Who This Affects and What It Fixes
This guide is for small-business employees who connect to a work server or remote computer using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and cannot print to their local printer from inside that remote session. Enabling the printer redirection setting in your RDP connection file will make your local printers appear automatically every time you connect, with no changes needed on the server.
What Is RDP Printer Redirection?
Remote Desktop Protocol includes a built-in printer redirection feature. When it is turned on, RDP forwards print jobs from your remote session back to your local computer, where your own print driver handles them. This means you can print documents from a remote desktop just as easily as if you were sitting at your own desk—without an IT administrator having to set up your printer on the remote server.
How to Enable Printer Redirection
- Locate your RDP connection file (it ends in .rdp).
- Right-click the file and select Edit.
Note: On Windows 11 you may need to select Show More Options first before the Edit option appears. - Click the Local Resources tab.
- Under Local devices and resources, check the box labeled Printers.
- Save the file if you want the setting to persist, then connect to the remote machine as normal.
Once connected, your local printers will appear inside the remote session with the word (redirected) after each printer name.
Things to Be Aware Of
Printer redirection can change the default printer inside your remote session to match the default printer on your local computer. If the remote system was previously set to use a specific network printer by default, you may notice it has switched—this is expected behavior and not an error.
In rare cases, a network-shared printer on the remote server may be unable to print unless the redirected default printer from your local computer matches that same printer. This unusual situation has only been observed when the target printer on the remote machine was added using the share printer on network feature and the local client machine is sharing that printer over a USB connection. If you run into this, contact your IT provider for assistance.
Need Help?
If you are still unable to print after following these steps, the team at Advanced Computer Solutions is ready to help. Contact ACS here.
Common questions
Why do my printers show the word ‘redirected’ in the remote session?
When printer redirection is active, RDP labels your local printers with ‘(redirected)’ so you can tell them apart from any printers configured directly on the remote server. They work the same as any other printer—just select one and print as normal.
Will enabling printer redirection change my default printer on the remote server?
It can. RDP printer redirection may set the default printer in your remote session to match the default printer on your local computer. If the remote system was using a specific network printer as its default, you may see that change after connecting. This is normal behavior built into the feature.
Do I need to do anything on the server to make printer redirection work?
In most cases, no. Printer redirection is handled on the client side—meaning you only need to enable it in your RDP connection file on your own computer. No administrator setup on the remote server is required for your local printers to appear in the session.