$npp = "C:\Program Files\Notepad++\notepad++.exe";
$myfiles = #(
"C:\bad boys\file1.txt",
"C:\bad boys\file2.txt",
"C:\bad boys\file3.txt"
)
foreach ($file in $myfiles) {
Start-Process -FilePath $npp -ArgumentList "$file" -PassThru -NoNewWindow | out-null
}
This almost works... except, It doesn't open in notepad++ because it sees the space in the file name and thinks this is where the file path ends... thus, i am unable to open my file list. Any Ideas how to fix? What i get instead is notepad++ asking many times if I want to create the file "C:\bad"
tl;dr
While Joel Coehoorn's helpful answer provides an effective solution to your Start-Process problem (which stems from the bug detailed below), you can simplify your code to:
foreach ($file in $myfiles) {
# Note: | Out-Null is a trick that makes calling *GUI* applications
# *synchronous* (makes PowerShell wait for them to exit).
& $npp $file | Out-Null
}
You're seeing a long-standing bug in Start-Process that causes it to blindly space-concatenate its -ArgumentList (-Args) arguments without using required embedded double-quoting for arguments with spaces when forming the single string encoding all arguments that is passed to the target executable behind the scenes.
See GitHub issue #5576, which also discusses that a fix will require a new parameter so as not to break backward compatibility.
For that reason, the required embedded double-quoting must be performed manually as shown in Joel's answer.
When passing multiple arguments, it is ultimately easier to pass a single string to -ArgumentList, with embedded double-quoting as necessary - essentially by formulating a string similar to how you would pass multiple arguments from cmd.exe:
E.g., if you were to pass two file paths with spaces to Notepad++ at once, you would do:
Start-Process -Wait -FilePath $npp -ArgumentList "`"C:\bad boys\file1.txt`" `"C:\bad boys\file2.txt`""
Alternatively, since your argument string doesn't require string interpolation, you could use a verbatim (single-quoted) string instead, which avoids the need for escaping the embedded " as `":
Start-Process -Wait -FilePath $npp -ArgumentList '"C:\bad boys\file1.txt`" `"C:\bad boys\file2.txt"'
Using a here-string is yet another option that avoids the need to escape, and can additionally make the call more readable (also works with single quotes (#'<newline>...<newline>'#):
Start-Process -Wait -FilePath $npp -ArgumentList #"
"C:\bad boys\file1.txt" "C:\bad boys\file2.txt"
"#
Also note the overall simplification of the Start-Process call:
Use of -Wait to ensure synchronous execution (waiting for Notepad++ to exit before continuing).
It looks like this is what you tried to do by combining -PassThru with piping to Out-Null, but that doesn't actually work, because that only waits for Start-Process itself to exit (which itself - unlike the launched process - executes synchronously anyway).
The omission of the unnecessary -NoNewWindow parameter, which only applies to starting console applications (in order to prevent opening a new console window); Notepad++ is a GUI application.
Note that the only good reason to use Start-Process here - rather than direct invocation - is the need for synchronous execution: Start-Process -Wait makes launching GUI applications synchronous (too), whereas with direct invocation only console applications execute synchronously.
If you didn't need to wait for Notepad++ to exit, direct invocation would make your quoting headaches would go away, as the required embedded quoting is then automatically performed behind the scenes:[1]
foreach ($file in $myfiles) {
& $npp $file # OK, even with values with spaces
}
However, the | Out-Null trick can be used effectively in direct invocation to make calling GUI applications synchronous[2], which leads us to the solution at the top:
foreach ($file in $myfiles) {
& $npp $file | Out-Null # Wait for Notepad++ to exit.
}
[1] However, up to at least PowerShell 7.2.x, other quoting headaches can still arise, namely with empty-string arguments and arguments whose values contain " chars. - see this answer.
[2] Out-Null automatically makes PowerShell wait for the process in the previous pipeline segment to exit, so as to ensure that all input can be processed - and it does so irrespective of whether the process is a console-subsystem or GUI-subsystem application. Since GUI applications are normally detached from the calling console and therefore produce no output there, Out-Null has no ill effects. In the rare event that a GUI application does explicitly attach to the calling console and produce output there, you can use | Write-Output instead (which also works if there's no output, but is perhaps more confusing).
Try quotes around the file paths within the string data:
$myfiles = #(
"`"C:\bad boys\file.txt`"",
"`"C:\bad boys\file2.txt`"",
"`"C:\bad boys\file3.txt`""
)
This is a deceptively complex issue, but I'll do my best to explain the problem.
I have a simple wrapper script as follows called VSYSCopyPathToClipboard.ps1:
param (
[Parameter(Mandatory,Position = 0)]
[String[]]
$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
[Switch]
$FilenamesOnly,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
[Switch]
$Quotes
)
if($FilenamesOnly){
Copy-PathToClipboard -Path $Path -FilenamesOnly
}else{
Copy-PathToClipboard -Path $Path
}
Copy-PathToClipboard is just a function I have available that copies paths/filenames to the clipboard. It's irrelevant to the issue, just assume it does what it says.
The way the wrapper is called is through the Windows right click context menu. This involves creating a key here: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shell\.
Mine looks like this:
The command is as follows:
"C:\Tools\scripts\BIN\SingleInstanceAccumulator.exe" -q:' "-c:pwsh -noprofile -windowstyle hidden -Command "C:\Tools\scripts\VSYSCopyPathToClipboard.ps1" -Path $files" "%1"
And similarly for the "Copy as Filename":
"C:\Tools\scripts\BIN\SingleInstanceAccumulator.exe" -q:' "-c:pwsh -noprofile -windowstyle hidden -Command "C:\Tools\scripts\VSYSCopyPathToClipboard.ps1" -FilenamesOnly -Path $files" "%1"
I am using a tool here called SingleInstanceAccumulator. This allows me to pass multiple selected files to a single instance of PowerShell. If I didn't use this program and ran my command with multiple files selected it would launch multiple instances of PowerShell for each file selected. It's the next best thing to creating your own shell extension and implementing IPC etc.
This has been working great until today when I encountered a file with a single quote in its filename (I.E.testing'video.mov) and the entire script failed. It's failing because the delimiter I'm using with SingleInstanceAccumulator is also a single quote and PowerShell sees no matching quote... thus errors out.
I could fix this if my variables were static by just doubling up the offending single quote, but since my parameters are files I have no opportunity to escape the single quote beyond renaming the file itself ... which is a non-solution.
So now I have no clue how to handle this.
My first try at solving the problem was as such:
Create a batch file and redirect my registry command to it.
Change the SingleInstanceAccumulator delimiter to '/' (All files will be separated by a forward slash.)
Replace the offending single quote to two single quotes.
Replace the '/' delimiters with single quotes.
Finally pass the whole argument list back to Powershell.
This image demonstrates how the above process looks:
This is the batch file's code:
#echo off
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
:: This script is needed to escape filenames that have
:: a single quote ('). It's replaced with double single
:: quotes so the filenames don't choke powershell
:: echo %cmdcmdline%
set "fullpath=%*"
echo Before
echo !fullpath!
echo ""
echo After
set fullpath=%fullpath:'=''%
set fullpath=%fullpath:/='%
echo !fullpath!
:: pwsh.exe -noprofile -windowstyle hidden -command "%~dpn0.ps1 -Path !fullpath!
pause
Once I got that wired up I started celebrating ... until I hit a file with an ampersand (&) or an exclamation point (!). Everything fell apart again. I did a whole bunch of google-fu with regards to escaping the & and ! characters but nothing suggested worked at all for me.
If I pass 'C:\Users\futur\Desktop\Testing\Video Files\MOV Batch\testing&video.mov' into my batch file, I get 'C:\Users\futur\Desktop\Testing\Video Files\MOV Batch\testing back.
It truncates the string at the exact position of the ampersand.
I feel like there has to be a way to solve this, and that I'm missing something stupid. If I echo %cmdcmdline% it shows the full commandline with the &, so it's available somehow with that variable.
In conclusion: I'm sorry for the novel of a post. There is a lot of nuance in what I'm trying to accomplish that needs to be explained. My questions are as follows:
Can I accomplish this with Powershell only and somehow pre-escape single quotes?
Can I accomplish this with a batch file, and somehow pre-escape & and ! (and any other special characters that would cause failure)?
Any help at all would be hugely appreciated.
Edit1:
So in the most hideous and hackish way possible, I managed to solve my problem. But since it's so horrible and I feel horrible for doing it I am still looking for a proper solution.
Basically, to recap, when I do either of these variable assignments:
set "args=%*"
set "args=!%*!"
echo !args!
& and ! characters still break things, and I don't get a full enumeration of my files. Files with & get truncated, etc.
But I noticed when I do:
set "args=!cmdcmdline!"
echo !args!
I get the full commandline call with all special characters retained:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe /c ""C:\Tools\scripts\VSYSCopyPathToClipboardTest.bat" /C:\Users\futur\Desktop\Testing\Video Files\MOV Batch\KylieCan't.mov/,/C:\Users\futur\Desktop\Testing\Video Files\MOV Batch\The !Rodinians - Future Forest !Fantasy - FFF Trailer.mov/,/C:\Users\futur\Desktop\Testing\Video Files\MOV Batch\Yelle - Je Veu&x Te Voir.mov/,/C:\Users\futur\Desktop\Testing\Video Files\MOV Batch\Erik&Truffaz.mov/,/C:\Users\futur\Desktop\Testing\Video Files\MOV Batch\my_file'name.mov/,/C:\Users\futur\Desktop\Testing\Video Files\MOV Batch\testing&video.mov/"
So what I did was simply strip out the initial C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe /c ""C:\Tools\scripts\VSYSCopyPathToClipboardTest.bat" part of the string:
#echo off
setlocal enableDelayedExpansion
set "args=!cmdcmdline!"
set args=!args:C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe=!
set args=!args: /c ""C:\Tools\scripts\VSYSCopyPathToClipboard.bat" =!
set args=!args:'=''!
set args=!args:/='!
set args=!args:~0,-1!
echo !args!
pwsh.exe -noprofile -noexit -command "%~dpn0.ps1 -Path !args!
And... it works flawlessly. It handles any crazy character I throw at it without needing to escape anything. I know It's totally the most degenerate garbage way of approaching this, but not finding a solution anywhere leads me to desperate measures. :)
I am probably going to make the string removal a bit more universal since it literally breaks if I change the filename.
I am still VERY much open to other solutions should anyone know of a way to accomplish the same thing in a more elegant way.
A fully robust solution based on PowerShell's -Command (-c) CLI parameter that can handle ' characters in paths as well as $ and ` ones requires a fairly elaborate workaround, unfortunately:[1]
Use an aux. cmd.exe call that echoes the $files macro as-is and pipe that to pwsh.exe; make SingleInstanceAccumulator.exe double-quote the individual paths (as it does by default), but use no delimiter (d:"") in order to effectively output a string in the form "<path 1>""<path 2>""...
Make pwsh.exe reference the piped input via the automatic $input variable and split it into an array of individual paths by " (removing empty elements that are a side effect of splitting with -ne ''). The necessity for providing the paths via the pipeline (stdin) is discussed in more detail in this related answer.
The resulting array can safely be passed to your scripts.
Also, enclose the entire -Command (-c) argument passed to pwsh.exe in \"...\" inside the "-c:..." argument.
Note: You may get away without doing this; however, this would result in whitespace normalization, which (however unlikely) would alter a file named, say, foo bar.txt to foo bar.txt (the run of multiple spaces was normalized to a single space).
Escaping " characters as \" is necessary for PowerShell's -Command (-c) CLI parameter to treat them verbatim, as part of the PowerShell code to execute that is seen after initial command-line parsing, during which any unescaped " characters are stripped.
Therefore, the first command stored in the registry should be (adapt the second one analogously; note that there must be no space between the echo $files and the subsequent |):
"C:\Tools\scripts\BIN\SingleInstanceAccumulator.exe" -d:"" "-c:cmd /c echo $files| pwsh.exe -noprofile -c \"& 'C:\Tools\scripts\VSYSCopyPathToClipboard.ps1' -Path ($input -split '\\\"' -ne '')\"" "%1"
Note:
If you modified your scripts to accept the paths as individual arguments rather than as an array, a much simpler solution via the -File CLI parameter (rather than -Command (-c)) is possible. This could be as simple as decorating the $Path parameter declaration with [Parameter(ValueFromRemainingArguments)] and then invoking the script without naming the target parameter explicitly (-Path):
"C:\Tools\scripts\BIN\SingleInstanceAccumulator.exe" -d:" " "-c:pwsh.exe -noprofile -File \"C:\Tools\scripts\VSYSCopyPathToClipboard.ps1\" $files" "%1"
Note the use of -d:" " to make SingleInstanceAccumulator.exe space-separate the (double-quoted by default) paths. Since -File passes the pass-through arguments verbatim, there is no concern about what characters the paths are composed of.
Self-contained PowerShell sample code:
The following code defines a Copy Paths to Clipboard shortcut-menu command for all file-system objects (except drives):
No separate .ps1 script is involved; instead, the code passed to -Command / -c directly performs the desired operation (copying the paths passed to the clipboard).
The following helps with troubleshooting:
The full command line with which PowerShell was invoked ([Environment]::CommandLine) is printed, as is the list of paths passed ($file)
-windowstyle hidden is omitted to keep the console window in which the PowerShell commands visible and -noexit is added so as to keep the window open after the command has finished executing.
Prerequisites:
Download and build the SingleInstanceAccumulator project using Visual Studio (using the .NET SDK is possible, but requires extra work).
Place the resulting SingleInstanceAccumulator.exe file in one of the directories listed in your $env:Path environment variable. Alternatively, specify the full path to the executable below.
Note:
reg.exe uses \ as its escape character, which means that \ characters that should become part of the string stored in the registry must be escaped, as \\.
The sad reality as of PowerShell 7.2 is that an extra, manual layer of \-escaping of embedded " characters is required in arguments passed to external programs. This may get fixed in a future version, which may require opt-in. See this answer for details. The code below does this by way of a -replace '"', '\"' operation, which can easily be removed if it should no longer be necessary in a future PowerShell version.
# RUN WITH ELEVATION (AS ADMIN).
# Determine the full path of SingleInstanceAccumulator.exe:
# Note: If it isn't in $env:PATH, specify its full path instead.
$singleInstanceAccumulatorExe = (Get-Command -ErrorAction Stop SingleInstanceAccumulator.exe).Path
# The name of the shortcut-menu command to create for all file-system objects.
$menuCommandName = 'Copy Paths To Clipboard'
# Create the menu command registry key.
$null = reg.exe add "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shell\$menuCommandName" /f /v "MultiSelectModel" /d "Player"
if ($LASTEXITCODE) { throw }
# Define the command line for it.
# To use *Windows PowerShell* instead, replace "pwsh.exe" with "powershell.exe"
# SEE NOTES ABOVE.
$null = reg.exe add "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shell\$menuCommandName\command" /f /ve /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d (#"
"$singleInstanceAccumulatorExe" -d:"" "-c:cmd /c echo `$files| pwsh.exe -noexit -noprofile -c \\"[Environment]::CommandLine; `$paths = `$input -split [char] 34 -ne ''; `$paths; Set-Clipboard `$paths\\"" "%1"
"# -replace '"', '\"')
if ($LASTEXITCODE) { throw }
Write-Verbose -Verbose "Shortcut menu command '$menuCommandName' successfully set up."
Now you can right-click on multiple files/folders in File Explorer and select Copy Paths to Clipboard in order to copy the full paths of all selected items to the clipboard in a single operation.
[1] An alternative is to use the -f option instead, which causes SingleInstanceAccumulator.exe to write all file paths line by line to an auxiliary text file, and then expands $files to that file's full path. However, this requires the target scripts to be designed accordingly, and it is their responsibility to clean up the auxiliary text file.
I am writing a script to play certain files in a player. I use Get-ChildItem to get an array of file names. Then I want to use Start-Process to play these files. However, how can I add these file names to the arguments of the player program?
I used Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Program Files\DAUM\PotPlayer\PotPlayerMini64.exe" -ArgumentList $selected_items but it seems it doesn't work and the files are not played.
Notice there are spaces in the file names.
Syntax-wise, your approach should work, but doesn't, due to an unfortunate bug, still present in PowerShell 7.2 - see GitHub issue #5576.
While passing an array of arguments to Start-Process's -ArgumentList parameter does cause the array elements to be passed as individual arguments (which is usually how external CLIs expect multiple file arguments), the necessary double-quoting around elements with spaces is not applied when the command line ultimately used for invocation is constructed behind the scenes.
Also, for robustness you should use the .FullName property of the objects stored in $selected_items, so as to ensure that full paths are passed, because - in Windows PowerShell, situationally - Get-ChildItem's output objects may stringify to the file name only - see this answer.
Workaround: Pass a single argument to -ArgumentList, in which you encode all pass-through arguments, using embedded double-quoting.
Start-Process `
-FilePath "C:\Program Files\DAUM\PotPlayer\PotPlayerMini64.exe" `
-ArgumentList ($selected_items.ForEach({ '"{0}"' -f $_.FullName }) -join ' ')
Taking a step back:
If PotPlayerMini64.exe is a Windows GUI(-subsystem) application, you don't need Start-Process at all, because even direct invocation will then act asynchronously (i.e., the program will launch, and control will return to PowerShell right away; conversely, if you wanted to wait for the program to exit, use Start-Process -Wait).
& "C:\Program Files\DAUM\PotPlayer\PotPlayerMini64.exe" $selected_Items.FullName
Note that in direct invocations such as this, PowerShell does perform the necessary double-quoting behind the scenes, on demand.
Note: I'm unclear on whether passing multiple file paths to PotPlayerMini64.exe alone also starts playback - the alternative solution in the next section may ensure that.
Alternative, clipboard-based solution:
Judging by PotPlayerMini64.exe's available command-line options[1], the following may work (I cannot personally verify):
/clipboard :Appends content(s) from clipboard into playlist and starts playback immediately.
# Copy the full names of the files of interest to the clipboard.
Set-Clipboard -Value $selected_items.FullName
# Launch the player and tell it to start playback of the files on the clipboard.
# Parameters -FilePath and -ArgumentList are positionally implied.
Start-Process 'C:\Program Files\DAUM\PotPlayer\PotPlayerMini64.exe' /clipboard
There are file-arguments-related options such as /new, /insert, and /add, but it's unclear to me whether they - or omitting them altogether, as in your attempt - automatically start playback (may depend on the application's persistent configuration).
[1] Note that this is not the official documentation; I couldn't find the latter.
You can ForEach-Object:
Get-ChildItem . | ForEach-Object {Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Program Files\DAUM\PotPlayer\PotPlayerMini64.exe" -ArgumentList $_.FullName}
You don't need start-process (plus, -argumentlist doesn't handle filenames with spaces as easily).
& "C:\Program Files\DAUM\PotPlayer\PotPlayerMini64.exe"
C:\Program` Files\DAUM\PotPlayer\PotPlayerMini64.exe
$env:path += ';C:\Program Files\DAUM\PotPlayer'; PotPlayerMini64
Even using start-process, it varies with the program. For example, Emacs can take multiple file arguments, separated by spaces. If the filename has a space, it would need to be double quoted. External programs don't know what arrays are, and start-process converts them to one string with spaces in between each element.
start emacs file1,file2,'"my file"'
get-wmiobject win32_process | ? name -eq emacs.exe | % commandline
"c:\program files\emacs\bin\emacs.exe" file1 file2 "my file"
ps emacs | % commandline # ps 7
"c:\program files\emacs\bin\emacs.exe" file1 file2 "my file"
all,
I am trying to run a command in Power Shell and I am told the file does not exist as it stands right now for the Power Shell code. If I do the same in DOS, it finds the file and executes correctly. The only difference is that there is an additional open and closed double quote around the file name. Can this be done in Power Shell the same way? If so, how can this be done as I am not familiar with Power Shell.
DOS:
IF EXISTS F:\lvcecstos.CSV F:\LaserVault\ContentExpress\ContentExpress.exe /CID:1 /CSV:<b>"F:\lvcecstos.CSV"</b> /ClearSubscription
Power Shell:
Invoke-Expression -Command "F:\LaserVault\ContentExpress\ContentExpress.exe /CID:1 /CSV:<b>F:\lvcecstos.csv</b> /ClearSubscription"
Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I am told by the Laservault engineers that created this software package that we use that the double quotes around the file name is required. Doesn't make sense to me as to why though, but this is something I am unable to get around.
You can add double quotes around the file path as follows:
Invoke-Expression -Command 'F:\LaserVault\ContentExpress\ContentExpress.exe /CID:1 /CSV:"F:\lvcecstos.csv" /ClearSubscription';
Notice how the command is wrapped in single quotes instead of double quotes.
Ultimately, it depends on how the ContentExpress.exe program is interpreting the file path, though. For all you know, it could be appending the valued passed to "CSV" to the "current working directory."
You can also use the Start-Process cmdlet, instead of Invoke-Expression or Invoke-Command.
$Program = 'F:\LaserVault\ContentExpress\ContentExpress.exe';
$ArgumentList = '/CID:1 /CSV:"F:\lvcecstos.csv" /ClearSubscription';
Start-Process -Wait -NoNewWindow -FilePath $Program -ArgumentList $ArgumentList;
If you have PowerShell v3 (which you should) you could use the "magic parameter" --% (see here).
& F:\LaserVault\ContentExpress\ContentExpress.exe --% /CID:1 /CSV:"F:\lvcecstos.csv" /ClearSubscription
Otherwise trying to preserve double quotes around arguments could become very, very painful. See for instance this answer to a similar question.
$lvcecstos = "F:\lvcecstos.CSV"
If(Test-Path $lvcecstos)
{
Invoke-Expression -Command "& F:\LaserVault\ContentExpress\ContentExpress.exe /CID:1 /CSV:$lvcecstos /ClearSubscription"
}
How do you run the following command in PowerShell?
C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe -verb:sync -source:dbfullsql="Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;" -dest:dbfullsql="Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass"
When PowerShell sees a command starting with a string it just evaluates the string, that is, it typically echos it to the screen, for example:
PS> "Hello World"
Hello World
If you want PowerShell to interpret the string as a command name then use the call operator (&) like so:
PS> & 'C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe'
After that you probably only need to quote parameter/argument pairs that contain spaces and/or quotation chars. When you invoke an EXE file like this with complex command line arguments it is usually very helpful to have a tool that will show you how PowerShell sends the arguments to the EXE file. The PowerShell Community Extensions has such a tool. It is called echoargs. You just replace the EXE file with echoargs - leaving all the arguments in place, and it will show you how the EXE file will receive the arguments, for example:
PS> echoargs -verb:sync -source:dbfullsql="Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;" -dest:dbfullsql="Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass
Arg 0 is <-verb:sync>
Arg 1 is <-source:dbfullsql=Data>
Arg 2 is <Source=mysource;Integrated>
Arg 3 is <Security=false;User>
Arg 4 is <ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;>
Arg 5 is <-dest:dbfullsql=Data>
Arg 6 is <Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated>
Arg 7 is <Security=false;User>
Arg 8 is <ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb; computername=10.10.10.10 username=administrator password=adminpass>
Using echoargs you can experiment until you get it right, for example:
PS> echoargs -verb:sync "-source:dbfullsql=Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;"
Arg 0 is <-verb:sync>
Arg 1 is <-source:dbfullsql=Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;>
It turns out I was trying too hard before to maintain the double quotes around the connection string. Apparently that isn't necessary because even cmd.exe will strip those out.
BTW, hats off to the PowerShell team. They were quite helpful in showing me the specific incantation of single & double quotes to get the desired result - if you needed to keep the internal double quotes in place. :-) They also realize this is an area of pain, but they are driven by the number of folks are affected by a particular issue. If this is an area of pain for you, then please vote up this PowerShell bug submission.
For more information on how PowerShell parses, check out my Effective PowerShell blog series - specifically item 10 - "Understanding PowerShell Parsing Modes"
UPDATE 4/4/2012: This situation gets much easier to handle in PowerShell V3. See this blog post for details.
I had spaces in both command and parameters, and this is what worked for me:
$Command = "E:\X64\Xendesktop Setup\XenDesktopServerSetup.exe"
$Parms = "/COMPONENTS CONTROLLER,DESKTOPSTUDIO,DESKTOPDIRECTOR,LICENSESERVER,STOREFRONT /PASSIVE /NOREBOOT /CONFIGURE_FIREWALL /NOSQL"
$Parms = $Parms.Split(" ")
& "$Command" $Parms
It's basically the same as Akira's answer, but this works if you dynamically build your command parameters and put them in a variable.
Just add the & operator before the .exe name.
Here is a command to install SQL Server Express in silence mode:
$fileExe = "T:\SQLEXPRADV_x64_ENU.exe"
$CONFIGURATIONFILE = "T:\ConfSetupSql2008Express.ini"
& $fileExe /CONFIGURATIONFILE=$CONFIGURATIONFILE
There are quite a few methods you can use to do it.
There are other methods like using the Call Operator (&), Invoke-Expression cmdlet etc. But they are considered unsafe. Microsoft recommends using Start-Process.
Method 1
A simple example
Start-Process -NoNewWindow -FilePath "C:\wamp64\bin\mysql\mysql5.7.19\bin\mysql" -ArgumentList "-u root","-proot","-h localhost"
In your case
Start-Process -NoNewWindow -FilePath "C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe" -ArgumentList "-verb:sync","-source:dbfullsql=`"Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;`"","-dest:dbfullsql=`"Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;`"","computername=10.10.10.10","username=administrator","password=adminpass"
In this method you separate each and every parameter in the ArgumentList using commas.
Method 2
Simple Example
Start-Process -NoNewWindow -FilePath "C:\wamp64\bin\mysql\mysql5.7.19\bin\mysql" -ArgumentList "-u root -proot -h localhost"
In your case
Start-Process -NoNewWindow -FilePath "C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe" -ArgumentList "-verb:sync -source:dbfullsql=`"Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;`" -dest:dbfullsql=`"Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;`",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass"
This method is easier as it allows to type your parameters in one go.
Note that in powershell to represent the quotation mark ( " ) in a string you should insert the grave accent ( ` ) (This is the key above the Tab key in the US keyboard).
-NoNewWindow
parameter is used to display the new process in the current console window. By default Windows PowerShell opens a new window.
References : Powershell/Scripting/Start-Process
This worked for me:
& 'D:\Server\PSTools\PsExec.exe' #('\\1.1.1.1', '-accepteula', '-d', '-i', $id, '-h', '-u', 'domain\user', '-p', 'password', '-w', 'C:\path\to\the\app', 'java', '-jar', 'app.jar')
Just put paths or connection strings in one array item and split the other things in one array item each.
There are a lot of other options here: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/7703.powershell-running-executables.aspx
Microsoft should make this way simpler and compatible with command prompt syntax.
In case somebody is wondering how to just run an executable file:
..... > .\file.exe
or
......> full\path\to\file.exe
See this page:
https://slai.github.io/posts/powershell-and-external-commands-done-right/
Summary using vshadow as the external executable:
$exe = "H:\backup\scripts\vshadow.exe"
&$exe -p -script=H:\backup\scripts\vss.cmd E: M: P:
You can use:
Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe" -ArgumentList "-verb:sync -source:dbfullsql="Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;" -dest:dbfullsql="Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass"
The key thing to note here is that FilePath must be in position 0, according to the Help Guide. To invoke the Help guide for a commandlet, just type in Get-Help <Commandlet-name> -Detailed . In this case, it is Get-Help Start-Process -Detailed.
I was able to get my similar command working using the following approach:
msdeploy.exe -verb=sync "-source=dbFullSql=Server=THESERVER;Database=myDB;UID=sa;Pwd=saPwd" -dest=dbFullSql=c:\temp\test.sql
For your command (not that it helps much now), things would look something like this:
msdeploy.exe -verb=sync "-source=dbfullsql=Server=mysource;Trusted_Connection=false;UID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;" "-dest=dbfullsql=Server=mydestsource;Trusted_Connection=false;UID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass
The key points are:
Use quotes around the source argument, and remove the embedded quotes around the connection string
Use the alternative key names in building the SQL connection string that don't have spaces in them. For example, use "UID" instead of "User Id", "Server" instead of "Data Source", "Trusted_Connection" instead of "Integrated Security", and so forth. I was only able to get it to work once I removed all spaces from the connection string.
I didn't try adding the "computername" part at the end of the command line, but hopefully this info will help others reading this now get closer to their desired result.
New escape string in PowerShell V3, quoted from New V3 Language Features:
Easier Reuse of Command Lines From Cmd.exe
The web is full of command lines written for Cmd.exe. These commands lines work often enough in PowerShell, but when they include certain characters, for example, a semicolon (;), a dollar sign ($), or curly braces, you have to make some changes, probably adding some quotes. This seemed to be the source of many minor headaches.
To help address this scenario, we added a new way to “escape” the parsing of command lines. If you use a magic parameter --%, we stop our normal parsing of your command line and switch to something much simpler. We don’t match quotes. We don’t stop at semicolon. We don’t expand PowerShell variables. We do expand environment variables if you use Cmd.exe syntax (e.g. %TEMP%). Other than that, the arguments up to the end of the line (or pipe, if you are piping) are passed as is. Here is an example:
PS> echoargs.exe --% %USERNAME%,this=$something{weird}
Arg 0 is <jason,this=$something{weird}>
I use this simple, clean and effective method.
I place arguments in an array, 1 per line. This way it is very easy to read and edit.
Then I use a simple trick of passing all arguments inside double quotes to a function with 1 single parameter. That flattens them, including arrays, to a single string, which I then execute using PS's 'Invoke-Expression'. This directive is specifically designed to convert a string to runnable command.
Works well:
# function with one argument will flatten
# all passed-in entries into 1 single string line
Function Execute($command) {
# execute:
Invoke-Expression $command;
# if you have trouble try:
# Invoke-Expression "& $command";
# or if you need also output to a variable
# Invoke-Expression $command | Tee-Object -Variable cmdOutput;
}
# ... your main code here ...
# The name of your executable app
$app = 'my_app.exe';
# List of arguments:
# Notice the type of quotes - important !
# Those in single quotes are normal strings, like 'Peter'
$args = 'arg1',
'arg2',
$some_variable,
'arg4',
"arg5='with quotes'",
'arg6',
"arg7 \ with \ $other_variable",
'etc...';
# pass all arguments inside double quotes
Execute "$app $args";
I tried all of the suggestions but was still unable to run msiexec.exe with parameters that contained spaces. So my solution ended up using System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo:
# can have spaces here, no problems
$settings = #{
CONNECTION_STRING = "... ..."
ENTITY_CONTEXT = "... ..."
URL = "..."
}
$settingsJoined = ($settings.Keys | % { "$_=""$($settings[$_])""" }) -join " "
$pinfo = New-Object System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo
$pinfo.WorkingDirectory = $ScriptDirectory
$pinfo.FileName = "msiexec.exe"
$pinfo.RedirectStandardError = $true
$pinfo.RedirectStandardOutput = $true
$pinfo.UseShellExecute = $false
$pinfo.Arguments = "/l* install.log /i installer.msi $settingsJoined"
$p = New-Object System.Diagnostics.Process
$p.StartInfo = $pinfo
$p.Start() | Out-Null
$stdout = $p.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd()
$p.WaitForExit()
You can run exe files in powershell different ways. For instance if you want to run unrar.exe and extract a .rar file you can simply write in powershell this:
$extract_path = "C:\Program Files\Containing folder";
$rar_to_extract = "C:\Path_to_arch\file.rar"; #(or.exe if its a big file)
C:\Path_here\Unrar.exe x -o+ -c- $rar_to_extract $extract_path;
But sometimes, this doesn't work so you must use the & parameter as shown above:
For instance, with vboxmanage.exe (a tool to manage virtualbox virtual machines) you must call the paramterers outside of the string like this, without quotes:
> $vmname = "misae_unrtes_1234123"; #(name too long, we want to change this)
> & 'C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe' modifyvm $vmname --name UBUNTU;
If you want to call simply a winrar archived file as .exe files, you can also unzip it with the invoke-command cmdlet and a Silent parameter /S (Its going to extract itself in the same folder than where it has been compressed).
> Invoke-Command -ScriptBlock { C:\Your-path\archivefile.exe /S };
So there are several ways to run .exe files with arguments in powershell.
Sometimes, one must find a workaround to make it work properly, which can require some further effort and pain :) depending on the way the .exe has been compiled or made by its creators.
Cmd can handle running a quoted exe, but Powershell can't. I'm just going to deal with running the exe itself, since I don't have it. If you literally need to send doublequotes to an argument of an external command, that's another issue that's been covered elsewhere.
1) add the exe folder to your path, maybe in your $profile
$env:path += ';C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\'
msdeploy
2) backquote the spaces:
C:\Program` Files\IIS\Microsoft` Web` Deploy\msdeploy.exe
This worked for me:
PowerShell.exe -Command "& ""C:\Some Script\Path With Spaces.ps1"""
The key seems to be that the whole command is enclosed in outer quotes, the "&" ampersand is used to specify another child command file is being executed, then finally escaped (doubled-double-) quotes around the path/file name with spaces in you wanted to execute in the first place.
This is also completion of the only workaround to the MS connect issue that -File does not pass-back non-zero return codes and -Command is the only alternative. But until now it was thought a limitation of -Command was that it didn't support spaces. I've updated that feedback item too.
http://connect.microsoft.com/PowerShell/feedback/details/750653/powershell-exe-doesn-t-return-correct-exit-codes-when-using-the-file-option
An alternative answer is to use a Base64 encoded command switch:
powershell -EncodedCommand "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"
When decoded, you'll see it's the OP's original snippet with all arguments and double quotes preserved.
powershell.exe -EncodedCommand
Accepts a base-64-encoded string version of a command. Use this parameter
to submit commands to Windows PowerShell that require complex quotation
marks or curly braces.
The original command:
C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe -verb:sync -source:dbfullsql="Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;" -dest:dbfullsql="Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass"
It turns into this when encoded as Base64:
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
and here is how to replicate at home:
$command = 'C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe -verb:sync -source:dbfullsql="Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;" -dest:dbfullsql="Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass"'
$bytes = [System.Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetBytes($command)
$encodedCommand = [Convert]::ToBase64String($bytes)
$encodedCommand
# The clip below copies the base64 string to your clipboard for right click and paste.
$encodedCommand | Clip
For the executable name, the new-alias cmdlet can be employed to avoid dealing with spaces or needing to add the executable to the $PATH environment.
PS> new-alias msdeploy "C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe"
PS> msdeploy ...
To list or modify PS aliases also see
PS> get-alias
PS> set-alias
From Jeffery Hicks Aarticle
Other answers address the arguments.
If you just need to run a file in the current directory and don't feel like spelling out the entire path use Get-Location:
& "$(Get-Location)\example.exe" arg1 arg2 arg3
Note the & at the start. Spaced arguments are to be placed after the quotes.
I had the following code working perfect on my laptop:
& $msdeploy `
-source:package="$publishFile" `
-dest:auto,computerName="$server",includeAcls="False",UserName="$username",Password="$password",AuthType="$auth" `
-allowUntrusted `
-verb:sync `
-enableRule:DoNotDeleteRule `
-disableLink:AppPoolExtension `
-disableLink:ContentExtension `
-disableLink:CertificateExtension `
-skip:objectName=filePath,absolutePath="^(.*Web\.config|.*Environment\.config)$" `
-setParam:name=`"IIS Web Application Name`",value="$appName"
Then when I tried to run that directly on one server I started getting those errors "Unrecognized argument ...etc.... All arguments must begin with "-". "
After trying all possible workarounds (no success), I found out that Powershell on the server (Windows 2008 R2) was version 3.0, while my laptop has 5.0. (you can use "$PSVersionTable" to see version).
After upgrading Powershell to latest version it started working again.
So, I ran into a similar problem and chose to solve it this way instead:
Escape your quote (") characters with a backtick (`)
Surround your new expression with quotes (")
Using the call operator (&), issue the command invoke-expression on the new string
Example solution:
& { invoke-expression "C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\msdeploy.exe -verb:sync -source:dbfullsql=`"Data Source=mysource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;`" -dest:dbfullsql=`"Data Source=.\mydestsource;Integrated Security=false;User ID=sa;Pwd=sapass!;Database=mydb;`",computername=10.10.10.10,username=administrator,password=adminpass`"" }
To transfer a batch script using exiftool.exe to a powershell script I had the challange to give '-s, "-s and even ${Filename} to the command and on the other hand fill out variables in these parameters.
For a start: The replacement in using 'echochars' is brilliant. It clearly shows what is grouped as a single parameter and what ends up as the next parameter.
In powershell it is similar to perl (and unix scripting): the used quotes have their meaning.
strings between "-s. The string will be interpreted (variables filled)
Strings between '-s. The string will not be interpreted (or verry limited)
the escape character is ` (the back-quote). The next character looses its special meaning. Comparable with the \ (back stroke) on unix/linux/perl.
Some examples:
${ExifArgs} += "-if `"`${FileName} !~ /desktop.ini/i`""
${ExifArgs} += '-dateFormat "%Y\%Y%m\%Y%m%d_%H%M%S"'
${ExifArgs} += ('"' + "-FileName<${NewFotos}\${SourceName}\" + '${DateTimeOriginal}_${ImageWidth}x${ImageHeight}_${Model;s/ //g}_${FileName;s/^.*([0-9]{4})[^0-9].*$/\1/}.%e' + '"')
A call to echoargs with the above, produces the next output (numbers are hacked for privacy):
Arg 11 is <-if>
Arg 12 is <${FileName} !~ /desktop.ini/i>
Arg 13 is <-dateFormat>
Arg 14 is <%Y\%Y%m\%Y%m%d_%H%M%S>
Arg 15 is <-FileName<D:\Pictures\NewFotos\${DateTimeOriginal}_${ImageWidth}x${ImageHeight}_${Model;s/ //g}_${FileName;s/^.*([0-9]{4})[^0-9].*$/\1/}.%e>
See how the first line produces arg 11 and 12: the outher "-s are removed to store the entire line in the array. The inner "-s, quoted by the `-s are there to keep the argument together (while the -if is the previous argument)
The second shows arg 13 and 14: the use of "-s between '-s. No need to escape using `-s.
In the last line (producing arg 15): the single string is constructed by using powershell ()-s and +-s to concatenate a couple of strings to a single string. It uses both " and ' delimited strings to have som ${}-s filled out by powershell and some for exiftool.
And yes, some powershell special characters are transvered into the archuments.