Microsoft has updated Remote Desktop Preview client with support for both Windows 10 Mobile devices and Continuum for phone for compatible devices like the Lumia 950 or 950 XL. The update brings many changes and new features. Read in some detail below.
Remote Desktop Preview changelog:
Connect from anywhere using your Windows 10 Mobile device
Once the update is available in the Store, you’ll be able to install it on your Windows 10 Mobile devices. Remote Desktop Preview is a Universal Windows App. The UI should be familiar if you’ve used our client on a Windows PC. We’ve adapted the UI to handle devices of all sizes. This means that you’ll now have the option to connect to a remote PC (optionally through a Remote Desktop Gateway), access Remote Resources (see below), manage a list of credentials and Gateways, and change global settings from your phone, PC, or tablet.
Figure 1: Connection Center where you can view and manage your desktops
Figure 2: Adding a desktop with advanced settings
Figure 3: Settings page where you can manage credentials and gateways
Figure 4: Connection to a remote PC
Note that the main app UI can be used in either portrait or landscape modes. However, for now the in-session experience is limited to landscape mode when running on mobile devices. Expect to see support for portrait mode in-session in a future update.
Use your mobile device like a PC with Continuum so you can access any apps
If you own a Lumia 950 or 950XL, you can use the Remote Desktop Preview client on a larger monitor or TV with Continuum. Continuum enables you to connect a capable mobile device to any screen with the Microsoft Display Dock or a Miracast capable device, and power a PC-like experience on that screen. You can attach a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse to your mobile device or a USB keyboard and mouse to the dock before connecting to a remote PC and using any apps (including Win32) that you have available in the remote session.
This is a great way to be productive from your mobile device when you can extend your work to an additional larger screen.
Access RemoteApp and desktops published by your admin
On top of connecting to a personal PC, we’ve also recently enabled the ability to connect to Remote Resources (aka RemoteApp and Desktop Connections) that have been published by your administrator. This allows you to access specific apps or full desktops based on what configuration your admin selected from anywhere while keeping the enterprise data safe in the datacenter.
Figure 5: Adding an item
Figure 6: Adding Remote Resources
Figure 7: RemoteApp programs on the Connection Center
Figure 8: WordPad running as a RemoteApp on Windows 10 Mobile
Figure 9: Switching between RemoteApp programs
Sending keyboard commands to the remote PC
If you are familiar with the Remote Desktop Connection client (mstsc.exe) on Windows desktop, you know about the option to send additional key combinations to the remote PC. These include pressing the Windows key, combos with Windows + <Key> (Example: Windows + X), Alt+Tab and Alt+F4.
This latest update enables similar functionality in the Windows 10 client and can be configured under Settings.
Figure 10: Keyboard commands options under settings
