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Windows Desktop Sharing API

Saturday, 10 March 2007 by Michel Roth

Microsoft Terminal Services provides a public "Windows Desktop Sharing API" based on RDP to enable customers to write custom collaboration solutions in Windows Vista. These API's are available on all the SKU's starting with Windows Vista Home Basics. You can write a customized collaboration application that can do either or all kinds of sharing including desktop, application and region.

Highlights:

Windows desktop sharing is a multi-party screen sharing technology in Windows Vista, wherein a local desktop can be transmitted over an RDP connection without creating an additional session.

a) Connectivity: Windows Desktop Sharing does support connectivity to intelligent appliances, wireless devices and PC's in uPnP framework and also teredo tunneling to provide connectivity to IPV6 machines behind IPV4 NAT's.
b) Reverse Connect: It is an interesting feature, where sharer can connect to the viewer if viewer cannot reach the sharer via direct connect. For example, the viewer may not be able to connect to the sharer because of network address translation (NAT).
c) Authentication: API supports creating tickets/ invitations on the sharer side that can be routed by the API consumer application or IM's to the viewers.
d) Sharing Modes: API supports sharing desktop, application or a region.
e) Control Modes: Sharer always has full control of his desktop/ application/region. Each viewer can be tuned to no-view/view or interactive control. Sharer controls the control level for each viewer and viewers can request promotion in control level to sharer.
f) Smart sizing: Smart sizing is well-supported and is a client/ viewer option that can be turned on and off.
g) Virtual channels: Virtual channels can be used to exchange other data like documents, application data, chat messages etc.

Read more here.