Powershell custom append object to csv file - powershell

Question

I'm trying to output a custom object to a csv formatted text file as I loop through a for each. One object per line.
But nothing is written to the file.
Is it something with types to be converted ?
$rechten = Get-ADGroupMember -Identity $v -Recursive -ERRORACTION silentlycontinue | Get-ADUser -Property DisplayName -ERRORACTION silentlycontinue | Select-Object Name
Write-Host -ForegroundColor Yellow "ADgroup $v wordt uitgevlooid."
foreach ($rechtenhouder in $rechten) {
$objResults = New-Object PSObject
$objResults | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name DirectoryPath -Value $objPath
$objResults | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name Identity -Value $rechtenhouder.name
$objResults | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name Systemrights -Value $accessRight.FileSystemRights
$objResults | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name systemrightstype -Value $accessRight.accesscontroltype
$objResults | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name isinherited -Value $accessRight.isinherited
$objResults | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name inheritanceflags -Value $accessRight.inheritanceflags
$objResults | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name rulesprotected -Value $objACL.areaccessrulesprotected
$objResults | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -Name Adtype -Value "User"
$arrResults += $objResults
Add-Content $exportpathtxtappend $objresults
}

Answer 1

For your specific use exporting all objects at once or in batches would be the most efficient, but there are times were it would make sense to export a record one at a time to a CSV file which is what led me to this question, so I want to post my solution.
Use Export-CSV -Append to continually add to the end of a csv file.
foreach ($rechtenhouder in $rechten) {
$objResults = New-Object PSObject -Property #{
DirectoryPath = $objPath;
Identity = $rechtenhouder.name;
Systemrights = $accessRight.FileSystemRights;
systemrightstype = $accessRight.accesscontroltype;
isinherited = $accessRight.isinherited;
inheritanceflags = $accessRight.inheritanceflags;
rulesprotected = $objACL.areaccessrulesprotected;
Adtype = "User";
}
$objResults | Export-CSV $csvPath -Append -NoTypeInformation
}
This is useful if you are continually polling at set time intervals, but less so if you are iterating over a collection of objects, just export them all at once. For example, I would use this method of exporting for a script like below:
while($true){
$procs = Get-Process | Select-Object Name,CPU
$procs | Add-Member -type NoteProperty -Name "Timestamp" -Value $(Get-Date)
$procs | Export-CSV $csvPath -Append -NoTypeInformation
sleep -Seconds 60
}

Answer 2

First, I suggest you to create your object in a decent smarter way:
foreach ($rechtenhouder in $rechten) {
$objResults = New-Object PSObject -Property #{
DirectoryPath = $objPath;
Identity = $rechtenhouder.name;
Systemrights = $accessRight.FileSystemRights;
systemrightstype = $accessRight.accesscontroltype;
isinherited = $accessRight.isinherited;
inheritanceflags = $accessRight.inheritanceflags;
rulesprotected = $objACL.areaccessrulesprotected;
Adtype = "User";
}
$arrResults += $objResults
}
With this done, your $arrResults now contains your objects. This can easily exported to CSV files with PowerShells builtin Export-CSV:
$arrResults | Export-Csv -Path "C:/temp/text.csv"
Using Add-Content on every loop iteration is IMHO ineffective regarding performance. If your script runs for a long time and you want to save your current state in intervals, you could e.g. start an asynchronous job - let's say every 10th iteration - exporting your current array:
$i = 0
foreach ($rechtenhouder in $rechten) {
$objResults = New-Object PSObject -Property #{
DirectoryPath = $objPath;
Identity = $rechtenhouder.name;
Systemrights = $accessRight.FileSystemRights;
systemrightstype = $accessRight.accesscontroltype;
isinherited = $accessRight.isinherited;
inheritanceflags = $accessRight.inheritanceflags;
rulesprotected = $objACL.areaccessrulesprotected;
Adtype = "User";
}
$arrResults += $objResults
if ($i % 10 -eq 0) {
Start-Job -ScriptBlock {
param($T, $Path)
$T | Export-Csv -Path $Path
} -ArgumentList #($arrTest, "Path/to/script")
}
$i++
}