Documentation

Requirements

Known Issues

Shortcuts

KeyDescription
SHIFT Hold on SHIFT to use a different username to connect.
Double Click Double click on tab will connect if currently disconnected. And will switch to full screen if already connected.
Middle Click Click mouse middle button on a tab will close the connection. On window title bar will switch to tab Servers.
Left Click Hold on CTRL and click on window title bar will switch to tab Servers.
DELETE Delete a server or group. Hold on SHIFT will delete without confirmation.
CTRL+F Search a server or group.
F3 Continue search forward.
SHIFT+F3 Continue search backward.
Left SHIFT + Right SHIFT Quick search.
Left CTRL + Left ALT + Right SHIFT Switch to 'Servers'.
Left CTRL + Left ALT + Right ALT Switch to previous tab.
Left CTRL + Left ALT + Right CTRL Switch to next tab.
Left CTRL + Left SHIFT + Right SHIFT Show context menu.
Left CTRL + Left SHIFT + Right CTRL Close current connection.
Left CTRL + Left SHIFT + Right ALT Minimize MultiDesk.
CTRL+F4 Close current tab (when disconnected)
CTRL+N Add server.
CTRL+G Add group.
ALT+ENTER Show properties.
SHIFT+F10 Show context menu.
APP Show context menu.

Shortcuts in connection

KeyDescription
ALT+HOME WIN
CTRL+ALT+END CTRL+ALT+DEL
CTRL+ALT+BREAK Full Screen Switch
ALT+PgUp, ALT+PgDn ALT+TAB
ALT+INS ALT+ESC
ALT+DELETE ALT+SPACE
CTRL+ALT+PLUS SIGN (+) PRINT SCREEN
CTRL+ALT+MINUS SIGN (-) ALT+PRINT SCREEN

FAQ

  1. How to enable Master Password?
    Click system memu, click 'Change Master Password'.
    To disable Master Password, leave it empty.
  2. What to do if I forgot Master Password?
    You will be unable to use MultiDesk if you don't enter correct Master Password.
    To use MultiDesk, you need to remove Master Password.
    All saved passwords will be lost. You have to re-enter them.
    Run regedit, delete key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\MultiDesk
  3. What is "Reconnect in Full Screen mode"?
    You can press CTRL+ALT+BREAK to switch to Full Scree mode. But the screen resolution won't change. This is a limit of RDP protocol. Click the menu item "Reconnect in Full Screen mode" will disconnect first, then set resolution to full screen and reconnect. It's temporary and won't change your settings.
  4. What's "Insert a copy"?
    "Insert a copy" will use current selected server as a template when you want to add another server with the same settings.
  5. Why password doesn't work when use it on another computer?
    The key is stored separately in registry instead of MultiDesk.multidesk. So if you use MultiDesk on flash disk, your password won't leak if it was lost or get stolen. To use it on another computer, export key from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MultiDesk to a registry file and import it on another computer.
  6. How to pin 'Servers' tab?
    Due to the limit of Windows tab control, it cannot be pinned.
    There are several ways to quickly switch to 'Servers' tab.
    1. Press hot key Left CTRL + Left ALT + Right SHIFT
    2. Hold on CTRL and click MultiDesk windows's title bar.
    3. Middle click on MultiDesk windows's title bar.
    4. Right click on MultiDesk windows's title bar and click menu item 'Show servers list'.
  7. How to setup RDP over VMBus (Hyper-V)?
    Please refer to this documentation.
  8. How to move Windows 11 VM of VMware Workstation v16 to another computer?
    Please refer to this documentation.

Changelog

Version 13.8
2024-11-15
+ Fixed Windows 7 "Detect connection quality automatically" crash issue

Version 13.6
2024-10-21
+ Fixed program goes to infinite loop while using a socks 5 proxy

Version 13.4
2024-10-15
+ Support customized external tools

Version 13.2
2024-09-10
+ Add an option to control where to put new tab

Version 13.0
2024-08-26
+ Support disable auto reconnect
+ Support disable auto bandwidth detection
+ Hold on SHIFT key to always create connection in a new tab
+ Show connection information to help diagnose problems

Version 12.8
2024-07-01
+ Support customized zoom level

Version 12.6
2023-08-24
+ Fixed some minor bugs

Version 12.4
2023-08-13
+ Support quick search (Lefy SHIFT + Right SHIFT)

Version 12.2
2023-08-08
+ Provide free version to public (limit 2 concurrent connections)
+ Support hide caption title bar
+ Add shortcut L CTRL + L SHIFT + R ALT to minimize MultiDesk
+ Send shortcut CTRL + ALT + Arrow Keys to remote desktop
+ Fixed some minor bugs
+ Thanks to: 宗雨庆

Version 11.0
2023-08-01
+ Support keyboard shortcuts to change tab
+ All operations can be done by keyboard
+ Support restore the last used connections on startup
+ Modify resolution when go full screen (double click tab)
+ Support inherit display settings

Version 10.0
2023-05-21
+ Support high DPI

Version 9.0
2023-03-26
+ Support close multiple tabs.
+ Support set tab title length limit.
+ Added CTRL + Left click to quickly switch to 'Servers' tab.
+ Added 'Properties' menu item to current tab.
+ Moved settings from system menu to dialog box.
+ Some minor changes.
+ Thanks to: 开明快乐

Version 8.8
2023-03-09
+ Support Wake-on-LAN
+ Thanks to: Martin

Version 8.6
2023-02-10
+ Support RDP over VMBus (Hyper-V)

Version 8.4
2022-10-28
+ Fixed: failed to reconnect if network down and up
+ Show a bar on current tab
+ Thanks to: Dest1n..🍋

Version 8.2
2022-09-23
+ Fixed: crashed when connecting to server

Version 8.0
2021-05-28
+ Support scale to fit
+ Support record from this computer

Version 7.4
2020-07-23
+ Support send CTRL+ALT+DEL

Version 7.2
2019-06-29
+ Support SOCKS proxy

Version 6.0
2018-06-10
+ Support disable prompts for username and password
+ Support start with specified configuration file, e.g. MultiDesk d:\abc.xml
+ Support search for servers, press CTRL+F, F3 search forward, SHIFT + F3 seach backward
+ Changed default configuration file to MultiDesk.multidesk. Convenient to open .multidesk file with MultiDesk in explorer
+ Thanks to: Marek Jones, Dom Edwards, Peter Schaefer, Tom Aafloen

Version 5.8
2017-08-13
+ Support scan IP range to discover servers and import them to MultiDesk

Version 5.6
2016-10-26
+ Support Start Program on connection (Removed from MSTSC on Windows 10)

Version 5.4
2015-09-19
+ Support Master Password

Version 5.2
2015-08-18
+ Added server authentication
+ Added Remote Desktop Gateway

Version 5.0
2015-07-30
+ MultiDeskEnforcer released
+ Improved password security

Version 4.0
2015-07-09
+ Fixed issue of full screen mode on multiple monitors
+ Minor improvements
+ Available to donators only
+ Thanks to: donators

Version 3.16
2015-03-16
+ Save important changes immediately
+ Fixed configuration file emptied while shutdown system
+ Fixed some bugs
+ Thanks to: many people

Version 3.14
2014-03-14
+ Middle click on title bar to switch to "Servers"
+ Added a description field for server properties
+ Fixed some bugs
+ Thanks to: Keith Fowler, drag0n, Ing. Radek Andrs, sawyer butterfield, 老唯

Version 3.0
2013-05-27
+ Double click server will switch to an existed connection
+ Switch to "Servers" tab from system menu
+ Connect with MSTSC
+ Fixed a crash bug on Windows 8 x64
+ Thanks to: Glen Parker, ttl (小驴)

Version 2.8
2013-04-16
+ Double click tab to connect if disconnected, switch to full screen if connected
+ Fixed a minor bug
+ Upgraded compiler to Visual C++ 2012
+ Thanks to: 老唯, CleverWang, MBV

Version 2.6
2012-05-10
+ Support click middle mouse button to close tab
+ Support redirect drives that I plug in later
+ Add feature "Connect as different username" while SHIFT key pressed

Version 2.4.4.170
2012-02-09
+ Include MultiDesk 64-bit version to support Terminal Services Easy Print
+ Thanks to: Simon Bureau

Version 2.4.4
2012-01-02
+ Fixed a bug of cannot import server with port number
+ Fixed a bug of configuration not saved when reboot or logoff
+ Thanks to: jackbanh, risesunshine

Version 2.4.2
2011-10-14
+ Add feature "Reconnect" (avoid typing password when remote server is locked)
+ Thanks to: Zeroes & Ones

Version 2.4
2011-04-01
+ Support "Network Level Authentication"
+ Support single instance
+ Fixed a bug of "connect group"
+ Some minor changes
+ Thanks to: Fred Huang, Philip Qi, 唯情·酷屋, Robert Myslik

Version 2.2
2011-03-01
+ Add feature "Reconnect in Full Screen mode"
+ Fixed some minor bugs
+ Thanks to: zgan, risesunshine

Version 2.0
2011-01-06
+ Add feature "Close tab on log off"
+ Add feature "Quick Connect"
+ Add support to Terminal Services Client AddIn
+ Add support to "Connect to console" on RDP 6.1
+ Fixed some minor bugs
+ Thanks to: Scott House, 唯情·酷屋, qqHu, jzta, 张敬伟, 李颐(Yi.Li)

Version 1.0.8
2010-12-03
+ Improved compatibility of importing MSTSC connections
+ Fixed restore window position issue when minimized
+ Fixed redirect specified drive issue on RDP 6.1 or above
+ Thanks to: Roger Chen, LiuFeifei

Version 1.0.7
2010-11-12
+ Fixed a bug when importing MSTSC connections
+ Fixed some minor bugs
+ Thanks to: ZhouXH, Fris

Version 1.0.6
2010-11-09
+ Add feature "Insert a copy"
+ User can choose to hide or show status bar
+ Group and server tree collapse state will be saved
+ Thanks to: John James, SONG XUE QIANG

Version 1.0.5
+ Fixed Right Win + L key misbehavior issue
+ Add "connect to non-console" to context menu

Version 1.0.4
+ Add support to import cached MSTSC connections
+ Add "connect to console" to context menu
+ Fixed RDP5 support issue
+ Thanks to: cangelzz, dennes.wang, fr3dy


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