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Configuring an RDP Connection

To modify the properties of an existing standard RDP connection, click the Navigation button, select RDP connections, right-click the connection and then click Connection Properties in the context menu (right-click it in the main Parallels Client window and then click Connection Properties in the context menu in classic interface). This will open the Connection Properties dialog. Properties are grouped in the dialog by functionality using tab pages. The following subsections describe each tab page in detail.

Connection
Display
Local resources
Programs
Experience
Network
Server authentication
Advanced settings

Connection

The Connection tab page allows you to specify connection settings and logon information.

In the Connection Settings section, specify the following properties:

In the Primary Connection field, specify the remote computer hostname or IP address.
The Port field contains the TCP port 3389 by default, which is the standard port for RDP connections. You can modify it if the port number was changed on the remote computer.
In the Friendly Name field, choose and type a name of your choice, so you could easily identify the server in Parallels Client later.

In the Logon section, specify the following properties:

Select the Auto start option to enable Parallels Client to connect automatically (using this connection) on startup.
In the Authentication type drop-down list, select the desired method of authentication:
- Credentials. Select this option and then enter the username, password, and domain information. You will be authenticated on the remote server using the specified credentials.
- Smart Card. Select this option to authenticate using a smart card. When connecting to the remote server, insert a smart card into the card reader and then enter a PIN when prompted.
- Single Sign-On. This option will be included in the list only if the Single Sign-On module is installed during Parallels Client installation. Select this option to use local system credentials to connect to the remote server.
- Web: Select this option to use the SAML SSO authentication.

Note for Administrators: The allowed authentication type(s) must be specified in the RAS Console in Connection / Authentication.

Display

The Display tab page allows you to configure display options.

In the General Options section, specify the general display properties, including color depth and screen size. If you would like to specify a custom screen size, select Custom in the drop-down list and then specify the size using the Width and Height fields.

If you have more than one monitor connected to your computer, select the Use all monitors for Desktop session option to use all of them to display the remote desktop.

Specify the Desktop Options as follows:

Display configuration: Choose which monitors will be used to display published resources. The following options are available:
- All: All displays.
- Primary: Your primary display. You can change the primary display as described below.
- Selected: Choose one or several displays manually. To choose a display, select this option and click Configure. To see what number corresponds to a display, click Identify.
  Newly connected displays are detected automatically. To force Client to detect new displays, click Identify.
  To change the primary display, select the display you want to be primary and click Set primary.
Smart-sizing: Choose a smart sizing option. The Scale (fit to window) option scales a remote desktop to fit the connection window. The Resize (update resolution) option updates the resolution dynamically (without the need to reconnect) based on the display resolution. To disable smart sizing, select Disabled.
Embed desktop in launcher. Enable this option to access the published desktop inside Parallels Client.
Span desktop across all monitors. Enable this option to span the published desktops across all connected monitors (if you have more than one).
Connection bar in full screen: Choose how the connection bar should be displayed in full screen mode by default: pinned, unpinned, or hidden.

Local resources

Use the Local resources tab page to configure how local resources are used in a remote session.

Audio

Click the Settings button to configure remote audio playback and recording options.

In the Remote audio playback section, Use the Where drop-down list to select one of the following remote audio playback options:

Bring to this computer. Audio from the remote computer will play on your local computer.
Do not play. Audio from the remote computer will not play on your local computer and will be muted on the remote computer as well.
Leave at remote computer. Audio will not play on your local computer but will play normally on the remote computer.

Use the Quality drop-down list to adjust the audio quality:

Dynamically adjust based on available bandwidth. This option will increase or decrease the audio quality based on your connection speed. The faster the connection, the higher audio quality setting will be used.
Always use medium audio quality. The audio quality is fixed at the medium level. You can use this option when you don't require the best possible audio quality and would rather use the available bandwidth for graphics.
Always use uncompressed audio quality. The audio quality is fixed at the highest level. Select this option if you have a very fast connection and require the best possible audio quality.

The Enable recording (if applicable) option allows you to enable audio recording on the remote computer. For example, you can speak into a microphone on the local computer and use a sound recording application on the remote computer to record yourself.

Keyboard

Select how you want to apply key combinations (e.g. Alt+Tab) that you press on the keyboard:

On the local computer. Key combinations will be applied to Windows running on the local computer.
On the remote computer. Key combinations will be applied to Windows running on the remote computer.
In full screen mode only. Key combinations will be applied to the remote computer only when in the full-screen mode.

Local Devices

Choose local disk drives, devices, and other resources that you want to redirect to a remote computer. Redirecting a resource makes it available for use in a remote session. For example, a redirected local disk drive will be available in a remote application, so you can read from and write to it.

The following options are available:

Clipboard. Select this option to enable the local clipboard in a remote session.
Disk drives. Select this option and then click Configure Drives. In the dialog that opens, select local drives you want to redirect. If you select the Use also disk drives that I plug in later option, disk drives that you connect to your local machine later will be automatically available in a remote session. You can also use the Enable drive redirection cache option to make file browsing and navigation on the redirected drives much faster:
- Disable: Drive redirection cache is disabled.
- Enable: Drive redirection cache is enabled.
- Fast mode: Same as above, but certain decorative features of File Explorer are disabled in favor of faster browsing.
Video capture devices. Specifies video capture devices to redirect from a user device to the remote session. This is a high-level redirection that allows to redirect a composite USB device, such as a webcam with a microphone. When this option is selected and you click Configure, a dialog opens where you can select a particular device or select one of following options: Use all devices available — all currently connected devices will be used; Use also devices that I plug in later — a device that is plugged in after a session is started will also be used.
Other supported devices. Select this option and then click Configure Devices. Devices that are currently connected to your local computer will appear in the list. This includes supported Plug and Play devices, media players based on the Media Transfer Protocol (MTP), and digital cameras based on the Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP). If a device is connected to your computer but does not appear in the list, it means it is not a supported Plug and Play device. Please note that disk drives, printers, and smart cards are excluded from this list (you redirect them using dedicated Disk drives, Printers, and Smart cards options). The Show previously connected devices option displays devices that are not currently connected but were connected previously.
Serial ports. Select this option to redirect serial ports.
Smart cards. Select this option to redirect smart cards.
Printers. Select this option to redirect local printers.

Programs

The Programs tab page allows you to specify a program that will be started automatically on the remote computer when you establish a connection with it. Select the Start the following program on connection option and then specify the Program path and file name and Start in the following folder option, if needed.

Experience

The Experience tab page allows you to tweak the connection speed to optimize the performance of the connection with the remote server.

In the drop-down list, select your connection speed:

If not sure, select the Detect connection quality automatically option. Please note that if you select this option, all other options, except Enable Compression, will be disabled and will be configured automatically based on the actual connection speed when Parallels Client is connected to Parallels RAS.
If you select a specific speed (e.g. LAN 10 Mbps or higher), select the desired user experience options. If you are connecting to a remote computer on a local network that runs at 100 Mbps or higher, it is usually safe to have all of the experience options turned on. Otherwise, select only the options that you require.

It is also recommended to enable compression to have a more efficient connection by selecting the Enable Compression option.

Enhance windows move/size: Enable this option if you experience graphics artifacts (dark squares) while moving or resizing a remote desktop window. The issue may manifest itself when a remote desktop is Windows Server 2012 or 2016 and when the Show contents of window while dragging option is enabled.

Network

Use the Network tab page to configure a proxy server if you have to use one to connect to the remote computer.

To configure a proxy server, select the Use proxy server option and then select the protocol from the following list:

SOCKS4. Enable this option to transparently use the service of a network firewall.
SOCKS4A. Enable this option to allow a client that cannot connect to resolve the destination host’s name to specify it.
SOCKS5. Enable this option to be able to connect using authentication.
HTTP 1.1. Enable this option to connect using the standard HTTP 1.1 protocol connections.

Specify the proxy host domain name or IP address and the port number.

For SOCKS5 and HTTP 1.1 protocols, select Proxy requires authentication and enter user credentials.

Server authentication

Use the Server authentication tab page to specify what happens if server authentication fails.

In the If authentication fails drop-down list, select one of the following options:

Connect. The user can ignore the certificate of the server and still connect.
Warn. The user is alerted about the certificate and still has the ability to choose whether to connect or not.
Do not connect. The user is not allowed to connect.

Advanced settings

The Advanced settings tab page allows you to customize the default behavior or Parallels Client.

You can specify the following properties:

Connect to console. This option is used for administration of a Remote Desktop Session Host server. It acts as if a standard Remote Desktop connection is initiated from the command line with the /admin option.
Network Level Authentication. Select this option to enable network level authentication, which will require the client to authenticate before connecting to the server.
Redirect POS devices. Enables the Point of Service (POS) devices such as bar code scanners or magnetic readers that are attached to the local computer to be used in the remote connection.
Use Pre Windows 2000 login format. If this option is selected, it allows you to use legacy (pre-Windows 2000) login format.

Connection Advanced Settings

Click the Connection Advanced Settings button to open the Connection Advanced Settings dialog and specify the following properties:

Connection Timeout. The amount of time Parallels Client will try to connect to the remote computer until the connection is aborted. While the connection is being established, the connection banner will be shown.
Show connection banner if connection is not established within. Specifies the time period in seconds after which the connection banner will be displayed.
Reconnect if connection is dropped. Select this option and set the number of Connection Retries. If a connection is dropped, the Parallels Client will automatically try to reconnect.
Show Connection Banner if reconnection is not established within. Specifies the time period in seconds after which the connection banner will be displayed.
Override computer name. Specifies the name that your computer will use during a remote desktop session. If set, this will override the default computer name. Any filtering set by the administrator on the server side will make use of the Override computer name.
Local proxy address. The setting in this section specifies on which IP address to bind the local RDP proxy. Select the Use 127.0.01 IP address when using Gateway mode in VPN scenarios option. You should have this setting enabled. Disabling it may lead to the user not being able to open applications or desktops when using a VPN.