RDCMan is the remote desktop tool that the Sysinternals team at Microsoft keeps for Windows, and it does one narrow job: it gathers every RDP connection into a single tree, connects a whole group at once, and shows the machines as thumbnails. Version 3.23 arrived on 5 November 2026, on the same documentation page the tool has lived on for years.

One window holds a batch of desktops

The interface is a menu, a tree of groups and servers, a splitter and a client area. What the right side shows follows the selected node: pick a server and the client area holds that machine remote desktop, pick a group and it spreads out thumbnails for every server inside. The tree can dock on the left or the right edge, can hide itself, or can vanish altogether, and groups and servers survive all of that because the Remote Desktop menu still walks the hierarchy.

Thumbnail size comes from the View menu, at a default scale of fifteen percent. Fill the area with small tiles to read the whole room at once, then double click one machine to enlarge it to a size worth working in.

A group is about inheritance, not filing

Groups are organised by name, but the saving sits in inheritance. A server can ignore its own logon settings and take them from a parent group or from a credential store, so a lab account with a fresh password is edited in one stored place rather than on every machine. Credential profiles can also be shared by groups with no common parent, since each person using one fills in their own account.

One rule holds throughout: groups are homogeneous. A group contains either groups or servers, never a mix. The limit feels awkward until it forces the hierarchy to be thought through, with one group standing for a room, another for an environment, another for a batch of machines, and once that settles the inheritance chain stays put.

Passwords do not sit in the clear. Stored ones are encrypted with CryptProtectData under the rights of the current logged on user, or with an X509 certificate instead. The first follows the machine and the account, the second suits a configuration file that travels between several workstations.

Adding machines need not be one at a time

Bulk entry runs on pattern syntax. A line such as server[001-15] expands into server001 through server015, braces with commas spread several naming conventions at once, and a text file holding one host name per line imports a batch in a single step.

Dragging by hand falls behind once the count grows. Smart groups build their members from rules, matching on display name, server name, comment or parent path, so an edited comment or a newly added machine lands where it belongs on its own. Virtual groups offer another view: connected machines drop into Connected, anything dragged into Reconnect is retried until it answers, which suits a host waiting on a reboot. Favourites and recent visits pull the handful in daily use out front without moving them from their place.

What 3.23 changes, and what to watch on upgrade

Counting back, 3.20 added an Azure Virtual Desktop workspace source and Microsoft Dev Box support, 3.21 turned RD Gateway support back on, and 3.22 cleared a batch of defects. 3.23 continues that line, with the page refreshed on 5 November.

One detail is worth knowing before upgrading: the RDG files this version writes are not compatible with older builds. A configuration opened and saved by the new version is backed up automatically under the same name with an old suffix. A downgrade may not read it back, so keeping a copy of the whole RDG first is the safer order. RDCMan writes the whole picture into the RDG, so moving to another workstation takes the connection list and the hierarchy along.

Where it fits

It manages Windows remote desktop sessions, and Linux desktops stay out of scope. Someone with one or two machines has no use for it, since one more program to keep in mind is a cost of its own. It earns its place with administrators, operations staff and testers running anywhere from a dozen to a hundred Windows machines: the day goes to watching a batch at once, with the occasional fine task on a single host, and moving between thumbnail and full screen costs almost nothing.

Ctrl+Alt+Break flips a session between window and full screen. One habit is worth forming early: a thumbnail session can take keyboard focus, and which one holds it is not obvious at a glance. A switch in settings governs that behaviour, and confirming the selected machine before typing pays better than repairing the mistake afterwards.

RDCMan stays narrow on purpose. It does not try to be a jump host, an inventory or a monitor. It holds a room full of Windows machines in one tree, keeps credentials in one place and lets a person see the whole batch without stacking windows. For the job it takes on, that is enough.