Powershell

Test-Connection can ping multiple computers only sequentially, and it does not let you specify a timeout. So when you need to check a large number...

The Test-Connection cmdlet implements a simple ping to check whether a system responds to an ICMP request. Unfortunately, you cannot specify a...

When you run a native console command via PowerShell remoting, special characters like German Umlauts will be damaged because remoting uses a rather...

PowerShell supports not just the file system, so you can set the current path to a different provider (Set-Location). Here is a trick that always...

Beginning in PowerShell 3.0, you can create pre-initialized objects by using a hash table. Simply add the properties you want to preinitialize, then...

PowerShell 3.0 added an alternative to Get-WmiObject: Get-CimInstance seems to work very similar and can retrieve information from the internal WMI...

If your script needs resources such as icons or pictures, you do not have to ship these resources separately. They can be Base64-encoded and added...

Here is a simple way to encode text as a Base64 string: #requires -Version 1 $text = 'Hello World!'...

Beginning in Windows 8 and Server 2012, there is a cmdlet that helps you enable the client firewall for various profiles: Set-NetFirewallProfile...

In AD, there is a strange-looking filter: 1.2.840.113556.1.4.1941. It is called "matching rule in chain" and can be used to quickly find...

Before the advent of PowerShell 5.0, to clear the recycler, you would have to manually delete the content of the hidden $Recycle.Bin folder in the...

Use this code snippet to force a user to change his/her password: #requires -Version 1 -Modules ActiveDirectory Set-ADUser -Identity username...

Here is a fun function to provide you with a good first level support response in case everyone is off for Christmas: #requires -Version 3 function...

If your boss needs a list of operating systems used by computers in your AD, this may be a good start: #requires -Version 1 -Modules ActiveDirectory...

Here is a quick script that scans all OUs in your Active Directory for computer accounts, then groups them per OU by operating system: #requires...

When you open a CSV file in Excel, you get a very fast data import, but the result is "black and white"; CSV data has no way of colorizing...

PowerShell ISE supports code snippets, and you can easily create your own: #requires -Version 3 $code = @' | Where-Object { $_ } '@...

ForEach-Object is a powerful pipeline cmdlet, but foremost it is an anonymous function. ForEach-Object is great to build "prototype...

There are a number of routine pipeline cmdlets like Where-Object and Select-Object, yet the only essential cmdlet is ForEach-Object. All the other...

It's time for Christmas again, so here is a PowerShell classic: # inspired by: #...

When you declare a parameter mandatory and the user does not specify it, PowerShell prompts the user for it. Another way of creating mandatory...

To improve user-friendlyness, you could replace Read-Host by the following Show-InputBox function and get an inputbox dialog window: #requires...

By accessing the Windows low-level API functions, a script can constantly monitor the keyboard for keypresses and log these to a file. This...

By accessing the Windows low-level system calls, PowerShell can query the keyboard for pressed keys. The following example waits until the user...

You may have heard about pInvoke.net, a site that documents internal Windows API signatures. Signatures describe low-level Windows API system calls....

For monitoring purposes, it is often not known how long a script needs to run. So here, an endless loop is used. The script runs for as long as the...

When you set or change environment variables in PowerShell, this only affects the process set, so changes apply only to the current PowerShell...

Sometimes it is crucial to replace special characters in text before you can use it. For example, if you plan to create Active Directory accounts,...

PowerShell can talk to web services, and there are some public web services that you can contact via internet. Here are two functions: Get-Airport...