Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Client For Mac Beta 2

Download here

‎Use Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac to connect to a remote PC or virtual apps and desktops made available by your admin. With Microsoft Remote Desktop, you can be productive no matter where you are.

Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit has kept true to its promise from a couple of weeks ago by announcing an update to its Remote Desktop Connection client today… in beta form. RDC 2.0 for Mac (beta 1) has been a looooong time coming, and finally brings RDC up to Universal Binary status. But that’s just the beginning of the listed features. According to Microsoft’s download site, here are some features you can expect to see in the new beta:

• It supports connecting to desktops, remote resources and Azure RemoteApp. This is the app you should use in a live operating environment. The Microsoft Remote Desktop Beta app for Mac is a pre-release app available on HockeyApp. The pre-release app showcases the new user interface design and features we would like to receive your feedback on.
• Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac Beta here Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac via Mac Apple Store Even though they are both version 8.x or higher, the Beta version seems to offer a much native and refined user experience compared to the App Store version.
• Universal Binary
  Runs natively on both Intel-based and PowerPC-based Macs.
• Remote Desktop Protocol 6.0
  Provides better compatibility with Windows Vista, improved security features, and many other improvements.
• Multiple Sessions
  Lets you connect to multiple Windows-based computers at the same time.
• Improved User Experience
  Provides a true Mac experience and improved usability.
• Improved Customization Options
  Lets you change application preferences, including keyboard shortcuts, while you are running a session. Changes take effect the next time that you connect.
• Dynamic Screen Resizing
  Lets you resize your session window or switch to full-screen mode during a session.
• Improved Printing Support
  Supports all configured printers on your Mac. No longer limited to PostScript printers.

For those not familiar, RDC allows you to remote desktop into your Windows computer from a Mac. And despite Microsoft’s sometimes shoddy reputation among Mac users, RDC works pretty darn well for the task at hand. It’s not virtualization of course, and so people who want to run Windows apps natively will still want to run something like Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion. However, RDC is certainly very helpful for performing small tasks on a Windows machine that’s across the room, down the hall, or on the other side of campus (as the case may be).

Also announced today was an update to Microsoft’s Office Open XML File Format Converter. The software was originally released in May of this year as a way to convert Open XML documents created with the Windows version of Office 2007 to a Mac-friendly format. Version 0.2 (Beta) ‘improves conversion of Word documents that contain XML content, inline graphics, hyperlinked graphics, WMF/EMF graphics, SmartArt graphics, tracked changes in the document header and footer, Unicode characters, and Japanese Rubi fields,’ writes Microsoft. ‘In addition, this version succeeds when converting Word documents that contain bibliography fields, citation fields, and complex tables.’

The RDC beta is currently only available in English, although you can expect that other languages will be supported once the final version is released. It also expires on March 31, 2008 — but luckily for us, RDC is free (or has been in the past, anyway), so when the final version gets released, you hopefully won’t be put in a bind. The Open XML converter expires at the end of 2007.

→

Applies To: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016

You can use the Remote Desktop client for Mac to work with Windows apps, resources, and desktops from your Mac computer. Use the following information to get started — and check out the FAQ if you have questions.

Note

• Curious about the new releases for the macOS client? Check out What’s new for Remote Desktop on Mac?
• The Mac client runs on computers running macOS 10.10 and newer.
• The information in this article applies primarily to the full version of the Mac client — the version available in the Mac AppStore. Test-drive new features by downloading our preview app here: beta client release notes.

Get the Remote Desktop client

Follow these steps to get started with Remote Desktop on your Mac:

1. Download the Microsoft Remote Desktop client from the Mac App Store.
2. Set up your PC to accept remote connections. (If you skip this step, you can’t connect to your PC.)
3. Add a Remote Desktop connection or a remote resource. You use a connection to connect directly to a Windows PC and a remote resource to use a RemoteApp program, session-based desktop, or a virtual desktop published on-premises using RemoteApp and Desktop Connections. This feature is typically available in corporate environments.

What about the Mac beta client?

We’re testing new features on our preview channel on AppCenter. Want to check it out? Go to Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac and click Download. You don’t need to create an account or sign into AppCenter to download the beta client.

If you already have the client, you can check for updates to ensure you have the latest version. In the beta client, click Microsoft Remote Desktop Beta at the top, and then click Check for updates.

Add a Remote Desktop connection

To create a remote desktop connection:

1. In the Connection Center, click +, and then click Desktop.
2. Enter the following information:

• PC name — the name of the computer.
• This can be a Windows computer name (found in the System settings), a domain name, or an IP address.
• You can also add port information to the end of this name, like MyDesktop:3389.
• User Account — Add the user account you use to access the remote PC.
• For Active Directory (AD) joined computers or local accounts, use one of these formats: user_name, domainuser_name, or user_name@domain.com.
• For Azure Active Directory (AAD) joined computers, use one of these formats: AzureADuser_name or AzureADuser_name@domain.com.
• You can also choose whether to require a password.
• When managing multiple user accounts with the same user name, set a friendly name to differentiate the accounts.
• Manage your saved user accounts in the preferences of the app.

1. You can also set these optional settings for the connection:

• Set a friendly name
• Add a Gateway
• Set the sound output
• Swap mouse buttons
• Enable Admin Mode
• Redirect local folders into a remote session
• Forward local printers
• Forward Smart Cards

1. Click Save.

To start the connection, just double-click it. The same is true for remote resources.

Export and import connections

You can export a remote desktop connection definition and use it on a different device. Remote desktops are saved in separate .RDP files.

1. In the Connection Center, right-click the remote desktop.
2. Click Export.
3. Browse to the location where you want to save the remote desktop .RDP file.
4. Click OK.

Use the following steps to import a remote desktop .RDP file.

1. In the menu bar, click File > Import.
2. Browse to the .RDP file.
3. Click Open.

Add a remote resource

Remote resources are RemoteApp programs, session-based desktops, and virtual desktops published using RemoteApp and Desktop Connections.

• The URL displays the link to the RD Web Access server that gives you access to RemoteApp and Desktop Connections.
• The configured RemoteApp and Desktop Connections are listed.

To add a remote resource:

1. In the Connection Center click +, and then click Add Remote Resources.
2. Enter information for the remote resource:

• Feed URL — The URL of the RD Web Access server. You can also enter your corporate email account in this field — this tells the client to search for the RD Web Access Server associated with your email address.
• User name — The user name to use for the RD Web Access server you are connecting to.
• Password — The password to use for the RD Web Access server you are connecting to.

1. Click Save.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Client For Mac Beta 2 Iphone

The remote resources will be displayed in the Connection Center.

Connect to an RD Gateway to access internal assets

A Remote Desktop Gateway (RD Gateway) lets you connect to a remote computer on a corporate network from anywhere on the Internet. You can create and manage your gateways in the preferences of the app or while setting up a new desktop connection.

To set up a new gateway in preferences:

1. In the Connection Center, click Preferences > Gateways.
2. Click the + button at the bottom of the table Enter the following information:

• Server name — The name of the computer you want to use as a gateway. This can be a Windows computer name, an Internet domain name, or an IP address. You can also add port information to the server name (for example: RDGateway:443 or 10.0.0.1:443).
• User name — The user name and password to be used for the Remote Desktop gateway you are connecting to. You can also select Use connection credentials to use the same user name and password as those used for the remote desktop connection.

Manage your user accounts

When you connect to a desktop or remote resources, you can save the user accounts to select from again. You can manage your user accounts by using the Remote Desktop client.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Client For Mac Beta 2 0

To create a new user account:

1. In the Connection Center, click Settings > Accounts.
2. Click Add User Account.
3. Enter the following information:

• User Name — The name of the user to save for use with a remote connection. You can enter the user name in any of the following formats: user_name, domainuser_name, or user_name@domain.com.
• Password — The password for the user you specified. Every user account that you want to save to use for remote connections needs to have a password associated with it.
• Friendly Name — If you are using the same user account with different passwords, set a friendly name to distinguish those user accounts.

1. Tap Save, and then tap Settings.

Customize your display resolution

You can specify the display resolution for the remote desktop session.

1. In the Connection Center, click Preferences.
2. Click Resolution.
3. Click +.
4. Enter a resolution height and width, and then click OK.

To delete the resolution, select it, and then click -.

Displays have separate spacesIf you are running Mac OS X 10.9 and disabled Displays have separate spaces in Mavericks (System Preferences > Mission Control), you need to configure this setting in the remote desktop client using the same option.

Drive redirection for remote resources

Drive redirection is supported for remote resources, so that you can save files created with a remote application locally to your Mac. The redirected folder is always your home directory displayed as a network drive in the remote session.

Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Client For Mac Beta 2017

Note

In order to use this feature, the administrator needs to set the appropriate settings on the server.

Use a keyboard in a remote session

Mac keyboard layouts differ from the Windows keyboard layouts.

Remote Desktop Connection Client Mac

• The Command key on the Mac keyboard equals the Windows key.
• To perform actions that use the Command button on the Mac, you will need to use the control button in Windows (e.g.: Copy = Ctrl + C).
• The function keys can be activated in the session by pressing additionally the FN key (e.g.: FN + F1).
• The Alt key to the right of the space bar on the Mac keyboard equals the Alt Gr/right Alt key in Windows.

By default, the remote session will use the same keyboard locale as the OS you’re running the client on. (If your Mac is running an en-us OS, that will be used for the remote sessions as well.) If the OS keyboard locale is not used, check the keyboard setting on the remote PC and change it manually. See the Remote Desktop Client FAQ for more information about keyboards and locales.

Support for Remote Desktop gateway pluggable authentication and authorization

Windows Server 2012 R2 introduced support for a new authentication method, Remote Desktop Gateway pluggable authentication and authorization, which provides more flexibility for custom authentication routines. You can now try this authentication model with the Mac client.

Important

Custom authentication and authorization models before Windows 8.1 are not supported, although the article above discusses them.

To learn more about this feature, check out https://aka.ms/paa-sample.

Tip

Questions and comments are always welcome. However, please do NOT post a request for troubleshooting help by using the comment feature at the end of this article. Instead, go to the Remote Desktop client forum and start a new thread. Have a feature suggestion? Tell us in the client user voice forum.

Download here