Add a remote desktop
A Desktop service lets you see and control another computer's screen, over Remote Desktop (RDP) for Windows and Linux servers, or Screen Sharing (VNC) for a Mac or another VNC server. This page covers adding the service, its fields, and editing it.
Add a Desktop service to a host#
- Choose Add Host to create a new machine, or select an existing host and choose Add a service… under Services.
- Choose Desktop in the service picker.
- In Protocol, choose Remote Desktop (RDP) or Screen Sharing (VNC).
- Enter the account:
- For RDP, enter Username. It is required.
- For VNC, Mac user name is optional. Enter a Mac account name to sign in to Apple Screen Sharing with that account. Leave it blank for a server that accepts only a VNC password.
- Enter Password. It is required when you add a service.
- Choose Add.
The address belongs to the host, not the service. If the host has no address yet, the sheet asks for one; every service on the host shares it.
Warning
When you choose Screen Sharing (VNC) without a Mac user name, the sheet says: "Without a Mac user name, VNC protects the password at sign-in, not what follows: the screen and your typing cross the network readable. Add the Mac's user name, or use it on a network you trust." With a Mac user name, a Mac is encrypted after it signs you in, and the sheet says so; a server that isn't a Mac still protects only the password. Use a Mac account, RDP, or a network you trust when that matters.
Advanced settings#
Open Advanced for everything optional. The RDP-only rows are hidden when you choose VNC.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | The service's name. Leave it blank to use the machine's name. |
| Port | Leave it blank for the protocol's default: 3389 for RDP, 5900 for VNC. Changing Protocol clears this field, so choose the protocol first. |
| Domain (RDP) | The Windows domain for the account, for example EXAMPLE. Optional. |
| Authentication (RDP) | Network Level (NLA) requires Network Level Authentication. Allow TLS fallback also accepts servers that offer only TLS. See Sign in and trust a remote computer. |
| Desktop size | Width and height in pixels, 1920 × 1080 by default. Each side must be from 200 to 8192, the width must be even, and the whole may be at most 16,777,216 pixels (4096 × 4096, for example). |
| Share clipboard | Shares the clipboard with the remote computer: text, formatting and images over RDP, text over VNC. Off by default. See Keyboard, pointer, clipboard and audio. |
| Sync clipboard automatically | With the clipboard shared, copies cross by themselves. On by default; also in the desktop's Clipboard menu, as Sync Automatically. Off, Send Clipboard and Copy Remote Clipboard move a copy when you choose them. |
| Remote audio (RDP) | Plays the remote computer's sound on this device. Off by default. |
| Graphics (RDP) | Which pictures the remote computer is asked to send. Automatic, the default, uses its best picture. If colours smear while things move, choose H.264 (4:2:0), which leaves out H.264's 4:4:4 form; a computer that does not offer it sends its other pictures instead. If the picture breaks up or stays blank, choose Without H.264. Takes effect the next time you connect. |
| Credential storage | iCloud Keychain (the default) syncs the password to your other devices through iCloud Keychain. This device only keeps it here. |
With Match Window Size on, which is the default, an RDP session asks for the size of its window rather than Desktop size. On a Mac, Desktop size also sets how large a new session window opens. A VNC server chooses its own size, so for VNC that is all Desktop size does. See Resolution, scaling and zoom.
Edit a Desktop service#
- Select the host, then choose Edit (pencil) on the Desktop service row.
- Change what you need and choose Save.
- Leave Password blank to keep the saved password.
- Changing Username or Domain needs the password too. Without it you see "Enter the password to save an account or domain change. The previous credential is still preserved."
- Changing Port or Authentication clears any certificate you trusted for this computer, so you are asked to verify it again on the next connection. Changing the host's address does the same.
- Changing Credential storage moves the saved password to the storage you chose.
To remove the service, open the context menu on its service row and choose Remove Service. This removes the saved desktop from the host, with its saved password and the settings its windows kept.
If a field is not accepted#
When you try to save, the sheet shows a message under each field it cannot accept:
- "Enter the account to sign in with." — RDP needs a user name.
- "Enter the password for this desktop." — a new service needs a password.
- "Enter a port between 1 and 65535, or leave it blank for 3389." (or 5900 for VNC)
- "Enter a size between 200 and 8192, with an even width." It also appears for a size of more than 16,777,216 pixels.
- "A Screen Sharing user name can be at most 63 characters." — counted in bytes, so fewer for letters outside English.
- "This machine needs an address before a desktop can be added."