Use features of the Remote Desktop client for macOS when connecting to Azure Virtual Desktop
Once you've connected to Azure Virtual Desktop using the Remote Desktop client, it's important to know how to use the features. This article shows you how to use the features available in the Remote Desktop client for macOS. If you want to learn how to connect to Azure Virtual Desktop, see Connect to Azure Virtual Desktop with the Remote Desktop client for macOS.
You can find a list of all the Remote Desktop clients at Remote Desktop clients overview. For more information about the differences between the clients, see Compare the Remote Desktop clients.
Note
Some of the settings in this article can be overridden by your admin, such as being able to copy and paste between your local device and your remote session. If some of these settings are disabled, please contact your admin.
Edit, refresh, or delete a workspace
To edit, refresh or delete a workspace:
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device, then select Workspaces.
Right-click the name of a workspace or hover your mouse cursor over it and you'll see a menu with options for Edit, Refresh, and Delete.
- Edit allows you to specify a user account to use each time you connect to the workspace without having to enter the account each time. To learn more, see Manage user accounts.
- Refresh makes sure you have the latest desktops and apps and their settings provided by your admin.
- Delete removes the workspace from the Remote Desktop client.
User accounts
Add user credentials to a workspace
You can save a user account and associate it with workspaces to simplify the connection sequence, as the sign-in credentials will be used automatically.
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device, then select Workspaces.
Right-click the name of a workspace, then select Edit.
For User account, select Add User Account... to add a new account, or select an account you've previously added.
If you selected Add User Account..., enter a username, password, and optionally a friendly name, then select Add.
Select Save.
Manage user accounts
You can save a user account and associate it with workspaces to simplify the connection sequence, as the sign-in credentials will be used automatically. You can also remove accounts you no longer want to use.
To save a user account:
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device.
From the macOS menu bar, select Microsoft Remote Desktop, then select Preferences.
Select the User Accounts tab, then the + (plus) icon.
Enter a username, password, and optionally a friendly name, then select Add. You can then add this account to a workspace by following the steps in Add user credentials to a workspace.
Close Preferences.
To remove an account you no longer want to use:
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device.
From the macOS menu bar, select Microsoft Remote Desktop, then select Preferences.
Select the User Accounts tab, then select the account you want to remove.
Select the - (minus) icon, then confirm you want to delete the user account.
Close Preferences.
Display preferences
Add, remove, or restore display resolutions
To add, remove or restore display resolutions:
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device.
From the macOS menu bar, select Microsoft Remote Desktop, then select Preferences.
Select the Resolutions tab.
To add a custom resolution, select the + (plus) icon and enter in the width and height in pixels, then select Add.
To remove a resolution, select the resolution you want to remove, then select the - (minus) icon. Confirm you want to delete the resolution by selecting Delete.
To restore default resolutions, select Restore Defaults.
Display settings for each remote desktop
If you want to use different display settings to those specified by your admin, you can configure custom settings.
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device, then select Workspaces.
Right-click the name of a desktop, for example SessionDesktop, then select Edit.
Check the box for Use custom settings.
On the Display tab, you can select from the following options:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Resolution | Select the resolution to use for the desktop. You can select from a predefined list, or add custom resolutions. |
| Use all monitors | Automatically use all monitors for the desktop. If you have multiple monitors, all of them will be used. For information on limits, see Compare the features of the Remote Desktop clients. |
| Start session in full screen | The desktop will be displayed full screen, rather than windowed. |
| Fit session to window | When you resize the window, the scaling of the desktop will automatically adjust to fit the new window size. The resolution will stay the same. |
| Color quality | The quality and number of colors used. Higher quality will use more bandwidth. |
| Optimize for Retina displays | Scale the desktop to match the scaling used on the Mac client. This will use four times more bandwidth. |
| Update the session resolution on resize | When you resize the window, the resolution of the desktop will automatically change to match. |
Displays have separate spaces
macOS allows you to create extra desktops, called Spaces, where only the Windows that are in that space are visible. This is set in macOS System Preferences > Mission Control > Displays have separate Spaces. If this is disabled, macOS will use the same desktop across all monitors.
When separate Spaces are disabled, if the Remote Desktop client has Start session in full screen enabled, but Use all monitors disabled, only one monitor will be used and the others will be blank. Either enable Use all monitors so the remote desktop is displayed on all monitors, or enable Displays have separate spaces in Mission Control so that the remote desktop will be displayed full screen on one monitor, but others will show the macOS desktop.
Sidecar
You can use Apple Sidecar during a remote session, allowing you to extend a Mac desktop display using an iPad as an extra monitor.
Input methods
You can use a built-in or external Mac keyboard, trackpad and mouse to control desktops or apps.
Keyboard
Mac and Windows keyboard layouts differ slightly - for example, the Command key on a Mac keyboard equals the Windows key on a Windows keyboard. To help with the differences this makes when using keyboard shortcuts, the Remote Desktop client automatically maps common shortcuts found in macOS so they'll work in Windows. These are:
| Key combination | Function |
|---|---|
| CMD+C | Copy |
| CMD+X | Cut |
| CMD+V | Paste |
| CMD+A | Select all |
| CMD+Z | Undo |
| CMD+F | Find |
In addition, the Alt key to the right of the space bar on a Mac keyboard equals the Alt Gr in Windows.
Keyboard language
By default, remote desktops and apps will use the same keyboard language, also known as locale, as your Mac. For example, if your Mac uses en-GB for English (United Kingdom), that will also be used by Windows in the remote session.
There are some Mac-specific layouts or custom layouts for which an exact match may not be available on the version of Windows you're connecting to. Your Mac keyboard will be matched to the best available on the remote session.
If your keyboard layout is set to a variation of a language, such as Canadian-French, and if the remote session can't map you to that exact variation, it will map the closest available language instead. For example, if you chose the Canadian-French locale and it wasn't available, the closest language would be French. However, some of the Mac keyboard shortcuts you're used to using on your Mac may not work as expected in the remote session.
There are some scenarios where characters in the remote session don't match the characters you typed on the Mac keyboard:
- Using a keyboard that the remote session doesn't recognize. When Azure Virtual Desktop doesn't recognize the keyboard, it defaults to the language last used with the remote PC.
- Connecting to a previously disconnected session from Azure Virtual Desktop where that session uses a different keyboard language than the language you're currently trying to use.
- Needing to switch keyboard modes between unicode and scancode. To learn more, see Keyboard modes.
You can manually set which keyboard language to use in the remote session by following the steps at Managing display language settings in Windows. You might need to close and restart the application you're currently using for the keyboard changes to take effect.
Keyboard modes
There are two different modes you can use that control how keyboard input is interpreted in a remote session: Scancode and Unicode.
With Scancode, user input is redirected by sending key press up and down information to the remote session. Each key is identified by its physical position on the keyboard and uses the keyboard layout of the remote session, not the keyboard of the local device. For example, scancode 31 is the key next to Caps Lock. On a US keyboard this key would produce the character "A", while on a French keyboard this key would produce the character "Q".
With Unicode, user input is redirected by sending each character to the remote session. When a key is pressed, the locale of the user is used to translate this input to a character. This can be as simple as the character "a" by simply pressing the "a" key, but it can enable an Input Method Editor (IME), allowing you to input multiple keystrokes to create more complex characters, such as for Chinese and Japanese input sources. Below are some examples of when to use each mode.
When to use Scancode:
Dealing with characters that aren't printable, such as Arrow Up or shortcut combinations.
Certain applications that don't accept Unicode input for characters such as: Hyper-V VMConnect (for example, no way to input a BitLocker password), VMware Remote Console, all applications written using the Qt framework (for example R Studio, TortoiseHg, QtCreator).
Applications that utilize scancode input for actions, such as Space bar to check/uncheck a checkbox, or individual keys as shortcuts, for example applications in browser.
When to use Unicode:
To avoid a mismatch in expectations. A user who expects the keyboard to behave like a Mac keyboard and not like a PC keyboard can run into issues where Mac and PC have differences for the same locale/region layout.
When the keyboard layout used on the client might not be available on the server.
To switch between keyboard modes:
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device.
From the macOS menu bar, select Connections, then select Keyboard Mode.
Choose Scancode or Unicode.
Alternatively, you can use the following keyboard shortcut to select each mode:
- Scancode: Ctrl+Command+K
- Unicode: Ctrl+Command+U
Input Method Editor
The Remote Desktop client supports Input Method Editor (IME) in a remote session for input sources. The local macOS IME experience will be accessible in the remote session.
Important
For an IME to work, the input mode needs to be in Unicode Mode. To learn more, see Keyboard modes.
Mouse and trackpad
You can use a mouse or trackpad with the Remote Desktop client. In order to use the right-click or secondary-click, you may need to configure macOS to enable right-click, or you can plug in a standard PC two-button USB mouse. To enable right-click in macOS:
Open System Preferences.
For the Apple Magic Mouse, select Mouse, then check the box for Secondary click.
For the Apple Magic Trackpad of MacBook Trackpad, select Trackpad, then check the box for Secondary click.
Redirections
Folder redirection
The Remote Desktop client enables you to make local folders available in your remote session. This is known as folder redirection. This means you can open files from and save files to your Mac with your remote session. Folders can also be redirected as read-only. Redirected folders appear in the remote session as a network drive in Windows Explorer.
All remote sessions
To enable folder redirection for all remote desktops:
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device.
From the macOS menu bar, select Microsoft Remote Desktop, then select Preferences.
Select the General tab, then for If folder redirection is enabled for RDP files or managed resources, redirect:, select Choose Folder....
Navigate to the folder you want to be available in all your remote desktop sessions, then select Choose.
Close the Preferences window. Optionally, if you want to make this folder available as read-only, check the box before closing the window.
Each remote resource
To enable folder redirection for each remote desktop individually:
If you want to use different display settings to those specified by your admin for the workspace, you can configure custom settings.
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device, then select Workspaces.
Right-click the name of a desktop, for example SessionDesktop, then select Edit.
Check the box for Use custom settings.
On the Folders tab, check the box Redirect folders, then select the + (plus) icon.
Navigate to the folder you want to be available when accessing this remote resource, then select Open. You can add multiple folders by repeating the previous step and this step.
Select Save. Optionally, if you want to make this folder available as read-only, check the box, then select Save.
Redirect devices, audio, and clipboard
The Remote Desktop client can make your local clipboard and local devices available in your remote desktop where you can copy and paste text, images, and files. You can also redirect the audio from the remote desktop to your local device. You can redirect:
- Printers
- Smart cards
- Clipboard
- Microphones
- Cameras
To enable redirection of devices, audio and the clipboard:
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device, then select Workspaces.
Right-click the name of a desktop, for example SessionDesktop, then select Edit.
Check the box for Use custom settings.
On the Devices & Audio tab, check the box for each device you want to use in the remote desktop.
Select whether you want to play sound On this computer, On the remote PC, or Never.
Select Save.
Microsoft Teams optimizations
You can use Microsoft Teams on Azure Virtual Desktop to chat, collaborate, make calls, and join meetings. With media optimization, the Remote Desktop client handles audio and video locally for Teams calls and meetings. For more information, see Use Microsoft Teams on Azure Virtual Desktop.
Starting with version 10.7.7 of the Remote Desktop client for macOS, optimizations for Teams is enabled by default. If you need to enable optimizations for Microsoft Teams:
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device.
From the macOS menu bar, select Microsoft Remote Desktop, then select Preferences.
Select the General tab, then check the box Enable optimizations for Microsoft Teams.
General app settings
To set other general settings of the Remote Desktop app to use with Azure Virtual Desktop:
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device.
From the macOS menu bar, select Microsoft Remote Desktop, then select Preferences.
Select the General tab. You can change the following settings:
Setting Value Description Show PC thumbnails Check On or Off Show thumbnails of remote sessions. Help improve Remote Desktop Check On or Off Send anonymous data to Microsoft. Use Mac shortcuts for copy, cut, paste and select all, undo, and find Check On or Off Use these shortcuts in remote sessions. Use system proxy configuration Check On or Off Use the proxy specified in macOS network settings. Graphics interpolation level Select from Automatic, None, Low, Medium, or High As the interpolation level is increased, most text and graphics appear smoother, but rendering performance will decrease (if hardware acceleration is disabled). Use hardware acceleration when possible Check On or Off Use graphics hardware to render graphics.
Admin link to subscribe to a workspace
The Remote Desktop client for macOS supports the ms-rd Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) scheme. This enables you to use a link that users can help to automatically subscribe to a workspace, rather than them having to manually add the workspace in the Remote Desktop client.
To subscribe to a workspace with a link:
Open the following link in a web browser:
ms-rd:subscribe?url=https://rdweb.wvd.microsoft.com.If you see the prompt This site is trying to open Microsoft Remote Desktop.app, select Open. The Microsoft Remote Desktop application should open and automatically show a sign-in prompt.
Enter your user account, then select Sign in. After a few seconds, your workspaces should show the desktops and applications that have been made available to you by your admin.
Test the beta client
If you want to help us test new builds before they're released, you should download our beta client. Organizations can use the beta client to validate new versions for their users before they're generally available.
Note
The beta client shouldn't be used in production.
You can download the beta client for macOS from our preview channel on AppCenter. You don't need to create an account or sign into AppCenter to download the beta client.
If you already have the beta client, you can check for updates to ensure you have the latest version by following these steps:
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device.
From the macOS menu bar, select Microsoft Remote Desktop, then select Check for updates.
Provide feedback
If you want to provide feedback to us on the Remote Desktop client for macOS, you can do so in the app:
Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop application on your device.
From the macOS menu bar, select Help, then select Submit Feedback.
Next steps
If you're having trouble with the Remote Desktop client, see Troubleshoot the Remote Desktop client.