Use Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) to a computer at your office or home frequently? Do you go through launching the default RDC shortcut you dragged from the start menu to connect up? If so, this blog entry can help you.

Even though RDCs have been around a long time, I have been shocked by the lack of savvy with this built in feature of Windows by most users (Even IT staff!) I come across. Here is how you create a specific shortcut to a computer you use frequently that can save you a ton of time. Obviously you need to have the appropriate things configured on the destination computer. This post assumes that you already connect to the destination on a regular basis.

 

You could stop here and have a shortcut with your destination and username pre-populated. That might be all you need but there are other options you can utilize. I would like to highlight a few that I think are valuable.

 

Don’t forget to go back to the General tab and click Save to preserve your changes!

Well those are the basics for setting up efficient RDC shortcuts. There are even more layers in RDC. More about connecting local printers, drives, and beyond. Some of which will be the topic of a future blog post I am sure.