How to edit your RDP display settings

RDP files can be difficult to edit and even more difficult to locate if you use RemoteApp to create them.  Here's how to locate the file and edit the display settings to better accommodate your multi-screen workstation.

1.  If you used RemoteApp and Desktop Connections to connect to Red Hen, open the app (type RemoteApp into the Search bar) and select View Resources to view your current connections.

Right-click on the QB Desktop shortcut and copy the Target path into a text file for inspection. 

     

It will read something like this:

%systemroot%\system32\mstsc.exe "C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Workspaces\{D9CEDF8F-5F98-4494-9321-4DA8E921E3AD}\Resource\QB Desktop 7 (Work Resources).rdp"

The first part is the application used to open the file (MSTSC.exe) and the second part is the location of the .rdp file itself.  

2.  Open MSTSC by right-clicking Start and pasting %systemroot%\system32\mstsc.exe into the Run field. Click OK.

     

3.  Click Show Options and Open.  

     

4.  Copy in the rdp path indicated by the second part of the shortcut to open the .rdp file.     

5.  Configure your Display settings.  (See Screen size below).

     

6.  Return to the General tab to Save your modified .rdp file to a convenient location.

     

7.  Launch your modified .rdp file by double-clicking on it directly.

     

8.  Inspect the resulting session and adjust the .rdp file as necessary.

Screen Size Guide

RDP files can be configured with the following standard screen dimensions:

1. Full screen
2. 3840 x 2160
3. 2560 x 1600
4. 2048 x 1536
5. 1920 x 1200
6. 1920 x 1080
7. 1680 x 1050
8. 1600 x 1200
9. 1400 x 1050
10. 1440 x 900
11. 1366 x 768
12. 1280 x 1024
13. 1280 x 800
14. 1280 x720
15. 1024 x 768
16. 800 x 600
17. 640 x 480

These setting are saved in the .rdp file and will persist between sessions.  It is also possible to affect minor adjustments beyond these standard dimensions by switching to Windows mode once the session is launched, dragging the screen to your desired dimensions and enabling smart screen (right-click on window title bar and select smart screen).  These settings do not persist between sessions.