Power Tips

Working With TimeSpan Objects

TimeSpan objects represent a given amount of time. They are incredibly useful when you calculate with dates or times because they can represent the amount of time between two dates, or can add a day (or a minute) to a date to create relative dates. Here...

Published Fri, May 17 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Converting Low-Level Error Numbers into Help Messages

Sometimes, native commands such as net.exe return cryptic error numbers instead of full error messages. Traditionally, you could use the following command to convert these error numbers into full messages: PS > net helpmsg 3534 The service did not...

Published Thu, May 16 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Identifying 32-bit Executables

Thanks to Shay Levy from http://powershellmagazine.com for showing how to do this: here's a small function that returns the architecture an executable was compiled for: function Get-FileArchitecture { param ( $filePath = " $env:windir\notepad...

Published Wed, May 15 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Creating String Arrays without Quotes

Often, you may need a list of strings and want to store it in a variable. The common coding practice is like this: $MachineType = ' Native ' , ' I386 ' , ' Itanium ' , ' x64 ' A much easier approach does not require quotes...

Published Tue, May 14 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Discover New "Internet"-Cmdlets in PowerShell 3.0

With Invoke-WebRequest and Invoke-RestMethod, PowerShell 3.0 now has powerful support for downloading information from the Internet as well as communicating with Internet services. We have had a number of tips on these in the past. Some people use Invoke...

Published Mon, May 13 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Using Help Window as Text Dialog

Did you know that you can use the Help Window that comes with PowerShell 3.0 and display your own text information inside of it? What's even better: the help window will support full text searches in the text you display and highlight any matching...

Published Fri, May 10 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Using Default Parameter Values

If you find yourself submitting the same value for a cmdlet parameter over and over again, then PowerShell 3.0 lets you set a default value. Once you defined a default value for a parameter, you no longer need to specify it. This can be very convenient...

Published Thu, May 09 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Find Matching Brace (or Parenthesis)

One common headache are non-matching braces or parentheses in PowerShell scripts. So when you write a script, it is recommended to align matching braces and parentheses and make your code more readable this way. In addition, PowerShell 3.0 ISE editor...

Published Wed, May 08 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Using Central ISE Snippet Repository

In a previous tip we illustrated that ISE code snippets (press CTRL+J to view them) are plain ps1xml-files that you can manage in File Explorer. By default, the PowerShell 3.0 ISE editor loads snippets from your private cache folder. Imagine you and your...

Published Tue, May 07 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Sharing and Exchanging ISE Code Snippets

By default, the PowerShell 3.0 ISE editor loads code snippets automatically, and you can then select and insert any of these by pressing CTRL+J. Custom code snippets are stored in a special folder that you can open like this: $snippetPath = Join-Path...

Published Mon, May 06 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Hiding Default ISE Snippets

The PowerShell 3.0 ISE editor ships with a number of default code snippets that you can see (and insert) by pressing CTRL+J. Once you start to refine your snippets and create your own (New-IseSnippet), you may want to hide the default snippets. This line...

Published Fri, May 03 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Removing ISE Snippets

In a previous tip, we showed how you can use New-IseSnippet to add new code snippets to the ISE editor in PowerShell 3.0. These custom snippets stay permanently because PowerShell creates XML files for them. You can view these files with Get-IseSnippet...

Published Thu, May 02 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Adding Custom Snippets to ISE editor

The new PowerShell 3.0 ISE editor features a snippet menu that lets you easily insert predefined code snippets. Simply press CTRL+J to open the menu, select the snippet, and insert it into your code. To add more snippets, here is the way to go: $myCodeSnippet...

Published Wed, May 01 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Using Here-String Correctly

Whenever you need to assign multi-line text to a variable, you can use so-called here-string. This is a sample: $myCodeSnippet = @' function Verb-Noun { param() } '@ Anything in between the quotes is untouched by the PowerShell parser and can...

Published Tue, Apr 30 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

Using Regions in ISE Editor

PowerShell 3.0 ISE editor creates collapsible regions automatically, so you can collapse a function body or an IF statement. In addition, you can add your own custom collapsible regions like this: #region Get-Process #endregion Make sure you type the...

Published Mon, Apr 29 2013 6:00 AM by powershelltips

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