rdesktop/doc/rdesktop.1

.TH rdesktop 1 "January 2004"
.SH NAME
.I rdesktop
\- Remote Desktop Protocol client
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B rdesktop [options] server[:port]
.br
.SH DESCRIPTION
.I rdesktop
is a client for Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), used in a number of Microsoft
products including Windows NT Terminal Server, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP
and Windows 2003 Server.

.SH OPTIONS
.TP
.BR "-u <username>"
Username for authentication on the server.
.TP
.BR "-d <domain>"
Domain for authentication.
.TP
.BR "-s <shell>"
Startup shell for the user - starts a specific application instead of Explorer.
.TP
.BR "-c <directory>"
The initial working directory for the user.  Often used in combination with -s
to set up a fixed login environment.
.TP
.BR "-p <password>"
The password to authenticate with.  Note that this may have no effect if
"Always prompt for password" is enabled on the server.  WARNING: if you specify
a password on the command line it may be visible to other users when they use
tools like ps.  Use -p - to make rdesktop request a password at startup (from
standard input).
.TP
.BR "-n <hostname>"
Client hostname.  Normally rdesktop automatically obtains the hostname of the
client.
.TP
.BR "-k <layout>"
Keyboard layout to emulate.  This requires a corresponding keymap file to be
installed.  The standard keymaps provided with rdesktop follow the RFC1766
naming scheme: a language code followed by a country code if necessary - e.g.
en-us, en-gb, de, fr, sv, etc.  The default is en-us (a US keyboard).
.TP
.BR "-g <geometry>"
Desktop geometry (WxH). If geometry is the special word "workarea", the geometry
will be fetched from the extended window manager hints property _NET_WORKAREA, from
the root window. The geometry can also be specified as a percentage of the whole
screen, e.g. "-g 80%". 
.TP
.BR "-f"
Enable fullscreen mode.  This overrides the window manager and causes the
rdesktop window to fully cover the current screen.  Fullscreen mode can be
toggled at any time using Ctrl-Alt-Enter.
.TP
.BR "-b"
Force the server to send screen updates as bitmaps rather than using
higher-level drawing operations.
.TP
.BR "-e"
Disable encryption.  This option is only needed (and will only work) if you
have a French version of NT TSE.
.TP
.BR "-E"
Disable encryption from client to server.  This sends an encrypted login packet,
but everything after this is unencrypted (including interactive logins).
.TP
.BR "-m"
Do not send mouse motion events.  This saves bandwidth, although some Windows
applications may rely on receiving mouse motion.
.TP
.BR "-C"
Use private colourmap.  This will improve colour accuracy on an 8-bit display,
but rdesktop will appear in false colour when not focused.
.TP
.BR "-D"
Hide window manager decorations, by using MWM hints. 
.TP
.BR "-K"
Do not override window manager key bindings.  By default rdesktop attempts
to grab all keyboard input when it is in focus.
.TP
.BR "-S <button size>"
Enable single application mode. This option can be used when running a
single, maximized application (via -s). When the minimize button of
the windows application is pressed, the rdesktop window is minimized
instead of the remote application. The maximize/restore button is
disabled. For this to work, you must specify the correct button
size, in pixels. The special word "standard" means 18 pixels. 
.TP
.BR "-T <title>"
Sets the window title.
.TP
.BR "-N"
Enable numlock syncronization between the Xserver and the remote RDP
session.  This is useful with applications that looks at the numlock
state, but might cause problems with some Xservers like Xvnc. 
.TP
.BR "-X <windowid>"
Embed rdesktop-window in another window. The windowid is expected to
be decimal.
.TP
.BR "-a <bpp>"
Sets the colour depth for the connection (8, 15, 16 or 24).
More than 8 bpp are only supported when connecting to Windows XP
(up to 16 bpp) or newer.  Note that the colour depth may also be
limited by the server configuration.
.TP
.BR "-x <experience>"
Changes default bandwidth performance behaviour for RDP5. By default only
theming is enabled, and all other options are disabled (corresponding
to modem (56 Kbps)). Setting experience to b[roadband] enables menu
animations and full window dragging. Setting experience to l[an] will
also enable the desktop wallpaper. Setting experience to m[odem]
disables all (including themes). Experience can also be a hexidecimal
number containing the flags.
.TP
.BR "-P"
Enable caching of bitmaps to disk (persistent bitmap caching). This generally
improves performance (especially on low bandwidth connections) and reduces
network traffic at the cost of slightly longer startup and some disk space.
(10MB for 8-bit colour, 20MB for 15/16-bit colour and 30MB for 24-bit colour
sessions)
.TP
.BR "-r <device>"
Enable redirection of the specified device on the client, such
that it appears on the server. Note that the allowed
redirections may be restricted by the server configuration.

Following devices are currently supported:
.TP
.BR "-r comport:<comport>=<device>,..."
Redirects serial devices on your client to the
server. Note that if you need to change any settings on the serial device(s),
do so with an appropriate tool before starting rdesktop. In most
OSes you would use stty. Bidirectional/Read support requires Windows XP or newer.
In Windows 2000 it will create a port, but it's not seamless, most
shell programs will not work with it.
.TP
.BR "-r disk:<driveletter>=<path>,..."
Redirects a path to the drive letter of your choice on the server.
(requires Windows XP or newer).
.TP
.BR "-r lptport:<lptport>=<device>,..."
Redirects parallel devices on your client to the server.
Bidirectional/Read support requires Windows XP or newer. In Windows 2000
it will create a port, but it's not seamless, most shell programs will not work with
it.
.TP
.BR "-r printer:<printername>[=<driver>],..."
Redirects a printer queue on the client to the server. The <printername>
is the name of the queue in your local system. <driver> defaults to a
simple PS-driver unless you specify one. Keep in mind that you need a
100% match in the server environment, or the driver will fail. The first
printer on the command line will be set as your default printer.
.TP
.BR "-r sound:[local|off|remote]"
Redirects sound generated on the server to the client. "remote" only has
any effect when you connect to the console with the -0 option. (Requires
Windows XP or newer).
.TP
.BR "-0"
Attach to the console of the server (requires Windows Server 2003
or newer).
.TP
.BR "-4"
Use RDP version 4.
.TP
.BR "-5"
Use RDP version 5 (default).
.PP
.SH LINKS
Main website of rdesktop
.br
\fIhttp://www.rdesktop.org/
.LP
.PP