Remote Desktop Windows Store App: Working with RemoteApp and Desktop Connections Resources

A new blog post by the Microsoft RDV Team about RemoteApp and Desktop Connections (RADC).

It covers;

• Accessing new resources
• Working with available resources
• Updating your subscribed resources
• Removing existing resources

Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/rds/archive/2012/12/10/remote-desktop-windows-store-app-working-with-remoteapp-and-desktop-connections-resources.aspx

Setting the default RemoteApp connection URL on your clients using GPO

Before Windows Server 8 beta (soon to be Windows Server 2012) there was an option in the control panel of the user called Remote App and Desktop Connections. Using this Control Panel option the user was able to set the URL needed to build the connection to the RD WebAccess to be able to have the RemoteApps available. Remember that in this Feature highlight blog post I wrote that Window Server 8 beta added a new option so that users would also be able to enter their corporate e-mail address in stead of the connection URL, which is of course much more user friendly.

Windows Server 8 Beta also comes with a new GPO setting to set the default connection URL so that the user would not have to configure anything at all!

The setting is inside a new container called “RemoteApp and Desktop Connections”

And is called “Specify default connection URL”

If you enable this setting you are able to set the default connection URL. The details of the setting are shown below.

Setting: Specify default connection URL
Supported on: At least Windows 8 Consumer Preview
Comment: This policy setting specifies the default connection URL for RemoteApp and Desktop Connections. The default connection URL is a specific connection that can only be configured by using Group Policy. In addition to the capabilities that are common to all connections, the default connection URL allows document file types to be associated with RemoteApp programs.

The default connection URL must be configured in the form of http://contoso.com/rdweb/Feed/webfeed.aspx.

If you enable this policy setting, the specified URL is configured as the default connection URL for the user and replaces any existing connection URL. The user cannot change the default connection URL. The user's default logon credentials are used when setting up the default connection URL.

If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, the user has no default connection URL.

Note: RemoteApp programs that are installed through RemoteApp and Desktop Connections from an untrusted server can compromise the security of a user's account.