How to: Transfer Files from Remote Desktop to Local PC [Optional]

Can I transfer files from a remote desktop to my local PC?

" Now and then, I need to work at home. And how can I transfer files from my remote desktop in the office to my local machine without physical access to that remote machine?  Thanks a lot!

Transfer files from remote desktop to local PC in RDP session 

Windows built-in feature, Remote Desktop, offered by Microsoft,  allows you to access a computer on the same network using a Remote Desktop client app (like Remote Desktop Connection). Once you have configured Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) on your Windows computer properly, you can transfer files from remote desktop to your local machine. 

First of all, remote access to the remote machine should be enabled for file transfer.  Then, you can set up RDC on your local PC for file transfer. 

Step 1. Press "Windows" + "R", input "mstsc" and click "Enter" key. 

Step 2.  Click "Show Options" click "Local Resources" and click "More".

Step 3.  Check "Drives" to make your local drives show in the remote session and click "OK". 

Step 4.  Click "General" tab and enter the remote machine's computer name or IP address and the user name. Then, click "Connect".

Step 5. Then, you need to enter the password of the remote computer and click "OK". 

 

Step 6. You'll be prompted that "The identity of the remote computer cannot be verified. Do you want to connect anyway". Click "Connect" and you are able to access the remote computer successfully.  

Finally, you can start file transfer between the remote desktop and the local machine. 

Way 1. Transfer files via copy and paste 

Step 1. On the Remote Desktop Connection window, you can see the desktop of the remote computer just like the following screenshot.

Step 2. Locate the files that you want to transfer from the remote desktop and press  "Ctrl"+ "C" to copy files. 

Step 3. Go to the place where you want to save the files from the remote computer on your local computer, and press "Ctrl" + "V" to paste the copied files. 

See? You can easily transfer files from a remote desktop to your local machine in Remote Desktop Connection via Copy and Paste. What you need to know is that copy and paste is only suitable to transfer files not larger than 2GB. To transfer a large file from a remote machine to a local machine over RDP,  you can use File Explorer in the remote session.

Note: If you are unable to use Copy and Paste even to transfer small files, you can refer to Unable to Copy and Paste to and from Remote Desktop Session in Windows 10 or 11: How Do I Fix?

Way 2.  Transfer files from remote desktop to local computer in Windows 10/11 via Move to

Copy and Paste can't enable you to transfer a file larger than 2GB. To transfer a large file from a remote desktop to local one, you can use Move to feature in Windows. 

Step 1. On the "Remote Desktop Connection" window, click "This PC" to open Windows Explorer. Here you can see the drives of your local PC have been redirected and appeared. 

Step 2. Click the local disk of the remote computer that saves the large files you need and select them. Then, go to "Home" > "Move to" > "Choose location...". 

Step 3. Choose a drive of your local computer as the destination place and click "Move". Then the files will be moved from the remote computer to your local PC. 

Note: Once a file is moved, it won't exist in its original space. 

Transfer files from remote desktop to local PC easily and quickly 

Now, you should have realized how to transfer files from remote desktop to local machine in the Remote RDP session. Obviously, the whole process can be troublesome, especially when you need to transfer a large file from the remote desktop.

Thus, it's recommended to switch to AnyViewer. It allows you to transfer files from remote PC to local PC or from local PC to the remote PC with easy operation, fast speed, and high security. What's more, it enables you to transfer files remotely without running a remote session.

Now, see how to transfer files from remote desktop to local pc using AnyViewer. 

Step 1. Download AnyViewr on both computers; install and run it. 

Step 2. On your local computer, run AnyViewer and click  "Log in" and "Sign up" to create an AnyViewer account. 

Step 3. After signing up and you'll sign into this account automatically on this device.  If the remote desktop or laptop you need to transfer files is your own computer and you need to visit it regularly, you can sign in to the same account on it. 

Step 4. On the local PC,  click "Device" and click the remote computer, Then, click "File Transfer". 

If you want to transfer files in a remote session, you can click "One-click control" and choose "Files".

Step 5. Then, the "File Transfer" window will pop up. On the left panel, you can see the files on your local machine. On the right side, you can see the files on your remote machine. To transfer files from a remote desktop to a local PC, choose the files on the right side and click the “Triangle” icon to start the transfer. 

After a while, the files will be transferred to your local PC. 

Note: The free account supports transferring a single file larger than 100MB. To transfer a single larger file, you can upgrade to Professional or Enterprise plan. After the upgrade, you can get these benefits as well:
☞ Faster file transfer speed:  The speed is up to 10MB/s while the speed is 500KB/s in the free version.
☞ More files can be transferred at the same time: 5 files can be transferred simultaneously while 2 in the free version.
☞ Unlimited files can be transferred at one time and 100 files in free version.
☞ Assign more devices and access a remote computer in privacy mode. 

When the remote desktop or laptop isn't your own PC and you can't trust it completely, it's OK to transfer the remote computer files without signing into your AnyViewer account and running a remote session. Here is the whole process. 

Step 1. Sign in AnyViewer account on your local PC. Go to "Connect" and input the device ID of the remote machine. Then, click "File transfer" and click "Connect". 

Step 2. Choose "Input security code" if you have the (temporary security code) of the remote computer or "Send a control request to your partner" if there is someone on the remote machine to accept your request.  Then, the "File Transfer" window pops up, and you can transfer files between the two machines. 

Conclusion

How to transfer files from remote desktop to local PC? The post has illustrated the whole process with Windows Remote Desktop or AnyViewer. If you want to get a better and fast remote file transfer experience,  it's highly recommended to use AnyViewer.