Most of the existing answers explain the *How*, but very few explain the *Why*. And before you go around executing code from strangers on the Internet, especially code that disables security measures, you should understand exactly what you're doing. So here's a little more detail on this problem.

From the TechNet [About Execution Policies Page][1]:

> Windows PowerShell execution policies let you determine the conditions under which Windows PowerShell loads configuration files and runs scripts.

The benefits of which, as enumerated by [PowerShell Basics - Execution Policy and Code Signing][2], are:

>* **Control of Execution** - Control the level of trust for executing scripts.
>* **Command Highjack** - Prevent injection of commands in my path.
>* **Identity** - Is the script created and signed by a developer I trust and/or a signed with a certificate from a Certificate Authority I trust.
>* **Integrity** - Scripts cannot be modified by malware or malicious user.

To check your current execution policy, you can run [`Get-ExecutionPolicy`][3]. But you're probably here because you want to change it.

To do so you'll run the [`Set-ExecutionPolicy`][4] cmdlet.

You'll have two major decisions to make when updating the execution policy.

### Execution Policy Type:

* **`Restricted`**† - No Script either local, remote or downloaded can be executed on the system.
* **`AllSigned`** - All script that are ran require to be digitally signed.
* **`RemoteSigned`** - All remote scripts (UNC) or downloaded need to be signed.
* **`Unrestricted`** - No signature for any type of script is required.

### Scope of new Change

* **`LocalMachine`**† - The execution policy affects all users of the computer.
* **`CurrentUser`** - The execution policy affects only the current user.
* **`Process`** - The execution policy affects only the current Windows PowerShell process.

† = Default

*For example*: if you wanted to change the policy to RemoteSigned for just the CurrentUser, you'd run the following command:

```lang-none
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
```

**Note**: In order to change the Execution policy, you must be running **PowerShell As Administrator**.
If you are in regular mode and try to change the execution policy, you'll get the following error:

>Access to the registry key 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\ShellIds\Microsoft.PowerShell' is denied. To change the execution policy for the default (LocalMachine) scope, start Windows PowerShell with the "Run as administrator" option.

If you want to tighten up the internal restrictions on your own scripts that have not been downloaded from the Internet (or at least don't contain the UNC metadata), you can force the policy to only run signed scripts. To sign your own scripts, you can follow the instructions on Scott Hanselman's article on [Signing PowerShell Scripts][5].

**Note**: Most people are likely to get this error whenever they open PowerShell because the first thing PowerShell tries to do when it launches is execute your user profile script that sets up your environment however you like it.

The file is typically located in:

```lang-none
%UserProfile%\My Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShellISE_profile.ps1
```

You can find the exact location by running the PowerShell variable

```lang-none
$profile
```

If there's nothing that you care about in the profile, and don't want to fuss with your security settings, you can just delete it and PowerShell won't find anything that it cannot execute.

 [1]: http://technet.microsoft.com/library/hh847748.aspx
 [2]: http://www.darkoperator.com/blog/2013/3/5/powershell-basics-execution-policy-part-1.html
 [3]: http://technet.microsoft.com/library/hh849821.aspx
 [4]: http://technet.microsoft.com/library/hh849812.aspx
 [5]: http://www.hanselman.com/blog/SigningPowerShellScripts.aspx

I am trying to run a `cmd` file that calls a PowerShell script from `cmd.exe`, but I am getting this error:

> `Management_Install.ps1` cannot be loaded because the execution of scripts is disabled on this system.

I ran this command:

```lang-none
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
```

When I run `Get-ExecutionPolicy` from PowerShell, it returns `Unrestricted`.

```lang-none
Get-ExecutionPolicy
```

Output:

```lang-none
Unrestricted
```

***

> cd "C:\Projects\Microsoft.Practices.ESB\Source\Samples\Management Portal\Install\Scripts\"
> powershell .\Management_Install.ps1 1
>
> WARNING: Running x86 PowerShell...
>
> File `C:\Projects\Microsoft.Practices.ESB\Source\Samples\Management Portal\Install\Scripts\Management_Install.ps1` cannot be loaded because the execution of scripts is disabled on this system. Please see "`get-help about_signing`" for more details.
>
> At line:1 char:25
>
> + `.\Management_Install.ps1` <<<< 1
>
> + CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [], PSSecurityException
>
> + FullyQualifiedErrorId : RuntimeException
>
> C:\Projects\Microsoft.Practices.ESB\Source\Samples\Management Portal\Install\Scripts\> PAUSE
>
> Press any key to continue . . .

***

The system is [Windows Server 2008][1] R2.

What am I doing wrong?

 [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Server_2008

PowerShell says "execution of scripts is disabled on this system."

`-Filter` is more performant than `-Include`, so if you don't have a lot of different extensions, simply concatenating two filtered lists might be faster.



 $files = Get-ChildItem -Path "H:\stash\" -Filter *.rdlc -Recurse 
 $files += Get-ChildItem -Path "H:\stash\" -Filter *.rdl -Recurse 

I compared the output with a timer like this:



 $stopwatch = [System.Diagnostics.Stopwatch]::StartNew()
 # Do Stuff Here
 $stopwatch.Stop()
 Write-Host "$([Math]::Round($stopwatch.Elapsed.TotalSeconds)) seconds ellapsed"

I'm trying to write a PowerShell script to build a list of files, from several directories. After all directories have been added to the main list, I'd like to do the same processing on all files.

This is what I have:

    $items = New-Object Collections.Generic.List[IO.FileInfo]

    $loc1 = @(Get-ChildItem -Path "\\server\C$\Program Files (x86)\Data1\" -Recurse)
    $loc2 = @(Get-ChildItem -Path "\\server\C$\Web\DataStorage\" -Recurse)

    $items.Add($loc1) # This line fails (the next also fails)
    $items.Add($loc2)

    # Processing code is here

which fails with this error:

> Cannot convert argument "0", with
> value: "System.Object[]", for "Add" to
> type "System.IO.FileInfo": "Cannot
> convert the "System.Object[]" va lue
> of type "System.Object[]" to type
> "System.IO.FileInfo"."

I am mostly interested in what is the correct approach for this type of situation. I realize that my code is a very [C][1] way of doing it -- if there is a more PowerShell way to acomplish the same task, I'm all for it. The key, is that the number of `$loc#'s` may change over time, so adding and removing one or two should be easy in the resulting code.

  [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_%28programming_language%29


Combine the results of two distinct Get-ChildItem calls into single variable to do the same processing on them

You get this error when you are trying to execute an independent block of code from within a pipeline chain.

Just as a different example, imagine this code using jQuery:

    $("div").not(".main").console.log(this)

Each dot (`.`) will chain the array into the next function.  In the above function this breaks with `console` because it's not meant to have any values piped in.  If we want to break from our chaining to execute some code (perhaps on objects in the chain - we can do so with `each` like this:

    $("div").not(".main").each(function() {console.log(this)})

The solution is powershell is identical.  If you want to run a script against each item in your chain individually, you can use [`ForEach-Object`][1] or it's alias (`%`).

Imagine you have the following function in Powershell:

    $settings | ?{$_.Key -eq 'Environment' } | $_.Value = "Prod" 

The last line cannot be executed because it is a script, but [we can fix that with ForEach][2] like this:

    $settings | ?{$_.Key -eq 'Environment' } | %{ $_.Value = "Prod" }

[1]: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/Hh849731.aspx
[2]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/25081472/1366033

I'm new at writing in powershell but this is what I'm trying to accomplish.

1. I want to compare the dates of the two excel files to determine if one is newer than the other. 
2. I want to convert a file from csv to xls on a computer that doesn't have excel. Only if the statement above is true, the initial xls file was copied already. 
3. I want to copy the newly converted xls file to another location
4. If the file is already open it will fail to copy so I want to send out an email alert on success or failure of this operation.

Here is the script that I'm having issues with. The error is "Expressions are only allowed as the first element of a pipeline." I know it's to do with the email operation but I'm at a loss as to how to write this out manually with all those variables included. There are probably more errors but I'm not seeing them now. Thanks for any help, I appreciate it!

    $CSV = "C:filename.csv"
    $LocalXLS = "C:\filename.xls"
    $RemoteXLS = "D:\filename.xls"
    $LocalDate = (Get-Item $LocalXLS).LASTWRITETIME
    $RemoteDate = (Get-Item $RemoteXLS).LASTWRITETIME
    $convert = "D:\CSV Converter\csvcnv.exe"
    if ($LocalDate -eq $RemoteDate) {break}
    else { 
    & $convert $CSV $LocalXLS
    $FromAddress = "email@address.com"
    $ToAddress = "email@address.com"
    $MessageSubject = "vague subject"
    $SendingServer = "mail.mail.com"
    $SMTPMessage = New-Object System.Net.Mail.MailMessage $FromAddress, $ToAddress, $MessageSubject, $MessageBody
    $SMTPClient = New-Object System.Net.Mail.SMTPClient $SendingServer
    $SendEmailSuccess = $MessageBody = "The copy completed successfully!" | New-Object System.Net.Mail.SMTPClient mail.mail.com $SMTPMessage
    $RenamedXLS = {$_.BaseName+(Get-Date -f yyyy-MM-dd)+$_.Extension}
    
    Rename-Item -path $RemoteXLS -newname $RenamedXLS -force -erroraction silentlycontinue
    If (!$error)
    	{ $SendEmailSuccess | copy-item $LocalXLS -destination $RemoteXLS -force }
    Else
        {$MessageBody = "The copy failed, please make sure the file is closed." | $SMTPClient.Send($SMTPMessage)}
    }	

Expressions are only allowed as the first element of a pipeline

> **Update**: Looks like PsGet is no longer maintained, but source is still available on github.

You can also use [**PsGet**][1] to easily search and install PowerShell modules.

You can check which modules have been added to PsGet by browsing for all modules:

    > Get-PsGetModuleInfo *

Or locate this one specfically:

    > Get-PsGetModuleInfo pscx

Then you can install based on that information:

    > Install-Module pscx


[1]: https://github.com/psget/psget

I'm running Windows 7 with PowerShell 2 installed.

I've downloaded version 2.1 from here - http://pscx.codeplex.com/releases

The Release notes say 

 - unblock the zip file - {which I did}
 - extract the contents of the ZIP file to your $env:Home\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules folder
 
I was unsure what $env:Home was so a bit of searching determined that the release notes are expecting an environment variable called Home which doesn't exist on my machine.
 
A bit more searching says use what is defined as `~` on my machine. So in a PS prompt I run `cd ~`
 
Which on my machine led to a network drive `U:`  

I created the following directories `U:\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules` and copied the extracted Pscx-2.1.0 to the Modules folder. Opened a PowerShell prompt and typed `Get-Module -ListAvailable`. This didn't give me Pscx in the results.
 
The above steps actually gave me this folder tree `U:\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\Pscx-2.1.0\Pscx-2.1.0`
 
So I copied the files up a level and tried again with `U:\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\Pscx-2.1.0\` and also tried with `U:\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\Pscx\`
 
I also tried all of the above with this path `U:\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\Pscx-2.1.0\`
 
I'm guessing that the Modules aren't actually supposed to be in this directory, so a bit more searching leads to this command. `(Get-ChildItem Env:\PSModulePath).Value`
 
which gives the following result  

` C:\Users\my.name\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules;C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\`   

So I copy the Pscx-2.1.0 folder to here `C:\Users\my.name\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\Pscx-2.1.0` 
 
And still no luck.
 
What step am I missing?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

How do I install PSCX Powershell module?

You could also add a utility function like this:

```ps1
Function Move-Item-Parent([string]$path, [string]$destination) {
    New-Item $destination -ItemType Directory -Force
    Move-Item $path $destination
}
```

Then invoke it like this:

```ps1
Move-Item-Parent $from $to
```

I have a Powershell script which does a lot of things and one of them is moving files:

    $from = $path + '\' + $_.substring(8)
    $to   = $quarantaine + '\' + $_.substring(8)

    Move-Item $from $to

But it happens the directory structure isn't already present in the `$to` path. So I would like Powershell to create it with this commando. I've tried `Move-Item -Force $from $to`, but that didn't help out.

What can I do to make sure Powershell creates the needed directories in order to get things working?  
I hope I make myself clear, if not, please ask!

Powershell 'Move-Item' doesn't make directory if it doesn't exists

You're missing the basic trick that (see "unless" in a moment) git aliases are just direct git-only commands, with no shell involved and no ability to run non-git commands:

 [alias]
 foo = checkout

*unless* preceded by a shell escape `!` character:

 [alias]
 bar = !git checkout

(at this point both aliases mean the same thing). Since you *want* the shell to get involved, so as to run sub-commands `$(...)` and pipes `... | ...`—these are all "shell" things, not "git" things—you need the `!` prefix syntax. All the rest of your experimentation will then go much better.

---

That said, addressing your base problem: I know little about most GUI editors, but in gitk you can select any revision you like in the topmost pane, click the "tree" selector in the lower right pane, and then select any file in the tree (going through directories as needed) to view the file in the lower left pane. It's true that this will not get you the whole tree, of course, just one file at a time. (Click back on the "patch" selector to go back to viewing patches.)

The other thing I would do here is to avoid these `HEAD`-relative operations when possible: instead of "step forward one" (which is tricky), you can start from a known fixed point—or at least, fixed for the duration of the demo—such as a branch name, and use git's revision syntax (see [gitrevisions](https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/gitrevisions.html)) to select commits however far back you mean:

 git checkout master~5
 ... demonstrate something ...
 git checkout master~4
 ... demonstrate next thing ...

The <code>~n</code> syntax tells git to count backwards for *`n`* parents, following only first-parent links in case of merge commits. Since 4 is one less than 5, `master~4` is necessarily one hop closer to `master` than `master~5`. (If there are merges, the two items being merged are the same distance, hop-wise, from whatever starting point you choose, so this particular method is too simple to capture the truth. You can start doing `master~3^2~2` for instance, but it gets quite messy.)

I'm very new to Git, and I'm trying to step through the commits from a repository.  Rather than copy and pasting the SHA's for each commit, I'm using [this method to get the next commit after the HEAD][get next rev]:

    git checkout $(git rev-list HEAD..master | tail -n 1)

This works perfectly, but I'm using it a lot so I'd like to clean up the syntax a little with an [alias][alias].  

### First Attempt

In an ideal world, a function called something like "child-sha" would return the contents of the entire lookup so it could be called like this in powershell:

    git checkout child-sha

If open up the /.config file, I can add the command by adding the following section:

    [alias]
        child-sha = $(git rev-list HEAD..master | tail -n 1)

But when I execute it, I get the following error

> Expansion of alias 'child-sha' failed; '$(git' is not a git command

### Second Attempt

Okay, so no using `$()`.  If I edit the config file as follows:

    [alias]
        child-sha = rev-list HEAD..master | tail -n 1

Then call like this:

    git checkout $(git child-sha)

Then I get the following Error

> fatal: ambiguous argument '|': unknown revision or path not in the working tree

### Third Attempt - Working, but sloppy

Okay, so no using the Pipe (`|`).  If I update my config file like this:

    git config --local alias.child-shas "rev-list HEAD..master"

Then I call like this:

    get checkout $(git child-shas | tail -n 1)

Then it works, but I haven't saved *that* much space.

I'm not really sure what each of the functions in the script are doing as I'm really new to Git and Powershell commands in general.  Google searches for the docs for using `$`, or `|` or `tail` don't reveal anything helpful as special characters are often stripped out of searches.

Is there any way to abbreviate this function?

-----

In a separate inquiry, what I'm really looking to do is just step through every checkout so I can view the entire code base at that point in time so I can setup a small demo for a presentation.  I doesn't seem as if any GUI editor ([GitHub Windows][GitHub Windows], [gitk], or [Visual Studio Tools for Git][Visual Studio Tools for Git]) easily gives you the ability to checkout a particular commit; say, for example, by right clicking through the list of commits. 


[get next rev]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/3557291/1366033

[alias]: https://git.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Aliases

[GitHub Windows]: https://windows.github.com/

[gitk]: http://git-scm.com/docs/gitk
[Visual Studio Tools for Git]: http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/abafc7d6-dcaa-40f4-8a5e-d6724bdb980c

Creating alias in git

The syntax is correct, but you're not doing anything with the value once inside the loop. You'll want to persist it somehow. Here's an example of running some basic SQL inside of powershell, with two different types of commands (Text/SP) and two different methods of execution (DataAdapter/DataReader). Either one of each should work fine.



 # config
 $svr = "serverName"
 $db = "databaseName"
 
 # connection
 $sqlConnection = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection
 $sqlConnection.ConnectionString = "Server=$svr;Database=$db;Integrated Security=True"
 $sqlConnection.Open()
 
 # command A - text
 $sqlCmd = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand
 $sqlCmd.Connection = $sqlConnection
 $sqlCmd.CommandText = "SELECT name AS TABLE_NAME FROM sys.tables"
 
 # command B - stored procedure
 $sqlCmd = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand
 $sqlCmd.Connection = $sqlConnection
 $sqlCmd.CommandText = "sys.sp_tables"
 $sqlCmd.CommandType = [System.Data.CommandType]::StoredProcedure
 $sqlCmd.Parameters.Add("@table_owner", "dbo")
 
 # execute A - data reader
 $reader = $sqlCmd.ExecuteReader()
 $tables = @()
 while ($reader.Read()) {
 $tables += $reader["TABLE_NAME"]
 }
 $reader.Close()
 
 # execute B - data adapter
 $dataTable = New-Object System.Data.DataTable
 $sqlAdapter = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataAdapter
 $sqlAdapter.SelectCommand = $sqlCmd
 $sqlAdapter.Fill($dataTable)
 $sqlConnection.Close()

I'm trying to read data from a SQL table in a powershell script. I can see the data in reader object, but when reading it using `While (readerobject.read()){}`, it's not going inside the loop.


**Powershell**:



 $cmd = $sqlConn.CreateCommand()
 $cmd.CommandText ="SELECT * from user"
 $movedUserDetails = $cmd.ExecuteReader()
 while ($movedUserDetails.Read())
 {
 "[0] : " + $movedUserDetails.GetValue(0)
 }
 $movedUserDetails.Close()

ExecuteReader() in Powershell script

This has been entered as a bug since 2013.   According to the workarounds listed in [Auto-completed parameter values, with spaces, do not have quotes around them][2], you can update the `TabExpansion2` function that Powershell uses for autocompletion.  To do so, just run the following code:


    function TabExpansion2
    {
        [CmdletBinding(DefaultParameterSetName = 'ScriptInputSet')]
        Param(
            [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'ScriptInputSet', Mandatory = $true, Position = 0)]
            [string] $inputScript,
        
            [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'ScriptInputSet', Mandatory = $true, Position = 1)]
            [int] $cursorColumn,
    
            [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'AstInputSet', Mandatory = $true, Position = 0)]
            [System.Management.Automation.Language.Ast] $ast,
    
            [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'AstInputSet', Mandatory = $true, Position = 1)]
            [System.Management.Automation.Language.Token[]] $tokens,
    
            [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'AstInputSet', Mandatory = $true, Position = 2)]
            [System.Management.Automation.Language.IScriptPosition] $positionOfCursor,
        
            [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'ScriptInputSet', Position = 2)]
            [Parameter(ParameterSetName = 'AstInputSet', Position = 3)]
            [Hashtable] $options = $null
        )
    
        End
        {
            if ($psCmdlet.ParameterSetName -eq 'ScriptInputSet')
            {
                $completion = [System.Management.Automation.CommandCompletion]::CompleteInput(
                    $inputScript,
                    $cursorColumn,
                    $options)
            }
            else
            {
                $completion = [System.Management.Automation.CommandCompletion]::CompleteInput(
                    $ast,
                    $tokens,
                    $positionOfCursor,
                    $options)
            }
    
            $count = $completion.CompletionMatches.Count
            for ($i = 0; $i -lt $count; $i++)
            {
                $result = $completion.CompletionMatches[$i]
    
                if ($result.CompletionText -match '\s')
                {
                    $completion.CompletionMatches[$i] = New-Object System.Management.Automation.CompletionResult(
                        "'$($result.CompletionText)'",
                        $result.ListItemText,
                        $result.ResultType,
                        $result.ToolTip
                    )
                }
            }
    
            return $completion
        }
    }

---

It's worth noting that string insertion works properly for native cmdlets like `Get-EventLog -LogName` which will properly encase `'Internet Explorer'`.  Although if you [look at the source][3] for `Get-EventLog`, you'll see that `$LogName` doesn't actually use `ValidateSet` so it's intellisense must be provided through another mechanism.

---

**Other Instances**:

* [ValidateSet and tab completion does not work on strings with spaces][1]

[1]: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/91d85311-f1a6-4c21-ad9d-f909c468bea2/
[2]: https://connect.microsoft.com/PowerShell/feedback/details/812233/
[3]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/20484505/1366033

First, I do apologize for posting another question concerning PowerShell and tab completion. The StackOverflow system identified several excellent questions with answers concerning this very topic, but they all seemed too cumbersome to implement into this simple `New-ADComputer` script.

The params are going into a `Splat` to keep the script readable. The following code correctly tab completes in the ISE, but must be wrapped in double quotes.

Is there any native method in PowerShell to allow for tab completion of Parameter Sets that include spaces?



 Param(
 [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
 [string]$Server,
 [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
 [ValidateSet('Env1','Env 2','Env 3')]
 [string]$Environment,
 [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
 [ValidateSet('Application','Database','File and Print','Web Server')]
 [string]$Type
 )
 $NewADitems = @{
 Name = $server
 Path = "OU=$Type,OU=$Environment,OU=Smaller DN string"
 Location ='MySite'
 Description = "Test Description"
 ManagedBy = "Huge Distingushed Name string"
 WhatIf = $true
 }
 Write-Host @NewADitems



Command used and error received:

 PS C:\Scripts> .\ADComputer-ParamTest.ps1 -Server ThisTest -Environment Env 3 -Type File and Print
 C:\Scripts\ADComputer-ParamTest.ps1 : Cannot validate argument on parameter
 'Environment'. The argument "Env" does not belong to the set "Env1,Env 2,Env3"
 specified by the ValidateSet attribute. Supply an argument that is in the
 set and then try the command again.At line:1 char:58
 + .\ADComputer-ParamTest.ps1 -Server ThisTest -Environment Env 3 -Type File and Pr ...
 + ~~~

**Edit:** More information. If you leave off the single/double quotes in my example script for the parameter `Environment`, tab completion will not work for the final parameter `Type`. Enclosing the 2nd set in quotes will correct this but it's a way to keep watch for this behavior.

PowerShell Param ValidateSet values with Spaces and Tab completion

Quickly note that Matches is an array which may create issues exporting to a csv.  
Try joining the array into a string with a chosen delimiter.  I used "::" in my example.

    $filter | Select Line, @{Expression={$_.Matches -join "::"}; Label="Matches"} | Export-Csv "C:\log.csv"

I have a powershell script to find particular instances and then export them to CSV.  Here's an example of the way the code works

    $items = "Hello Tim", "Hola Bob", "Hello Susan" 
    $filter = $items | Select-String -Pattern "Hello"
    $filter | Select-Object Line, Matches | Export-Csv "C:\log.csv"
    Invoke-Item "C:\log.csv"

When I run the `Select-Object` in PS, it's nicely formatted info like this:

![powershell][1]

However, when I export to CSV, it exports the whole object and writes it as the following string: `System.Text.RegularExpressions.Match[]`

![csv export][2]

How can I get it to export just the first match or a listing of all matches into a single field when writing to CSV?

[1]: http://i.imgur.com/CUyiHvl.png
[2]: http://i.imgur.com/DvChifZ.png

Export Matches array object to CSV in Powershell

It's interesting that you're seeing it as a `[Hashtable]`. I see it as a `[Microsoft.Iis.Powershell.Framework.ConfigurationElement]`.

It has a method called `.UpdateCollection()` which expects a `[PSObject[]]`, so it's looking for an array of objects.

The thing is, calling that method, whether on a pool object returned from `New-WebAppPool` or from `Get-Item IIS:\AppPools\ExistingPool`, results in an error stating that it's read only.

I tried replacing the entire `.Collection` with a new arraylist with timespan objects added to it, and I got no errors, but it didn't set the values.

I also tried creating a ConfigurationElement object, but it seems to have no constructor, so it's probably a private class somewhere in the code.

I'm not saying there's _definitely no way_ to do it like you want, but it seems like you'll be best off just using `Set-ItemProperty` as it seems that some of these attributes were designed to be updated only through the PS Provider.

I'm trying to set the [`periodicRestart`][1] property using a powershell script, but I'm trying to use a slightly different syntax than what I've seen in code samples.

Here's one way to do according to [Set the specific times to recycle an application pool with PowerShell][2]:

    Clear-ItemProperty $iisAppPoolName -Name Recycling.periodicRestart.schedule
    Set-ItemProperty   $iisAppPoolName -Name Recycling.periodicRestart.schedule `
                                       -Value @{value="01:00:00"}

However, I already have a block of code where I'm setting properties on the `$appPool` itself like this:

    $appPool = New-WebAppPool $iisAppPoolName 
    $appPool.managedPipelineMode = "Classic"
    $appPool.managedRuntimeVersion = "c4.0"
    $appPool.recycling.periodicRestart.time = [TimeSpan]"00:00:00"
    $appPool | Set-Item

Which works fine, so I'd like to add the following line:

    $appPool.recycling.periodicRestart.schedule = @{value="01:00:00"}

But I can't get the syntax for `@{value="01:00:00"}` to take.  The `schedule` property is expecting a hashtable which is what I'm passing it.

![example][3]

Any ideas?

[1]: http://www.iis.net/configreference/system.applicationhost/applicationpools/add/recycling/periodicrestart
[2]: https://habaneroconsulting.com/insights/Set-the-Specific-Times-to-Recycle-an-Application-Pool-with-PowerShell#.VcEkn_lVhBc
[3]: http://i.imgur.com/JEELNL0.png

Powershell App Pool set periodicRestart syntax

PowerShell doesn't - but the .NET `[string]` type has the [`Insert()`](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.string.insert%28v=vs.110%29.aspx) method :

    PS C:\> "abc".Insert(0,"xyz")
    xyzabc

You still can't shortcut the assigment though, it would become:

    $targetPath = $targetPath.Insert(0,'Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\FileSystem::')

---

Alternatively, create a function that does it for you:

    function Prepend-StringVariable {
        param(
            [string]$VariableName,
            [string]$Prefix
        )

        # Scope:1 refers to the immediate parent scope, ie. the caller
        $var = Get-Variable -Name $VariableName -Scope 1
        if($var.Value -is [string]){
            $var.Value = "{0}{1}" -f $Prefix,$var.Value
        }
    }

And in use:

    PS C:\> $targetPath = "C:\Somewhere"
    PS C:\> Prepend-String targetPath "Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\FileSystem::"
    PS C:\> $targetPath
    Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\FileSystem::C:\Somewhere

Although I'd generally recommend against this pattern (writing back to variables in ancestral scopes unless necessary)

So powershell (and most languages) have an [assignment by addition operator][1] that works with string by adding the new string to the tail of the original

For example this:

    $targetPath += "\*"

Will do the same thing as this:

    $targetPath = "$targetPath\*"

Is there an operator that can do the same thing, but by prefixing the current string?

Of course, I can do the following, but I'm looking for something slightly terser

    $targetPath = "Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\FileSystem::$targetPath"

[1]: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/Hh847732.aspx

Prefix Assignment Operator in Powershell

According to the powershell docs on [Regular Expressions > Groups, Captures, and Substitutions][1]:

When using the `-match` operator, powershell will create an [*automatic variable*][2] named **`$Matches`**

```cs
PS> "The last logged on user was CONTOSO\jsmith" -match "(.+was )(.+)"
```

The value returned from this expression is just `true`|`false`, but PS will add the `$Matches` *hashtable*

So if you output `$Matches`, you'll get all capture groups:

```none
PS> $Matches

Name     Value
----     -----
2        CONTOSO\jsmith
1        The last logged on user was
0        The last logged on user was CONTOSO\jsmith
```

And you can access each capture group individually with dot notation like this:

```
PS> "The last logged on user was CONTOSO\jsmith" -match "(.+was )(.+)"
PS> $Matches.2
CONTOSO\jsmith
```

**Additional Resources**:

* To Get Multiple Matches, see [How to capture multiple regex matches][3]
* To Pass Options/Flags, see [Pass regex options to PowerShell `[regex]` type][4]


[1]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_regular_expressions?view=powershell-7#groups-captures-and-substitutions
[2]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_automatic_variables?view=powershell-7#matches
[3]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/24190283/1366033
[4]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/52336328/1366033

I'm trying to extract text from a set of files on Windows using the Powershell (version 4):

 PS > Select-String -AllMatches -Pattern <mypattern-with(capture)> -Path file.jsp | Format-Table

So far, so good. That gives a nice set of `MatchInfo` objects:

	IgnoreCase LineNumber Line Filename Pattern Matches
	---------- ---------- ---- -------- ------- -------
		True 30 ... file.jsp ... {...}

Next, I see that the captures are in the matches member, so I take them out:

 PS > Select-String -AllMatches -Pattern <mypattern-with(capture)> -Path file.jsp | ForEach-Object -MemberName Matches | Format-Table

Which gives:

	Groups Success Captures Index Length Value
	------ ------- -------- ----- ------ -----
	{...} True {...} 49 47 ...

or as list with `| Format-List`:

	Groups : {matched text, captured group}
	Success : True
	Captures : {matched text}
	Index : 39
	Length : 33
	Value : matched text

Here's where I stop, I have no idea how to go further and obtain a list of *captured group* elements.

I've tried adding another `| ForEach-Object -MemberName Groups`, but it seems to return the same as the above.

The closest I get is with `| Select-Object -Property Groups`, which indeed gives me what I'd expect (a list of sets):

	Groups
	------
	{matched text, captured group}
	{matched text, captured group}
	...

But then I'm unable to extract the *captured group* from each of them, I tried with `| Select-Object -Index 1` I get only one of those sets.

---

Update: a possible solution
---------------------------

It seems that by adding `| ForEach-Object { $_.Groups.Groups[1].Value }` I got what I was looking for, but I don't understand why - so I can't be sure I would be able to get the right result when extending this method to whole sets of files.

Why is it working?

As a side note, this `| ForEach-Object { $_.Groups[1].Value }` (i.e. without the second `.Groups`) gives the same result.

I'd like to add that, upon further attempts, it seems the command can be shortened by removing the piped `| Select-Object -Property Groups`.

How to get the captured groups from Select-String?

Echoing mjolinor's comment, but feel free to append with extra info.

Installing the AD tools won't help. `Get-DistributionGroup` is an Exchange cmdlet.

You'll need to either: 

* install the Exchange Management Tools
* or connect to a management session on an Exchange server

The `Get-DistributionGroup` command is supposed to list distribution groups in a domain but I can't get it to run on my server.

After some Googling I found that `Import-Module ActiveDirectory` needs to be run first, but what I get when I run that is:
    
> Import-Module : The specified module 'ActiveDirectory' was not loaded because no valid module file was found in any module directory.

My questions are 

1. How do I install this module into my PowerShell module directory? I thought it was supposed to do this automatically
1. Once I have it installed, do I just run `Import-Module ActiveDirectory` and then I can run `Get-DistributionGroup` to list my dist groups?

The Powershell Command "Get-DistributionGroup" doesn't work

You can do any of the following, in order of easiest usage:

1. **Use Vanilla Hashtable with PowerShell 5+**

 *In PS5, a vanilla hash table will work for most use cases*
 
 ```cs
 $o = @{ Name = "Ted"; Age = 10 }
 ```
 

2. **Convert Hashtable to `PSCustomObject`**

 *If you don't have a strong preference, just use this where vanilla hash tables won't work:*
 
 ```cs
 $o = [pscustomobject]@{
 Name = "Ted";
 Age = 10
 }
 ```

 

3. **Using `Select-Object` cmdlet**

 ```cs
 $o = Select-Object @{n='Name';e={'Ted'}},
 @{n='Age';e={10}} `
 -InputObject ''
 ```
 

4. **Using `New-Object` and `Add-Member`**

 ```cs
 $o = New-Object -TypeName psobject
 $o | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name Name -Value 'Ted'
 $o | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name Age -Value 10
 ```
 

5. **Using `New-Object` and hashtables**

 ```cs
 $properties = @{
 Name = "Ted";
 Age = 10
 }
 $o = New-Object psobject -Property $properties;
 ```

### Note: Objects vs. HashTables

Hashtables are just dictionaries containing `keys` and `values`, meaning you might not get the expected results from other PS functions that look for `objects` and `properties`:

```ps
$o = @{ Name="Ted"; Age= 10; }
$o | Select -Property *
```


### Further Reading

* [4 Ways to Create PowerShell Objects][1]
* [Everything you wanted to know about `hashtables`][3]
* [Everything you wanted to know about `PSCustomObject`][4]


[1]: https://ridicurious.com/2018/10/15/4-ways-to-create-powershell-objects/
[2]: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/36081372/how-do-i-create-an-anonymous-object-in-powershell/56813241#comment94662944_36081373
[3]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/learn/deep-dives/everything-about-hashtable?view=powershell-7.1
[4]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/learn/deep-dives/everything-about-pscustomobject?view=powershell-7.1

I want to create an object of arbitrary values, sort of like how I can do this in C#

    var anon = new { Name = "Ted", Age = 10 };



How do I create an anonymous object in PowerShell?

If you want trim data past a certain length and manually specify column widths, you can pass a `Width` property for each property attribute.

For example, if you wanted your data to look like this:



 Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4
 -------- -------- -------- --------
 Data Lorem ip... Lorem ip... Important data


Here's the basic `Format-Table` syntax, with a list of explicit properties:



 $data | Format-Table -Property Col1, Col2, Col3, Col4 -AutoSize

Instead of just passing in the property names, we can add some [additional metadata to `Property`][1]:

 $a = @{Expression={$_.Col1}; Label="Column 1"; Width=30}, 
 @{Expression={$_.Col2}; Label="Column 2"; Width=30}, 
 @{Expression={$_.Col3}; Label="Column 3"; Width=30}, 
 @{Expression={$_.Col4}; Label="Column 4"; Width=30}
 $data | Format-Table -Property $a

**Note**: I realize this is covered at the bottom of mklement0's more complete answer, but if this is your use case and you're scrolling quickly, I hope this helps highlight this strategy at a high level

[1]: https://superuser.com/a/956308/180163

I am trying to get the last reboot time of some PCs from a list. When I use 

 foreach ($pc in $pclist) {
 Get-CimInstance -ClassName win32_operatingsystem -ComputerName $pc |
 select csname, lastbootuptime 
 }

The output comes as following.

<pre>csname lastbootuptime
------ --------------
CONFA7-L1-1A 7/15/2016 9:55:16 AM
CONFA7-L1-1F 5/31/2016 8:51:46 AM
CONFA7-L1-1G 6/18/2016 11:09:15 AM
CONFA7-L1... 6/26/2016 5:31:31 PM
CONFA7-L3... 7/24/2016 3:48:43 PM</pre>

Which is neat, but if the PC name is long, I am unable to see the full name. 
So I pipelined `Format-Table`:

 Get-CimInstance -ClassName win32_operatingsystem -ComputerName $pc |
 select csname, lastbootuptime |
 Format-Table -HideTableHeaders 

And this is what I get:

<pre>CONFA7-L1-1A 7/15/2016 9:55:16 AM



CONFA7-L1-1E 7/21/2016 12:58:16 PM



CONFA7-L1-1F 5/31/2016 8:51:46 AM</pre>

There are two problems here. 

1. There is no heading. If I remove `-HideTableHeaders` there will be heading for every output which is not required.

1. There is a lot of white spaces in between.

Basically I just need to get an output similar to the first one, but without truncating the full names. How can I fix these?

Controlling column widths with Format-Table

## Problem

There's some weird behavior when using [`SqlConnectionStringBuilder`][1] in PowerShell - let me explain

Since it's a dotnet class, you'd expect all of the same properties and methods available in C#

For example, this works fine in C#:

```cs
var cnnBuilder = new SqlConnectionStringBuilder();
cnnBuilder.DataSource = "server_name";
cnnBuilder.InitialCatalog = "db_name";
```

So the equivalent code in PS, *should* work:

```cs
$cnnBuilder = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnectionStringBuilder
$cnnBuilder.DataSource = "server_name"
$cnnBuilder.InitialCatalog = "db_name"
```

However, `SqlConnectionStringBuilder` is built ontop of [`DbConnectionStringBuilder`][2] which implements [`IDictionary`][3] so fundamentally we're working with a dictionary object that has some syntactic sugar wrappers

.NET resolves this with an [override on the dictionary accessors and setters][4] like this (simplified here):

```cs
public override object this[string keyword] {
 get {
 Keywords index = GetIndex(keyword);
 return GetAt(index);
 }
 set {
 Keywords index = GetIndex(keyword);
 switch(index) {
 case Keywords.DataSource: DataSource = ConvertToString(value); break;
 case Keywords.InitialCatalog: InitialCatalog = ConvertToString(value); break;
 // ***
 }
 }
}
```

So really, it's taking the `DataSource` property and mapping it to the `"Data Source"` key (*with space*)

Whenever PS assigns or retrieves a value, it has to decide whether to use the underlying dictionary implementation or the property. And when you look for `DataSource` in the dictionary (without the space), that [sql connection keyword][6] doesn't exist.



## Solutions

### Opt 1 - Use Dictionary Names

You can use the bracket or dot notation with the actual sql key to access the entry in the [hashtable][7]

```cs
$cnnBuilder = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnectionStringBuilder
$cnnBuilder["Data Source"] = "server_name"
$cnnBuilder."Initial Catalog" = "db_name"
```

### Opt 2 - Use `PSBase`

`PSBase` returns the [*"raw view of the object"*][8] and will give us the default behavior in dotnet

```cs
$cnnBuilder = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnectionStringBuilder
$cnnBuilder.PSBase.DataSource = "server_name"
$cnnBuilder.PSBase.InitialCatalog = "db_name"
```

### Opt 3 - Use `-Property` Parameter

During the construction, you can set the [`-Property`][9] parameter on `New-Object` which *"sets property values and invokes methods of the new object."*

```cs
$cnnBuilder = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnectionStringBuilder `
 -Property @{
 DataSource = "server_name"
 InitialCatalog = "db_name"
 }
```

### Additional Reading

[Using SQLConnection object in PowerShell][5]


[1]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.data.sqlclient.sqlconnectionstringbuilder?view=dotnet-plat-ext-3.1
[2]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.data.common.dbconnectionstringbuilder?view=netcore-3.1
[3]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.collections.idictionary?view=netcore-3.1
[4]: https://github.com/microsoft/referencesource/blob/4.6.2/System.Data/System/Data/SqlClient/SqlConnectionStringBuilder.cs#L250
[5]: https://superuser.com/q/453531/180163
[6]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/native-client/applications/using-connection-string-keywords-with-sql-server-native-client?view=sql-server-ver15
[7]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_hash_tables?view=powershell-7
[8]: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/powershell/whats-up-with-psbase-psextended-psadapted-and-psobject/
[9]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/new-object?view=powershell-7#parameters

In .Net we can get the datasource from a connectionstring using below mechanism:

    System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnectionStringBuilder builder = new System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnectionStringBuilder(connectionString);
    
    string server = builder.DataSource;

I was trying to do that in PowerShell but getting the following exception:

    $ConstringObj = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnectionStringBuilder($conString)

> New-Object : Exception calling ".ctor" with "1" argument(s): "Keyword
> not supported: 'metadata'." At line:1 char:17
> + $ConstringObj = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnectionStringBuilder($con ...
> +                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>     + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (:) [New-Object], MethodInvocationException
>     + FullyQualifiedErrorId : ConstructorInvokedThrowException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.NewObjectCommand

How to do that in PowerShell?

How to get datasource from Connectionstring using PowerShell?

## Use [Member-Access Enumeration][3]

> Starting in PowerShell 3.0, the member-access enumeration feature improves the convenience of using the member-access operator (.) on list collection objects


```
$sqlServers = @(
    @{userEntry="L"; },
    @{userEntry="D"; },
    @{userEntry="T"; }
)
$sqlServers.userEntry
# [L,D,T]
```

## Use [`Select-Object`][1] with `-ExpandProperty`

* **Powershell v6 and above**

    > Starting in [PowerShell 6][2], Select-Object supports selecting the keys of hashtable input as properties.

    ```ps1
    $sqlServers = @(
        @{userEntry="L"; },
        @{userEntry="D"; },
        @{userEntry="T"; }
    )
    $sqlServers | Select-Object -ExpandProperty userEntry
    # [L,D,T]
    ```

* **Powershell v5.1 and below**

    To do this in previous versions, you can convert the hash table to an PS Object first:

    ```ps1
    $sqlServers = @(
        [PsCustomObject]@{userEntry="L"; },
        [PsCustomObject]@{userEntry="D"; },
        [PsCustomObject]@{userEntry="T"; }
    )
    $sqlServers | Select-Object -ExpandProperty userEntry
    # [L,D,T]
    ```


[1]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/select-object?view=powershell-7.1#parameters
[2]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/select-object?view=powershell-7.2#example-12-select-hashtable-keys-without-using-calculated-properties
[3]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_member-access_enumeration


How can I convert an array of hash tables to an array of strings?

I'm trying to create a simple menu which will allow a user to select a server from a list.  Here's a sample of the list:

```ps1
$sqlServers = @(
    @{
        key="LOCALDB";
        serverName="(localdb)\mssqllocaldb"; 
        credentials="-E";
        userEntry="L"; 
        menuText="(L)ocaldb`t`t((localdb)\mssqllocaldb)"
    },
    @{
        key="DEV";
        serverName="DEV_SERVER"; 
        credentials="-E";
        userEntry="D"; 
        menuText="(D)ev`t`t`t(DEV_SERVER)"
    },
    @{
        key="TEST";
        serverName="TEST_SERVER"; 
        credentials="-E";
        userEntry="T"; 
        menuText="(T)est`t`t`t(TEST_SERVER)"
    }
)
```

This will be displayed like: 

```none
(L)ocaldb		((localdb)\mssqllocaldb) 
(D)ev			(DEV_SERVER)
(T)est			(TEST_SERVER)
```

I want to read the list of valid user choices from my list of servers, then check the key the user has pressed is in that list of valid choices.  This is what I've got so far:

```ps1
function Get-UserSelection (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$True)]
    $servers
    )
{
    Write-Host "Select the server to run the SQL scripts on (type a letter followed by the [Enter] key, or press CTRL+C to exit)"

    foreach ($server in $servers)
    {
        Write-Host "`t" $server.menuText
    }

    $validSelections = $servers | Select-Object {$_.userEntry}
    $userSelection = ""

    while ($True)
    {
        $userSelection = Read-Host         

        ForEach ($validSelection in $validSelections)
        {
            if ($userSelection -eq $validSelection) 
            {
                return $userSelection
            }
        }
                
        Write-Host "Invalid selection.  Please try again or press CTRL+C to exit"
    }
}
```

The problem is that the `$validSelection`, instead of having a value of `L` or `D`, has a value like `@{$_.userEntry=L}` when casting to a string, so the `$userSelection (eg "d")` is never seen as valid.  

I assume the problem is in the line:

```ps1
$validSelections = $servers | Select-Object {$_.userEntry}
```

How can I modify this so that `$validSelections` is an **array of strings** instead of an array of custom objects?

How to convert array of hash tables to array of strings

If you'd like to test for equality for every object property, one at a time, in order to compare and contrast two objects and see which individual pieces are different, you can use the following function, adapted from this article on how to [compare all properties of two objects in Windows PowerShell][1]


 
 Function Compare-ObjectProperties {
 Param(
 [PSObject]$leftObj,
 [PSObject]$rightObj 
 )
 
 $leftProps = $leftObj.PSObject.Properties.Name
 $rightProps = $rightObj.PSObject.Properties.Name
 $allProps = $leftProps + $rightProps | Sort | Select -Unique
 
 $props = @()
 
 foreach ($propName in $allProps) {
 
 # test if has prop
 $leftHasProp = $propName -in $leftProps
 $rightHasProp = $propName -in $rightProps
 
 # get value from object
 $leftVal = $leftObj.$propName
 $rightVal = $rightObj.$propName
 
 # create custom output - 
 $prop = [pscustomobject] @{ 
 Match = $(If ($propName -eq "SamAccountName" ) {"1st"} Else {
 $(If ($leftHasProp -and !$rightHasProp ) {"Left"} Else {
 $(If ($rightHasProp -and !$leftHasProp ) {"Right"} Else {
 $(If ($leftVal -eq $rightVal ) {"Same"} Else {"Diff"})
 })
 })
 })
 PropName = $propName
 LeftVal = $leftVal
 RightVal = $rightVal
 }
 
 $props += $prop
 }
 
 # sort & format table widths
 $props | Sort-Object Match, PropName | Format-Table -Property `
 @{ Expression={$_.Match}; Label="Match"; Width=6}, 
 @{ Expression={$_.PropName}; Label="Property Name"; Width=25}, 
 @{ Expression={$_.LeftVal }; Label="Left Value"; Width=40}, 
 @{ Expression={$_.RightVal}; Label="Right Value"; Width=40}
 
 }


And then use like this:



 $adUser1 = Get-ADUser 'Grace.Hopper' -Properties *
 $adUser2 = Get-ADUser 'Katherine.Johnson' -Properties * 
 Compare-ObjectProperties $adUser1 $adUser2

**Couple Interesting Notes**:

* [How to Test if Element Has Property][2]
* [How to Get Property Value by Name][3]
* [How to Create a Custom PS Object][4]
* [How to Create a Nested Conditional / Ternary Operator][5]
* [How to Format Table with fixed Widths][6]
* Attempted to Colorize output with [VT Escape Sequences][7] or [`Write-PSObject`][8], but couldn't get it to work with fixed column widths which took priority

[1]: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/janesays/2017/04/25/compare-all-properties-of-two-objects-in-windows-powershell/
[2]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/48982801/1366033
[3]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/14406385/1366033
[4]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/35905423/1366033
[5]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/34311158/1366033
[6]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/52174495/1366033
[7]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/49038815/1366033 "Virtual Terminal"
[8]: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Format-Table-Colors-in-e0a4beac

Let's say you have two objects that are identical (meaning they have the same properties and the same values respectively). 

How do you test for equality?


**Example**

`$obj1` & `$obj2` are identical

[![enter image description here][1]][1]


Here's what I've tried:

    if($obj1 -eq $obj2)
    {
        echo 'true'
    } else {
        echo 'false'
    }
    # RETURNS "false"
    
    if(Compare-Object -ReferenceObject $obj1 -DifferenceObject $obj2)
    {
        echo 'true'
    } else {
        echo 'false'
    }
    # RETURNS "false"

**Edit**

This is **not** identical

[![enter image description here][2]][2]


  [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/8pPpu.png
  [2]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/QFlHc.png

PowerShell - How to tell if two objects are identical

You need to make sure the PowerShell has write permission to the folder you're trying to write to.  You can do this by

1. Relaunching Powershell as Administrator
2. Specifying a folder that PS can write to *without* elevated permissions
  * Try `C:\temp\` (plus your `filename.csv`)
  * Or call [`Path.GetTempPath`][1] in PS with `[System.IO.Path]::GetTempPath()`

**See Also**: [Export-Csv - Access to the path 'C:\export.csv' is denied][2]

[1]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.io.path.gettemppath
[2]: https://stackoverflow.com/q/60611518/1366033

I'm trying to get the permission of the calendar folder on a set user, then export it to a CSV, so we can easily view the permissions.

When I run this command:

```cs
Get-Mailbox |
    Get-MailboxPermission |
    Select-Object AccessRights, User, Identity, IsValid |
    Export-Csv -Path 'c:\Users\Connor\Desktop'
```

I get this error:

```none
Export-Csv : Access to the path 'C:\Users\Connor\Desktop' is denied.
At line:1 char:89
+ ... hts,User,Identity,IsValid | Export-Csv -Path 'c:\Users\Connor\Desktop'
+                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : OpenError: (:) [Export-Csv], UnauthorizedAccessException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : FileOpenFailure,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.ExportCsvCommand
```

Export Powershell Object to CSV - Access Denied


Just toss out the unwanted expression result with `Out-Null`.:

    $person | Select-Object 'FirstName', 'LastName',
                 @{
                     Name="FullName";
                     Expression= {
                         "test" -eq "example" | out-null
                        return "$($_.FirstName) $($_.LastName)"
                     }
                 }



In PS, when using [`Select-Object`][1], the `-Property` param "specifies the properties to select":

> The value of the Property parameter can be a new *calculated property*. To create a calculated, property, use a hash table.
>
> Valid keys are: 
>
> * **Name**: `<string>` 
> * **Expression**: `<string>` or `<script block>`

As an starting point, here's an [anonymous object][2]

```cs
$person = [pscustomobject]@{
 FirstName = "Kyle";
 LastName = "Mit"
}
```

The following calculated property works just fine:

```cs
$person | Select-Object 'FirstName', 'LastName', 
 @{
 Name="FullName";
 Expression= { "$($_.FirstName) $($_.LastName)" }
 }
```

Which correctly returns the following:

```none
FirstName LastName FullName
--------- -------- --------
Kyle Mit Kyle Mit
```

**However**, I'm trying to build a calculated property that takes some complicated logic and requires multiple lines to implement. As soon as I have another return value inside the expression both values are returned. 

So the following query will return `FullName` as `{ false, "Kyle Mit" }`

```cs
$person | Select-Object 'FirstName', 'LastName', 
 @{
 Name="FullName";
 Expression= { 
 "test" -eq "example"
 return "$($_.FirstName) $($_.LastName)" 
 }
 }
```

Which returns the following:

```none
FirstName LastName FullName 
--------- -------- -------- 
Kyle Mit {False, Kyle Mit}
```

But I'm attempting to explicitly return just the last statement. Delimiting with `;` or using `return` doesn't seem to help. 

Any ideas?

[1]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/select-object?view=powershell-7#parameters
[2]: https://stackoverflow.com/a/56813241/1366033

Explicitly return value in multiline calculated property in PowerShell

You can also accomplish this with a for each loop to be able to easily track the index between both arrays

```ps1
$k = @(1, 2, 3)
$v = @("one", "two", "three")

$table = @{}

for ($i=0; $i -lt $k.Length; $i++){
    $table[$k[$i]] = $v[$i]
}
```


*Note*: this is also somtimes referred to as "zipping" two arrays

I want to assign all the array elements as the keys of hash table. For Example...

```ps1
# arrays
$k=@(1,2,3)
$v=@("one","two","three")

# hashtable
$table=@{}
```

I want output like this:

```ps1
$table={1="one",2="two",3="three"}
```

Is there any way to do it?

powershell script to make array elements as the keys of hashtable

It would appear that, to retrieve the information you are seeking, PowerShell needs to be run in "elevated" mode (i.e., "Run as Administrator").

When doing so, I see the information as intended; however, when running 'normally' (even though I'm logged on with admin rights), I see the same error message that you have reported.

I'm trying to return the [`Win32_PowerPlan`][1] in PowerShell 7 on Windows 11 with the following code:

```ps1
get-wmiobject -namespace "root\cimv2\power" -class Win32_powerplan
```

However, I get the output:

```none
get-wmiobject : 
At line:1 char:1
+ get-wmiobject -namespace "root\cimv2\power" -class Win32_powerplan
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (:) [Get-WmiObject], COMException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : GetWMICOMException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.GetWmiObjectCommand
```

[![Error Log Outuput][2]][2]

Not sure what could be going on or how to get better error logs.  The [official docs][3] use this exact code snippet, so not sure what it should change to if it's wrong.

Potentially related to [PowerShell call to Win32_PowerPlan showing invalid class error][4]

[1]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/desktop/legacy/dd904531(v=vs.85)
[2]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/SR1yr.png
[3]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/wmisdk/accessing-data-in-the-interop-namespace#assigning-the-power-profile-to-a-variable
[4]: https://stackoverflow.com/q/68491063/1366033

Error calling get-wmiobject for Win32_powerplan

You want to run:

```ahk
Run, pwsh -Command "Stop-ElgatoKeyLight -Host 192.168.1", , Hide
```  

Or using the *modern expression syntax*:

```ahk
Run, % "pwsh -Command ""Stop-ElgatoKeyLight -Host 192.168.1""", , Hide
```

---

The way your code is currently written:

```ahk
Run, pwsh, -WindowStyle Hidden -Command "Stop-ElgatoKeyLight -Host 192.168.1", Hide
```

As you pointed out, the parameters are `Target, WorkingDir, Options, OutputVarPID`, so you're trying to launch `pwsh` in the directory `-WindowStyle Hidden -Command "Stop-ElgatoKeyLight -Host 192.168.1"`.  




According to the [AHK Docs on `Run`][1], it accepts the following syntax:

```none
Run, Target , WorkingDir, Options, OutputVarPID
```

Where `Options` can include:

> * **`Max`**: launch maximized
> * **`Min`**: launch minimized
> * **`Hide`**: launch hidden (cannot be used in combination with either of the above)

I have shortcut bound to a powershell script like this:

```ahk
^4::
Run, pwsh -WindowStyle Hidden -Command "Stop-ElgatoKeyLight -Host 192.168.1"
Return
```

However, as noted in [Powershell -WindowStyle Hidden still shows a window briefly][2], this doesn't prevent a brief flash of the console starting up

I can't quite seem to get the syntax right when adding `hide`. When I try this:

```ahk
Run, pwsh, -WindowStyle Hidden -Command "Stop-ElgatoKeyLight -Host 192.168.1", Hide
```

I get the following error:

[![Error Message][3]][3]

**Q**: How can I use the `hide` flag on the run command while still passing params into powershell?


  [1]: https://www.autohotkey.com/docs/commands/Run.htm
  [2]: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/issues/3028
  [3]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/0hd1F.png