Microsoft's built-in application that allows access to a computer with Remote Desktop enabled. The tool has a variety of options that can be configured to allow greater access or restrict certain access beyond defaults. The tool can save connection information to a configuration file to allow a user to reconnect with their required settings at a later time. These connection files end in .RDP, however, they are simple text files that store the connection's configuration. You can use Notepad or another text editor to make changes directly, if you understand the settings and how to edit them.

This website presents you with the various options (some of which are NOT exposed in the Remote Desktop Connection application) that you can select and allows you to choose the settings you want to enable or disable. Then, you can generate your own .RDP file for use with the Remote Desktop supporting system you want to use.

For more details, see the following links to Microsoft and third party web pages (they open in a new window or tab):

TERMINOLOGY NOTE:

Host Computer = the computer you are connecting TO.
Remote Computer or Local Computer = the computer you are physically working on/in front of.
Required Connection & AuthenticationInformation
Computer Name: Computer name or IP address you are connecting to.
Connection Port: Port on which the Host is listening for connections (default 3389).
Alternate Name: An alternate computer name or IP address you can connect to.
User Name: The username you use to login to Windows.
Domain Name: Your network's NetBIOS Domain Name.
Connect to Administrative Session: When connecting to servers only
Disable Connection Sharing: If checked, a new session is started with each connection to the host.
Public Mode: If checked, will not save any cache or user data on the local machine.
Remote Desktop Gateway: The publicly accessible name or IP of your Remote Desktop Gateway, if used.
RD Gateway Credentials:
RD Gateway Usage Method:
Use Separate Creds for RD Gateway:
Server Authentication:
Performance Tuning
Auto Reconnect if connection dropped:
Auto-detect bandwidth: If set, some other performance settings may be ignored.
Auto-detect network: If set, some other performance settings may be ignored.
Use bulk compression:
Use RDP efficient multimedia streaming for Video Playback:
Disable Wallpaper: Disables the display of the selected wallpaper over an RDP connection.
Font Smoothing:
Desktop Composition:
Show Window Contents While Dragging:
Themes:
Menu and Window Animations:
Persistent Bitmap Caching:
Resource Redirection
Some features may not be supported by the Host computer!
Video Encoding:
Encoded Video Quality:
Microphone:
Audio:
Cameras: Unchecked: None; Checked: All. Additional options available with manual editing
Devices:
Drives:
Windows Key Combinations:
Clipboard:
Printers: May require Host to have Remote printer's drivers installed.
Smart Cards:
Location Service:
COM Ports:
USB Devices: Supported devices only with Host supporting RemoteFX.
Display Settings
Use Multiple Displays: Allows the use of more than one monitor for your remote connection, defaults to all displays.
Use only with monitors:
More Info
Valid characters:
,123456789		 Empty, Use Multiple Displays not checked = 1 monitor
Empty, Use Multiple Displays checked = All monitors
comma separated numbers = limit to specified display numbers (ex: 1,2)
TIP: Run MSTSC /L to get an idea of which monitors are which.
Settings->System->Display->Identify DOES NOT correspond to the RDP monitor IDs!
Full Screen at Start: Starts the remote session in full screen mode.
Display Connection Bar: Determines if the Connection Bar at the top of the screen is visible.
Enable Super Panning: Removes scrollbars when session window is larger than local computer's monitor.
Enable Smart Sizing: If enabled, scales the contents of the window, preventing scroll bars.
Enable Dynamic Resolution: If enabled, dynamically changes the resolution of the remote system as the window is resized.
If enabled, overrides Smart Sizing.
Connection Resolution:
Custom Height:
Custom Width: 		Custom must be selected in the dropdown for the values in Custom Height and Custom Width to be used!
Scaling:
Color Depth:
Finished!
Last Update: March 27, 2026