RDP Printer Redirection: Print Through the Local PC Instead of the Remote Computer

A user works on a remote computer via Remote Desktop and wants to print to the printer next to them. That is exactly what printer redirection is for: The RDP client registers the local printers in the session, the print job travels back to the client through the RDP channel, and is output there. On the target system, the printer appears with the suffix (redirected, session n). Drivers on the remote computer are generally not required: Windows uses the universal Remote Desktop Easy Print driver; the appropriate printer driver only needs to be installed on the local client.

Redirection only takes effect when the connection is established. After every change to the settings, the session must be fully disconnected and reconnected; simply minimizing the RDP window is not enough.

Client side: enable redirection

The easiest way to enable printer redirection is through the graphical interface: start mstsc, select Show Options, open the Local Resources tab, check Printers, and save the connection on the General tab. If you work with .rdp files, you can adjust the line directly in the file; .rdp files are simple text files and can be edited with any editor:

redirectprinters:i:1

A special case applies to shortcuts without an .rdp file: If the connection is started with mstsc /v:hostname, the settings from the hidden file Default.rdp in the user’s Documents folder apply. If the line redirectprinters:i:1 is missing there, the printer will not appear even though everything seems to be configured correctly. This snippet adds the line idempotently (an existing 0 is changed to 1, and a missing line is added) and displays the result for verification:

$f = "$env:USERPROFILE\Documents\Default.rdp"
if (Test-Path $f) {
    $c = Get-Content $f
    if ($c -match 'redirectprinters') {
        $c -replace 'redirectprinters:i:0', 'redirectprinters:i:1' | Set-Content $f
    } else {
        Add-Content $f 'redirectprinters:i:1'
    }
} else {
    Set-Content $f 'redirectprinters:i:1'
}
Select-String -Path $f -Pattern 'redirectprinters'

There are two more sources of errors on the client side: First, Windows remembers under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\LocalDevices which redirections the user last allowed in the security dialog for each target computer; this saved selection overrides the setting in the .rdp file. Deleting the key resets the state. Second, the registry value DisablePrinterRedirection (DWORD, value 1) under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client disables printer redirection completely on the client; on managed devices, it is worth checking this before troubleshooting the session.

Server side: allow redirection

On the target system, the policy Do not allow client printer redirection (Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Remote Desktop Services → Remote Desktop Session Host → Printer Redirection) decides the outcome. If it is set to Enabled, no client printers are created, regardless of what the client requests. The most restrictive setting applies: If either side blocks redirection, it does not take place.

Without Group Policy, the same mechanism is controlled through the registry: fDisableCpm under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp (0 = redirection allowed, 1 = blocked). In addition, the Print Spooler service must be running on the target system; without the spooler, redirected printers will not be created either.

Two other useful settings can be found in the same GPO category: Use Remote Desktop Easy Print printer driver first (the default and usually the right choice) and Set the client default printer as the default printer in a session.

The “Unknown Publisher” warning

When opening an unsigned .rdp file that requests device redirection, the client displays a security warning with checkboxes for the individual resources. Boxes checked or cleared there apply only to that connection attempt, but are stored in the LocalDevices key mentioned above and thus silently affect future connections. If you wonder why the printer checkbox keeps disappearing despite a correct .rdp file, the cause is almost always there.

There are three ways to handle the warning, in increasing order of effort. First: Start the connection using mstsc /v:hostname instead of the .rdp file; without a file, there is no publisher check, and the settings come from Default.rdp. Second: Preapprove redirections for the target computer through the registry, which removes the resources portion of the dialog:

$key = "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client\LocalDevices"
New-Item -Path $key -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "hostname-oder-ip" -Value 0xFFFFFFFF -Type DWord

Third, the clean approach for .rdp files distributed within an organization: Sign the file with rdpsign.exe and a certificate, then configure the certificate thumbprint as a trusted publisher through GPO. The effort is rarely worthwhile for individual workstations, but it is the right solution for centrally distributed connection files.

Troubleshooting checklist

If the printer does not appear in the session, check the following in this order:

1. Reconnected? Redirection only takes effect when the connection is established, not in an existing session.
2. Correct file? For shortcuts, check which .rdp file is actually being opened; with mstsc /v:, Default.rdp is what matters.
3. Saved selection? Check or delete the LocalDevices key on the client.
4. Client block? DisablePrinterRedirection under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client must not be set to 1.
5. Server block? Check the “Do not allow client printer redirection” GPO or fDisableCpm on the target system.
6. Spooler? The Print Spooler service must be running on the target system.
7. Check in the session: Get-Printer | Where-Object DriverName -eq "Remote Desktop Easy Print" lists redirected printers along with their session ID.