Is there a possibility to dynamically add the .ps1 filename to the scripts help section?
I am trying to put examples in the help section of my script and always show the current filename, in case a customer changes it.
Like this:
<#
.EXAMPLE
.\$name -param1 xxx
\#>
and if i run
get-help .\my_script.ps1 -examples
the output should look like
EXAMPLE
.\my_script.ps1 -param1 xxx
I am not sure if this is possible inside of a comment
but get-help has the possibility to detect the filename
if you run
get-help .\filename.ps1
its name is added to the syntax section
you could also run
get-help .\filename.ps1 | select *
and you'll see that the name is part of the output so maybe this is usable somehow?
thanks
To produce the script's path and filename
$pscommandpath
If you want JUST the filename:
Split-Path -leaf $PSCommandpath
Related
It is easy to view the command history of powershell, but sometimes, one might forget to record some important output of the commands, and wish to have a look back into what was on the screen?
Is the history of outputs automatically saved somewhere?
By default, PowerShell records history of commands, but not their output.
You can request PowerShell to record screen output into a file. Use Start-Transcript and Stop-Transcript for this.
Example
Start-Transcript
'do stuff here'
Get-Service X*
'do some more stuff here'
Stop-Transcript
If you want PowerShell to automatically record all your stuff every time, you can add Start-Transcript in your PowerShell profile (use $PROFILE system variable to find path to your profile script, then add Start-Transcript into it)
By default, a new text file is created every time you start transcript. If you want to keep adding output into the same file, then Start-Transcript -Path C:\ExistingTranscript.txt -Append
I have been googling and trying different options but I didn't really find anything useful or that worked.
My question is how to set default open location for windows PowerShell, I want it to always open c:/programming/ folder when I start it from like start menu, instead what it opens now.
I'm using windows 10.
Thnx for help
the usual way to tell PoSh where to start up at is to add a Set-Location line to one of your powershell profile files. i added ...
Set-Location D:\Data\Scripts
... to my CurrentUserCurrentHost file. you can learn more about profiles with ...
Get-Help about_Profiles
you can find your version of the profile i used thus ...
$profile |
Select-Object -Property *
please note that none of these files exist by default. you will likely need to make one. if you do be sure it is a plain text file, not a .doc file! [grin]
I have a Powershell script I would like to make "public", meaning I want to be able to execute the script from any folder as you can do from the command prompt.
Is this possible?
You can also add an alias in your local powershell profile
Alias Example in profile
Set-Alias hello C:\scriptlocation\script.ps1
Now anytime you type hello, the script.ps1 will run.
More info on the various profiles that the alias can be saved to.
https://devblogs.microsoft.com/scripting/understanding-the-six-powershell-profiles/
You can explore the use of your powershell profile to achieve this. See: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_profiles.
If the script is just a function or some variables, you can copy and paste the content into your profile.
Alternatively, if the script represents a standalone unit of code you want to keep separate, you could import it into your main profile as such:
get-content -path C:\blahblahblah\scriptName.ps1 -raw | invoke-expression
Finally, if you are writing an "advanced" powershell function, or are trying to do things officially, you could investigate the use of powershell modules as a way to export your function. See: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_modules
#Lee_Dailey's answer of adding the script to your path is also viable. If you want to add a lot of scripts, one way to do that is to add a folder like C:/PowershellScripts/, to your path, save your scripts there, and then you'll be able to invoke your .PS1 file from anywhere.
Name the script something meaningful ie: awesome.bat Save it in a dir and add the dir to windows env. Command awesome will be globally available.
I have a situation where I am trying to create a zip file from the command line, but I am trying to add a file which starts with a dot.
powershell Compress-Archive -Path .\Dist\._test.txt -DestinationPath .\test
But this gives an error Could not find item Dist\._test.txt
How can I get this powershell command to include files named this way?
Please can you try like this, i had test the same and its working fine
powershell Compress-Archive -Path "C:\location\.test.png" -DestinationPath "C:\location\destination"
Explorer was set to show hidden items. For some reason it wasn't giving a visual indicator that this was a hidden file. I removed the checkbox for "Hidden" and it worked fine.
I'm pretty new to scripting (especially powershell) and new to Stack Overflow, so please, excuse my ignorance and please bear with me! I will do my best to specifically explain what I'm looking to do and hopefully someone can give a detailed response of what I could do to make it work..
Intended Process/Work Flow: A co-worker downloads "Install.zip" file that has all the necessary files. This "Install.zip" file contains "Setup.bat" file (for computer config), "Fubar.zip" file, 2 powershell scripts, and a custom powerplan (.pow) file. Once downloaded they will run the "Setup.bat" file and it will pretty much do all the work. Inside that batch file it calls 2 powershell scripts. 1)"Download.ps1" - Downloads some other files from the web. 2.) "Unzip.ps1" - Unzips "Fubar.zip" and places contents in another folder - C:\TEST\
Issue: I've recently gotten familiar with using %~dp0 in batch files. I want to make sure that the location where my co-worker initially downloads the Install.zip doesn't throw off my batch file. So for example.. some people will download .zip files to the "Downloads" folder, then extract contents to proper destination. Others will download the .zip to a specific folder, then extract it within that folder. [Ex: C:\Alex\Install.zip --Extraction-- C:\Alex\Install\((Content))] So I tried to not pre-define file locations due to the variables. I've gotten the %~dp0 to work everywhere I need it to in my batch file. The only issue I have is getting my powershell scripts to use same working directory that my batch file is in. *My batch file and my powershell scripts will always be in the same directory. (Wherever that may be)
Goal: I want my powershell script ("Unzip.ps1") to look for my "Fubar.zip" file in the same directory that its currently running in. (Again - Wherever that may be) I basically want to remove any variables that may throw off the powershell script. I want it to always use it's current working directory to locate Fubar.zip. I basically need powershell to either use its current working directory OR figure out a way to have it pull its current working directory and use that to look for "Fubar.zip".
my current "Unzip.ps1" powershell script is extremely basic.
Unzip.ps1:Expand-Archive -Force c:\ALEX\Install.zip\Fubar.zip -dest c:\TEST\
Batch File Command that calls the Unzip.ps1 script: Powershell.exe -executionpolicy remotesigned -File %~dp0UNZIP.ps1
Please keep in mind, I'm just learning scripting and I'm teaching myself. My knowledge is limited, but I've made it this far and this is the only part I'm stuck on. Please give clear responses. Any help or advice would be extremely appreciated! Using PowerShell 5.0
Thanks in advance!
The equivalent of cmd.exe's %dp0 in PowerShell v3+ is $PSScriptRoot:
Both constructs expand to the absolute path of the folder containing the batch file / PowerShell script at hand.
(The only difference is that %dp0 contains a trailing \, unlike $PSScriptRoot).
Thus, to make your Unzip.ps1 script reference Fubar.zip in the same folder that the script itself is located in, use:
Expand-Archive -Force $PSScriptRoot\Fubar.zip -dest c:\TEST\
Constructing the path as $PSScriptRoot\Fubar.zip - i.e., blindly joining the variable value and the filename with \ - is a pragmatic shortcut for what is more properly expressed as (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot Fubar.zip). It is safe to use in this case, but see the comments for a discussion about when Join-Path should be used.
The automatic $PSScriptRoot variable requires PS v3+; in v2-, use
Expand-Archive -Force ((Split-Path $MyInvocation.Mycommand.Path) + '\Fubar.zip') -dest c:\TEST\
From your description, I gather that Fubar.zip and Unzip.ps1 are in the same directory. We'll pretend this directory is C:\Users\Me\Temp; although I understand that may vary.
Powershell's working directory will be the directory you're in (if called from CMD) when you launch; otherwise, it'll be from $env:UserProfile. Since the .bat file always call Unzip.ps1 from the directory that it's in (C:\Users\Me\Temp), powershell.exe will find it with this command (you can still use %~dp0 here; it's not hurting anything):
powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -File Unzip.ps1
Inside of Unzip.ps1, you'll use Get-Location:
Expand-Archive -Force "$(Get-Location)\Fubar.zip" -dest c:\TEST\
However, if the .bat file does a cd into another directory, this won't work. From your %~dp0UNZIP.ps1 example, I assume this isn't the case, but let's address it anyway. If this is the case, you need to process from where the location of the script is. So for this call the full/relational path to the .ps1:
powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -File C:\Users\Me\Temp\Unzip.ps1
Then, your Unzip.ps1 will need to look like this:
Expand-Archive -Force "${PSScriptRoot}\Fubar.zip" -dest 'C:\TEST\'
Alternatively, you can also do some fancy path splitting, as #JosefZ suggested. The $PSCommandPath and $MyInvocation variables contain the full path to your script; which you should familiarize yourself with:
$location = Split-Path $PSCommandPath -Parent
$location = Split-Path $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path -Parent
Expand-Archive -Force "${location}\Fubar.zip" -dest 'C:\TEST\'
Note: Of course, you wouldn't set $location twice. I'm just showing you two ways to set it.
I hope this helps!
Prior to Powershell 3
$currentScriptPath = Split-Path ((Get-Variable MyInvocation -Scope 0).Value).MyCommand.Path
Otherwise, $PsScriptRoot will work. If you're going to depend on it, though, I'd make sure you mark the script with #Requires -version 3
I'd advise against changing the PWD unless you must. Which is to say, reference the variable directly.