Help & FAQ for Mac

How it works

Each remote computer you use is saved as a connection. Connections appear as cards in the main window, can be grouped and marked as favorites, and remember every setting for that computer — resolution, which local devices to share, and performance options. When you connect, the remote desktop opens in its own window.

Add a connection

1. Click Add Connection (or press ⌘N).
2. Enter a name and the computer's address (host name or IP). The default RDP port is 3389.
3. Optionally enter a username and domain. The password is asked for when you connect and can be saved to your Keychain.
4. Review the Display, Resources, Experience and Gateway tabs (see Connection Settings), then click Add Connection.

Connect

Double-click a connection card, click its Connect button, or select it and press ⌘↩. Enter the password if it isn't saved. Turn on "Save password in Keychain" to skip the prompt next time — saved passwords stay in your macOS Keychain and are never written to disk in the clear.

Tip If a session for that connection is already open, connecting again simply brings its window to the front instead of starting a second session.

Quick Connect

Connection › Quick Connect (⌘K) connects to an address without saving it first. Tick "Save this connection" in the sheet if you want to keep it after all. Recently used addresses are listed for reuse.

Organize

Groups

Set a group name in a connection's General tab. Groups appear in the sidebar so related computers stay together.

Favorites

Click the star on a card, or press ⇧⌘F, to pin a connection to the Favorites list.

Recent

Connections you used recently, newest first.

Search

The search field filters every list by name and address.

Session History

The clock button at the bottom of the sidebar lists past sessions with their start time and duration.

Import and export

File › Import Connections (⇧⌘I) reads standard .rdp files (as saved by Microsoft Remote Desktop) and Alcedo JSON exports. You can also drop .rdp or .json files anywhere on the main window. File › Export Connections (⇧⌘E) writes your connections back out as .rdp or JSON for backup or sharing.

General

Connection Name

The label shown on the card and in the session window's title.

Group

Sidebar group the connection belongs to. Leave it as Default if you don't use groups.

Color

Card and icon color. Pick one of the swatches, or tap the sparkle to roll a random shade of Alcedo blue.

Server Address / Port

Host name or IP address of the remote computer, and the port it listens on (3389 unless your administrator changed it).

Username / Domain

Pre-fills the sign-in. Leave the domain empty for local accounts or Microsoft accounts. Passwords are requested when you connect.

Display

Resolution

Width and height the remote desktop is started at. New connections default to the size of this Mac's screen; the This Screen preset restores it and 720p, 1080p, 1440p and 4K cover the standard sizes. By default the desktop is then resized to match the session window as you resize it (see Settings › Display, "Match Window"), so black borders only appear on servers that can't resize on the fly.

Start in Full Screen

Opens the session directly in full screen. Leave the toolbar's full-screen button or ⌃⌘F to go back.

Native macOS Full Screen

Uses a macOS full-screen Space for this session, so ⌃← / ⌃→ switch between the session and your desktop. When this is off, Alcedo uses its own borderless full screen that hides the menu bar and Dock completely and keeps only the floating session toolbar on screen.

Resources

Which local devices the remote session can use. Everything here is off by default except the clipboard; turn on only what you need.

Clipboard

Copy and paste text and images between your Mac and the remote session.

Printers

Standard RDP printer redirection: your Mac's printers appear as printers inside the remote session.

TSPrint

TerminalWorks TSPrint: fast, driver-free printing from the remote session to your local printers, with print preview and PDF options. The TSPrint Server component must be installed on the remote computer.

TSScan

TerminalWorks TSScan: use scanners connected to your Mac from applications running in the remote session. Requires TSScan Server on the remote computer.

TSWebCam

TerminalWorks TSWebCam: use your Mac's camera in remote applications (video calls, capture). Requires TSWebCam Server on the remote computer. macOS asks for camera permission the first time.

Audio Playback

Play the remote session's sound on this Mac.

Microphone

Send your Mac's microphone to the remote session. macOS asks for microphone permission the first time.

Folders

Share local folders with the session; they appear as drives in the remote File Explorer. Click Add Folder and choose each folder — because Alcedo is sandboxed, only folders you pick this way are accessible.

Experience

Connection Speed

Tells the server how much bandwidth to assume, from Auto to LAN. Slower settings make Windows drop visual effects to keep the session responsive; Auto lets the server detect it.

Visual Effects

Individual Windows effects you can allow or suppress: Wallpaper, Themes, Window Drag (show window contents while dragging), Animations (menu and window animations), Font Smooth (ClearType font smoothing) and Aero/Glass (desktop composition). Turning effects off reduces bandwidth and can make slow links feel snappier. Click anywhere on an effect tile to toggle it; All On / All Off set them together.

RemoteFX

Allows the RemoteFX codec family (RFX and NSCodec) for the picture. Recommended on; it markedly improves quality and smoothness.

Graphics Pipeline (GFX)

Enables the modern RDP graphics pipeline with hardware-accelerated H.264 (AVC 420/444) decoding on the Mac. Recommended on for Windows 8.1 / Server 2012 R2 and newer.

Auto-Reconnect

Reconnects automatically after a network drop (Wi-Fi hiccup, VPN blip, gateway tunnel reset). It never reconnects when the server ended the session on purpose — for example when another device took the session over — so two computers can't keep bouncing each other out of the same session.

Compression

Compresses RDP traffic to reduce bandwidth. Leave it on unless you are troubleshooting.

Gateway

Use Remote Desktop Gateway

Routes the connection through an RD Gateway server so you can reach computers on a corporate network from outside it. Enter the gateway address your IT administrator gave you; the gateway signs you in with the same credentials as the session.

The session toolbar

A floating pill at the top of the session shows the connection name and how long you have been connected. It hides itself after a couple of seconds; move the pointer to the top edge of the window (or the bottom edge, if you parked the toolbar there) to bring it back, or press Esc to show and hide it.

Pin

Keeps the toolbar visible instead of auto-hiding.

Full Screen

Enters or exits full screen for this session.

Disconnect

Ends the session and closes the window. Your programs keep running on the remote computer; you are simply disconnected from the session.

Move

Drag the grip on the left of the pill to park the toolbar anywhere in the window. The position is remembered.

Full screen

Use the toolbar button or Session › Enter Full Screen (⌃⌘F). The same command exits again. By default Alcedo uses an immersive borderless full screen: menu bar and Dock are hidden and only the toolbar floats over the session. Turn on "Native macOS Full Screen" in the connection's Display tab if you prefer a regular macOS full-screen Space with ⌃← / ⌃→ switching.

Session menu

Disconnect (⇧⌘W)

Same as the toolbar's Disconnect button, for the session window that is in front.

Enter Full Screen (⌃⌘F)

Toggles full screen for the session in front.

Send Ctrl+Alt+Delete (⌥⌘⌫)

Sends the secure attention sequence to the remote computer — use it to lock Windows, change your password or open Task Manager.

Send Windows Key

Taps the Windows key to open the Start menu.

Keyboard and mouse

Keys are sent to the remote computer as you type, including modifiers. The ⌘ key acts as the Windows key in combinations such as ⌘+E (File Explorer) and ⌘+L (lock). Right-click, middle-click and the back/forward buttons of a mouse are passed through.

Trackpad gestures

With Trackpad Gestures enabled in Settings › General (the default), two-finger scrolling is smooth in both directions and pinching zooms in and out (sent as Ctrl+scroll, which most Windows apps use for zoom). When it is off, scrolling works in classic mouse-wheel notches.

Resolution and scaling

With Settings › Display set to Match Window (the default), the remote desktop is resized to fit the window whenever you resize it or change to full screen, so the picture is always pixel-for-pixel. If you pick a fixed default resolution instead, the session keeps the resolution from its Display tab and the window scales the picture, keeping its aspect ratio with black bars as needed.

When a session ends on its own

If the remote computer ends the session — typically because another device signed in to the same session, an administrator disconnected you, or the session timed out — Alcedo tells you why and closes the window. Windows allows one active connection per session, so connecting from a second Mac takes the session over; the first Mac is disconnected and, by design, does not reconnect automatically.

Sign in with a work or school account

1. Choose Accounts › Add Account (⇧⌘A), or click Sign in at the bottom of the sidebar's Cloud section.
2. Sign in with your Microsoft Entra ID account. Alcedo asks for permission to read your Cloud PCs and Virtual Desktop resources.
3. Your workspaces and Cloud PCs are discovered automatically and listed under Cloud in the sidebar.

Tip Some tenants require an additional device-code sign-in the first time a Virtual Desktop session is opened. Alcedo shows the code and copies it to the clipboard; paste it into the Microsoft page that opens.

Workspaces and Cloud PCs

Workspaces

Each Azure Virtual Desktop workspace lists its desktops and RemoteApp programs. Click a resource to connect. RemoteApps open as individual windows on your Mac instead of a full desktop.

Cloud PCs

Windows 365 Cloud PCs assigned to you, with their status. Click Connect to start a session.

Session Settings

Cloud resources can't be edited like normal connections, but each card has Session Settings to override the shared devices (clipboard, printers, TSPrint/TSScan/TSWebCam, audio, folders) and the codec options for that resource.

Refresh

Accounts › Refresh Cloud Resources (⇧⌘R) fetches the latest list from Microsoft.

Rename / Remove

The gear next to Cloud in the sidebar lets you rename or remove a workspace. Removing a workspace only forgets it in Alcedo.

On-premises Remote Desktop Services

Accounts › Subscribe to Workspace adds a RD Web Access feed from your own Remote Desktop Services deployment. Choose "Use custom feed URL", enter the feed address your administrator provided (usually ending in /RDWeb/Feed/webfeed.aspx) together with your domain username and password, and the published desktops and apps appear as a workspace. You can also enter an email address to discover an Azure Virtual Desktop feed without signing in with Entra ID first.

General

Trackpad Gestures

On by default. Enables smooth two-finger scrolling in both directions and pinch-to-zoom inside sessions. Turn it off to scroll in classic mouse-wheel notches only.

Display

Default Resolution

Match Window (default): the remote desktop is resized to fit the session window whenever the window changes size, so full screen always uses your Mac's full resolution. This needs Windows 8.1 / Server 2012 R2 or newer on the remote side. Choosing a fixed size instead pins every session to its connection's configured resolution (the window scales the picture) and uses that size as the starting point for new connections.

Clipboard

Clipboard Sharing

Master switch for clipboard synchronization across all sessions, with the time of the last item sent and received. Text and images are synchronized; file transfer is not supported.

Certificates

Trusted Certificates

Servers whose certificate you accepted when connecting. Most on-premises servers use self-signed certificates, so Alcedo asks once and remembers your choice. Remove an entry here to be asked again the next time you connect to that server.

About

Shows the installed version and links to the TerminalWorks website, support and the privacy policy. Alcedo RDP is built on the open-source FreeRDP project.

Connections

⌘N

New connection

⌘K

Quick Connect

⌘↩

Connect to the selected connection

⌘E

Edit the selected connection

⌘D

Duplicate the selected connection

⇧⌘F

Add to / remove from Favorites

⌘⌫

Delete the selected connection

⇧⌘I

Import connections

⇧⌘E

Export connections

Navigation

⌘1

Show all connections

⌘2

Show favorites

⌘3

Show recent

⌘0

Bring the Connections window back

⌘,

Settings

⌘?

This help

Cloud

⇧⌘A

Add a work or school account

⇧⌘R

Refresh cloud resources

In a session

⌃⌘F

Enter / exit full screen

⇧⌘W

Disconnect

⌥⌘⌫

Send Ctrl+Alt+Delete

Esc

Show / hide the session toolbar

⌘ + key

Windows key combinations (e.g. ⌘E, ⌘L)

"We couldn't connect to the remote PC"

The message includes a hint and an error code. Common causes:

Wrong address or port

Check the host name / IP and that port 3389 (or your custom port) is reachable — a firewall or VPN may be blocking it.

Remote access is off

On the Windows PC, Settings › System › Remote Desktop must be enabled and your account allowed to connect.

Sign-in failed

Re-enter the password, and try adding the domain (or a leading ".\" for a local account on the PC). Accounts can also be locked out or expired; the hint says so.

Security negotiation failed

Very old servers may not support the security levels Alcedo offers. Ask your administrator whether the server allows TLS / Network Level Authentication.

Certificate warning

On the first connection to a server with a self-signed or otherwise untrusted certificate, Alcedo shows its details and asks whether to trust it. Accepting remembers the certificate (see Settings › Certificates). If the certificate of a known server suddenly changes, be cautious — verify with your administrator before accepting.

Remote Desktop licensing errors

Windows Server needs Remote Desktop licensing (RDS CALs) once its 120-day grace period ends. If the server can't reach a license server or has no licenses left, it refuses the session and Alcedo shows "The remote PC has no Remote Desktop license server" (error 0x0101) or "No Remote Desktop licenses are available" (error 0x0102). Nothing on the Mac can fix this: the server administrator has to install or activate a Remote Desktop license server and CALs, or set the server's licensing mode. Windows 10/11 Pro PCs never need licenses.

"Another device connected to this session"

Windows allows one active connection per user session. When you (or a colleague using the same account) connect from another computer, that computer takes the session over and this one is disconnected. This is expected: reconnect from the Mac you want to use, and the session moves back.

The picture is scaled or has black bars

Match Window (Settings › Display) needs Windows 8.1 / Server 2012 R2 or newer; older servers keep the resolution set in the connection and the window scales the picture instead. On any server, the remote desktop may take a second to follow a resize.

Shared folders, camera or microphone don't work

Alcedo runs in the macOS App Sandbox. Folders must be added through the connection's Folders list (Add Folder), which grants access; camera and microphone use needs the permission macOS asks for on first use — check System Settings › Privacy & Security if you declined it. TSPrint, TSScan and TSWebCam additionally need their server components installed on the remote computer.

Still stuck?

Visit the TerminalWorks support site, or use Report an Issue to email [email protected] (also in the Help menu). Please include the error code shown in the connection error, the Windows version of the remote computer and your macOS version — the email template fills in the app and macOS versions for you.

TerminalWorks Support Report an Issue