Once you're connected to your devices and apps using Windows App, it's important to know how to use its features and configure settings. This article shows you how to redirect local devices in Windows App.
Here's a list of some of the devices and resources that can be redirected.
Select a tab for the platform you're using.
You can't configure redirection settings in Windows App for Windows. Here's some information about how redirection works.
Redirect devices, audio, and clipboard
Your local devices and audio, such as webcams, speakers, and printers, can be available in your remote session. Your administrator configures whether your devices are available in the remote session and which ones. By default, local devices are redirected to a remote session.
Your can also use your local clipboard with your remote session where you can copy and paste text, images, and files. Your administrator configures whether you can use your clipboard and can also configure the direction in which you can copy. For example, you can copy from your local device and paste into your remote session, or copy from your remote session and paste into your local device. By default, clipboard redirection is enabled.
Drive redirection
You can access local drives in your remote session. You can't choose a drive or folder to redirect from your local device. Redirected drives appear as a network drive in File Explorer in your remote session. Your administrator configures drive redirection. By default, all fixed and removable local drives are redirected to a remote session.
Here are the redirection settings you can configure in Windows App for macOS.
Redirect devices, audio, and clipboard
You can redirect your local devices, such as printers, smart cards, microphones and cameras, as well as audio, and clipboard to your remote session. If you redirect your local clipboard to your remote session, you can copy and paste text, images, and files. You can also configure the direction in which you can copy. For example, you can copy from your local device and paste into your remote session, or copy from your remote session and paste into your local device.
To enable redirection of devices, audio and the clipboard:
Open Windows App, select Devices, then find the device you want to configure redirection settings for.
Select the pencil icon (edit) on the card of the device.
Check the box for Use customized settings. This check box isn't applicable for remote PCs.
On the Devices & Audio tab:
Check the box next to each device you want to use in the remote session.
Select whether you want to use your local clipboard in the remote session, and the direction in which you can copy and paste from Bidirectional, Local to Remote Only, Remote to Local Only, or Disabled.
Select whether you want to play sound On this computer, On the remote PC, or Never.
Select Save.
Folder redirection
You can make local folders available in a remote session, which is known as folder redirection. This means you can open files from and save files to your Mac in your remote session. Folders can also be redirected as read-only. Redirected folders appear in the remote session as a network drive in File Explorer.
All remote sessions
To enable folder redirection for all remote sessions:
Open Windows App.
From the macOS menu bar, select Windows App, then select Settings.
Select the General tab, then for If folder redirection is enabled for RDP files or managed resources, redirect:, select Choose Folder....
Navigate to the folder you want to be available in all your remote sessions, then select Choose.
Optional: if you want to make this folder available as read-only, check the box Redirect as read-only.
Each remote device
To enable folder redirection for each device individually:
Open Windows App, select Devices, then find the device you want to configure redirection settings for.
Select the ellipses (...) on the card of the device, then select Edit.
Check the box for Use custom settings. This check box isn't applicable for remote PCs.
On the Folders tab, check the box Redirect folders, then select the + (plus) icon.
Navigate to the folder you want to be available when accessing this remote resource, then select Open. You can add multiple folders by repeating the previous step and this step.
Optional: if you want to make this folder available as read-only, check the relevant box in the Read-only column.
Select Save.
Note
The Folders tab will be hidden if your administrator has disabled folder redirection.
Microsoft Teams optimizations
You can use Microsoft Teams on Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 to chat, collaborate, make calls, and join meetings. With media optimization, Windows App handles audio and video locally for Teams calls and meetings. For more information, see Use Microsoft Teams on Azure Virtual Desktop or Microsoft Teams on a Cloud PC.
Optimizations for Microsoft Teams are enabled by default. However, if you need to enable or disable optimizations for Microsoft Teams:
Open Windows App.
From the macOS menu bar, select Windows App, then select Settings.
Select the General tab, then check or uncheck the box Enable optimizations for Microsoft Teams.
Here are the redirection settings you can configure in Windows App for iOS/iPadOS.
Redirect devices, audio, and clipboard
You can redirect the microphone, camera, storage and the location of your local devices, as well as audio (sound), and clipboard to your remote session. If you redirect your local clipboard to your remote session, you can copy and paste text and images. For audio, sound can play on your local device, the remote PC, or not play any sound.
The settings you can configure to redirect depends on what you're connecting to. Your administrator configures whether your devices are available in the remote session and which ones, except for connections to remote PCs where you can choose. You can override whether your camera, location and microphone are redirected for all connections, regardless of what your administrator configures. By default, local devices and storage aren't redirected to a remote session, but your clipboard is.
The following table shows what you can configure and at what level:
| Redirection |
Global control |
Per device control |
| Camera |
All connections |
Remote PCs only |
| Location |
All connections |
Not configurable |
| Microphone |
All connections |
Remote PCs only |
| Storage |
Not configurable |
Remote PCs only |
| Clipboard |
Not configurable |
Remote PCs only |
| Sound |
Not configurable |
Remote PCs only |
| YubiKey smart card (preview) |
Not configurable |
Not configurable |
All connections
To allow your camera, location and microphone to be redirected with any connection, or disable them for all connections:
Open Windows App.
Tap the cog icon for Settings, or tap your user account picture to open the settings pane.
Tap App Permissions.
Toggle Camera, Location, or Microphone to On or Off, depending on your preferences.
Remote PC redirection
To configure redirection settings for a remote PC connection:
Open Windows App, tap the Devices tab, then find the remote PC for which you want to configure redirection settings.
Tap and hold the remote PC, then tap Edit.
In the section Device & audio redirection:
For audio, tap Sound, then tap from Play on This Device, Play on Remote PC, or Don't Play Sound.
For Microphone, Camera, Clipboard, and Storage, toggle each one to On or Off, depending on your preferences. If you disabled camera and microphone in app permissions, these settings are disabled.
Folder redirection
You can access a local folder in your remote session and in which you can add files from your remote session. You can't choose a folder to redirect from your local device. The path to the redirected folder is On My iPad\Windows, or On My iPhone\Windows. The redirected folder appears as a network drive in File Explorer in your remote session. Your administrator configures whether your local folder is available in the remote session, except for connections to remote PCs where you can choose. To redirect storage for remote PCs, follow the steps in Remote PC redirection.
YubiKey smart card redirection (preview)
Yubico and Microsoft have partnered to provide smart card redirection for iOS/iPadOS with Windows App, which is available in preview. The Yubico integration supports the latest YubiKey 5 portfolio. For YubiKey support, contact Yubico Support Services.
You don't need to download or install a YubiKey driver to an iPhone or iPad, but the remote session must be configured by an administrator to support smart card redirection. For more information, see Configure smart card redirection over the Remote Desktop Protocol.
Here are some limitations:
- NFC functionality isn't supported.
- A YubiKey must be connected to your iOS or iPadOS device before you connect to a remote session. If you connect a YubiKey after you connect to a remote session, you need to disconnect and reconnect for it to be available.
Here are the redirection settings you can configure in Windows App for Android/Chrome OS.
Redirect devices, audio, and clipboard
You can redirect the microphone, camera, storage, location, audio (sound), and clipboard between your local device and your remote session. If you redirect your local clipboard, you can copy and paste text only. For audio, sound from the remote session is played on your local device.
The settings you can configure to redirect depends on what you're connecting to. Your administrator configures whether your devices are available in the remote session and which ones, except for connections to remote PCs where you can choose. You can override whether your camera, location and microphone are redirected for all connections, regardless of what your administrator configures. By default, all redirection options available in Windows App are enabled for connections to all services, except to remote PCs where connections are managed per remote PC. If your administrator has disabled redirection for a device or resource, the option is hidden.
Important
You must allow Windows App to use the devices and resources in the Android/Chrome OS settings. If you don't allow Windows App to use the devices and resources, you can't redirect them to your remote session.
Connections to services
Redirection settings for connections to services are configured per desktop or app. To control which devices and resources are redirected:
Open Windows App.
Start a connection to a device or app.
By default, you're promoted with a list of the devices and resources you can redirect for that particular remote session. You can toggle each one on or off, depending on your preferences. If you check the box for Never ask again for connections to this PC, you won't be prompted again for connections to that particular desktop or app.
Once you've made your selections, tap Connect.
Remote PC redirection
Redirection settings for connections to remote PCs are configured per remote PC. To control which devices and resources are redirected:
Open Windows App.
Tap and hold the remote PC, then tap Edit.
In the section Device & audio redirection:
For audio, tap Sound, then tap from Play on This Device, Play on Remote PC, or Don't Play Sound.
For Microphone, Camera, Storage, Clipboard, and Location, toggle each one to On or Off, depending on your preferences. If you haven't allowed Windows App to use the devices and resources in the Android/Chrome OS settings, you're prompted to allow or deny each setting when you toggle them on.
Once you've made your selections, tap Save, then connect to your remote PC.
Here are the redirection settings you can configure in Windows App in a web browser.
Redirect devices, audio, and clipboard
You can redirect your local devices, such as a printer, microphones, cameras, and your location, as well as audio, and clipboard to your remote session. If you redirect your local clipboard to your remote session, you can copy and paste text.
Note
You can copy and paste text only. Files can't be copied or pasted to and from the remote session when using a web browser. To transfer files, see Transfer files.
By default, you're prompted to select which of your local device types you want to redirect when you connect to a remote session. To enable or disable redirection settings:
Sign in to Windows App using your web browser.
Connect to a device or app.
On the toolbar of the session, select the cog icon for In session configuration.
Check the box for each device type you want to redirect to the remote session.
Select Update.
You need to disconnect from your remote session and reconnect for the settings to take effect. For Disconnect to update settings, select Now or Before next session from the drop-down list, then select Continue.
Folder redirection
When using Windows App in a web browser, you can upload and download files to and from your remote session. You can't choose a folder to redirect from your local device. A redirected folder appears as a network drive in File Explorer in your remote session. Your administrator configures whether you can upload and download files to and from your remote session.
To upload and download files between your local device and your remote session:
Sign in to Windows App using your web browser.
Connect to a device or app.
Once your remote session starts, open File Explorer, then select This PC.
There's a redirected drive called Remote virtual Drive on RDWebClient for Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows365 virtual drive on RDWebClient. Inside this drive are two folders: Uploads and Downloads.
- Downloads prompts your local browser to download any files you copy to this folder.
- Uploads contains the files you uploaded through Windows App.
To download from your remote session to your local device:
Copy and paste files to the Downloads folder.
Before the paste can complete, Windows App prompts you Do you want to download files to local desktop?. Select Yes. Your browser downloads the files in its normal way. If you don't want to see this prompt every time you download files from the current browser, check the box for Don’t ask me again before confirming.
To upload files from your local device to your remote session:
On the toolbar of the session, select the icon of the arrow pointing upwards for Upload files. Selecting this icon opens a file explorer window on your local device.
Browse to and select files you want to upload to the remote session. You can select multiple files by holding down the CTRL key on your keyboard for Windows, or the Command key for macOS, then select Open. There's a file size limit of 255MB.
Important
We recommend using Copy rather than Cut when downloading files from your remote session to your local device as if there's an issue with the network connection, it can cause the files to be lost.
Uploaded files are available in the Uploads folder until you sign out of Windows App.
Don't download files directly from your browser in a remote session to the Downloads folder as it triggers your local browser to download the file before it is ready. Download files in a remote session to a different folder, then copy and paste them to the Downloads folder.
Printer redirection
When using Windows App in a web browser, you can print from your local printer by selecting the remote printer option while in session.
To print from your local printer while in your remote session:
Sign in to Windows App using your web browser.
Connect to a device.
Once your remote session starts, open the material you want to print.
Select the menu and then select Print. This immediately shows the standard web browser print pop-up on your local machine to print your material.