PowerShell logging function is not writing data - powershell

Question

I am trying to create a reusable log function for a project I am working on in PowerShell. I am a novice with PowerShell so I am having problems figuring out why my function is not producing expected results. I am attempting to create a function that send NTFS/ACL details to a log file. This function will be incorporated in to a larger script that will change some NTFS/ACL/ACE folder rights. I have excluded some of the other code for simplification (changing rights).
Below is my current stripped down code. When it runs, it creates the log file but the file is empty. If I move the line of code that creates the log inside the log function, it creates the log file with data but it is not formatted correctly - it writes the heading (object attribute names) on one line, then the data, then then a new line with the heading, then the data. I want it to write the heading, then a line of data, line of data, .... Before I created a function for this, it worked as expected. I am a novice at PowerShell so I may not understand how to pass info in and out of the function. My Code:
#variables
$rootDir = "\\server1\share1"
$logDir = "c:\temp"
$date = (Get-Date -Format "MMddyyyy-HHmm")
$logData =#()
#My Logging Function
Function CreateLog {
#create and object to store attributes
$logObj = New-Object -TypeName psobject -Property #{
FolderPath = $Folder.Fullname
IdentityReference = $ACL.IdentityReference.ToString()
folder = $Folder[0]
FileSystemRights = $ACL.FileSystemRights.ToString()
InheritanceFlags = $ACL.InheritanceFlags.ToString()
}
$Folders=(Get-ChildItem -Path $rootDir -Directory -Recurse)
foreach ($Folder in $Folders){
$ACLs = get-acl $Folder.fullname | ForEach-Object {$_.Access}
Foreach ($ACL in $ACLs){
CreateLog
if($ACL.FileSystemRights -eq "FullControl"){
Write-Host "DO SOMETHING"
}
}
$logData | select folder,IdentityReference,FileSystemRights,InheritanceFlags,FolderPath | Format-Table -Wrap | Out-File $logDir\testlog-$date.log -Append

Answer 1

I assume you're looking for something like this:
#variables
$rootDir = "\\server1\share1"
$logDir = "c:\temp"
$date = Get-Date -Format "MMddyyyy-HHmm"
#My Logging Function
Function CreateLog {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[System.Security.AccessControl.FileSystemAccessRule] $AccessRule,
[Parameter(Mandatory)]
[string] $Folder
)
[pscustomobject]#{
FolderPath = $Folder
IdentityReference = $AccessRule.IdentityReference
FileSystemRights = $AccessRule.FileSystemRights
InheritanceFlags = $AccessRule.InheritanceFlags
}
}
Get-ChildItem -Path $rootDir -Directory -Recurse | ForEach-Object {
foreach($rule in ($_ | Get-Acl).Access) {
CreateLog -AccessRule $rule -Folder $_.FullName
if($rule.FileSystemRights.HasFlag([Security.AccessControl.FileSystemRights]::FullControl)) {
# Do something here
}
}
} | Export-Csv $logDir\testlog-$date.log -NoTypeInformation
Your current code has a few syntax errors (missing }), your function seem to be assigning the objects to $logObj but then $logObj is never outputted from it, hence producing no output.
Your $logData array is defined but never used, leaving aside is not needed at all in this case. Your function should, ideally, take the arguments for the Access Rules and Path, see Functions with Parameters to learn more.
Format-Table as well as the other Format-* cmdlets should be primarily used for console display, should not be used for exporting data. In this case you should use Export-Csv, this way your data preserves its structure and can be imported back at ease, be filtered and be sorted.