Powershell: Output a search from a csv to a small gui - powershell

Question

maybe one of you experts can help a complete newbie (I don't know if what I want is even feasible).
Let's assume I have a CSV file with various data. (see csv_screenshot)csv_screenshot
I import this data via Powershell into a small GUI . How can I make it so that when I search for "Paris", I really only get the output for Paris in the GUI as a list view like this (see powershell_screenshot)
powershell_screenshot
Currently the output in the GUI looks like this (see current_result.png). How do I get it nicely formatted as a list in there. I really want to insert it like this (via Out Grid View it is no problem)
current_result.png
[void] [System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.Windows.Forms")
[void] [System.Windows.Forms.Application]::EnableVisualStyles();
function search_csv {
$Input = $textbox_Search.text
$Input = "*$Input*"
$Input_Result = import-csv -path C:\Users\check.csv -Header "Location", "Client", "Mobile Device"
$output_TextBox.text = $Input_Result -like $Input
}
$search_csvtool = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Form
$search_csvtool.Text = "CSV Search"
$search_csvtool.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(674,500)
$search_csvtool.FormBorderStyle ="FixedDialog"
$search_csvtool.TopMost = $true
$search_csvtool.MaximizeBox = $false
$search_csvtool.MinimizeBox = $true
$search_csvtool.ControlBox = $true
$search_csvtool.StartPosition = "CenterScreen"
$search_csvtool.Font = "Courier New"
$label_Search = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Label
$label_Search.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(195,18)
$label_Search.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(265,32)
$label_Search.TextAlign ="MiddleCenter"
$label_Search.Text = "Please enter "
$search_csvtool.Controls.Add($label_Search)
$textbox_Search = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.TextBox
$textbox_Search.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(195,50)
$textbox_Search.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(266,37)
$search_csvtool.Controls.Add($textbox_Search)
$button_Search = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Button
$button_Search.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(195,80)
$button_Search.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(266,24)
$button_Search.TextAlign = "MiddleCenter"
$button_Search.Text = "Search"
$button_Search.Add_Click({search_csv})
$search_csvtool.Controls.Add($button_Search)
$output_TextBox = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.TextBox
$output_TextBox.Multiline = $true;
$output_TextBox.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(16,130)
$output_TextBox.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(627,314)
$output_TextBox.ScrollBars = "Vertical"
$output_TextBox.ReadOnly = $true;
$search_csvtool.Controls.Add($output_TextBox)
$search_csvtool.Add_Shown({$search_csvtool.Activate()})
[void] $search_csvtool.ShowDialog()

Answer 1

Ok, so here's what I meant in my comment:
Start the code with
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms
[System.Windows.Forms.Application]::EnableVisualStyles()
$csvData = Import-Csv -path 'C:\Users\check.csv' -Header "Location", "Client", "Mobile Device"
function search_csv {
$searchThis = $textbox_Search.Text.Trim()
# use $script: scoping here to reference the $csvData variable
$data = $script:csvData | Where-Object {$_.Location -like "*$searchThis*"}
if ($data) {
$output_TextBox.Text = ($data | Format-List | Out-String).Trim()
}
else {
$output_TextBox.Text = "Not found.."
}
}
Then create the rest of the form as you did.
Important: Destroy the form when done with a last new code line:
$search_csvtool.Dispose()
You should then have this result:
As per your comment to empty the textbox when nothing (or just whitespace) has been entered, you could change the function to:
function search_csv {
$searchThis = $textbox_Search.Text.Trim()
# use $script: scoping here to reference the $csvData variable
$data = $script:csvData | Where-Object {$_.Location -like "*$searchThis*"}
if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($searchThis)) {
$output_TextBox.Clear()
}
elseif ($data) {
$output_TextBox.Text = ($data | Format-List | Out-String).Trim()
}
else {
$output_TextBox.Text = "Not found.."
}
}
However, as postanote already commented, it would be much better to simply disable the search button and only enable it when something other that whitespace has been entered.
To do that, you need to add an eventhandler to the textbox:
$textbox_Search = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.TextBox
$textbox_Search.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(195,50)
$textbox_Search.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(266,37)
$textbox_Search.Add_TextChanged({
# enable the button when there is at least one non-whitespace character present
$button_Search.Enabled = $this.Text -match '\S'
# or use
# $button_Search.Enabled = (-not [string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($this.Text))
})
$search_csvtool.Controls.Add($textbox_Search)
And initialize the button to be disabled at startup:
$button_Search = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Button
$button_Search.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(195,80)
$button_Search.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(266,24)
$button_Search.TextAlign = "MiddleCenter"
$button_Search.Text = "Search"
# initialize to Disabled; will be enabled as soon as there is text entered in the $textbox_Search
$button_Search.Enabled = $false
$button_Search.Add_Click({search_csv})
$search_csvtool.Controls.Add($button_Search)
Inside an event handler, you can refer to the object itself using automatic variable $this

Answer 2

You should be able to go thru your string output line by line and change this.
That stated, you probably won't like how it looks. Normalized colons will probably look better.
This code should do the trick. I'll let you be the judge of if it looks "better"
$dataLines = ($data | Format-List | Out-String).Trim() -split '(?>\r\n|\n)'
$dataText = #(
foreach ($dataLine in $dataLines) {
$dataLine -replace '\s{1,}\:', ':'
}
) -join [Environment]::Newline
$output_TextBox.Text = $dataText