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Configure Custom RDP Settings for Virtual Desktops

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008 R2

You can specify custom Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) settings, such as audio redirection, for virtual desktop connections. These settings are applied when a user connects to a virtual desktop pool or a personal virtual desktop through RemoteApp and Desktop Connection. There are separate custom RDP settings for virtual desktop pools and personal virtual desktops.

Use the following procedure to specify custom RDP settings for virtual desktop connections by using the Remote Desktop Connection Manager tool.

Membership in the local Administrators group, or equivalent, on the RD Connection Broker server that you plan to configure, is the minimum required to complete this procedure. Review details about using the appropriate accounts and group memberships at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83477.

To specify custom RDP settings

  1. On the RD Connection Broker server, open Remote Desktop Connection Manager. To open Remote Desktop Connection Manager, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, point to Remote Desktop Services, and then click Remote Desktop Connection Manager.

  2. In the left pane, expand RD Virtualization Host Servers, and then navigate to the appropriate Properties dialog box.

    • For personal virtual desktops, click Personal Virtual Desktops, and then on the Action menu, click Properties.

    • For a virtual desktop pool, click the name of the virtual desktop pool, and then on the Action menu, click Properties.

  3. On the Custom RDP Settings tab, type or copy the custom RDP settings that you want to use into the Custom RDP settings box.

    To copy settings from an existing .rdp file, open the file in a text editor such as Notepad, and then copy the desired settings.

Important

You cannot override settings that can be configured elsewhere in Remote Desktop Connection Manager. This includes settings such as RD Gateway server settings and common RDP settings. If you do so, you are prompted to remove those settings when you click Apply. 

To create an .rdp file to copy the settings from, follow these steps:

1.  Open the Remote Desktop Connection client, and then click **Options**.  
      
2.  Configure the settings that you want, such as audio redirection.  
      
3.  When you are finished, on the **General** tab, click **Save As**, and then save the .rdp file.  
      
4.  Open the .rdp file in Notepad, and then copy the desired settings into the **Custom RDP settings** box on the **Custom RDP Settings** tab.

  1. When you have finished adding the settings that you want, click Apply.

  2. If the Error with Custom RDP Settings dialog box appears, do the following:

    1. Click Remove to automatically remove the settings that are either not valid or cannot be overridden, or click OK to remove the settings manually.

    2. After the settings are removed, click Apply again.

  3. To close the Properties dialog box, click OK.

For more information about RDP settings for Remote Desktop Services, see the Remote Desktop Services Technical Reference (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139899).

Additional references