You can work with your Windows instance in the same way that you would work with any Windows server. For example, you can transfer files between a Windows instance and your local computer using the local file sharing feature of the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection (RDP) software. You can access local files on hard disk drives, DVD drives, portable media drives, and mapped network drives.
To access your local files from your Windows instances, you must enable the local file sharing feature by mapping the remote session drive to your local drive. The steps are slightly different depending on whether your local computer operating system is Windows or macOS X.
For more information about the prerequisites to connect using RDP, see Prerequisites.
To map the remote session drive to your local drive on your local Windows computer
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Open the Remote Desktop Connection client.
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Choose Show Options.
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Add the instance host name to the Computer field and username to the User name field, as follows:
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Under Connection settings, choose Open..., and browse to the RDP shortcut file that you downloaded from the Amazon EC2 console. The file contains the Public IPv4 DNS host name, which identifies the instance, and the Administrator user name.
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Select the file and choose Open. The Computer and User name fields are populated with the values from the RDP shortcut file.
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Choose Save.
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Choose the Local Resources tab.
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Under Local devices and resources, choose More...
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Open Drives and select the local drive to map to your Windows instance.
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Choose OK.
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Choose Connect to connect to your Windows instance.
