How do I pin a remote desktop connection to the taskbar?

Solution 1:

You can create a shortcut on, e.g., the desktop (right-click the desktop, select "New > Shortcut"), with the following command line:

%windir%\system32\mstsc.exe "C:\Path\To\My\RDF File.RDP"

If you pin this shortcut to the taskbar, remote desktop should directly launch the connection.

Solution 2:

Once you save your remote connection setup in an RDP file simply drag the file to the Remote Desktop icon in the Task Bar. This adds this connection to the "Pinned" area when you right-click the Remote Desktop ICON. You can add as many RDP file connections as you want to this pinned area. This assumes that you have already added the Remote Desktop program to the Task Bar. See above for doing this.