Enabling Group Policy on an Individual Computer

To set Terminal Services policies settings for a particular computer or for users of that computer, open the Group Policy snap-in to edit the Local Group Policy snap-in.

The Terminal Services group policies are not configured by default. You can configure each Group Policy to be either disabled or enabled.

To access Terminal Services Group Policy

  1. From the Start menu, click Run, type mmc, and then click OK.
  2. On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.
  3. In the Add/Remove Snap-in dialog box, click Add.
  4. In the Add Standalone Snap-in dialog box, click Group Policy, click Add, and then click Finish.
  5. In the Add Standalone Snap-in dialog box, click Close.
  6. In the Add/Remove Snap-in dialog box, click OK.
  7. In the console pane, double-click Computer Configuration, click Administrative Templates, click Windows Components and then click Terminal Services.

Terminal Services Group Policies are organized individually and in folders. Table 8.4 lists Terminal Services folders, group policies, and functions.

Table 8.4   Group Policy Settings That Affect Remote Desktop

FolderGroup PolicyFunction
Terminal ServicesAllow Screen SaverAllows display of a screen saver in a Remote Desktop session.
 Set maximum color depthSets a limit on the color depth of any connection to a terminal server or Remote Desktop.
Client/Server data redirectionDo not allow clipboard redirectionDisables sharing of clipboard contents.
 Do not allow audio redirectionPrevents users from playing the remote computer audio at the local computer during a Remote Desktop session.
 Do not allow drive redirectionDisables mapping of client drives in Remote Desktop sessions.
 Do not allow COM port redirectionDisables redirection of data from the remote computer to client COM ports during the Remote Desktop session.
 Do not allow client printer redirectionDisables mapping of client printers in Remote Desktop sessions.
 Do not allow LPT port redirectionDisables redirection of data from the remote computer to client LPT ports during the Remote Desktop session.
 Map client printersDirects Terminal Services to map client printers and display them in the user's printer list during Remote Desktop sessions.
 Set default client printer to be default printer in a sessionDirects Terminal Services to automatically specify the client printer as the default printer in the Remote Desktop session.
Encryption and SecurityAlways prompt client for password upon connectionDirects Terminal Services to always prompt users for passwords at logon.
 Set client connection encryption levelDirects Terminal Services to enforce the specified encryption level for all data sent between the client and the remote computer during Terminal Services connections.