How can I transfer local files over the Internet if I'm using Windows 2000 Server Terminal Services and the Web-based Terminal Services Advanced Client (TSAC)? Use the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit's Rdpclip utility?

A. Traditionally, the lack of support for file transfers between a Win2K or Windows NT terminal server and RDP clients has been a major shortcoming of Microsoft's terminal services. Most organizations with these kinds of needs have turned to Citrix MetaFrame, which provides a much more powerful and flexible solution than Microsoft's terminal services solutions provide.

Although Citrix still provides a far more robust feature set for client-to-server data exchange, the Rdpclip utility (aka the File Copy utility) levels the playing field a bit by enhancing the existing support for clipboard transfers, thereby giving Win2K terminal servers and their clients the ability to exchange files. To use Rdpclip, you need to install the utility on every terminal server and terminal server client on which you want to use it.

On the terminal servers, run the fxfrinst.bat file, which resides in the resource kit's main installation folder. (This folder's default name is C:program filesresource kit.)

On the clients, perform the following steps:

After you complete these steps, reboot both the servers and the clients. When you view folders or files in Windows Explorer, you'll be able to use standard cut, copy, and paste features (or their Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V keyboard-shortcut equivalents) to copy files between servers and clients. This feature takes advantage of the Terminal Services Virtual Channel architecture by using virtual channels to stream file data between the source and destination system.