Opening the Remote Desktop application
There are a few ways to access the Remote Desktop application in Windows 8:
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Search for Remote Desktop on the Start screen.
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Pin it to your taskbar in the Desktop application or Start screen
after the first run or from the Start screen. You can then access it at
any time from the taskbar or Start screen.
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Run Mstsc.exe, the executable name for Remote Desktop, by typing mstsc on the Start screen. MSTSC is the acronym for Microsoft Terminal Services Client.
When you start Remote Desktop, you must identify the computer to
which you want to connect by providing the computer name, as shown in Figure 2.
You can change the way Remote Desktop behaves for each connection
and save the connection to a particular server for later use. To view
these options, tap or click the Show
Options arrow at the bottom of the Remote Desktop Connection window.
The configurable options are, in order of tabbed appearance:
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General
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Display
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Local Resources
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Programs
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Experience
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Advanced
On the General tab, shown in Figure 3, you can modify sign-in and connection settings.
The following two sections provide the options you can set:
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Logon Settings You can enter the name of the remote computer and the user name of an account allowed access to the computer through Remote Desktop.
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Connection Settings When you have configured the options you want for the remote computer, you can save the configuration as an RDP file and use these options the next time you connect without reconfiguring them.
On the Display tab, shown in Figure 4, you can modify settings for display color and size.
The available options are:
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Display Configuration
You can set the size of the screen, from small to large, when you
connect, with large being full-screen. You can also set this connection
to use all the monitors connected to your system by selecting the Use
All My Monitors For The Remote Session check box.
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Colors You can specify the color settings for the session, similar to the way you can for the local desktop.
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Display The Connection Bar When I Use The Full Screen
When you select this check box, a tab displays the name of the machine
to which you are connected at the top of the screen when you are
connected in full-screen mode. The tab can be pinned to be visible
always, or it can be set to autohide to appear only when you move the
mouse over it.
On the Local Resources tab, shown in Figure 5, you can modify settings for the local experience during a remote connection.
The Local Resources tab has three sections:
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Remote Audio Tap
or click the Settings button to reveal options for both audio playback
and recording. For audio playback, you can play the audio on this
computer (locally), play the audio on the remote computer, or not play
the audio. For audio recording, you can record audio from this computer
(your local computer) or not record audio.
When you have configured these settings, tap or click OK to save
them and return to the Local Resources tab of the Remote Desktop
options dialog box to configure additional options.
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Keyboard Select a
choice from the list to define how the remote session handles Windows
key combinations. For example, if you press Windows logo key+R, the Run
dialog box opens on your computer. This can be redirected into the
Remote Desktop session to work on the remote computer, meaning that all
Windows logo key+key combinations take place on the computer selected
in this section. The options for keyboard settings are:
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On This Computer All Windows logo key+key combinations operate only on the local computer.
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On The Remote Computer All Windows logo key+key combinations operate only on the remote computer.
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Only When Using Full Screen Mode When the remote desktop session is
running in full-screen mode, Windows logo key+key combinations are
directed to the remote computer; otherwise, they function on the local
computer.
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Local Devices And Resources The last section of the Local
Resources tab identifies the local devices you will share in your
remote session. You can select either the Printers check box, the
Clipboard check box, or both, as appropriate. Tap or click More if you
have additional devices to share. The available device types include:
After you have selected the devices, tap or click OK to save these settings and return to the Local Resources tab of the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box.
