Switch between full screen and window in Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop opens full screen by default, which is great for focus and awkward when you need your own PC for a moment. This guide shows how to switch between full screen and a window in one keystroke, how to control the blue connection bar at the top of the screen, and how to move between local and remote apps without disconnecting. The examples use Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc) on Windows and a server on port 3389.

Before you start

• A working connection to your server at IP:3389.
• Remote Desktop Connection on Windows 10 or 11. Windows App on Mac and other clients have their own controls, noted near the end.

Toggle full screen with Ctrl+Alt+Break

Press Ctrl + Alt + Break inside the session. The session switches from full screen to a window, or back again. The session itself keeps running; only the client window changes.

Many laptops do not have a dedicated Break key. It is often printed on another key and reached with Fn, for example Fn + B, Fn + Pause or Fn + Ctrl + B depending on the maker. Check your laptop's manual if none of these work.

You can also leave full screen with the mouse: use the Restore button on the connection bar (see below).

Use the connection bar

In full screen, a small bar appears at the top centre showing the server address. From left to right it has:

• Pin: when pinned, the bar stays visible. When unpinned, it slides away and comes back when you move the mouse to the top edge of the screen.
• Connection quality (on some versions): a signal icon showing the current link quality.
• Address: the server you are connected to, for example 203.0.113.10:3389.
• Minimise: hides the session and shows your local desktop. The session keeps running.
• Restore: switches to windowed mode, the same as Ctrl + Alt + Break.
• Close (X): disconnects the session. Your apps on the server keep running, and you can reconnect later.

Unpin the bar if it covers the top of remote windows, such as tabs in a browser.

Turn the bar off or keep it pinned by default

1. Open mstsc and click Show Options.
2. On the Display tab, untick Display the connection bar when I use the full screen to hide it entirely.
3. Go back to the General tab and click Save (or Save As) to keep the setting in your .rdp file.

With the bar hidden, Ctrl + Alt + Break is the only quick way out of full screen, so be sure that shortcut works on your keyboard first.

If you edit .rdp files directly, these lines control the same behaviour:

screen mode id:i:2
displayconnectionbar:i:1
pinconnectionbar:i:0

screen mode id:i:2 opens full screen and 1 opens in a window. pinconnectionbar:i:0 starts with the bar unpinned. Create and edit.rdp files explains the rest of the file.

Start in a window of a fixed size

If you always work windowed, set it once:

1. In mstsc, click Show Options → Display.
2. Drag the Display configuration slider down from Full Screen to a size that fits your monitor.
3. Save the connection on the General tab.

From a command or shortcut, the same thing looks like this:

mstsc /v:203.0.113.10:3389 /w:1600 /h:900

Move between local and remote apps

• Alt + Tab goes to the remote session when it is full screen and to your local PC when it is windowed. This is the default setting for Windows key combinations.
• Alt + Page Up / Alt + Page Down cycles through remote apps even when the session is windowed.
• To change where key combinations go, open Show Options → Local Resources and set Apply Windows key combinations to On this computer, On the remote computer or Only when using the full screen.
• Minimise on the connection bar is the fastest way to reach your desktop without leaving full screen mode for good. Click the Remote Desktop icon on your taskbar to return.

Keyboard shortcuts inside a Remote Desktop session lists every RDP-specific shortcut.

Other clients

• Windows App on Mac: use the app's View menu or the green full-screen button in the window corner. Mac's own full-screen shortcut, Ctrl + Cmd + F, also works for the session window.
• Remmina on Linux: use the full-screen toggle on the floating toolbar, or the host key shortcut shown in Remmina's preferences.

Check it works

Press Ctrl + Alt + Break twice. The session should go to a window and then back to full screen, with no reconnect and your remote apps unchanged. Then minimise from the connection bar and restore from the taskbar.

Troubleshooting

• Ctrl + Alt + Break does nothing: your keyboard sends Break through an Fn combination, or not at all. Use the connection bar's Restore button, or re-enable the bar in Show Options → Display.
• The connection bar never appears: it is turned off in the saved .rdp file. Set displayconnectionbar:i:1 or tick the option on the Display tab.
• Full screen covers only one of two monitors: that is normal unless you enable multiple monitors. See Use multiple monitors and display scaling in RDP.
• Clicking X closed my work: it did not. X only disconnects. Reconnect and your apps will still be open, as long as nobody signed you out on the server.

Next steps

• Learn the rest of the shortcuts: Keyboard shortcuts inside a Remote Desktop session.
• Save your preferred layout: Create and edit.rdp files.