Expand and shrink sessions
The signature RDPMaster move: take one tile out of the grid, expand it to the full window, do focused work, then shrink it back without dropping the connection.
Expand
Section titled “Expand”Three ways:
- Click the ⛶ button in the tile header.
- Press F11 while the tile has focus.
- Double-click the tile body (anywhere outside the header).
The remote desktop re-negotiates to the larger resolution. If the profile has Use multiple monitors when expanded enabled, the session spans your physical monitors.
Shrink
Section titled “Shrink”Two ways:
- Press Esc while the expanded tile has focus.
- Click the ⮌ button in the tile header.
The remote re-negotiates back to the tile’s pre-expand size. The other tiles in the grid resume their layout.
What persists across expand/shrink
Section titled “What persists across expand/shrink”| State | Persists? |
|---|---|
| The RDP connection itself | ✅ |
| Open windows / programs inside the session | ✅ |
| Clipboard | ✅ |
| Keyboard layout + IME state | ✅ |
| Cursor position | mostly — Windows resets cursor to (0,0) on resolution change, then the session catches up |
| File-redirect mounts | ✅ |
| Smart-card / USB / printer redirections | ✅ |
The expand/shrink is a resize, not a reconnect. It’s the same protocol-level operation as resizing a normal RDP window — RDPMaster just automates the math.
When expand/shrink misbehaves
Section titled “When expand/shrink misbehaves”- The remote desktop appears blurred or stretched after expand. This happens when the remote isn’t honoring the resolution-change request — typically older Windows Server versions (2012 and earlier). Workaround: in the profile, turn Auto-resolution off and set the desktop dimensions manually to match your largest planned size.
- Black screen on expand. Usually the graphics-acceleration pipeline didn’t catch the resize. Right-click → Reconnect.
- Expand button does nothing. The ActiveX RDP control isn’t ready yet — wait for the Connected status pill to turn green.
Keyboard shortcuts
Section titled “Keyboard shortcuts”| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Expand focused tile | F11 |
| Shrink expanded tile back to grid | Esc |
| Move focus to next tile | Ctrl+Tab |
| Move focus to previous tile | Ctrl+Shift+Tab |
| Toggle tile header visibility | Ctrl+H |
| Disconnect focused session | Ctrl+D |
See the full list in keyboard shortcuts.