Split-Path

Split-Path
    [-Path] <String[]>
    [-Parent]
    [-Resolve]
    [-Credential <PSCredential>]
    [<CommonParameters>]

Split-Path
    [-Path] <String[]>
    -Leaf
    [-Resolve]
    [-Credential <PSCredential>]
    [<CommonParameters>]

Split-Path
    [-Path] <String[]>
    -LeafBase
    [-Resolve]
    [-Credential <PSCredential>]
    [<CommonParameters>]

Split-Path
    [-Path] <String[]>
    -Extension
    [-Resolve]
    [-Credential <PSCredential>]
    [<CommonParameters>]

Split-Path
    [-Path] <String[]>
    -Qualifier
    [-Resolve]
    [-Credential <PSCredential>]
    [<CommonParameters>]

Split-Path
    [-Path] <String[]>
    -NoQualifier
    [-Resolve]
    [-Credential <PSCredential>]
    [<CommonParameters>]

Split-Path
    [-Path] <String[]>
    -IsAbsolute
    [-Resolve]
    [-Credential <PSCredential>]
    [<CommonParameters>]

Split-Path
    -LiteralPath <String[]>
    [-Resolve]
    [-Credential <PSCredential>]
    [<CommonParameters>]

The Split-Path cmdlet returns only the specified part of a path, such as the parent folder, a subfolder, or a filename. It can also get items that are referenced by the split path and tell whether the path is relative or absolute. If you split a path without specifying any other parameters, Split-Path returns the parent part of the path provided.

The Split-Path command returns strings. It doesn't return FileInfo or other item objects like the *-Item commands do.

Split-Path -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft" -Qualifier

HKCU:

This command returns only the qualifier of the path. The qualifier is the drive.

When using the Leaf parameter, Split-Path returns only the last item in the path string supplied, regardless whether that item is a file or a directory.

Split-Path -Path .\folder1\*.txt -Leaf

*.txt

Split-Path -Path .\folder1\*.txt -Leaf -Resolve

file1.txt
file2.txt

When you use the Resolve parameter, Split-Path resolves the path string provided and returns the items referenced by the path.

When using the Parent parameter, Split-Path returns only the parent container portion of the path string supplied. If the Path string doesn't contain a parent container, Split-Path returns an empty string.

Split-Path -Path .\folder1\file1.txt -Parent

.\folder1

Split-Path -Path .\folder1\file1.txt -Parent -Resolve

D:\temp\test\folder1

When you use the Resolve parameter, Split-Path resolves the path string provided and returns the full path of the parent container.

This command determines whether the path is relative or absolute. In this case, because the path is relative to the current folder, which is represented by a dot (.), it returns $false.

Split-Path -Path ".\My Pictures\*.jpg" -IsAbsolute

False

This command changes your location to the folder that contains the PowerShell profile.

PS C:\> Set-Location (Split-Path -Path $PROFILE)
PS C:\Users\User01\Documents\PowerShell>

The command in parentheses uses Split-Path to return only the parent of the path stored in the built-in $PROFILE variable. The Parent parameter is the default split location parameter. Therefore, you can omit it from the command. The parentheses direct PowerShell to run the command first. This is a useful way to move to a folder that has a long path name.

'C:\Users\User01\My Documents\My Pictures' | Split-Path

C:\Users\User01\My Documents

This command uses a pipeline operator (|) to send a path to Split-Path. The path is enclosed in quotation marks to indicate that it's a single token.

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutBuffer, -OutVariable, -PipelineVariable, -ProgressAction, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

You can pipe a string that contains a path to this cmdlet.

This cmdlet returns text strings. When you specify the Resolve parameter, it returns a string that describes the location of the items. It doesn't return objects that represent the items, such as a FileInfo or RegistryKey object.

When you specify the IsAbsolute parameter, this cmdlet returns a Boolean value.

• The split location parameters (Qualifier, Parent, Extension, Leaf, LeafBase, and NoQualifier) are exclusive. You can use only one in each command.

• The cmdlets that contain the Path noun (the Path cmdlets) work with path names and return the names in a concise format that all PowerShell providers can interpret. They're designed for use in programs and scripts where you want to display all or part of a path name in a particular format. Use them in the way that you would use Dirname, Normpath, Realpath, Join, or other path manipulators.

• You can use the Path cmdlets together with several providers. These include the FileSystem, Registry, and Certificate providers.

• Split-Path is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list the providers available in your session, type Get-PSProvider. For more information, see about_Providers.