Windows 7 Tricks: Using Your Laptop/Notebook/Tablet to Control Your Office PC From Anywhere

Here’s a way to have two computers your way. Windows 7’s Remote Desktop Connection lets you connect to your office computer from your remote Laptop/Notebook/Tablet and have access to all your programs, files, and resources as if you were actually sitting in your office.

Note
Remote Desktop Connection is only available for host computers running Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions—which are the editions you’re likely to find in a corporate environment.

To connect to your work computer remotely, you must turn on your work computer, have a network connection, and have Remote Desktop enabled. You must also, of course, have network access to your work computer (typically via the Internet or a VPN), and you must have permission to connect.

Configuring Your Desktop PC

To set up your work computer for remote connections, you have to both activate remote access and determine who can have that access. Follow these steps:
1. Open the Control Panel and select System.
2. When the System window appears, click Advanced System Settings.
3. When the System Properties dialog box appears, select the Remote tab.

4. Select either the Allow Connections from Computers Running Any
Version of Remote Desktop or Allow Connections Only from Computers Running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication. The former option is less secure, but is easier to work with; the latter option is more secure, if you can use it.
5. Click the Select Users button.
6. When the Remote Desktop Users dialog box appears, click the Add button.
7. When the Select Users dialog box appears, enter the user name you use on your notebook PC; then click OK.
8. Back in the Remote Desktop Users dialog box, click OK.

Connecting from Your Laptop/Notebook/Tablet

To connect to your desktop (work) computer from your Laptop/Notebook/Tablet, you need to follow these steps on your Laptop/Notebook/Tablet:

1. Open the Control Panel and select RemoteApp and Desktop Connections.
2. When the next window appears, click Set Up a New Connection with RemoteApp and Desktop Connections in the tasks pane.
3. When the Set Up a New Connection with RemoteApp and Desktop Connections dialog box appears, enter the URL or IP address for your work computer into the Connection URL box; then click Next.
4. When the Ready to Set Up Connection screen appears, click Next.

You’ll now be connected to your work PC, and the desktop from that PC will display on your current computer screen. You can use your Laptop/Notebook/Tablet to access any program or file on your work PC, just as if you were there.