Powershell - cmdlets

Windows PowerShell commands, called cmdlets, let you manage the

computers from the command line. Windows PowerShell providers
let you access data stores, such as the Registry and Certificate
Store, as easily as you access the file system.

In addition, Windows PowerShell has a rich expression parser and a

fully developed scripting language. So in simple words you can
complete all the tasks that you do with GUI and much more.
Windows PowerShell Scripting is a fully developed scripting
language and has a rich expression parser/

Features
 Cmdlets − Cmdlets perform common system administration
tasks, for example managing the registry, services, processes,
event logs, and using Windows Management Instrumentation
(WMI).
 Task oriented − PowerShell scripting language is task based and
provide supports for existing scripts and command-line tools.
 Consistent design − As cmdlets and system data stores use
common syntax and have common naming conventions, data
sharing is easy. The output from one cmdlet can be pipelined
to another cmdlet without any manipulation.
 Simple to Use − Simplified, command-based navigation lets
users navigate the registry and other data stores similar to the
file system navigation.
 Object based − PowerShell possesses powerful object
manipulation capabilities. Objects can be sent to other tools or
databases directly.
 Extensible interface. − PowerShell is customizable as independent
software vendors and enterprise developers can build custom
tools and utilities using PowerShell to administer their
software.

Powershell - Files and Folder Operations

Following are the examples of powershell scripts on Files and
Folders.

Sr.No. Operation & Description

Creating Folders
New-Item cmdlet is used to create a directory by
passing the path using -Path as path of the directory and
-ItemType as Directory.
Example Script to show how to create folder(s) using PowerShell scripts.
New-Item -Path 'D:\temp\Test Folder' -ItemType
1 Directory
Directory: D:\temp

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name

---- ------------- ------ ----
d---- 4/3/2018 7:06 PM Test Folder

Creating Files
New-Item cmdlet is used to create a file by passing the
path using -Path as path of the file and -ItemType as
File.
Example Script to show how to create file(s) using PowerShell scripts.
New-Item -Path 'D:\temp\Test Folder\Test
2 File.txt' -ItemType File
Directory: D:\temp

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name

---- ------------- ------ ----
-a--- 4/3/2018 7:14 PM 0 Test File.txt

3 Copying Folders
Copy-Item cmdlet is used to copy a directory by passing
the path of the directory to be copied and destination
path where the folder is to be copied.
Example Script to show how to copy file(s) using PowerShell scripts.

Copy-Item 'D:\temp\Test Folder' 'D:\temp\Test

Folder1'
 Copy-Item 'D:\temp\Test Folder' -Destination
'D:\temp\Test Folder1'

Copying Files
Copy-Item cmdlet is used to copy a file by passing the
path of the file to be copied and destination path where
the file is to be copied.
Example Script to show how to create file(s) using PowerShell scripts.
Copy-Item 'D:\temp\Test Folder\Test File.txt'
4 'D:\temp\Test Folder1\Test File1.txt'

Copy-Item -Filter *.txt -Path 'D:\temp\Test

Folder' -Recurse -Destination 'D:\temp\Test
Folder1'

Deleting Folders
Remove-Item cmdlet is used to delete a directory by
passing the path of the directory to be deleted.
5 Example Script to show how to delete folder(s) using PowerShell scripts.
Remove-Item 'D:\temp\Test Folder1'

Remove-Item 'D:\temp\Test Folder' -Recurse

Deleting Files
Remove-Item cmdlet is used to delete a file by passing
6 the path of the file to be deleted.
Example Script to show how to delete file(s) using PowerShell scripts.
Remove-Item 'D:\temp\Test Folder\test.txt'

Moving Folders
Move-Item cmdlet is used to move a directory by
passing the path of the directory to be moved and
7
destination path where the folder is to be moved.
Example Script to show how to move file(s) using PowerShell scripts.
Move-Item D:\temp\Test D:\temp\Test1

8 Moving Files
Move-Item cmdlet is used to move a file by passing the
 path of the file to be moved and destination path where
the file is to be moved.
Example Script to show how to move file(s) using PowerShell scripts.
Move-Item D:\temp\Test\Test.txt D:\temp\Test1

Rename Folders
Rename-Item cmdlet is used to rename a folder by passing
9 the path of the folder to be renamed and target name.
Example Script to show how to rename folder(s) using PowerShell scripts.
Rename-Item "D:\temp\Test Test1"

Rename Files
Rename-Item cmdlet is used to rename a File by
passing the path of the file to be renamed and target
10
name.
Example Script to show how to rename file(s) using PowerShell scripts.
Rename-Item D:\temp\Test\test.txt test1.txt

Retrieving Item
Get-Content cmdlet is used to retrieve content of a file
as an array.
Example Script to show how to retrieve item(s) using PowerShell scripts.
Get-Content D:\temp\Test\test.txt
11
Get-Content D:\temp\test\test.txt
;This is a test file.

(Get-Content D:\temp\test\test.txt).length
20

Check Folder Existence

Test-Path cmdlet is used to check existence of a folder.
12 Example Script to show how to check folder existence using PowerShell scripts.
Test-Path D:\temp\test
True

Check File Existence

Test-Path cmdlet is used to check existence of a file.
13 Example Script to show how to check file existence using PowerShell scripts.
Test-Path D:\temp\test\test.txt
False
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/powershell/powershell_overview.htm

How to find the file properties using

powershell
Find the file properties
Now to access the file properties using the PowerShell we use some commands in order
to get the file properties,
 Get-Item <Path of Folder>
 Get-ItemProperty <Path of Folder>
 Get-ChildItem <Path of Folder>
Using Get-ChildItem to find the file properties
Get-ChildItem is used to gets the items and child items in one or more specified
locations.
PS C:\Users\DELL> G
et-ChildItem -Path C:\Users\DELL\Pictures
 find the file properties using PowerShell

Using Get-Item to find the file properties

Get-Item command is used to gets the items at the specified location.
PS C:\Users\DELL> Get-Item -Path C:\Users\DELL\Downloads
 find the file properties using PowerShell

Using Get-ItemProperty to find the file properties

Get-ItemProperty command is used to gets the properties of all the items at the
specified path.
PS C:\Users\DELL> Get-ItemProperty -Path C:\Users\DELL\Downloads |
Get-Member -MemberType property

find the file properties using PowerShell

Access the particular file properties
PS C:\Users\HP> $file = get-childItem C:\Users\HP\OneDrive\Desktop\
pro1.txt
PS C:\Users\HP> $file.name
pro1.txt
PS C:\Users\HP> $file.extension
.txt
PS C:\Users\HP> $file.length
389
PS C:\Users\HP> $file.basename
pro1

find the file properties using PowerShell

Variables

PowerShell variables are named objects. As PowerShell works with

objects, these variables are used to work with objects.
Creating variable

Variable name should start with $ and can contain alphanumeric

characters and underscore in their names. A variable can be created
by typing a valid variable name.

Type the following command in PowerShell ISE Console. Assuming

you are in D:\test folder.

$location = Get-Location

Here we've created a variable $location and assigned it the output

of Get-Location cmdlet. It now contains the current location.

Using variable

Type the following command in PowerShell ISE Console.

$location
Output

You can see following output in PowerShell console.

Path
----
D:\test
Getting information of variable

Get-Member cmdlet can tell the type of variable being used. See the
example below.

$location | Get-Member
Output

You can see following output in PowerShell console.

TypeName: System.Management.Automation.PathInfo

Name MemberType Definition

---- ---------- ----------
Equals Method bool Equals(System.Object obj)
GetHashCode Method int GetHashCode()
GetType Method type GetType()
ToString Method string ToString()
Drive Property System.Management.Automation.PSDriveInfo Drive {get;}
Path Property System.String Path {get;}
Provider Property System.Management.Automation.ProviderInfo Provider {get;}
ProviderPath Property System.String ProviderPath {get;}

Powershell - Special Variables

PowerShell Special variables store information about PowerShell.
These are also called automatic variables. Following is the list of
automatic variables −

Operator Description

Represents the last token in the last line received by the

$$
session.

Represents the execution status of the last operation. It

$? contains TRUE if the last operation succeeded and FALSE
if it failed.

Represents the first token in the last line received by the

$^
session.

Same as $PSItem. Contains the current object in the

pipeline object. You can use this variable in commands that
$_
perform an action on every object or on selected objects in
a pipeline.

Represents an array of the undeclared parameters and/or

$ARGS parameter values that are passed to a function, script, or
script block.

Represents the path of the console file (.psc1) that was

$CONSOLEFILENAME
most recently used in the session.

Represents an array of error objects that represent the most

$ERROR
recent errors.

Represents a PSEventArgs object that represents the event

$EVENT
that is being processed.

$EVENTARGS Represents an object that represents the first event

 argument that derives from EventArgs of the event that is
being processed.

Represents a PSEventSubscriber object that represents the

$EVENTSUBSCRIBER
event subscriber of the event that is being processed.

Represents an EngineIntrinsics object that represents the

$EXECUTIONCONTEXT
execution context of the PowerShell host.

Represents FALSE. You can use this variable to represent

$FALSE FALSE in commands and scripts instead of using the string
"false".

Represents the enumerator (not the resulting values) of a

$FOREACH ForEach loop. You can use the properties and methods of
enumerators on the value of the $ForEach variable.

$HOME Represents the full path of the user's home directory.

Represents an object that represents the current host

$HOST
application for PowerShell.

Represents an enumerator that enumerates all input that is

$INPUT
passed to a function.

Represents the exit code of the last Windows-based

$LASTEXITCODE
program that was run.

The $Matches variable works with the -match and -

$MATCHES
notmatch operators.

$MyInvocation is populated only for scripts, function, and

script blocks. PSScriptRoot and PSCommandPath
$MYINVOCATION properties of the $MyInvocation automatic variable contain
information about the invoker or calling script, not the
current script.

$NESTEDPROMPTLEVE
Represents the current prompt level.
L

$null is an automatic variable that contains a NULL or

$NULL empty value. You can use this variable to represent an
absent or undefined value in commands and scripts.

Represents the process identifier (PID) of the process that

$PID
is hosting the current PowerShell session.
 Represents the full path of the PowerShell profile for the
$PROFILE
current user and the current host application.

Represents an object that represents the cmdlet or advanced

$PSCMDLET
function that is being run.

Represents the full path and file name of the script that is
$PSCOMMANDPATH
being run.

Represents the name of the culture currently in use in the

$PSCULTURE
operating system.

While debugging, this variable contains information about

$PSDEBUGCONTEXT the debugging environment. Otherwise, it contains a NULL
value.

Represents the full path of the installation directory for

$PSHOME
PowerShell.

Same as $_. Contains the current object in the pipeline

$PSITEM
object.

$PSSCRIPTROOT Represents the directory from which a script is being run.

Represents information about the user who started the

$PSSENDERINFO PSSession, including the user identity and the time zone of
the originating computer.

Represents the name of the user interface (UI) culture that

$PSUICULTURE
is currently in use in the operating system.

Represents a read-only hash table that displays details

$PSVERSIONTABLE about the version of PowerShell that is running in the
current session.

$SENDER Represents the object that generated this event.

$SHELLID Represents the identifier of the current shell.

$STACKTRACE Represents a stack trace for the most recent error.

In a script block that defines a script property or script

$THIS method, the $This variable refers to the object that is being
extended.

Represents TRUE. You can use this variable to represent

$TRUE
TRUE in commands and scripts.
 Powershell - Operators
PowerShell provides a rich set of operators to manipulate variables.
We can divide all the PowerShell operators into the following groups

 Arithmetic Operators
 Assignment Operators
 Comparison Operators
 Logical Operators
 Redirectional Operators
 Spilt and Join Operators
 Type Operators
 Unary Operators
The Arithmetic Operators
Arithmetic operators are used in mathematical expressions in the
same way that they are used in algebra. The following table lists the
arithmetic operators
Operator Description Example

+ (Addition) Adds values on either side of the operator. A + B will give 30

Subtracts right-hand operand from left-hand

- (Subtraction) A - B will give -10
operand.

Multiplies values on either side of the

* (Multiplication) A * B will give 200
operator.

Divides left-hand operand by right-hand

/ (Division) B / A will give 2
operand.

Divides left-hand operand by right-hand

% (Modulus) B % A will give 0
operand and returns remainder.
Example
> $a = 10
> $b = 20
> $c = 25
> $d = 25
> $a + $b
30
> $a - $b
-10
> $a * $b
200
> $b / $a
2
> $b % $a
0

The Comparison Operators

Following are the assignment operators supported by PowerShell

language

Operator Description Example

eq (equals) Compares two values to be equal or not. A -eq B will give false

ne (not equals) Compares two values to be not equal. A -ne B will give true

Compares first value to be greater than

gt (greater than) B -gt A will give true
second one.

ge (greater than Compares first value to be greater than or

B -ge A will give true
or equals to) equals to second one.

Compares first value to be less than second

lt (less than) B -lt A will give false
one.

le (less than or Compares first value to be less than or

B -le A will give false
equals to) equals to second one.
Example:
> $a = 10
> $b = 20
> $a -eq $b
False
> $a -ne $b
True
> $b -gt $a
True
> $b -ge $a
True
> $b -lt $a
False
> $b -le $a
False
> $a = "mahesh"
> $b = "suresh"
> $a -like '*ahe*'
True
> $a -notLike '*ahe*'
True
> $b -match '[h$]'
True
> $b -notMatch '[h$]'
False
> $a = 'abc'
> $b = 'abc'
> $b -contains $a
True
> $b -notContains $a
False
The Assignment Operators
Following are the assignment operators supported by PowerShell
language
Operator Description Example

Simple assignment operator. Assigns values from C = A + B will assign

=
right side operands to left side operand. value of A + B into C

Add AND assignment operator. It adds right operand

C += A is equivalent
+= to the left operand and assign the result to left
to C = C + A
operand.

Subtract AND assignment operator. It subtracts right

C -= A is equivalent
-= operand from the left operand and assign the result
to C = C - A
to left operand.
Example
> $a = 10
> $b = 20
> $c = $a + $b
> $c
30
> $c += $a
> $c
40

> $c -= $a
> $c
30

The Logical Operators

The following table lists the logical operators
Operator Description Example

AND (logical Called Logical AND operator. If both the (A -AND B) is false
and) operands are non-zero, then the condition
 becomes true.

Called Logical OR Operator. If any of the two

OR (logical
operands are non-zero, then the condition (A -OR B) is true
or)
becomes true.

Called Logical NOT Operator. Use to reverses

NOT (logical
the logical state of its operand. If a condition is -NOT(A -AND B) is true
not)
true then Logical NOT operator will make false.
Example
> $a = 10
> $b = 20
> $a -AND $b
True
> $a -OR $b
True

> -NOT ($a -AND $b)

False

Miscellaneous Operators
Following are various important operators supported by PowerShell
language
Operator Description Example

> dir > test.log will print

Redirectional operator. Assigns output to be
(Redirectional the directory listing in
printed into the redirected file/output device.
Opeator) test.log file

Example
> $location = Get-Location
> $location -is 'System.Management.Automation.PathInfo'
True
> $location -isNot
'System.Management.Automation.PathInfo'
 True
> $i = 1
> $i++
> $i
2
 Powershell - Looping
There may be a situation when you need to execute a block of code
several number of times. In general, statements are executed
sequentially: The first statement in a function is executed first,
followed by the second, and so on.

Programming languages provide various control structures that

allow for more complicated execution paths.

A loop statement allows us to execute a statement or group of

statements multiple times and following is the general form of a
loop statement in most of the programming languages −

PowerShell programming language provides the following types of

loop to handle looping requirements. Click the following links to
check their detail.

Sr.No
Loop & Description
.

1 for loop
Execute a sequence of statements multiple times and abbreviates the code that
manages the loop variable.
> $array = @("item1", "item2", "item3")
 > for($i = 0; $i -lt $array.length; $i++)
{ $array[$i] }
item1
item2
item3

forEach loop
Enhanced for loop. This is mainly used to traverse collection of elements
including arrays.
> $array = @("item1", "item2", "item3")
> foreach ($element in $array) { $element }
item1
2 item2
item3
> $array | foreach { $_ }
item1
item2
item3

while loop
Repeats a statement or group of statements while a given condition is true. It tests
the condition before executing the loop body.
> $array = @("item1", "item2", "item3")
$counter = 0;

while($counter -lt $array.length){

3
$array[$counter]
$counter += 1
}
item1
item2
item3

4 do...while loop
Like a while statement, except that it tests the condition at the end of the loop
body.
> $array = @("item1", "item2", "item3")
 $counter = 0;

do {
$array[$counter]
$counter += 1
} while($counter -lt $array.length)
item1
item2
item3

Powershell - Conditions
Decision making structures have one or more conditions to be
evaluated or tested by the program, along with a statement or
statements that are to be executed if the condition is determined to
be true, and optionally, other statements to be executed if the
condition is determined to be false.

Following is the general form of a typical decision making structure

found in most of the programming languages −
PowerShell scripting language provides following types of decision
making statements. Click the following links to check their detail.

Sr.No
Statement & Description
.

if statement
1 An if statement consists of a boolean expression followed by one or more
statements.

2 if...else statement
An if statement can be followed by an optional else statement, which executes
when the boolean expression is false.
Syntax

Following is the syntax of an if...else statement −

if(Boolean_expression) {
// Executes when the Boolean expression is true
}else {
// Executes when the Boolean expression is false
}
Example
$x = 30

if($x -le 20){

write-host("This is if statement")
}else {
write-host("This is else statement")
}
Output
This is else statement
Example
$x = 30

if($x -eq 10){

write-host("Value of X is 10")
} elseif($x -eq 20){
write-host("Value of X is 20")
} elseif($x -eq 30){
write-host("Value of X is 30")
} else {
 write-host("This is else statement")
}
Output
Value of X is 30

nested if statement
You can use one if or elseif statement inside another if or elseif statement(s).
if(Boolean_expression 1) {
// Executes when the Boolean expression 1 is true
if(Boolean_expression 2) {
// Executes when the Boolean expression 2 is true
}
}
Example
$x = 30
3
$y = 10

if($x -eq 30){

if($y -eq 10) {
write-host("X = 30 and Y = 10")
}
}
Output
X = 30 and Y = 10

4 switch statement
A switch statement allows a variable to be tested for equality against a list of
values.
Syntax
switch(<test-value>) {
<condition> {<action>}
break; // optional
<condition> {<action>}
break; // optional
<condition> {<action>}
break; // optional
}
Example 1
switch(3){
1 {"One"}
2 {"Two"}
3 {"Three"}
 4 {"Four"}
3 {"Three Again"}
}
Output
Three
Three Again
Example 2
switch(3){
1 {"One"}
2 {"Two"}
3 {"Three"; break }
4 {"Four"}
3 {"Three Again"}
}
Output
Three
Example 3
switch(4,2){
1 {"One"}
2 {"Two"}
3 {"Three"; break }
4 {"Four"}
3 {"Three Again"}
}
Output
Four
Two

Powershell - Array
PowerShell provides a data structure, the array, which stores a
fixed-size sequential collection of elements of the any type. An array
is used to store a collection of data, but it is often more useful to
think of an array as a collection of variables or objects.

Instead of declaring individual variables, such as number0,

number1, ..., and number99, you declare one array variable such as
numbers and use numbers[0], numbers[1], and ..., numbers[99] to
represent individual variables.

This tutorial introduces how to declare array variables, create

arrays, and process arrays using indexed variables.

Declaring Array Variables

To use an array in a program, you must declare a variable to

reference the array, and you can specify the type of array the
variable can reference. Here is the syntax for declaring an array
variable −

Syntax
$A = 1, 2, 3, 4
or
$A = 1..4
Note − By default type of objects of array is System.Object.
GetType() method returns the type of the array. Type can be
passed.
Example

The following code snippets are examples of this syntax −

[int32[]]$intA = 1500,2230,3350,4000

$A = 1, 2, 3, 4
$A.getType()

This will produce the following result −

Output
IsPublic IsSerial Name BaseType
-------- -------- ---- --------
True True Object[] System.Array
The array elements are accessed through the index. Array indices
are 0-based; that is, they start from 0 to arrayRefVar.length-1.
Example

Following statement declares an array variable, myList, creates an

array of 10 elements of double type and assigns its reference to
myList −

$myList = 5.6, 4.5, 3.3, 13.2, 4.0, 34.33, 34.0, 45.45,

99.993, 11123

Following picture represents array myList. Here, myList holds ten

double values and the indices are from 0 to 9.

Processing Arrays
When processing array elements, we often use either for loop
or foreach loop because all of the elements in an array are of the
same type and the size of the array is known.
Example

Here is a complete example showing how to create, initialize, and

process arrays −

$myList = 5.6, 4.5, 3.3, 13.2, 4.0, 34.33, 34.0, 45.45,

99.993, 11123

write-host("Print all the array elements")

$myList

write-host("Get the length of array")

$myList.Length
write-host("Get Second element of array")
$myList[1]

write-host("Get partial array")

$subList = $myList[1..3]

write-host("print subList")
$subList

write-host("using for loop")

for ($i = 0; $i -le ($myList.length - 1); $i += 1) {
$myList[$i]
}

write-host("using forEach Loop")

foreach ($element in $myList) {
$element
}

write-host("using while Loop")

$i = 0
while($i -lt 4) {
$myList[$i];
$i++
}

write-host("Assign values")
$myList[1] = 10
$myList

This will produce the following result −

Output
Print all the array elements
5.6
4.5
3.3
13.2
4
34.33
34
45.45
99.993
11123
Get the length of array
10
Get Second element of array
4.5
Get partial array
print subList
4.5
3.3
13.2
using for loop
5.6
4.5
3.3
13.2
4
34.33
34
45.45
99.993
11123
using forEach Loop
5.6
4.5
3.3
13.2
4
34.33
34
45.45
99.993
11123
using while Loop
5.6
4.5
3.3
13.2
Assign values
5.6
10
3.3
13.2
4
34.33
34
45.45
99.993
11123
The Arrays Methods Examples

Here is a complete example showing operations on arrays using its

methods

$myList = @(0..4)

write-host("Print array")
$myList

$myList = @(0..4)

write-host("Assign values")
$myList[1] = 10
$myList

This will produce the following result −

Output
Clear array
Print array
0
1
2
3
4
Assign values
0
10
2
3
4

Powershell - File I/O Operations

Following are the examples of powershell scripts of creating and
reading different types of files.

Sr.No. Operation & Description

1 Create Text File

 New-Item D:\temp\test\test.txt
Set-Content D:\temp\test\test.txt 'Welcome to
TutorialsPoint'
get-Content D:\temp\test\test.txt
Welcome to TutorialsPoint

Read Text File

2
Example Script to show how to read a text file using PowerShell scripts.

Erasing file content

3
Clear-Content D:\temp\test\test.txt

Append Text Data

Set-Content D:\temp\test\test.txt 'Hello'
4 Add-Content D:\temp\test\test.txt 'World!'
Get-Content D:\temp\test\test.txt
Hello
World!