Remote Desktop shorcut and powershell

Yunho Kwon 0

Hi team,

I'm attempting to automate the activation of the Remote Desktop Connection bar using the keyboard shorcut Ctrl + Alt + Home.
I've created a Powershell script and C# code that utilises keybd_event function from user32.dll library to simulate key processes.

Codewise it's all working fine as it's working for Ctrl + A, Ctrl+V etc, but when I try to use Ctrl+Alt+Home or other Remote Desktop shortcuts, it's not working.

Are there any known restrictions to simulating these shortcuts in Powershell or other coding languages? Also are there any best practices or alternative methods you would recommend for reliably simulating this shortcut (apart from using a 3rd party software)?

S.Sengupta 19,741 Reputation points MVP

2024-11-06T00:41:16.0533333+00:00

Yes, creating the effect of shortcuts like Ctrl + Alt + Home when using the Remote Desktop can be a bit of a problem due to how the keyboard input some application might be observing the Remote Desktop session.

Remote Desktop captures a couple of key combinations such as Ctrl + Alt + Home, Ctrl + Alt + End

Usually, these types of shortcuts are local as well the RDP or remote machine which can be manipulated directly. Hence, simulated inputs for these key combinations cannot be used efficiently in PowerShell, C#, or any other common automation languages because the forward session might not reach the input.
Yunho Kwon 0 Reputation points

2024-11-06T00:58:43.2966667+00:00
I'm not creating the shortcut. I'm just setting up a macro using Powershell to automate a sequence of keyboard inputs.
Code snippet is as below:

[KeyboardSend]::KeyDown([System.Windows.Forms.Keys]::Control) [KeyboardSend]::KeyDown([System.Windows.Forms.Keys]::LMenu) [KeyboardSend]::KeyDown([System.Windows.Forms.Keys]::Home) Home key down Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 100 [KeyboardSend]::KeyUp([System.Windows.Forms.Keys]::Home) [KeyboardSend]::KeyUp([System.Windows.Forms.Keys]::LMenu) [KeyboardSend]::KeyUp([System.Windows.Forms.Keys]::Control)

So basically this script procs the key presses internally. Other combinations such as Control + A, Control + V, Control + Alt + Tab etc. they all work as expected. However when I use Control + Alt +Home, it's not working. I can confirm it's not the issue with the script or key calls. Do you know what the issue might be?

1 answer

Jacen Wang 965 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-11-08T15:18:41.66+00:00

Hello，

Thank you for posting in the Microsoft Community forum.

It looks like you're having a problem triggering remote desktop shortcuts using an automated script. May I know if the remote desktop responds properly when you manually output Ctrl + Alt + Home shortcuts from the keyboard?

The default key combinations will work on whichever machine has the full desktop; functionally, this means that the default key combinations work for the local machine, unless you have the Remote Desktop Connection window in full-screen mode.

Reference:

Remote Desktop Services Shortcut Keys - Win32 apps | Microsoft Learn

Best regards

Jacen

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Yunho Kwon 0 Reputation points

2024-11-08T15:23:40.72+00:00

Hi Jacen, thank you for the reply. Yes it's working when I trigger with my keyboard directly. I use my Remote Desktop in full screen all the time, hence before I open it, I set the settings of Remote Desktop Connection, under Local Resources > Keyboard > Apply Windows key combinations > Only when using the full screen. However, it's still not working with my automation script.
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