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As pointed out in a previous tip, PowerShell 3.0 now supports the use of validators for variable assignments. This is a great way of ensuring that a...

Most high-level cmdlets dealing with services have built-in code to wait for state changes. So when you run Restart-Service to restart a service,...

In a previous tip we illustrated how in PowerShell 3.0, you can now use validators to restrict the data that can be assigned to a variable. Here is...

In a previous tip we explained how you can enumerate who is connected to your machine via PowerShell Remoting, and how you can terminate individual...

To kill a remote PowerShell session that runs on your machine, you could kill the wsmprovhost.exe task associated with it, but identifying the...

Ever wanted to find out who is running a (hidden) remote PowerShell on your machine? Here's a simple one-liner: Get-WSManInstance -ConnectionURI...

When you assign a mandatory data type to a variable, then this will improve script robustness: whenever a value is (accidentally) assigned to that...

An often overlooked feature in PowerShell is the ability to make a function parameter both optional and mandatory - at the same time. Let's for...

When you use Windows Forms dialogs and windows, you may have noticed that they show differently, depending on whether you launched your script from...

PowerShell modules extend functionality by adding more cmdlets and/or providers. Modules support copy-and-paste deployment...

PowerShell can validate parameters using regular expressions. This example accepts only computer names that start with "PC" followed by...

Sometimes you may want to create a script block dynamically from a string. This could be necessary to include local variable content, for example....

Script blocks are simply pieces of PowerShell code. You probably use them all the time in scripts and functions. A script block is defined by braces...

PowerShell can display custom dialogs easily. So if you're not satisfied with the dialog buttons available in a standard MsgBox dialog, simply...

Ever needed to know the current screen resolution or related screen information? Here's an easy way of getting that information: Add-Type...

Adam Driscoll, another PowerShell MVP, has published a function called Get-MemberBody to PoshCode: http://poshcode.org/4127. In conjunction with the...

Whenever you want PowerShell to configure or execute code automatically on launch, the code needs to go into one of four profile scripts. They...

Here is a snippet that verifies a local user account. Simply submit a username and a password. You get back either $true or $false: $username =...

In a previous tip we talked about using PowerShell Remoting to execute code on a remote machine, and how to use "using:" to carry over...

Get-ChildItem supports basic wildcards, but it does not support the rich feature set of regular expressions. If you combine Get-ChildItem with...

One common problem with enabling PowerShell Remoting on your box is public networks. As long as there are active network connection labeled as...

When you use PowerShell Remoting to execute scripts and commands on another machine, you may have run into an issue like this: $class =...

If you want to replace variables in a PowerShell script, in PowerShell ISE 3.0 you can use the following function: function Replace-Variable {...

PowershellMagazine.com has prepared a set of very useful quick reference sheets for PowerShell 3.0, the ISE editor and more. Microsoft now offers...

In a previous tip we illustrated how you can use Start-Process to launch an elevated PowerShell from within your script to do elevated tasks. The...

Active Directory and other services sometimes use a custom GUID format. To convert a GUID to that format, all blocks of the GUID need to be...