Keyboard shortcut to minimize Remote Desktop

Question

Is there a way, using the keyboard, to switch from a maximized (full screen) Remote Desktop Connection back to the main computer?

I have about 4 Remote Desktop connections that I am switching between and it would be nice to not have to go to the mouse each time I want to switch.

I know I can press ctrl+alt+break and that normalizes the remote desktop screen. That is close, but I would like a way to just minimize it (so I don't have to normalize->switch->maximize each time I want to switch screens)

Answer 1

CTRL + ALT + BREAK will minimize the maximized window to the host PC.

Answer 2

Not quite what you asked for, but might be helpful enough:

CTRL + ALT + ← - switches you to the host computer

CTRL + ALT + → - switches you back to the remote computer

Source

Answer 3

I do the same thing. The best solution I found in XP was virtual dimension with the virtual desktops always on top. Then I can switch among 4 remote desktops in full screen with one mouse click each. However, Virtual Dimension doesn't work quite right in Windows 7 (at least in 64 bit). It seems to work but it loses the "always on top" though the checkbox stays on, the virtual desktop switcher does not. It is so close to what we both want, but so far.

Answer 4

This bugged me for the longest time as well. Initial attempts to solve it with AutoHotkey failed, because the Remote Desktop client installs a keyboard hook and swallows all input. I finally discovered that the Caps Lock key gets passed through to the local system. So, this AutoHotkey script will do the trick, making Ctrl+Shift+CapsLock minimize Remote Desktop:

#IfWinActive ahk_class TscShellContainerClass
  ^+CapsLock::
    ; Need a short sleep here for focus to restore properly.
    Sleep 50
    WinMinimize
  return
#IfWinActive

Corrected version that works for me:

#IfWinActive ahk_class TSSHELLWND
  ^Capslock::           ; Ctrl+Caps Lock (couldn't make Ctrl+Shift+Caps Lock work for some reason
    ; Need a short sleep here for focus to restore properly.
    Sleep 50
    WinMinimize A    ; need A to specify Active window
    ;MsgBox, Received Remote Desktop minimize hotkey    ; uncomment for debugging
  return
#IfWinActive

Answer 5

Bring up the host's Task Manager, then task-switch:

• CTRL-ALT-DELETE` (Windows Security)

• T (Task Manager)

• ALT-TAB (task-switch on host computer)

Answer 6

For me in Windows 7 64 bit to make scrip work I had to change 1st line from #IfWinActive ahk_class TSSHELLWND to "IfWinActive ahk_class TscShellContainerClass so the full script now looks like:

#IfWinActive ahk_class TscShellContainerClass
  ^Capslock::           ; Ctrl+Caps Lock (couldn't make Ctrl+Shift+Caps Lock work for some reason
    ; Need a short sleep here for focus to restore properly.
    Sleep 50
    WinMinimize A    ; need A to specify Active window
    ;MsgBox, Received Remote Desktop minimize hotkey    ; uncomment for debugging
  return
#IfWinActive

Answer 7

Alt+Tab

It is possible to use that normal, comfortable keyboard shortcut to get out of a full screen Remote Desktop, but requires a slightly different setup before connecting. Instead of minimizing the remote system, I just switch to another local program and leave the remote system in the background with the following:

1. Before connecting to the remote machine with Remote Desktop Connection, on the "Local Resources" tab, I set "Keyboard" to "On this computer". This allows using Alt+Tab to get you back to any other program on the local system.
2. When I want to switch between programs on the remote system, I use Alt+Page Up, which works just like Alt+Tab would, but only on the remote system.

In addition, you can use Alt+Page Down (or Alt+Shift+Page Up) to cycle through the active programs on the remote system in reverse.

One caveat Luc mentioned should be pointed out: using this setup, all keyboard shortcuts using the Windows Key are sent to the local system. An example would be Windows Key+E to open Windows Explorer, which will get you to the local file system, not the remote one.

It took a short amount of time to get used to, but this setup has worked well for me without the need for additional software or more than one shortcut.

Answer 8

I found this workaround using a mutli-desktop manager:

1. Install Dexpot
2. Configure Hotkey for "Next Desktop" to ALT+ScrollLock
3. Configure Remote Desktop to Capture all Keys in Fullscreen Mode

Then you can switch between Fullscreen Desktops mit ALT+ScrollLock.

I set the number of Desktops to 2, as I only have 1 remote desktop.

Additionally, I have installed Clavier, which allows me use just ScrollLock to switch between desktops. (Clavier config: Add-> Write Text... -> Shortcut: ScrollLock -> OK -> Write-Text: [ALT+ScrollLock] )