Is there a way to provide powershell parameters with a file?
At the moment I have a script which is called My_Script.ps1. To start this script I have to provide the right parameters in the command:
.\My_Script.ps1 -param1="x" -param2="x" -param3="x" -param4="x" -param5="x" -param6="x" ...
This works but it isn't a very easy way to start the script. Is it possible in powershell to use a file in which you store your parameters and to use that file when you start the script?
Example
In My_Script.ps1 I add something like:
Param(
[string]$File="Path/to/file"
)
In my file I have something like
param1="x"
param2="x"
param3="x"
param4="x"
...
To execute the script you can edit the file and just start the script with .\My_Script.ps1
Another option:
Just use a ps1 file as config file and define your variables as you would do in your main script
$Param1 = "Value"
$Param2 = 42
Then you can use dot-sourcing or import-module to get the data from the config file
. .\configfile.ps1
or
Import-Module .\Configfile.ps1
afterwards you can just use the variables
In addition to splatting you can create variables from = separated values in a file.
param1=foo
param2=bar
param3=herp
param4=derp
Don't quote the values. The parameter names should be valid for a variable (no spaces etc.)
PowerShell 3 and newer:
(Get-Content c:\params.ini -raw | ConvertFrom-StringData).GetEnumerator() |
ForEach { Set-Variable $_.name $_.value }
PowerShell 2:
([IO.File]::ReadAllText('c:\params.ini') | ConvertFrom-StringData).GetEnumerator() |
ForEach { Set-Variable $_.name $_.value }
The code creates variables in current scope. It's possible to create in a global/script/parent scope.
You can use this blog posting
for a start and declare your parameters in an ini-like format.
For sure you could also use a csv-like format and work with import-csv cmdlet.
Related
The way our business is set up, our custom cmdlets are spread out across the network in several different larger files. We refer to these files in the usual "Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1"
Is there something I can run within Powershell to find where a cmdlet is running from instead of manually going through all the files referenced in "Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1" to find it?
E.g. if I have written a cmdlet called Get-UserExpiry and it is saved in C:\User\Name\Documents\CustomCmds.ps1, and I include that file path in Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1, is there a command I can use to find that file path if all I know is the cmdlet name?
Get-Command is what you need. That being said, depending on the command you are testing and the type of the command (external application, function, cmdlet, profile function), the command path won't always be assigned to the same property / subproperty.
Here's a way to get the path no matter where it is disclosed.
Function definition
Here we check the possible locations of the path based on the Get-Command result, filter out everything that is $null or empty and pick the first result we get.
Function Get-CommandLocation($Command) {
$definition = (Get-Command -Name $Command)
#(
$definition.Module.Path
$definition.Source
$definition.ScriptBlock.File
) | Where-Object { $_ } | Select-Object -First 1
}
Examples
Get-CommandLocation Get-Item # Native cmdlet
# Value obtained from (Get-Command -Name 'Get-Item').Module.Path
# Return C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\Microsoft.PowerShell.Management\Microsoft.PowerShell.Management.psd1
Get-CommandLocation Edit-Profile # Custom profile function (Test with a function in your profile (if any))
# Value obtained from(Get-Command -Name 'Edit-Profile').ScriptBlock.File
# Return C:\Users\SagePourpre\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.VSCode_profile.ps1
Get-CommandLocation New-ExternalHelp # PlatyPS module downloaded from the gallery
# Value obtained from (Get-Command New-ExternalHelp).Module.Path
# Return C:\Program Files\WindowsPowerShell\Modules\platyPS\0.14.2\platyPS.psm1
Get-CommandLocation -command cmd # External Program
# Value located in (Get-Command -Name 'cmd').Source
# Return C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe
I have written a PS script, which replaces a specific string at the beginning of the file, adds another piece of string to the end of the file, and finally it puts out an XML.
My code might be ugly (I am not a programmer/engineer or anything, just trying to make life easier for some family members who are running a small business), but it works:
$content = Get-Content -Path 'C:\Users\blabla\Desktop\4440341930.txt'
$newContent = $content -replace 'text to be replaced','this is going to replace stuff'
$newContent | Set-Content -Path 'C:\Users\blabla\Desktop\4440341930.txt'
Add-Content C:\Users\blabla\Desktop\4440341930.txt '</Items>'
$x = [xml](Get-Content "C:\Users\blabla\Desktop\4440341930.txt")
$x.Save("C:\Users\blabla\Desktop\4440341930.xml")
I would like them to be able to run this script from the context menu, by right clicking on a txt file. I did a little research and I kind of get what I have to add to Registry, however, I'm not sure how to make it work. Since the path of each file that they are going to right click on is going to be different, the path that I'm specifying in $content is not going to work.
What do I have to modify in my code to be able to add it to the Registry?
To accomplish this you need to:
Create a Shortcut in the SendTo Folder: "$DestinationPath\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo"
The target: "C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe"
The Arguments: -File "d:\path\your PS1 file"
In your program read the file name passed by Explorer as:
Param
(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
[String] $FilePath
)
I've written a Setup Function that accomplishes steps 1-3 that I include in all my programs that I want on the context menu and then just run the program with the -Setup switch. We're not supposed to post developed code here, but if you can't figure it out let me know and I'll post it and hope I don't get killed for it. LOL!
UPDATE:
If you want to pass more than one file you need to process the files a little differently. Delete the Param block above and then use this type of code to retrieve the files.
If ($Args.count -eq 0) {
$Message = "No Files were passed from File Explorer."
[Void]$MsgBox::Show(
"$Message","System Exit",$Buttons::OK, $MBIcons::Stop)
Show-PowerShell
Exit #Comment out for testing from ISE!
}
Else {
$FilesToCopy = $Args
}
I have a command which runs a program in silent mode, it uses an XML file for the data repository and a word template to create multiple word documents based on a filter xml file.
The command I use is:
"P:\ath to\executable" -Username:Admin -Password:Pa55w0rd -Datadefinition:"C:\Data.xml" -Datafilter:"C:\Filter.xml" -wordtemplate:"C:\Batch\Paul1.dotx" -Targetdocument:="C:\Batch\Paul1.pdf" -filetype:PDF -Log:"C:\Logs\error.log" -Usage:DOCGENSILENT
I need to run this as a PowerShell script which I have mostly managed:
set-executionpolicy unrestricted
$datadefinition = Get-Content "C:\Data file.xml"
$datafilter = Get-Content "C:\Filter for data file.xml"
$wordTemplate = Get-Content "C:\"C:\Template\Paul1.dotx"
$targetFolder = Get-Content "C:\"C:\Paul\Paul.pdf"
Stop-Job = "Executable path" -Username:Admin -Password:Pa55w0rd -Datadefinition:%dataDefinition% -Datafilter:%dataFilter% -wordtemplate:%wordTemplate% -Targetdocument:%targetFolder% -filetype:docx -Log:%logPath% -Usage:DOCGENSILENT
Stop-Job 1
set-executionpolicy restricted
Write-Host -NoNewLine "Press any key to continue..."
$null = $Host.UI.RawUI.ReadKey("NoEcho,IncludeKeyDown")
My issue is that the script starts the executable but then doesnt pass the Variables, can anyone guide me in the right direction to fix this?
Getting this working depends on the behavior of your executable. Some things I noticed:
Shouldn't this:
$wordTemplate = Get-Content "C:\"C:\Template\Paul1.dotx"
be this:
$wordTemplate = "C:\Template\Paul1.dotx"
Are you sure you need Get-Content? (Aside from that, the path and quoting in your sample are not correct.)
Shouldn't this:
$targetFolder = Get-Content "C:\"C:\Paul\Paul.pdf"
be this:
$targetDocument = "C:\Paul\Paul.pdf"
I doubt Get-Content is correct here, since presumably your output file doesn't exist yet? I also renamed the variable so it makes more sense in your command.
In fact, are you sure you need Get-Content for any of those? Aren't you specifying filenames, not the content of the files?
In PowerShell, variables are prefixed with $ rather than being surrounded by %.
Using Set-ExecutionPolicy within a script to enable scripts to run is pointless, because the script is already running. (That is, if execution policy prevented script execution, PowerShell wouldn't let you run the script in the first place.)
If my guesses regarding your variables are correct, I think your script should look something like this (note also that I specified a $logFile variable, which I didn't see in your script):
$datadefinition = "C:\Users\Administrator\data\Sample Model_146_object type(s).xml"
$datafilter = "C:\Users\Administrator\data\Sample Model_146_object type(s).xml"
$wordtemplate = "C:\Users\Administrator\Templates\Base object.docx"
$targetdocument = "C:\Users\Administrator\Result\sample test15"
$logfile = "C:\Users\Administrator\Logs\C4W Error.log"
& "C:\Program Files (x86)\Communicator4Word.exe" -Username:Admin -Password: -Datadefinition:$datadefinition -Datafilter:$datafilter -wordtemplate:$wordtemplate -Targetdocument:$targetdocument -filetype:docx -Log:$logfile -Usage:DOCGENSILENT
I don't know the behavior of Communicator4Word.exe when you use -Password: with no password after it. (Is that a syntax error, or should you just omit -Password: altogether?)
I'm attempting to run a PowerShell script with the input being the results of another PowerShell cmdlet. Here's the cross-forest Exchange 2013 PowerShell command I can run successfully for one user by specifying the -Identity parameter:
.\Prepare-MoveRequest.ps1 -Identity "user#domain.com" -RemoteForestDomainController "dc.remotedomain.com" $Remote -UseLocalObject -OverwriteLocalObject -Verbose
I want to run this command for all MailUsers. Therefore, what I want to run is:
Get-MailUser | select windowsemailaddress | .\Prepare-MoveRequest.ps1 -RemoteForestDomainController "dc.remotedomain.com" $Remote -LocalForestDomainController "dc.localdomain.com" -UseLocalObject -OverwriteLocalObject -Verbose
Note that I removed the -Identity parameter because I was feeding it from each Get-MailUser's WindowsEmailAddress property value. However, this returns with a pipeline input error.
I also tried exporting the WindowsEmailAddress property values to a CSV, and then reading it as per the following site, but I also got a pipeline problem: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee861103(v=exchg.150).aspx
Import-Csv mailusers.csv | Prepare-MoveRequest.ps1 -RemoteForestDomainController DC.remotedomain.com -RemoteForestCredential $Remote
What is the best way to feed the windowsemailaddress field from each MailUser to my Prepare-MoveRequest.ps1 script?
EDIT: I may have just figured it out with the following foreach addition to my Import-Csv option above. I'm testing it now:
Import-Csv mailusers.csv | foreach { Prepare-MoveRequest.ps1 -Identity $_.windowsemailaddress -RemoteForestDomainController DC.remotedomain.com -RemoteForestCredential $Remote }
You should declare your custom function called Prepare-MoveRequest instead of simply making it a script. Then, dot-source the script that declares the function, and then call the function. To accept pipeline input into your function, you need to declare one or more parameters that use the appropriate parameter attributes, such as ValueFromPipeline or ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName. Here is the official MSDN documentation for parameter attributes.
For example, let's say I was developing a custom Stop-Process cmdlet. I want to stop a process based on the ProcessID (or PID) of a Windows process. Here is what the command would look like:
function Stop-CustomProcess {
# Specify the CmdletBinding() attribute for our
# custom advanced function.
[CmdletBinding()]
# Specify the PARAM block, and declare the parameter
# that accepts pipeline input
param (
[Parameter(ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName = $true)]
[int] $Id
)
# You must specify the PROCESS block, because we want this
# code to execute FOR EACH process that is piped into the
# cmdlet. If we do not specify the PROCESS block, then the
# END block is used by default, which only would run once.
process {
Write-Verbose -Message ('Stopping process with PID: {0}' -f $ID);
# Stop the process here
}
}
# 1. Launch three (3) instances of notepad
1..3 | % { notepad; };
# 2. Call the Stop-CustomProcess cmdlet, using pipeline input
Get-Process notepad | Stop-CustomProcess -Verbose;
# 3. Do an actual clean-up
Get-Process notepad | Stop-Process;
Now that we've taken a look at an example of building the custom function ... once you've defined your custom function in your script file, dot-source it in your "main" script.
# Import the custom function into the current session
. $PSScriptRoot\Prepare-MoveRequest.ps1
# Call the function
Get-MailUser | Prepare-MoveRequest -RemoteForestDomainController dc.remotedomain.com $Remote -LocalForestDomainController dc.localdomain.com -UseLocalObject -OverwriteLocalObject -Verbose;
# Note: Since you've defined a parameter named `-WindowsEmailAddress` that uses the `ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName` attribute, the value of each object will be bound to the parameter, as it passes through the `PROCESS` block.
EDIT: I would like to point out that your edit to your post does not properly handle parameter binding in PowerShell. It may achieve the desired results, but it does not teach the correct method of binding parameters in PowerShell. You don't have to use the ForEach-Object to achieve your desired results. Read through my post, and I believe you will increase your understanding of parameter binding.
My foreach loop did the trick.
Import-Csv mailusers.csv | foreach { Prepare-MoveRequest.ps1 -Identity $_.windowsemailaddress -RemoteForestDomainController DC.remotedomain.com -RemoteForestCredential $Remote }
One of my favorite Bash tips involves creating aliases for marking and returning to directories as described here: http://www.huyng.com/archives/quick-bash-tip-directory-bookmarks/492/.
In Bash, it looks like this:
alias m1='alias g1="cd `pwd`"'
Is it possible to create a similar function in powershell?
This project works very well: http://www.powershellmagazine.com/2016/05/06/powershell-location-bookmark-for-easy-and-faster-navigation/
Install:
Install-Module -Name PSBookmark
Use:
#This will save $PWD as scripts
save scripts
#This will save C:\Documents as docs
save docs C:\Documents
#You don't have to type the alias name.
#Instead, you can just tab complete. This function uses dynamic parameters.
goto docs
You can add the following to the $profile:
$marks = #{};
$marksPath = Join-Path (split-path -parent $profile) .bookmarks
if(test-path $marksPath){
import-csv $marksPath | %{$marks[$_.key]=$_.value}
}
function m($number){
$marks["$number"] = (pwd).path
}
function g($number){
cd $marks["$number"]
}
function mdump{
$marks.getenumerator() | export-csv $marksPath -notype
}
function lma{
$marks
}
I didn't like the way of defining an alias for each like m1, m2 and so on. Instead you will be doing m 1 and g 1 etc.
You can also add the line
Register-EngineEvent PowerShell.Exiting –Action { mdump } | out-null
so that it will do mdump when you exit the Powershell session. Unfortunately, doesn't work if you close the console window, but when you type exit.
PS: Also have a look at CDPATH: CDPATH functionality in Powershell?
Long-time ago I created some module with such functionality. Now I think it quite stable to add a link to the Powershell gallery and the GitHub project :)
Install module function:
Install-Module -Name Bookmarks
Basic usage:
$pwd | ba -Name "BookmarkName" #add
bo BookmarkName #open
br BookmarkName #remove
bl #list
Entire functions list is listed on the GitHub project page
I use this trick:
im my $profile I wrote function like this:
function win { Set-Location c:\windows}
$ProfileDir = $PROFILE.Substring(0 , $PROFILE.LastIndexOf("\")+1)
function pro { Set-Location $profiledir}
and so on...