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Allow the redirections needed for a named business workflow, and document why each is permitted. This is an editorial least-access recommendation, not a claim that Microsoft disables every redirection by default.
Clipboard, local drives and printers can make remote work convenient. They also move data across the boundary between the hosted session and the local device. Decide whether that device and destination are appropriate for the information involved, rather than treating all convenience features alike.
What each channel does
Microsoft's RDP redirection overview describes sharing local resources and peripherals with a remote session. Although the page sits in Azure documentation, its configuration-priority explanation expressly includes Remote Desktop Services. Product-specific defaults elsewhere on that site must still be kept separate.
Clipboard redirection can transfer supported clipboard formats between local and remote applications. Drive redirection exposes selected local storage to the session. Printer redirection lets a remote application send a job to a local printer. The exact formats, device classes and client capabilities differ.
Use Microsoft's Remote Desktop client feature comparison, selecting the Remote Desktop Services section and the actual client platform. A browser's file upload/download or PDF printing experience is not equivalent to unrestricted native drive or printer redirection. Check the deployed client version as well as the host build; an operating-system label alone is insufficient.
A local setting cannot override a host denial
Microsoft documents that the more restrictive applicable redirection setting takes precedence. For example, if host Group Policy blocks clipboard redirection, enabling it in a connection file does not restore it. Conversely, a local client restriction can prevent clipboard use even where the server permits it.
Record effective settings on the host, collection/connection and client. Do not treat a user ticking a box as proof of the resulting policy. Nor should a support fix enable a denied channel without agreement from the owner of the restriction.
Directional clipboard control needs particular care. The client feature table lists platform-specific support and notes that macOS support is native while other listed platforms require remote-session configuration. The current clipboard configuration page describes cloud-product settings and preview directional capabilities; it is not a blanket classic-RDS host-version guarantee. Before promising text-only or one-way transfer, verify the exact client, session-host build, policy availability and enforcement in that RDS deployment. If those prerequisites cannot be established, use a supported all-or-nothing clipboard policy and a separately approved transfer workflow.
Decide from the data flow
| Channel | Example business need | Decision and pilot checks |
|---|---|---|
| Clipboard | Paste a reference number from local email into the hosted application | Test the required text direction and formats; also test data that must not leave the session |
| Drives/files | Upload a supplier file or download an approved report | Define permitted endpoints and locations; verify both allowed transfers and denied destinations |
| Printing | Produce invoices or labels at a known office device | Check the real client/printer, page content, destination and failed-job handling |
A blocked drive channel and a blocked clipboard channel are related but not identical. Microsoft's clipboard documentation notes that disabling drive redirection through Group Policy also prevents clipboard file transfer while leaving other formats, such as text or images, unaffected. Test each actual flow rather than assuming a single checkbox proves every restriction.
A useful acceptance record
For each permitted client, record the host and client versions, effective policy, sample data type, transfer direction, intended destination and observed result. Include reconnects and fresh sign-ins so that a retained session does not conceal a policy difference. Test the denied cases deliberately using harmless sample data.
For printers, have a user confirm the output reaches the intended device and remains legible. For files, confirm their content rather than merely the presence of a drive icon. For clipboard, test text, images and files separately where relevant. A successful paste in one direction does not prove the reverse direction is blocked.
Redirection controls reduce specific transfer paths; they do not prevent photography or every alternative upload route. Classification, endpoint controls and application permissions remain separate decisions. No policies, devices or transfer flows were tested for this article.
Related service: ThinPoint remote access.
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