Other options, including -X to forward X11 also work. Optionally, create a shortcut called ssh to run putty and set ssh as your default protocol (as you mentioned) and access the same way you would regular ssh. Obviously, this isn't quite what you're looking for, as they aren't really configuration options, but I've always found it silly that people insist on using the putty GUI. I always found it faster to hit Win+R and type something out.
Disclaimer: I'm going by my memory here, as I don't have a Windows machine to verify my claims anymore.
command line options/usage
Personally, when I was stuck with putty, I'd simply put the binary somewhere in my path. From what I remember, you can access saved sessions as:
putty @SessionName
This also allows the convenience of:
putty -ssh UserName@Host (or Host -l UserName, whatever floats your boat).
Other options, including -X to forward X11 also work. Optionally, create a shortcut called ssh to run putty and set ssh as your default protocol (as you mentioned) and access the same way you would regular ssh. Obviously, this isn't quite what you're looking for, as they aren't really configuration options, but I've always found it silly that people insist on using the putty GUI. I always found it faster to hit Win+R and type something out.
Disclaimer: I'm going by my memory here, as I don't have a Windows machine to verify my claims anymore.