Windows Components › Remote Desktop Services › Remote Desktop Session Host › Remote Session Environment
Do not allow font smoothing
Supported on At least Windows Server 2008 R2
What it does
This policy setting allows you to specify whether font smoothing is allowed for remote connections. Font smoothing provides ClearType functionality for a remote connection. ClearType is a technology for displaying computer fonts so that they appear clear and smooth, especially when you are using an LCD monitor. Because font smoothing requires additional bandwidth resources, not allowing font smoothing for remote connections can improve connection performance, particularly over slow links. By default, font smoothing is allowed for remote connections. You can configure font smoothing on the Experience tab in Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) or by using the "allow font smoothing" setting in a Remote Desktop Protocol (.rdp) file. If you enable this policy setting, font smoothing will not be allowed for remote connections, even if font smoothing is enabled in RDC or in the .rdp file. If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, font smoothing is allowed for remote connections.
What it writes
- Hive
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
- Registry key
SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services- Value name
fNoFontSmoothing- When enabled
- DWORD 1
- When disabled
- DWORD 0
In Intune
No native CSP; import the ADMX (Intune-ready).
From Microsoft's Policy CSP DDF files (DDF v2 Files, February 2026), read 18 Oct 2026.
Configure and deploy
Choose a state; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.
Enabled · Computer · template defaults
Registry file (.reg)
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services]
"fNoFontSmoothing"=dword:00000001
PowerShell
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
function Set-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
}
New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}
function Remove-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
)
if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
return
}
foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
# Policy: Do not allow font smoothing
# Name: TS_DISALLOW_FONT_SMOOTHING
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: terminalserver-server.admx
Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services' -Name 'fNoFontSmoothing' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1
- The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
- Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.
ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)
./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_terminalserver-server/TS_DISALLOW_FONT_SMOOTHINGADMX SyncML candidate
<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
<SyncBody>
<Replace>
<CmdID>1</CmdID>
<Item>
<Meta>
<Format>chr</Format>
<Type>text/plain</Type>
</Meta>
<Target>
<LocURI>./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_terminalserver-server/TS_DISALLOW_FONT_SMOOTHING</LocURI>
</Target>
<Data><enabled/></Data>
</Item>
</Replace>
<Final/>
</SyncBody>
</SyncML>Intune remediation scripts
Detection
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()
function Test-RegistryValueExists {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
return $false
}
return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}
function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
return $false
}
$valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
return $false
}
$actual = $valueObject.$Name
switch ($Kind) {
'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
'MultiString' {
$actualArray = @($actual)
$expectedArray = @($Expected)
if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
'Binary' {
$actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
$expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
}
}
# Policy: Do not allow font smoothing
# Name: TS_DISALLOW_FONT_SMOOTHING
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: terminalserver-server.admx
$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services' -Name 'fNoFontSmoothing' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 1
if (-not $isMatch) {
$reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services\fNoFontSmoothing') | Out-Null
}
if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1
Remediation
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
function Set-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
}
New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}
function Remove-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
)
if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
)
if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
return
}
foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
}
# Policy: Do not allow font smoothing
# Name: TS_DISALLOW_FONT_SMOOTHING
# Scope: Machine
# State: Enabled
# Source: terminalserver-server.admx
Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services' -Name 'fNoFontSmoothing' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 1
History 3 retained releases
- 22H2 · 1.015 Jul 2024
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.
2 later releases left it unchanged.
Template
- Internal name
TS_DISALLOW_FONT_SMOOTHING- Namespace
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer-Server- Template file
terminalserver-server.admx- Release
- Windows 11 23H2 · 1.0 · file set
d784d0ea5f14a680…
Definition, editor controls and support
Definition
<policy class="Machine" displayName="$(string.TS_DISALLOW_FONT_SMOOTHING)" explainText="$(string.TS_DISALLOW_FONT_SMOOTHING_EXPLAIN)" key="SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services" name="TS_DISALLOW_FONT_SMOOTHING" valueName="fNoFontSmoothing" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_SESSIONS" />
<supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_SUPPORTED_Windows7_Server" />
<enabledValue>
<decimal value="1" />
</enabledValue>
<disabledValue>
<decimal value="0" />
</disabledValue>
</policy>Editor controls
Supported platforms and category
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:category:TS_GP_NODE
<category displayName="$(string.TS_GP_NODE)" explainText="$(string.TS_User_Help)" name="TS_GP_NODE" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
</category>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:category:TS_SESSIONS
<category displayName="$(string.TS_SESSIONS)" explainText="$(string.TS_SESSIONS_Comp_Help)" name="TS_SESSIONS" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_TERMINAL_SERVER" />
</category>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:category:TS_TERMINAL_SERVER
<category displayName="$(string.TS_TERMINAL_SERVER)" explainText="$(string.TS_TERMINAL_SERVER_Help)" name="TS_TERMINAL_SERVER" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_GP_NODE" />
</category>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:definition:TS_SUPPORTED_Windows7_Server
<definition displayName="$(string.TS_SUPPORTED_Windows7_Server)" name="TS_SUPPORTED_Windows7_Server" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<or>
<reference minVersionIndex="1" ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:WindowsServer2008_R2" />
</or>
</definition>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Products:WindowsServer2008_R2
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Products:WindowsServer2008_R2" />
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:category:TS_GP_NODE
<category displayName="$(string.TS_GP_NODE)" explainText="$(string.TS_User_Help)" name="TS_GP_NODE" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents" />
</category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_GP_NODE">Remote Desktop Services</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_User_Help">Controls configuration of Remote Desktop Services technologies that enable access to a server running Windows-based programs or the full Windows desktop</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:category:TS_SESSIONS
<category displayName="$(string.TS_SESSIONS)" explainText="$(string.TS_SESSIONS_Comp_Help)" name="TS_SESSIONS" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_TERMINAL_SERVER" />
</category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_SESSIONS">Remote Session Environment</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_SESSIONS_Comp_Help">Controls configuration of the user interface in Remote Desktop Services sessions </string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:category:TS_TERMINAL_SERVER
<category displayName="$(string.TS_TERMINAL_SERVER)" explainText="$(string.TS_TERMINAL_SERVER_Help)" name="TS_TERMINAL_SERVER" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<parentCategory ref="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_GP_NODE" />
</category>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_TERMINAL_SERVER">Remote Desktop Session Host</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_TERMINAL_SERVER_Help">Controls configuration of a Remote Desktop Session Host server</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:definition:TS_SUPPORTED_Windows7_Server
<definition displayName="$(string.TS_SUPPORTED_Windows7_Server)" name="TS_SUPPORTED_Windows7_Server" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
<or>
<reference minVersionIndex="1" ref="Microsoft.Policies.Products:WindowsServer2008_R2" />
</or>
</definition>
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.TerminalServer:TS_SUPPORTED_Windows7_Server">At least Windows Server 2008 R2</string></strings>
Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:WindowsComponents
<category displayName="$(string.WindowsComponents)" explainText="$(string.WindowsComponents_Help)" name="WindowsComponents" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents">Windows Components</string><string id="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:WindowsComponents_Help">Contains settings for operating system components.</string></strings>