Save property with comma to CSV - powershell

Question

I'm creating a CSV file in powershell.
Right now my code is:
Add-content -Path $filePath -Value "$($variable.Property)"
This works fine for the most part EXCEPT if the property contained a comma ie. "test, organization".
When I open up the CSV, the comma is taken with it (which is what i want) causing a extra separation. How do save "test, organization" to one column?

Answer 1

Referring to the documentation for Export-CSV, you will need to use a different delimiter, like a semi-colon.
When you read the CSV you should specify the delimiter as well: Import-CSV.

Answer 2

Try to quote your properties:
Add-content -Path $filePath -Value "'$($variable.Property)'"
Or use one of the built-in CSV commands, which automatically quote all values:
$foo.Bar | Export-Csv -Path $filePath
$foo.Bar| ConvertTo-Csv | Out-File -Path $filePath
If you just want to avoid issues with commas, you can change the delimiter between fields:
$foo | Export-Csv -Path $filePath -Delimiter '|'

Answer 3

Here is an article on how to use out-file or add-member with some cells of the row having commas in the variable values and some not.
https://imjustanengineer.blogspot.com/2022/01/so-youre-trying-to-use-powershell-out.html
Here is a code snippet, a more detailed explanation with a full working function is in the link. $outputArr is an array of all the lines of csv data you want to write to the csv. The loop checks each line to see if it contains commas inside of the individual cell entries and puts quotes around that entry if it does. If it does not, no adjustment is necessary and then a new array is appended to afterwards.
$index = 0;
foreach ($outputTemp in $outputArr)
{
if ($outputTemp.ToString().Contains(","))
{
$output += "`"$outputTemp`",";
}
else
{
$output += $outputTemp + ",";
}
$index++;
if ($index -eq $outputArr.Count)
{
if ($output.EndsWith(","))
{
$output = $output.Remove($output.Length - 1);
}
}
}

Answer 4

I found a diabolically simply answer after I opened a csv file in Excel and added text and commas to one column. When I saved, closed and reopened, the column still had all the words and commas properly formatted. So, then I opened the file in notepad++ and this is what I found:
column1text, column2text,"column3,text,with,commas"
In case it's not clear, and it took me a fair bit to recognize the little detail that makes all the difference, the opening double quote cannot have a space after the preceding comma.
column1text, column2text, "column3,text,with,commas"
splits all the words into separate columns because there is a space between
column2text, "column3,etc"
Take that space away
column2text,"column3,etc"
and everything within the double quotes stays in one column.
Example using active directory distinguishedName such as CN=somename,OU=Domain Controllers,DC=foo,DC=bar
$computers = get-adcomputer -filter *
foreach ($computer in $computers) {
$deviceName = $computer.Name
$dn = '"' + $computer.DistinguishedName + '"'
$guid = $computer.objectGUID
$lastLogon = $computer.LastLogonDate
$serialNumber = $computer.serialNumber
$whenCreated = $computer.whenCreated
"$guid, $lastLogon, $deviceName, $serialNumber, $whenCreated,$dn" | add-content "c:\temp\filename.csv"
}
It does not work if a space is added between $whenCreated, and $dn like so:
"$guid, $lastLogon, $deviceName, $serialNumber, $whenCreated, $dn" | add-content "c:\temp\filename.csv"
This took up an afternoon, so I hope this saves somebody some time and frustration.