Use a variable from a previous iteration in a future iteration - powershell

Question

Is it possible to use $SecretFolder from the else statement in future Iterations if the company is the same. E.g. Multiple users exist on the list from one company but they all need to have a link generated for 1 folder for the company to access.
#Location of original dataset
$csv = Import-Csv c:\export.csv
#loops through every line of the csv
Foreach ($line in $csv){
#Generate random folder name (8 Characters long)
$SecretFolder = -join ((48..57) + (97..122) | Get-Random -Count 8 | % {[char]$_})
#Create URL
$url = "www.website.com.au/2017Rates/$SecretFolder"
#Test: Has the company already had a folder created
if (Get-Variable $line.CompanyName -Scope Global -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
{
#Append URL to CSV for a person who already has a company folder
$report =#()
$report += New-Object psobject -Property #{CompanyName=$line.CompanyName;FirstName=$line.FirstName;LastName=$line.LastName;EmailAddress=$line.EmailAddress;'Letter Type'=$line.'Letter Type';URL=$URL}
$report | export-csv testreporting.csv -Append
}
else
{
#Create Folder with Random Cryptic name
mkdir C:\Users\bford\test\$SecretFolder
#Copy item from FileLocation in CSV to SecretFolder Location
Copy-Item -Path $line.FileLocation -Destination c:\users\bford\test\$SecretFolder -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
#Create Variable for Logic test with the Name CompanyName
New-Variable -Name $line.CompanyName
#Append csv with the updated details
$S_report =#()
$S_report += New-Object psobject -Property #{CompanyName=$line.CompanyName;FirstName=$line.FirstName;LastName=$line.LastName;EmailAddress=$line.EmailAddress;'Letter Type'=$line.'Letter Type';URL=$url}
$S_report | export-csv testreporting.csv -Append
}
}
#Cleanup remove all the variables added
Remove-Variable * -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Answer 1

Do you have any reason to think it's impossible? Yeah it's possible, you should Google hashtables and find that they do everything you're trying to do with get-variable, only way better.
But your question amounts to "how do I rewrite my script so it works?" and rewriting your script to me means getting rid of the duplicate #()+= triple lines, the mystery numbers, the global variables, and the extra variables and the if/else, and it ends up a completely different script altogether.
A completely different, and mostly untested, script:
# import and group all people in the same company together
# then loop over the groups (companies)
Import-Csv -Path c:\export.csv |
Group-Object -Property CompanyName |
ForEach-Object {
# This loop is once per company, make one secret folder for this company.
$SecretFolder = -join ( [char[]]'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890' | Get-Random -Count 8 )
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "C:\Users\bford\test\$SecretFolder"
# Loop through all the people in this company, and copy their files into this company's secret folder
$_.Group | ForEach-Object {
Copy-Item -Path $_.FileLocation -Destination c:\users\bford\test\$SecretFolder -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
# Output each person in this company with just the properties needed, and a new one for this company's URL
$_.Group | Select-Object -Property CompanyName , FirstName,
LastName, EmailAddress, 'Letter Type',
#{Name='Url'; Expression={"www.website.com.au/2017Rates/$SecretFolder"}}
} | Export-Csv -Path testreporting.csv -NoTypeInformation
But to edit your script to do what you want, use a hashtable, e.g.
$SecretFolders = #{} #at top of your script, outside loops
# in loops:
if (-not $SecretFolders.ContainsKey($line.CompanyName))
{
$SecretFolders[$line.CompanyName] = -join (random name generation here)
}
$SecretFolder = $SecretFolders[$line.CompanyName]