I'm building an installer using advanced installer and have run into a problem trying to add dates into the log file. I tried a command using cmd which worked, however when I added it to the MSI commandline all the date values came out as blank. Below is the parameters I pass for the MSI
/L*V "C:\Log_%date:~4,2%.%date:~7,2%.%date:~10,4%-%time:~0,2%.%time:~3,2%.%time:~6,2%.log"
We are trying to make the log be Log_04.05.2019-15.03.45.log instead of Log.log since the logs get overwritten when uninstall happens or on a retry of an installation..
Advanced Installer: Sorry, I see that I must have misunderstood. You are trying to set the log file name from within Advanced
Installer. Will have a quick look. Where do you specify this command line in the tool? Please note that setting the logging policy for "Global Logging" will ensure unique log file names and that every MSI operation is logged in TMP.
Clarification: So it looks like you don't want to write to the log, but to control the file name of the log file itself?
PowerShell: I find batch files clunky with regards to stuff like this. Can you invoke the installation via Powershell? I don't really use PowerShell, but seeing as it can use .NET, maybe a simple conversion of this C# call would do the trick?
You want something like: "Log_04.05.2019-15.03.45.log", so you could perhaps try this in C#:
Console.WriteLine("Log_" + DateTime.Now.ToString("dd.MM.yyyy-HH.mm.ss") + ".log");
Here is a blog on using PowerShell with Windows Installer, see towards the bottom for this PowerShell snippet (again, I do not use PowerShell for this purpose):
$DataStamp = get-date -Format yyyyMMddTHHmmss
$logFile = '{0}-{1}.log' -f $file.fullname,$DataStamp
$MSIArguments = #(
"/i"
('"{0}"' -f $file.fullname)
"/qn"
"/norestart"
"/L*v"
$logFile
)
Start-Process "msiexec.exe" -ArgumentList $MSIArguments -Wait -NoNewWindow
Maybe also have a read about the Windows Installer PowerShell
Module (Heath Stewart) as linked to in this general purpose
answer:
How can I use powershell to run through an installer?.
Special-purpose PowerShell Module making Windows Installer operations
less clunky.
Some Links:
Various MSI logging methods: Enable installation logs for MSI installer without any command line arguments
Windows Installer Logging
I have a windows powershell script that will be available on a server to my users. I don't want them to have to go out and find the PS script, right click and click "run with powershell" or do an "open with". The Windows (Win 7 at least) default program is notepad.
I want to make a batch file to do this. I've tried:
start "c:\myfile.ps1" powershell.exe
and a few other variations, but all I've been able to do is either start powershell, or open my file in its default program, notepad.
Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!
Bonus question: If I run my batch file as administrator will it also run my PS script as administrator?
Simply use the -file argument for PowerShell.exe in your batch file:
PowerShell.exe -file c:\MyFile.ps1
Additionally, some users may have their Execution Policy set to something that would restrict scripts from being executed, so you may want to do something like:
PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -file c:\MyFile.ps1
If you would like to use start to launch it you can do so as Ansgar Wiechers noted by running:
start "" PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -file c:\MyFile.ps1
Some notes regarding using start: By default it will launch PowerShell in a separate window, and continue to execute the rest of the batch file without waiting for the PowerShell window to close. If that is undesirable you have two options. You can specify /wait which will wait for the PowerShell window to close before continuing the batch file, or you can use the /B option will will not open a new window, and will execute PowerShell in the current console window.
And finally, yes if your batch file is run under the Administrator context, PowerShell will be as well.
I'm creating PowerShell module in VS 2012. So for comfortable debugging in debug project properties I set Start action to start external program PowerShell.exe and in command line arguments I want to add
-Command { Import-Module [MyDllFileName] }. What should I write instead of [MyDllFileName]? There should be my compiled dll.
The answer propsosed in the linked question is still pretty much valid, but you have to think it through a bit.
First of all the actual answer remains: it's simply not possible to get the assembly name onto the debug command line using the project settings.
Second there are a couple of things you can do however:
The debugger command line is stored in the projectname.vcxproj.user file as the LocalDebuggerCommandArguments property. Write a script/extension/... to set that property to $(TargetPath) and off you go.
Based on the solution propsed in the other question: use an external tool with something like devenv /DebugExe powershell.exe - Command { Import-Module $(TargetPath) }.
Like 2, but place a DebugBreak() statement somwhere in your dll and just launch PowerShell, it will coma and ask to attach the debugger when it sees DebugBreak/add.
I have a command in my post-build event command line in Visual Studio 2010
Powershell -command .'$(SolutionDir)Powershell\MoveFiles.ps1'
And when the event runs, I get an error that the command "exited with code 1."
However when I run the same command on the command line (see below), with an actual directory instead of the VS2010 macro, it works perfectly.
Powershell -command .'C:\TFS\MyProject\Main\Source\Powershell\MoveFiles.ps1'
So it seems that the problem lies with how VS2010 is executing the command.
What could be causing this problem?
[UPDATE]
I have also tried changing the post-build event to:
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Powershell -command .'C:\TFS\MyProject\Main\Source\Powershell\MoveFiles.ps1' and I get the same result as described above. It works when run from the command line but not from VS 2010.
Two things:
Use the -file parameter instead of the -command parameter.
Use double quotes.
powershell.exe -file "$(SolutionDir)Powershell\MoveFiles.ps1"
If you are running on a 64-bit OS, you will need to specify the full path to the 64-bit version of powershell since Visual Studio is a 32-bit app.
There is an answer in this question that has a workaround for the problem.
How do I run a PowerShell script?
I have a script named myscript.ps1
I have all the necessary frameworks installed
I set that execution policy thing
I have followed the instructions on this MSDN help page
and am trying to run it like so:
powershell.exe 'C:\my_path\yada_yada\run_import_script.ps1' (with or without --noexit)
which returns exactly nothing, except that the file name is output.
No error, no message, nothing. Oh, when I add -noexit, the same thing happens, but I remain within PowerShell and have to exit manually.
The .ps1 file is supposed to run a program and return the error level dependent on that program's output. But I'm quite sure I'm not even getting there yet.
What am I doing wrong?
Prerequisites:
You need to be able to run PowerShell as an administrator
You need to set your PowerShell execution policy to a permissive value or be able to bypass it
Steps:
Launch Windows PowerShell as an Administrator, and wait for the PS> prompt to appear
Navigate within PowerShell to the directory where the script lives:
PS> cd C:\my_path\yada_yada\ (enter)
Execute the script:
PS> .\run_import_script.ps1 (enter)
Or: you can run the PowerShell script from the Command Prompt (cmd.exe) like this:
powershell -noexit "& ""C:\my_path\yada_yada\run_import_script.ps1""" (enter)
according to Invoking a PowerShell script from cmd.exe (or Start | Run) by Kirk Munro.
Or you could even run your PowerShell script asynchronously from your C# application.
If you are on PowerShell 2.0, use PowerShell.exe's -File parameter to invoke a script from another environment, like cmd.exe. For example:
Powershell.exe -File C:\my_path\yada_yada\run_import_script.ps1
If you want to run a script without modifying the default script execution policy, you can use the bypass switch when launching Windows PowerShell.
powershell [-noexit] -executionpolicy bypass -File <Filename>
Type:
powershell -executionpolicy bypass -File .\Test.ps1
NOTE: Here Test.ps1 is the PowerShell script.
I've had the same problem, and I tried and tried... Finally I used:
powershell.exe -noexit "& 'c:\Data\ScheduledScripts\ShutdownVM.ps1'"
And put this line in a batch-file, and this works.
If you only have PowerShell 1.0, this seems to do the trick well enough:
powershell -command - < c:\mypath\myscript.ps1
It pipes the script file to the PowerShell command line.
Pretty easy. Right click the .ps1 file in Windows and in the shell menu click on Run with PowerShell.
Open PowerShell in administrator mode
Run: set-executionpolicy unrestricted
Open a regular PowerShell window and run your script.
I found this solution following the link that was given as part of the error message: About Execution Policies
Make sure to run set-ExecutionPolicy default once you're done, or you will be exposed to security risks.
Using cmd (BAT) file:
#echo off
color 1F
echo.
C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "PrepareEnvironment.ps1"
:EOF
echo Waiting seconds
timeout /t 10 /nobreak > NUL
If you need run as administrator:
Make a shortcut pointed to the command prompt (I named it
Administrative Command Prompt)
Open the shortcut's properties and go to the Compatibility tab
Under the Privilege Level section, make sure the checkbox next to "Run this program as an administrator" is checked
An easy way is to use PowerShell ISE, open script, run and invoke your script, function...
In case you want to run a PowerShell script with Windows Task Scheduler, please follow the steps below:
Create a task
Set Program/Script to Powershell.exe
Set Arguments to -File "C:\xxx.ps1"
It's from another answer, How do I execute a PowerShell script automatically using Windows task scheduler?.
If your script is named with the .ps1 extension and you're in a PowerShell window, you just run ./myscript.ps1 (assuming the file is in your working directory).
This is true for me anyway on Windows 10 with PowerShell version 5.1 anyway, and I don't think I've done anything to make it possible.
Give the path of the script, that is, path setting by cmd:
$> . c:\program file\prog.ps1
Run the entry point function of PowerShell:
For example, $> add or entry_func or main
You can run from cmd like this:
type "script_path" | powershell.exe -c -
Use the -File parameter in front of the filename. The quotes make PowerShell think it is a string of commands.
I've just found the method what Microsoft do when we right click on a ps1 script and click on "Run with PowerShell" :
"C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" "-Command" "if((Get-ExecutionPolicy ) -ne 'AllSigned') { Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process Bypass }; & 'C:\Users\USERNAME\Desktop\MYSCRIPT.ps1'"
With the appropriate execution policy, you should just be able to call the file directly and Windows will associate it with PowerShell
C:\my_path\yada_yada\run_import_script.ps1
That does not do so well with arguments. The real answer to your question is that you are missing the & to say "execute this"
powershell.exe '& C:\my_path\yada_yada\run_import_script.ps1'