Powershell

The .NET System.IO.Path class has a number of very useful static methods that you can use to extract file extensions. Here is how you can get a list...

The .NET Environment class can provide the paths to common folders like a user desktop: Environment]::GetFolderPath("Desktop") Use this...

If you have registered a new event log source, such as "PowerShellScripts" as described in the previous tip, you can now write your own...

Every event log maintains a list of registered sources. You need a source name if you want to write your own event log entries. Make sure you have...

Sometimes, you may want to lower process priority for some processes. That's a PowerShell one liner. Note that the next line lowers priority for...

Have you ever wanted to get a list of all WMI methods present inside a specific WMI class – plus a meaningful description and a list of all...

Some WMI classes contain static methods. Static methods do not require an instance....

Some WMI classes contain methods that you can call to invoke some action. For example, the next line initiates a disk check on drive D:...

In a previous tip, you discovered how to search for WMI classes like Win32_VideoController. Now, what exactly is the purpose of this class? You can...

WMI is a huge repository. If you want to get to useful information, you will need to specify the name of a valid WMI class. Fortunately, it is easy...

WMI can also read any drive label (the name that appears next to a drive inside Explorer), and you can change the drive label, too—provided...

One little known fact is that Where-Object is a cool and simple way of removing empty objects. Let's say you want to list all network adapters...

Try this quick and simple way to find out the domain name that you are currently connected: [ADSI]"" The domain name is returned if you...

Get-Credential is a great way of prompting for credentials, but the Password you enter into the dialog will be encrypted. Sometimes, you may need a...

Whenever possible, try to avoid raw .NET access if you would like to create more readable code. For example, the following line returns the current...

You can use the -contains operator if you need to check whether a specific version of .NET is present on your system: @(dir...

Try this if you would like to get a quick overview of all installed .NET framework versions: dir $env:windir\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v* -name It...

Here is a new way of getting help for your PowerShell cmdlets: If you are inside the U.S., try this: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=190436...

Usually, to create time spans, you will use New-Timespan. However, you can also use a more developer-centric approach by converting a number to a...

However, to use developer-centric date-time methods, you will need to know them first. Here is how: Get-Date | Get-Member -memberType *Method This...

There are actually two different ways of manipulating dates and times. Here is the high-level approach to subtract 30 days from today: (Get-Date) -...

A time span represents a time interval, and you can use time spans to subtract or add time to a date. For example, to get the date seven days ago:...

Mandatory parameters are special because if you do not submit it, PowerShell will automatically ask for it. You can use mandatory parameters in your...

You should simply copy and paste the following block comment right above your functions and magically Get-Help works with your functions, too!...