database-tools

Sending Text to the Clipboard

Wouldn't it be fun if you could send results directly to the clipboard? Well, beginning with Windows Vista you can - thanks to clip.exe: PS>...

Spying on Parameters

Your own PowerShell functions can have the same sophisticated parameters, parameter types and parameter sets that you know from cmdlets. However, it...

Removing Shares (Remotely, Too)

In a previous tip you learned how you can create ad-hoc shares using WMI. These shares persist until you remove them again. So if you'd like to...

Creating Shares Remotely

Let's assume you need to access another machine's file system but there is no network share available. Provided you have local administrator...

Opening MsgBoxes

Need a quick message box to display something or ask a question? Fortunately, PowerShell can access old COM components. Here's a line that...

Creating a "Better" More

In a previous tip you learned that using "more" to paginate output can be dangerous, and instead you should use Out-Host -Paging. To...

Creating Your Own Get-Driver Tool

Some code snippets are really valuable, so you should turn them into functions to keep around as new PowerShell commands. Here's a sample...

Finding More Driver Information

In a previous tip you learned how you can convert raw CSV data from a console application such as driverquery.exe into real PS objects. Let's...

Finding Driver Information

driverquery.exe returns all kinds of information about installed drivers, but the information seems a bit useless at first: PS> driverquery.exe...

Finding Standard Parameter Names

In a previous tip, we suggested you to use standard parameter names for your own functions. To get a feeling for what the parameter names are that...

Best Practice for PowerShell Functions

This is a best-practice message: when you create your own function, here are some things you should consider: - Function name: use cmdlet naming...

Adding New Lines to Strings

In a previous tip you learned that text arrays can easily be multiplied. The same is true for assignment operators such as +=. When you apply this...

Creating Multiline Strings

You probably know what this line produces: 'Hello' * 12 Right, you get 12 times the string you submitted. If you wanted new lines instead, a...

Enumerating Registry Keys

To enumerate all subkeys in a Registry key, you might be using a line like this: PS> Dir...

Asking for Credentials

When you write functions that accept credentials as parameters, add a transformation attribute! This way, the user can either submit a credential...

How to List Registry Hives

Use the provider name instead of a drive name when you need to get a list of all registry hives: Dir Registry:: ReTweet this Tip!

Writing Registry Key Default Values

If you need to set the default value for a registry key, you can use either of these approaches: Set-ItemProperty -Path HKCU:\Software\Somekey -Name...

Use Dumping Help

You can start by dumping all Help information into a file to learn more about a PowerShell cmdlet. You can then read all details about the cmdlet...

Use Out-GridView Requirements

Out-GridView is a great way to present results in a “mini-Excel” sheet: Get-Process | Out-GridView However, Out-GridView has two...

Use the CTRL+Arrow

Inside the PowerShell console, you can hold CTRL while pressing the arrow key to move the cursor word-by-word. This way, you can move the cursor...

Change Service Startmode

You can use WMI like this if you want to change a service start mode: ([wmi]'Win32_Service.Name="Spooler"').ChangeStartMode('Automatic').ReturnValue...

Determining Service Start Modes

By using WMI, you can enumerate the start mode that you want your services to use. To get a list of all services, try this: Get-WMIObject...

Print All PDF Files in Folders

Try this one-liner if you need to print out all PDF documents you have stored in one folder: Dir c:\myfolder\*.pdf | Foreach-Object { Start-Process...

Store Pictures in Active Directory

When you need to store a picture into an AD account, the picture will have to be converted to byte values before it can be stored. Just make sure...

FLUSH STATUS surprise?

What does FLUSH STATUS do? We all know that it will simply reset all status variables (except for 'uptime') to same values as immediately...