Where Is The Desktop Located For Remote Desktop?

In Windows remote sessions, Desktop sits at %USERPROFILE%\Desktop; shared icons live at %PUBLIC%\Desktop, and local PC files show under \\tsclient.

If you connect to a Windows machine over a remote session and need to find files you saved on the desktop, you’re looking for two places in the file system and one “virtual” location that appears only inside the session. The private spot is the user profile’s Desktop folder. The shared spot is the Public desktop folder used by all accounts. The virtual spot is the set of redirected local drives that show up under \\tsclient when drive redirection is enabled. Once you know these three, you can hop between user items, all-user shortcuts, and your own computer’s disks with zero guesswork.

Desktop Folder Path In Windows RDP Sessions

On any modern Windows release, the per-user desktop lives inside the user profile. The fastest pointer is the shell variable and the environment variable:

User desktop: %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
All users (shared) desktop: %PUBLIC%\Desktop
Shell shortcuts: shell:Desktop (user) and shell:Common Desktop (shared)

Windows exposes these as “known folders,” so apps and scripts can always resolve them even if you move or redirect them. Microsoft documents these known folders and the APIs that return their paths, such as SHGetKnownFolderPath and the Known Folder IDs. See Microsoft’s docs on Known Folders and the SHGetKnownFolderPath function for the exact behavior.

What You See In File Explorer

In a remote session, open File Explorer and type the shortcut directly in the address bar:

shell:Desktop — jumps to your profile’s Desktop folder.
shell:Common Desktop — jumps to the shared desktop folder.

The shared path is hidden by default when you browse the Public folder, but it resolves cleanly when you type the full path or the shell shortcut. That’s handy on locked-down servers where hidden items stay hidden.

Accessing Your Local Computer’s Files During RDP

If drive redirection is allowed, your local disks appear in the remote session under a special UNC path that starts with \\tsclient. For instance, your C: drive on the local machine shows as \\tsclient\C in the session. From there, you can browse into folders and drag files across just like any network location.

Microsoft’s guidance explains how redirection works across products that speak the Remote Desktop Protocol and how to enable or limit it with policy. See Peripheral and resource redirection over RDP and the article on configuring drive redirection.

Quick Check: Is Drive Redirection On?

Admins sometimes turn this off for security. If your local disks don’t appear, Group Policy may block it. The relevant setting sits under Remote Desktop Services → Device and Resource Redirection. If “Do not allow drive redirection” is enabled, you won’t see \\tsclient entries.

Why You Might See Different Desktop Contents

The Desktop you see can differ across machines or sessions for a few reasons:

Different user accounts. Each account has its own profile, so each has its own Desktop folder under its profile path.
Shared items from the Public desktop. Anything in %PUBLIC%\Desktop shows on every user’s desktop. This is common for admin-pushed shortcuts.
Folder redirection or OneDrive Known Folder Move. An admin can redirect the Desktop to a network share or OneDrive. In that case, the on-disk location points to the redirected target, while File Explorer still shows it as “Desktop.” Microsoft documents OneDrive Known Folder Move here: Redirect Windows known folders to OneDrive.

How To Tell If Desktop Is Redirected

There are a few quick ways to confirm where the folder points:

Properties → Location tab: Right-click “Desktop” in the navigation pane, pick Properties, then the Location tab shows the live path.
Address bar color code: Click in the address bar while inside Desktop; if you see a UNC path like \\Server\Share\Users\Name\Desktop, it’s redirected.
PowerShell: Run the command below to print the current resolved path.

[Environment]::GetFolderPath('Desktop')

Everyday Tasks And Copy-Paste Ready Commands

Jump Straight To Desktop Paths

Paste any of these into File Explorer’s address bar inside your session:

%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
%PUBLIC%\Desktop
shell:Desktop
shell:Common Desktop

Print The Live Desktop Path (PowerShell)

# Show current user's Desktop path
[Environment]::GetFolderPath('Desktop')

# Show public desktop path via environment variable
$env:PUBLIC + '\Desktop'

Open The Desktop Folder From Run

Press Win+R and paste one of these:

shell:Desktop
shell:Common Desktop

See Redirected Local Drives During RDP

# List mapped/redirected drives in the session
net use

# Open local C: from your client PC (visible in the session)
\\tsclient\C

# Map a drive letter to your client PC's C:
net use Z: \\tsclient\C /persistent:no

When Your Client Disks Don’t Show Up

If your local drives are missing inside the session, try this checklist:

Client setting: In the Remote Desktop client, under local resources, turn on Drives for the connection.
Server policy: If an admin set “Do not allow drive redirection,” client drives won’t appear.
Reconnect: After changing settings, reconnect so the session re-negotiates resources.

Installing Or Placing Shortcuts For All Users

If you want an app shortcut to show on every desktop on a server or multi-user PC, place the shortcut in the common folder. Use either:

%PUBLIC%\Desktop
shell:Common Desktop

Anything you drop there appears for all accounts the next time they refresh or log in. This is standard practice for shared hosts and session collections.

Troubleshooting: Wrong Desktop Or Missing Files

Saved Files Don’t Show Where You Expect

Run these checks:

Confirm the account. You might be logged in as a different user than the one you expected.
Check the path. Use the PowerShell command above to print the current location.
Look for redirection. If the Location tab shows a network or OneDrive path, files live there.
Search both spots. Peek in %USERPROFILE%\Desktop and %PUBLIC%\Desktop.

Desktop Is Empty But Files Exist On Disk

This happens when File Explorer is pointed at one folder while your files live in the other (user vs. public). Navigate to each folder directly with the address bar shortcuts to confirm.

OneDrive Took Over My Desktop

OneDrive’s Known Folder Move can re-home the desktop to your cloud profile. That’s by design so that files sync across devices and sessions. If that was enabled by policy, talk to your admin before changing anything. If you control your PC and want to switch back, the Desktop folder’s Location tab lets you restore the default path and move files back to the profile directory.

Admin Notes For Servers And VDI

On session hosts, you might want a clean, uniform desktop for all users. A common pattern is:

Lock down the user desktop to the essentials.
Place only approved shortcuts in the shared folder.
Use Group Policy Preferences or your management tool to enforce icons and remove ad-hoc clutter.
Control drive redirection based on role. Enable for help desk or power users, limit for kiosk users.

The RDP redirection docs above outline supported resources and the policy precedence order across products. If you need to audit a path programmatically, the Known Folders API returns the current effective path even when redirection is active, which simplifies scripts and logon tasks.

Copy-Paste Cookbook

Show My Desktop Path (Command Prompt)

echo %USERPROFILE%\Desktop

Open Desktop From Command Prompt

start "" "%USERPROFILE%\Desktop"

Jump To Shared Desktop

start "" "%PUBLIC%\Desktop"

Map Local C: From Your Client As Z: Inside The Session

net use Z: \\tsclient\C /persistent:no

Quick Reference: Paths And Shortcuts

The table below condenses the locations and how to reach them. Keep this handy during support calls or checklists.

Context	Path Or Shortcut
User Desktop (current account)	`%USERPROFILE%\Desktop` or `shell:Desktop`
Shared Desktop (all users)	`%PUBLIC%\Desktop` or `shell:Common Desktop`
Local PC Drives In Session	`\\tsclient\C`, `\\tsclient\D`, etc.

Takeaways

When you connect remotely, treat “Desktop” as a folder that can live in a few places. Your stuff goes in the profile path. Shared icons live in the Public folder. Your own computer’s disks surface under \\tsclient when redirection is on. With those three anchors, you can locate files fast, script repeatable checks, and keep sessions tidy on single PCs, servers, or full VDI stacks.