File transfer via remote desktop?

18,238

Solution 1

“Clipboard RDC” is an open source cross platform utility that uses clipboard to transfer files much like we transfer text to/from servers in RDP. Go give it a try at http://gauravkumar37.github.com/clipboard-rdc

Solution 2

It is QUITE possible. Windows XP Mode actually uses the same feature. Fire up Remote Desktop Connection. Then select Show Options → tab Local Resources → More. Check the "Drives" box (to expand it). Listed underneath are all your local drives. Check the ones you want. They will now show up as network drives when you remote connect.

Before you connect though, go back to the "General" tab and click Save As.... Save the RDP file and now you can just click that to fire up your settings and automatically connect every time.

maaartinus

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

maaartinus over 1 year

Is it possible to access the remote files (on Windows Server 2003) from my computer (running Windows XP) using remote desktop? Googling for "file transfer via remote desktop" showed me how the opposite can be done (i.e., access local files from the remote computer), but this is hardly usable for me (for many reasons, especially I'm missing there all the file management tools I installed locally).
hicklypups almost 13 years

This is 100% correct.
afrazier almost 13 years

Be forewarned: Performance is terrible, at least it has been every time I've used it, even on a LAN.
surfasb almost 13 years

Now I remember why I never used this option. Copy speeds is going to be pretty bad, even over a LAN.
maaartinus almost 13 years

Fire up Remote Desktop Connection. - You mean mstsc.exe? Then select Options - There are no options, just tabs named General, Display, Local Resources, etc. Listed underneath are all your local drives. - they are not. I've got just the 4 checkboxes (disk drives, printers, serial ports, smart cards), no detailed selection. Anyway... this publishes my files to the remote computer, but I want it the other way round.
surfasb almost 13 years

@maaartinus: I don't get it. If you just want the 2003 files to show up on your XP machines, why use RDP not just use a network share/vpn? I thought you wanted RDP to access your host machine files using the client's tools?
maaartinus almost 13 years

@surfasb Not all the files on the server are shared. I can access them using the RDP so I thought the RDP should make them available to my computer as well. I don't want to fiddle with the server settings, 'cause it doesn't belong to me.
surfasb almost 13 years

Ah, I see. Funny they will let you use your toolset on their files, but won't let you transfer the toolset on to the machine. . .
maaartinus over 11 years

@surfasb: Maybe they would... I haven't asked. But I don't want to install anything on their servers as it's an additional work and there are maybe tens of them. Moreover, most Windows programs act as they were the computer owners and lone users, they change file association and other settings...
Josh Noe over 10 years

Are files transferred in "binary mode" or "text mode"? I'm getting corrupt DB backup files when using this method and I've read a common cause is that they're transferred (typically with FTP) in text mode.
surfasb over 10 years

It's always binary mode. Rdp doesn't use Ftp. If you are transfering a DB, might want to do a checksum.
Peter Mortensen almost 6 years

Remote Desktop Connection version 10.0.16299 (2017): There isn't something called "Options", just a tab in the main/first window called "Local Resources".