Set custom scaling option for Server 2012+ RDS

If you log into a Server 2012+ RDS from a Windows 7 machine you will find that you cannot change the scaling (Text Size, DPI, etc.) of the desktop. This is due to the fact that by default, Server 2012 RDS will use the scaling settings of your Windows 8+ machine. If you are on Windows 7 you will only have the option for the default resolution.

Thankfully, there are some reg keys that allow us to work around this.

For all users on a machine (this will break auto scaling for Win 8 machines):

Create the following reg key on the RDS server
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\IgnoreClientDesktopScaleFactor
DWORD
Value: 1

For select users (if you only have a few Win 7 machines to deal with):

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\LogPixels
DWORD
Value: 78 (hex) for 120 DPI (you can find other values in the links below)

References

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/dpi-related-apis-and-registry-settings
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3026738/remoteapp-window-is-too-large-or-too-small-when-you-use-rdp-to-run-a-r

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