database-tools

By default, PowerShell uses jagged arrays. To create conventional symmetric arrays, here's how: PS> $array = New-Object 'Int32[,]'...

If your computer is logged on to an Active Directory, here is some code to get to your domain controllers. Note that this will raise errors if you...

In traditional batch files, you can use "&&" to execute a second command only if the first one worked. In PowerShell, the same can...

WMI is organized into namespaces which work similar to subfolders. Here's a line that lists all namespaces you got: PS> Get-WmiObject -Query...

Here's a cool little XML formatting tool. It takes the path to any XML file and allows you to specify an indent. Then, it saves the file as new...

Ok, this is more for the developers. To find out where your .NET Runtime folder is, try this line: PS> $path =...

Assume you want to send some information to another PowerShell session, or you'd like to have one session wait until another is ready. Here are...

In a previous tip we published the list of placeholders to define datetime patterns. You can use the very same placeholders to define your own...

In a previous tip we illustrated how you can use ParseExact() to parse custom datetime formats. This only works though if the date and time...

Sometimes, date and time information may not conform to standards, and still you'd like to interpret that information correctly as date and...

Parsing a date and/or time information is tricky because formatting depends on the regional settings. This is why PowerShell can convert date and...

Compare-Object is one of the most widely ignored most powerful cmdlet around. It can compare results and figure out differences. For example, if...

Sure you can use the command net use to map a network drive. But this would not check for existing mapped drives. Here's a small function that...

Ever wanted to read out the Windows license key? In the Windows Registry, this key is present, but it is stored as a digital ID. To convert it back...

In a previous tip we explained how you can install and map printers remotely using a low level command: rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /in /n...

Maybe you'd like to give some feedback to the users of your script while it processes a long-running task. One of the easiest (and most...

Console commands are first class PowerShell citizens, so sometimes it may be easier to use classic console commands to solve a problem. Here is a...

PowerShell can respond to system events such as locking or unlocking a session. Here is a fun sample. Provided you have your sound card turned on,...

Send-MailMessage can send emails to multiple recipients. You just need to make sure the list of recipients is provided as an array. When you call...

Sometimes cmdlets take some time, and unless they emit data, the user gets no feedback. Here are three examples for calls that take a long time...

You can use a background thread to monitor how long a script is running, and then kill that script if it takes too long. You can even write to an...

Get-Process can list processes but does not provide information about who is running the process. Here, WMI can help. Get-ProcessEx is a clever...

In a previous tip, we showed how you can export a scheduled task to an XML file. Now, it's time to see how you can re-import that XML file to...

Here's an easy way how you can export and dump a task that you created in "Scheduled Tasks" to XML: function Export-ScheduledTask {...

If you want PowerShell to use the same proxy settings that are set in your Internet Explorer browser, then here's the code you need: $proxy =...

If you need a new icon and have no icon editor at hand, then you can take a bitmap file (create one with MS Paint if you must) and have PowerShell...

Regular Expressions are a great help in identifying and extracting data from text. Here's an example that finds and extracts a number that ends...

In a previous tip you discovered driverquery.exe to list driver information. This tool sports a /V switch for even more verbose information....

To make a list of items or names unique, you could use grouping and then, when a group has more than one item, append a numbered suffix to these...

Some months ago we introduced to you the driverquery.exe tool and how to convert its output to PowerShell objects. Here's now an amazing...