This week we are looking at enumerations: what they are, and how you can benefit from them.
In the previous tip we explained how PowerShell converts strings to enumeration values. If you’d like to know what the allowed string values are for a parameter that accepts an enumeration, first take a look at a simple example that changes console foreground colors:
PS> $host.UI.RawUI.ForegroundColor = 'Red' PS> $host.UI.RawUI.ForegroundColor = 'White' PS>
These commands change the foreground color first to red, then back to white.
How do you know the names of the colors that are supported by the console, though? For this, you need to know the true datatype that ForegroundColor really supports:
PS> $host.UI.RawUI.ForegroundColor.GetType().FullName System.ConsoleColor
The type is “System.ConsoleColor”. Now you can check whether it is really an enumeration:
PS> $host.UI.RawUI.ForegroundColor.GetType().IsEnum True
If it is, like in this example, you can list its names:
PS> [System.Enum]::GetNames([System.ConsoleColor]) Black DarkBlue DarkGreen DarkCyan DarkRed DarkMagenta DarkYellow Gray DarkGray Blue Green Cyan Red Magenta Yellow White
Any of these values can be specified to set the console foreground color, and the same strategy applies to any other property or parameter that accepts enumeration values.
Coincidentally, when you submit a value that fits no enumeration name, the exception message will list the names, too.
