Output of Get-content as variable? - powershell

I am attempting to run a foreach loop on a get-content and convertfrom-json cmd. Now im aware this potentially has issues being multiple value results in the variable, im wondering how i can continue to pass this info to the rest of the script.
$testconv = Get-device * |select ID
$testid = $testconv.id
$conv = foreach ($id in $testid)
{
get-content "\\HDC-PRTG-03\System Information Database\Services\Device$id.Services" | Convertfrom-json
}
$rpccheck =$conv.message
$snmpcheck = $conv.message
$svcname = $conv.data.displayname
$svcstate=$conv.data.properties.state
if($RPCon = $rpccheck |select-string -pattern RPC -AllMatches){
write-host RPC Not enabled
}else{
write-host No RPC Enabled - Moving to Services List
Now when i run that with out the $conv= making it a variable it returns
kind : Services
recievetime : 29-01-2018 14:43:32
error : 106
Message : SNMP Channels Not Available.
Which is what i expect. However when i define it a variable with $conv= it just starts to say it cannot find the file paths which i find an odd error to throw but hey ho.
Do any of you smart guys have any pointers for how i can keep these fromjson objects in memory so i can continue to run foreach loops against them. The ultiumate function of this script is to query a local .services file for what services are running on the device and then create sensors to monitor them within our PRTG installation. Therefore i need to be able to ref the deviceID and apply things to it.
I suspect i may be using too many foreach loops in the whole script but frankly i am 100% out of my depth
any guidance hugely hugely appreciated
Sam

If i understand correctly you should have json files for all device ID's. If a file with the name of a particular device is missing you will get the 'File not found' error.
As for the code, you can try this:
$testconv = Get-Device * | select ID
$testid = $testconv.id
$oldErrorAction = $ErrorActionPreference
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
foreach ($id in $testid) {
try {
$conv = Get-Content -Path "\\HDC-PRTG-03\System Information Database\Services\Device$id.Services" -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json
$rpccheck = $conv.message # These look the same to me...
$snmpcheck = $conv.message # These look the same to me...
$svcname = $conv.data.displayname
$svcstate = $conv.data.properties.state
$Matches = ($rpccheck | Select-String -Pattern "RPC*" -AllMatches)
if ($Matches.Matches.Count) {
Write-Host "RPC Not enabled"
}
else {
Write-Host "No RPC Enabled - Moving to Services List "
}
}
catch {
Write-Warning $_.Exception.Message
}
}
$ErrorActionPreference = $oldErrorAction
Instead of the try{}..catch{} you could also first test if a file with that name is present using Test-Path directly before doing the Get-Content.

Related

Object keeps getting contaminated by command

In my script I run a command like
[array]$Results = $AllSpamAllowGroups.Email | ForEach-Object {
& gam update group $_ spam_moderation_level moderate
[PSCustomObject]#{
GroupEmail = $_
Error = $LastExitCode
}
}
When I open the results it is
"12"
"45"
"19"
...so on
If I
& gam update group $_ spam_moderation_level moderate | out-null
Then $Results has good data. But the command doesn't actually do anything.
Do I have to assign it to a trash Variable ?
$IAMTrash = & gam update group $_ spam_moderation_level moderate
Seems like I should not have to do this. (Trash variable also gives good data)
Instead of a "trash variable", the best practice is to assign unwanted output to $null. This actually discards the output and better communicates your intentions. Piping to Out-Null works too, but is less efficient.
[array]$Results = $AllSpamAllowGroups.Email | ForEach-Object {
# Makes the command run completely silent (unless it writes to stderr too)
$null = & gam update group $_ spam_moderation_level moderate
# Only this gets captured in $Results
[PSCustomObject]#{
GroupEmail = $_
Error = $LastExitCode
}
}
The disadvantage of this approach is that you don't see what the program is doing. It might output useful logging information or a detailed error description in case of failure. All this is lost using the above code.
To see the command output without letting it "contaminating" your result, you can pipe it to Out-Host, so it gets written to the console only, but won't get captured:
[array]$Results = $AllSpamAllowGroups.Email | ForEach-Object {
# Command output goes to console only
& gam update group $_ spam_moderation_level moderate | Out-Host
# Only this gets captured in $Results
[PSCustomObject]#{
GroupEmail = $_
Error = $LastExitCode
}
}

Powershell Global Variable usage as parameter to argument

$global:af_fp = "C:\Path\to\folder\"
Function function-name {
do things …
$global:af_fp = $global:af_fp + $variableFromDo_things + "_AF.csv"
}
function-name | ConvertTo-CSV -NoTypeInformation | Add-Content -Path $($af_fp)
Above is the generalized (and abbreviated) script contents for a powershell script.
Every time I run the script in this way, I get the following error:
Add-Content : Could not find a part of the path 'C:\Users\timeuser\Documents\'.
At C:\Users\timeuser\Documents\get_software.ps1:231 char:51
+ ... ware | ConvertTo-CSV -NoTypeInformation | Add-Content -Path $($af_fp)
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (C:\Users\timeuser\Documents\:String) [Add-Content], DirectoryNotFoundException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : GetContentWriterDirectoryNotFoundError,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.AddContentCommand
When I run
Get-Variable -Scope global
after running the script and seeing the error, the variable af_fp contains exactly the information I am seeking for the file name, however, the error shows the variable contents ending in ':String'.
To confuse me even more, if I comment out the lines containing '$global:...' and re-run the same script, IT ACTUALL RUNS AND SAVES THE FILE USING THE LINE
function-name | ConvertTo-CSV -NoTypeInformation | Add-Content -Path $($af_fp)
AS INTENDED. Of course, I had to run the script and watch it error first, then re-run the script with the global variable declaration and update commented out for it to actually work. I want to run the script ONCE and still get the same results.
FYI, I am a complete noob to powershell, but very familiar with the concept of variable scope.....but why is this global not working when initially created and updated, but then work the second time around, when, as far as I can tell, the CONTENT AND SCOPE of the global remains the same...…. any assistance to finding a solution to this small issue would be greatly appreciated; I have tried sooooo may different methods from inquiries through here and on Google...…..
EDIT: not sure why this will matter, because the script ran before as intended when I explicitly typed the parameter for -Path as 'C:\path\to\file'. The ONLY CHANGES MADE to the original, working script (below) were my inclusion of the global variable declaration, the update to the contents of the global variable (near the end of the function), and the attempt to use the global variable as the parameter to -Path, that is why I omitted the script:
'''
$global:af_fp = "C:\Users\timeuser\Documents\"
Function Get-Software {
[OutputType('System.Software.Inventory')]
[Cmdletbinding()]
Param(
[Parameter(ValueFromPipeline = $True, ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName = $True)]
[String[]]$Computername = $env:COMPUTERNAME
)
Begin {
}
Process {
ForEach ($Computer in $Computername) {
If (Test-Connection -ComputerName $Computer -Count 1 -Quiet) {
$Paths = #("SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall", "SOFTWARE\\Wow6432node\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall")
ForEach ($Path in $Paths) {
Write-Verbose "Checking Path: $Path"
# Create an instance of the Registry Object and open the HKLM base key
Try {
$reg = [microsoft.win32.registrykey]::OpenRemoteBaseKey('LocalMachine', $Computer, 'Registry64')
}
Catch {
Write-Error $_
Continue
}
# Drill down into the Uninstall key using the OpenSubKey Method
Try {
$regkey = $reg.OpenSubKey($Path)
# Retrieve an array of string that contain all the subkey names
$subkeys = $regkey.GetSubKeyNames()
# Open each Subkey and use GetValue Method to return the required values for each
ForEach ($key in $subkeys) {
Write-Verbose "Key: $Key"
$thisKey = $Path + "\\" + $key
Try {
$thisSubKey = $reg.OpenSubKey($thisKey)
# Prevent Objects with empty DisplayName
$DisplayName = $thisSubKey.getValue("DisplayName")
If ($DisplayName -AND $DisplayName -notmatch '^Update for|rollup|^Security Update|^Service Pack|^HotFix') {
$Date = $thisSubKey.GetValue('InstallDate')
If ($Date) {
Try {
$Date = [datetime]::ParseExact($Date, 'yyyyMMdd', $Null)
}
Catch {
Write-Warning "$($Computer): $_ <$($Date)>"
$Date = $Null
}
}
# Create New Object with empty Properties
$Publisher = Try {
$thisSubKey.GetValue('Publisher').Trim()
}
Catch {
$thisSubKey.GetValue('Publisher')
}
$Version = Try {
#Some weirdness with trailing [char]0 on some strings
$thisSubKey.GetValue('DisplayVersion').TrimEnd(([char[]](32, 0)))
}
Catch {
$thisSubKey.GetValue('DisplayVersion')
}
$UninstallString = Try {
$thisSubKey.GetValue('UninstallString').Trim()
}
Catch {
$thisSubKey.GetValue('UninstallString')
}
$InstallLocation = Try {
$thisSubKey.GetValue('InstallLocation').Trim()
}
Catch {
$thisSubKey.GetValue('InstallLocation')
}
$InstallSource = Try {
$thisSubKey.GetValue('InstallSource').Trim()
}
Catch {
$thisSubKey.GetValue('InstallSource')
}
$HelpLink = Try {
$thisSubKey.GetValue('HelpLink').Trim()
}
Catch {
$thisSubKey.GetValue('HelpLink')
}
$Object = [pscustomobject]#{
#Potential Candidate for AssetID in the TIME system
AssetID = $Computer
#String that contains word or word combinations for the product field of CPE WFN; may also contain the valid values necessary for update, edition, language, sw_edition, target_hw/sw fields as well.
cpeprodinfo = $DisplayName
cpeversion = $Version
InstallDate = $Date
cpevendor = $Publisher
UninstallString = $UninstallString
InstallLocation = $InstallLocation
InstallSource = $InstallSource
HelpLink = $thisSubKey.GetValue('HelpLink')
EstimatedSizeMB = [decimal]([math]::Round(($thisSubKey.GetValue('EstimatedSize') * 1024) / 1MB, 2))
}
$Object.pstypenames.insert(0, 'System.Software.Inventory')
Write-Output $Object
}
}
Catch {
Write-Warning "$Key : $_"
}
}
}
Catch { }
$reg.Close()
}
}
Else {
Write-Error "$($Computer): unable to reach remote system!"
}
$global:af_fp = $global:af_fp + $Computer + "_AF.csv"
}
}
}
Get-Software | ConvertTo-CSV -NoTypeInformation | Add-Content -Path $($af_fp)
'''
IGNORE FORMATTING PLEASE- HAD TROUBLE MAKING INDENTS CORRECTLY FROM COPY-PASTE AND RESTRICTIONS ON SITE FOR CODE BLOCKS.....
NOTE: the ONLY changes I made, that I am asking about, are the global declaration, the global variable update in the function, and the attempt to use the global variable for the -Path parameter....script otherwise runs and will even run WITH THE LAST LINE AS IS if I ran it and errored the first time.....not sure how the addition script will help in any way, shape, or form!
With a little effort, Nasir's solution worked! HOWEVER, I ran across a sample file that had a way of adding to a parameter that inspired me to make a change to my ORIGINAL, that also worked: remove global variable from script entirely and add this code the very end:
$file_suffix = '_AF.csv'
Get-Software | ConvertTo-CSV -NoTypeInformation | Add-Content -Path $env:COMPUTERNAME$file_suffix
In this way, I was able to accomplish exactly what I was setting out to do! Thanks Nasir for your response as well! I was able to also make that work as intended!
Global variables are generally frowned upon, since they often lead to poor scripts, with hard to debug issues.
It seems like your function returns some stuff, which you need to write to a file, the name of which is also generated by the same function. You can try something like this:
function function-name {
param($PathPrefix)
#do things
[pscustomobject]#{"DoThings_data" = $somevariablefromDoThings; "Filename" = "$($PathPrefix)$($variableFromDo_Things)_AF.csv"}
}
function-name -PathPrefix "C:\Path\to\folder\" | Foreach-Object { $_.DoThings_data | Export-Csv -Path $_.Filename -NoTypeInformation }
Or just have your function write the CSV data out and then return the data if you need to further process it outside the function.
Edit: this is just me extrapolating from partial code you have provided. To Lee_Dailey's point, yes, please provide more details.

Why order is not maintained while reading a text file from Powershell?

Below is my Powershell script:
$server_file = 'serverlist.txt'
$servers = #{}
Get-Content $server_file | foreach-object -process {$current = $_.split(":"); $servers.add($current[0].trim(), $current[1].trim())}
foreach($server in $servers.keys){
write-host "Deploying $service on $server..." -foregroundcolor green
}
My serverlist.txt looks like this:
DRAKE : x64
SDT: x64
IMPERIUS : x64
Vwebservice2012 : x64
Every time I run this script, I get IMPERIUS as my server name. I would like loop through the servers in the order they are written in serverlist.txt.
Am I missing anything in Get-Content call?
Don't store servers in a temporary variable.
The iteration order of hashtables (#{}) is not guaranteed by the .NET framework. Avoid using them if you want to maintain input order.
Simply do:
$server_file = 'serverlist.txt'
Get-Content $server_file | ForEach-Object {
$current = $_.split(":")
$server = $current[0].trim()
$architecture = $current[1].trim()
Write-Host "Deploying $service on $server..." -ForegroundColor Green
}
Note: Even if it probably won't make much of a difference in this particular case, in general you always should explicitly define the file encoding when you use Get-Content to avoid garbled data. Get-Content does not have sophisticated auto-detection for file encodings, and the default it uses can always be wrong for your input file.

Powershell Get-Winevent No events were found that match the specified selection criteria

I am writing a Powershell 2.0 script that parses a folder of offline .evtx event logs and generates a csv with specified output. I am only looking for certain event IDs and I am only outputting certain fields to the csv. The problem I run into arises when a specified event ID does not exist in a .evtx file; it generates an error: "Get-WinEvent: No events were found that match the specified selection criteria" (NoMatchingEventsFound). This makes sense, but is there a way to write it in a way to "not care" if the event ID exists and continue to parse? (I am only looking for specific existences of these chosen IDs, and I don't care if they don't exist) Here is my code:
$ReviewFile = ("\\thepath\" + (Get-Date).tostring("dd-MMM-yy") + " Review.csv")
If (Test-Path $Reviewfile){Remove-Item $ReviewFile}
$EventLogIDs = "4476","4741","4742" # etc...I have quite a number of IDs
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable #{Path="\\evtxpath\" + (Get-Date).tostring("yyyyMMdd") + "\*Security*";id=#($EventLogIDs);}|
Select-Object Id,LevelDisplayName,Message,MachineName,RecordId,TaskDisplayName | Export-CSV $ServerReviewFile
I have tried to add -ErrorAction silentlycontinue but it skips the entire hashtable.
I was thinking along the lines of maybe looping through an eventID array with a try and catch within the loop. Would that work? How would that affect the syntax of the hashtable generation code? Any other suggestions? Thank you for your advice
Sure, you can use a try catch:
$EventLogIDs = #("4476", "4741", "4742")
ForEach($EvtxFileInfo in (Get-ChildItem 'C:\EvtxFolder\'))
{
$ReviewFile = ("\\ThePath\" + (Get-Date).tostring("dd-MMM-yy") +
" Review.csv")
if (Test-Path $ReviewFile) { Remove-Item $ReviewFile }
try
{
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable #{
Path = $EvtxFileInfo.FullName; # or your way
Id = $EventLogIDs;
} |
Select Id, LevelDisplayName, Message, MachineName, RecordId, TaskDisplayName |
Export-Csv $ReviewFile -NoTypeInfo
}
catch # plain catch = catch everything
{
# do nothing
}
}
More info about: ForEach
More info about: Try Catch (Finally)
Reference: Get-ChildItem

Expressions are only allowed as the first element of a pipeline

I'm new at writing in powershell but this is what I'm trying to accomplish.
I want to compare the dates of the two excel files to determine if one is newer than the other.
I want to convert a file from csv to xls on a computer that doesn't have excel. Only if the statement above is true, the initial xls file was copied already.
I want to copy the newly converted xls file to another location
If the file is already open it will fail to copy so I want to send out an email alert on success or failure of this operation.
Here is the script that I'm having issues with. The error is "Expressions are only allowed as the first element of a pipeline." I know it's to do with the email operation but I'm at a loss as to how to write this out manually with all those variables included. There are probably more errors but I'm not seeing them now. Thanks for any help, I appreciate it!
$CSV = "C:filename.csv"
$LocalXLS = "C:\filename.xls"
$RemoteXLS = "D:\filename.xls"
$LocalDate = (Get-Item $LocalXLS).LASTWRITETIME
$RemoteDate = (Get-Item $RemoteXLS).LASTWRITETIME
$convert = "D:\CSV Converter\csvcnv.exe"
if ($LocalDate -eq $RemoteDate) {break}
else {
& $convert $CSV $LocalXLS
$FromAddress = "email#address.com"
$ToAddress = "email#address.com"
$MessageSubject = "vague subject"
$SendingServer = "mail.mail.com"
$SMTPMessage = New-Object System.Net.Mail.MailMessage $FromAddress, $ToAddress, $MessageSubject, $MessageBody
$SMTPClient = New-Object System.Net.Mail.SMTPClient $SendingServer
$SendEmailSuccess = $MessageBody = "The copy completed successfully!" | New-Object System.Net.Mail.SMTPClient mail.mail.com $SMTPMessage
$RenamedXLS = {$_.BaseName+(Get-Date -f yyyy-MM-dd)+$_.Extension}
Rename-Item -path $RemoteXLS -newname $RenamedXLS -force -erroraction silentlycontinue
If (!$error)
{ $SendEmailSuccess | copy-item $LocalXLS -destination $RemoteXLS -force }
Else
{$MessageBody = "The copy failed, please make sure the file is closed." | $SMTPClient.Send($SMTPMessage)}
}
You get this error when you are trying to execute an independent block of code from within a pipeline chain.
Just as a different example, imagine this code using jQuery:
$("div").not(".main").console.log(this)
Each dot (.) will chain the array into the next function. In the above function this breaks with console because it's not meant to have any values piped in. If we want to break from our chaining to execute some code (perhaps on objects in the chain - we can do so with each like this:
$("div").not(".main").each(function() {console.log(this)})
The solution is powershell is identical. If you want to run a script against each item in your chain individually, you can use ForEach-Object or it's alias (%).
Imagine you have the following function in Powershell:
$settings | ?{$_.Key -eq 'Environment' } | $_.Value = "Prod"
The last line cannot be executed because it is a script, but we can fix that with ForEach like this:
$settings | ?{$_.Key -eq 'Environment' } | %{ $_.Value = "Prod" }
This error basically happens when you use an expression on the receiving side of the pipeline when it cannot receive the objects from the pipeline.
You would get the error if you do something like this:
$a="test" | $a
or even this:
"test" | $a
I don't know why are trying to pipe everywhere. I would recommend you to learn basics about Powershell pipelining. You are approaching it wrong. Also, I think you can refer to the link below to see how to send mail, should be straight forward without the complications that you have added with the pipes : http://www.searchmarked.com/windows/how-to-send-an-email-using-a-windows-powershell-script.php