Save Remote Desktop Connection Settings to RDP File in Windows

Remote Desktop Rdp Mstsc Icon

In this article, we will see how to save credentials for Remote Desktop Connection to an RDP file. This will allow you to export all settings you made for the remote session to a file. Next time you need it,  you can double-click the RDP file you created to quickly restore your preferences and options.

Before we continue, here are some details about how RDP works. While any edition of Windows 10 can act as Remote Desktop Client, to host a remote session, you need to be running Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise. You can connect to a Windows 10 Remote Desktop host from another PC running Windows 10, or from an earlier Windows version like Windows 7 or Windows 8, or Linux. Windows 10 comes with both client and server software out-of-the-box, so you don't need any extra software installed.

First of all, enable Remote Desktop on the target PC as described here:

How To Enable Remote Desktop (RDP) in Windows 10

mstsc.exe is the built-in client software which allows connecting to a computer via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). It is a special network protocol which allows a user to establish a connection between two computers and access the Desktop of a remote host. The local computer is often referred to as the "client". If you are running Windows, in most cases you use mstsc.exe to connect to another computer with RDP. Tip: See Remote Desktop (mstsc.exe) Command Line Arguments

To save your Remote Desktop Connection settings to RDP File in Windows 10, do the following.

  1. Launch mstsc.exe from the Run dialog (press the Win + R shortcut keys together on the keyboard) or from the Start menu.
  2. Configure the desired options including the remote address, display options and other settings you want to customize. Click Show options to display more settings.
  3. Now, click on Save As button in the Connection settings section on the General tab.
  4. This will create a new RDP file with your options. Specify the desired location to store it.

The selected connection settings will be saved to the RDP file you have specified.

To launch the saved session, open File Explorer and go to the folder where you store your RDP file. Double click it to establish the connection.

Alternatively, you can launch mstsc.exe again and select on the Open button on the General tab. Browse for your RDP file and you are done.

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Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

One thought on “Save Remote Desktop Connection Settings to RDP File in Windows”

  1. I’ve been using Deskgate for a while. Excellent performance and complies with the law on the protection of personal data.
    military cryptography is a very reliable remote connection program. http://service.deskgate.com/

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