How to have multiple input fields in the same input box - powershell

Question

I would like to have a tech enter in the username and the group name but in one input box. Anyone willing to tell me how to do this?
Function add-togroup{
#Adds members to group in AD
#$users = Read-Host "Enter a username"
Add-Type -AssemblyName Microsoft.VisualBasic;
$value = [Microsoft.VisualBasic.Interaction]::InputBox('Enter username',
'Username')
$value2 = [Microsoft.VisualBasic.Interaction]::InputBox('Enter group
name', 'XA Group','')
$group_membership = Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership $users | select name |
format-table -auto
foreach($u in $value)
{
Add-ADGroupMember $value2 -Members $u
}
Write-Host $group_membership
}
So I am capable of using multiple dialogs in sequence but it would make for a better user experience if I could roll this into one single box /form.

Answer 1

If you are not satisfied with the basic forms available then one option you have is to roll your own in PowerShell with .Net forms. Just to show an example that you can build from...
[void] [System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.Drawing")
[void] [System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.Windows.Forms")
$objForm = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Form
$objForm.Text = "Data Entry Form"
$objForm.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(300,200)
$objForm.StartPosition = "CenterScreen"
$objForm.KeyPreview = $True
$objForm.Add_KeyDown({
if ($_.KeyCode -eq "Enter" -or $_.KeyCode -eq "Escape"){
$objForm.Close()
}
})
$OKButton = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Button
$OKButton.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(75,120)
$OKButton.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(75,23)
$OKButton.Text = "OK"
$OKButton.Add_Click({$objForm.Close()})
$objForm.Controls.Add($OKButton)
$CancelButton = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Button
$CancelButton.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(150,120)
$CancelButton.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(75,23)
$CancelButton.Text = "Cancel"
$CancelButton.Add_Click({$objForm.Close()})
$objForm.Controls.Add($CancelButton)
$objLabel = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Label
$objLabel.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(10,20)
$objLabel.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(280,20)
$objLabel.Text = "Please enter the information in the space below:"
$objForm.Controls.Add($objLabel)
$objTextBox = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.TextBox
$objTextBox.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(10,40)
$objTextBox.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(260,20)
$objForm.Controls.Add($objTextBox)
$objTextBox2 = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.TextBox
$objTextBox2.Location = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(10,70)
$objTextBox2.Size = New-Object System.Drawing.Size(260,20)
$objForm.Controls.Add($objTextBox2)
$objForm.Topmost = $True
$objForm.Add_Shown({$objForm.Activate()})
[void]$objForm.ShowDialog()
$objTextBox.Text
$objTextBox2.Text
The borrows heavily from the great primer on the subject on TechNet which you should read as it walks you though this better. I removed some of the variable population logic as it was flawed and added another text box. The last two lines return the values entered by the "user". Aside from the addition of the text box I have left most other cosmetic changes up to you to help you get a better understanding of what is involved here.
Keep in mind the locations and sizes of newly added objects and be sure you actually add it to the form.
Since there is not GUI for form building it can seem daunting but its not really that hard to do. You just need to experiment. If you are so inclined there are 3rd party tools that will help with that.