powertips

The free RSAT tools come with the ActiveDirectory PowerShell module. You can use the cmdlets from this module to retrieve AD information such as...

Whenever you write information to disk, it makes sense to use unique temporary file names. If you use static file names and run your code more than...

If you’d like to generate super large files for stress test purposes, you don’t have to waste time pumping data into a file to make it...

Here is a rather unusual use case for function parameters: a user can pass an output command: function Get-ProcessList { param ( [string]...

When you write text content to a file, PowerShell cmdlets let you specify the encoding. Encoding determines how characters are stored, and when...

In the previous tip we illustrated how you can find out the direct and indirect group memberships for a user. If you’d like to know the...

In the previous tip we illustrated how you can use the cmdlets in the ActiveDirectory module to find all direct and indirect memberships for an...

The ActiveDirectory module (part of the free RSAT tools) provides a number of AD cmdlets. One of these can dump all direct group memberships, for...

Here is a simple example using the PowerShell progress bar. The code displays a progress bar counting down a break. Simply adjust the number of...

Iain Brighton has created a free PowerShell module called „PScribo“ that can be used to easily create documents and reports in text, html, or Word...

Iain Brighton has created a free PowerShell module called „PScribo“ that can be used to easily create documents and reports in text, html, or Word...

Iain Brighton has created a free PowerShell module called „PScribo“ that can be used to easily create documents and reports in text, html, or Word...

Iain Brighton has created a free PowerShell module called „PScribo“ that can be used to easily create documents and reports in text, html, or Word...

Iain Brighton has created a free PowerShell module called „PScribo“ that can be used to easily create documents and reports in text, html, or Word...

Here’s a quick tip how to switch variable content in one line: $a = 1 $b = 2 # switch variable content $a, $b = $b, $a $a $b ReTweet this...

Whenever a function returns objects with more than four properties, PowerShell formats the output as list, else as table. Before you learn a new...

If a PowerShell function needs to return more than one information kind, always make sure you wrap the pieces of information inside a rich object....

By default, when a PowerShell function exits, it “forgets” all internal variables. However, there is a workaround that creates...

If you find yourself always using the same parameter values over again, try using PowerShell default parameters. Here is how: # hash table # Key = #...

When it comes to reading large log files and, for example, extracting error messages, PowerShell can either use the low memory pipeline, or the high...

Most things can be handled by built-in PowerShell commands, but if that’s not enough, you can always resort to the internal Windows API. For...

This is part 7 of our mini-series covering PowerShell script block logging. We now just need some cleanup tool that can clear the script block...

This is part 6 of our mini-series covering PowerShell script block logging, and it’s time to address a final thing: when you execute very...

This is part 5 of our mini-series covering PowerShell script block logging. We are almost done, and what’s missing is a better way to read...

This is part 4 of our mini-series covering PowerShell script block logging. By now, you know how to read logged PowerShell code, and how to turn on...

This is part 3 of our mini-series covering PowerShell script block logging. By default, PowerShell logs only code that is considered security...

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Beginning with PowerShell 5, the PowerShell engine starts to log executed commands and scripts. By default, only commands considered potentially...

If you need numbers with leading zeroes, for example for server names, here are two approaches. First, you can turn the number into a string, then...

If you’d like to show a default MessageBox with some buttons for the user to click, try this function: function Show-MessageBox {...