Transfer files to a Windows instance using RDP - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud

Transfer files to a Windows instance using RDP

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.

Windows
To map the remote session drive to your local drive on your local Windows computer

  1. Open the Remote Desktop Connection client.

  2. Choose Show Options.

  3. Add the instance host name to the Computer field and username to the User name field, as follows:

    1. 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.

    2. Select the file and choose Open. The Computer and User name fields are populated with the values from the RDP shortcut file.

    3. Choose Save.

  4. Choose the Local Resources tab.

  5. Under Local devices and resources, choose More...

    RDP Local Resources window.

  6. Open Drives and select the local drive to map to your Windows instance.

  7. Choose OK.

    RDP Local devices and resources window.

  8. Choose Connect to connect to your Windows instance.

macOS X
To map the remote session drive to your local folder on your local macOS X computer

  1. Open the Remote Desktop Connection client.

  2. Browse to the RDP file that you downloaded from the Amazon EC2 console (when you initially connected to the instance), and drag it onto the Remote Desktop Connection client.

  3. Right-click the RDP file, and choose Edit.

  4. Choose the Folders tab, and select the Redirect folders checkbox.

    Microsoft Remote Desktop Edit PC window.

  5. Choose the + icon at bottom left, browse to the folder to map, and choose Open. Repeat this step for every folder to map.

  6. Choose Save.

  7. Choose Connect to connect to your Windows instance. You'll be prompted for the password.

  8. On the instance, in File Explorer, expand This PC, and find the shared folder from which you can access your local files. In the following screenshot, the Desktop folder on the local computer was mapped to the remote session drive on the instance.

    Microsoft Remote Desktop Edit PC window.

For more information on making local devices available to a remote session on a Mac computer, see Get started with the macOS client.