Shortcuts for direct TeamViewer session on Windows desktop

To quickly access some partner or remote computer in TeamViewer 10, you can login to your account, check to be always logged it, and add particular machine to the list there. Each time you start TeamViewer, you’ll have list of your computer ready in a window to the right. All you have to do, is to double click any item in that list. Can it be even faster? Can we initiate TeamViever session to particular machine or customer by double clicking icon on Windows desktop? Sure thing, we can!

It is fairly easy to achieve this:

1. Create a regular shortcut to your TeamViewer anywhere in your desktop.
2. Right-click it and select Properties.
3. In Target field, after TeamViewer.exe add: -i customer_id -P password. Replace patterns with your values.
4. Save modified shortcut and double click it, to check, that everything is OK.

Things to remember:

1. It takes TeamViewer some time to initiate session like that. For even up to 5-10 seconds after double clicking shortcut you can have feeling, that nothing is happening. Delays between starting session and actually getting access to remote computer are noticeable longer, when using desktop’s shortcuts in compare to using list of customers in TeamViewer yourself.

2. You can use -P pattern (with single dash) or --Password (with double dash), but it always must be written starting with capital letter. While -i must always be written from small letter. Reasons unknown. Probably some unfixed bugs in TeamViewer routine for parsing command line parameters.

3. This isn’t very safe (actually this isn’t safe at all), as you’re not only giving an access to remote machine via simple shortcut on your desktop, but you’re also providing your password, written in plain text, in that shortcut’s details. Since you’re probably using the same password to many different services, you can get yourself into a serious troubles, if someone view that shortcut’s details.

Keep you’re eye on third point. We’re not talking jokes here. This is serious. Don’t pass the border, where your laziness comes at a price of security.