Full Screen and tsclient

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When using tsclient, a remote desktop/terminal services/vnc client, if you connect in full screen mode to a server it can be difficult to disconnect or switch to another application because there is no ‘control bar’ at the top.

To toggle full screen mode, use the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Enter.

76 thoughts on “Full Screen and tsclient”

  1. Hello Steven,

    I wanted to let you know that your tip for the full screen scwitch in tsclient was exactly what I was looking for.

    I am fortunate to be a Linux server admin and use Debian as my desktop within a fortune 1000 company.

    Matter of fact the team I am on manage a very large 5.7K node Red Hat based in house developed grid environment and we are all using Linux (Debian, Gentoo, Ubuntu, Mepis) on our desktops.

    Well I wanted to give you feed back that your post has helped someone more effectivily use tsclient.

    Steve Lewis
    Little Rock, AR

  6. Thank you for posting this. I was googling for awhile now trying to figure out how to break out of my remote windows session short of having to disconnect every time I wanted to reference something on my linux computer!

  11. Thanks so much for blogging this, is there a way to disable “Terminal Server Client Error” when you close the session or log out?

  15. Hmmm. That key combination doesn’t exit full-screen mode in Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty) connected to a Windows XP TightVNC server. Any suggestions to make it work?

  17. Thanks

    I am using SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop with XGL graphics effects. I am running VMWare server with a Windoze desktop for work applications. I use tsclient to connect to the VM as VMWare does not like full screen mode with XGL enabled.

    I just installed SLED 10 SP1 onto a bigger HDD and noticed this version of tsclient starts with the window border when run in full screen mode so wondered how I got the bottom of the TS window back (task bar etc), I forgot about this key combination.

    It is good to have tsclient in full screen with no border and then I can flip to another viewport (XGL) to run other applications.

    Brent

  18. Doesn’t work!
    On gutsy that combination doesn’t work. I have to Disconnect in order to exit tsclient.
    Is there another way to do it?

  20. Instead of using TS manager, can’t you just go start > disconnect (big yellow button)?

    And, Ctrl-Alt-Enter doesn’t work on Gutsy for me either.

  21. I found a way to use this combination in Gutsy with Compiz. Press ctrl-alt-enter, then QUICKLY press ctrl-alt-(arrow left or right). If you’ve got the Compiz ‘Rotate Cube’ plugin setup, this will switch you to your next desktop and out of your tsclient session.

  23. I found a way how to enable “exit fullscreen” key combination for rdesktop when compiz is active. It was in “compiz setting manager”. There is plugin – “Workarounds”, which was enabled in my case. Among settings of this plugin there is option – “Legacy Fullscreen support”. It was enabled, and when I disabled it fullscreen in rdesktop began to work properly, that is, pressing “CTRL ALT ENTER” exits/enters fullscreen mode. Since tsclient uses rdesktop when it connects to windows hosts, this should work for it too.

  24. Alex, how do I love thee. Let me count the ways… Thanks for the awesome tip! That’s been bugging me for months!

  26. I’m using Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10 64bit. Ctrl-Alt-Enter makes the screen flash but does not exit full screen mode. I’m actually posting from the box I made an RDP connection to. Some advice on exiting full screen mode would be appreciated. I would like to some less forceful than ctrl-alt-bs.

  28. go to the “Performance” tab and make sure the “attach to console” and “allow window manager key bindings” options are checked, use ctrl+alt+left/right to switch desktop

  30. Tried *everything* suggested above on my Ubuntu Hardy (8.04) with Compiz to no avail: Ctrl-Alt-Enter still refuses to work, the compiz cube rotation doesn’t work (as it usually does) via Ctrl-Alt-r/l arrow, and I have to use Ctrl-Alt-Bs or kill manually the process from a terminal to get out of it 🙁

  32. “Tried *everything* suggested above on my Ubuntu Hardy (8.04) with Compiz to no avail: Ctrl-Alt-Enter still refuses to work, the compiz cube rotation doesn’t work (as it usually does) via Ctrl-Alt-r/l arrow, and I have to use Ctrl-Alt-Bs or kill manually the process from a terminal to get out of it :(”

    Weird, I did what this post said:

    “I found a way how to enable “exit fullscreen” key combination for rdesktop when compiz is active. It was in “compiz setting manager”. There is plugin – “Workarounds”, which was enabled in my case. Among settings of this plugin there is option – “Legacy Fullscreen support”. It was enabled, and when I disabled it fullscreen in rdesktop began to work properly, that is, pressing “CTRL ALT ENTER” exits/enters fullscreen mode. Since tsclient uses rdesktop when it connects to windows hosts, this should work for it too.”

    and it works perfectly.

  33. I tried and if I connect via rdp all is OK, I can toggle the full screen with ctr+alt+enter editing the workaround of the compiz, but when I connect via VNC it is imposible, all the key combinations goes to the server, and they don’t do nothing in the client I am using.

    Sorry about my bad English

  35. Ok, solved my problem, if you want to toggle the fullscreen in tsclient with a rdp conection, yo have to use the ctr+alt+enter, an configure he workarounds of the compiz, but if you are conecting by vnc, you have to use F8

  41. Thanks for the compiz tip. Disabling Legacy Fullscreen support worked. I had no clue what compiz was, though. Simple way to install it from terminal:
    sudo aptitude install compizconfig-settings-manager
    Access it from System > Preferences

  42. ctrl+alt+enter them tab to switch between applications (do not release key) so when you decide which application you want to stay release ctrl, alt and leave enter pushed then relase enter.

  43. in linux Open SUSE 11.0 from the terminal

    run the command rdesktop -Kf “ip address”

    to exit full screen after login use Alt+Ctrl+Enter then the LInux taskbar appears you can minimize then the remote Desktop.

    I hope this is helpfull

  46. I run ubuntu ultimate 2.0 and with rdp connexion in full screen, nothing works to toggle from full screen to non full screen. Ctrl-Alt-Enter only flash my local desktop for less than 1 sec.

    Is there a way to correct this behavior?

    Thank’s

  47. Now to re-post this on all the forums I visited before finding this, asking the very same question…

  48. im using HH 8.04, the tips from Alex work fine for me…..
    install compiz, use sudo apt-get compizconfig-settings-manager, then acces it from System > Preferences > Advanced Desktop Effects Settings, then input on the search textfield “Workaround” w/ quot…. and there’s goes the Alex’s tips…. 😀
    regards…..

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