Output PowerShell variables to a text file - powershell

Question

I'm new to PowerShell and have a script which loops through Active Directory searching for certain computers. I get several variables and then run functions to check things like WMI and registry settings.
In the console, my script runs great and simple Write-Host command prints the data on the screen as I want. I know about Export-Csv when using the pipeline...but I'm not looking to print from the pipeline.
I want to write the variables to a text file, continue the loop, and check the next computer in AD...output the next iteration of the same variables on the next line. Here is my Write-Host:
Write-Host ($computer)","($Speed)","($Regcheck)","($OU)
Output file:
$computer,$Speed,$Regcheck | out-file -filepath C:\temp\scripts\pshell\dump.txt -append -width 200
It gives me the data, but each variable is on its own line. Why? I'd like all the variables on one line with comma separation. Is there a simple way to do this akin to VB writeline? My PowerShell version appears to be 2.0.

Answer 1

Use this:
"$computer, $Speed, $Regcheck" | out-file -filepath C:\temp\scripts\pshell\dump.txt -append -width 200

Answer 2

I usually construct custom objects in these loops, and then add these objects to an array that I can easily manipulate, sort, export to CSV, etc.:
# Construct an out-array to use for data export
$OutArray = #()
# The computer loop you already have
foreach ($server in $serverlist)
{
# Construct an object
$myobj = "" | Select "computer", "Speed", "Regcheck"
# Fill the object
$myobj.computer = $computer
$myobj.speed = $speed
$myobj.regcheck = $regcheck
# Add the object to the out-array
$outarray += $myobj
# Wipe the object just to be sure
$myobj = $null
}
# After the loop, export the array to CSV
$outarray | export-csv "somefile.csv"

Answer 3

You can concatenate an array of values together using PowerShell's `-join' operator. Here is an example:
$FilePath = '{0}\temp\scripts\pshell\dump.txt' -f $env:SystemDrive;
$Computer = 'pc1';
$Speed = 9001;
$RegCheck = $true;
$Computer,$Speed,$RegCheck -join ',' | Out-File -FilePath $FilePath -Append -Width 200;
Output
pc1,9001,True

Answer 4

$computer,$Speed,$Regcheck will create an array, and run out-file ones per variable = they get seperate lines. If you construct a single string using the variables first, it will show up a single line. Like this:
"$computer,$Speed,$Regcheck" | out-file -filepath C:\temp\scripts\pshell\dump.txt -append -width 200

Answer 5

The simple solution is to avoid creating an array before piping to Out-File. Rule #1 of PowerShell is that the comma is a special delimiter, and the default behavior is to create an array. Concatenation is done like this.
$computer + "," + $Speed + "," + $Regcheck | out-file -filepath C:\temp\scripts\pshell\dump.txt -append -width 200
This creates an array of three items.
$computer,$Speed,$Regcheck
FYKJ
100
YES
vs. concatenation of three items separated by commas.
$computer + "," + $Speed + "," + $Regcheck
FYKJ,100,YES

Answer 6

I was lead here in my Google searching. In a show of good faith I have included what I pieced together from parts of this code and other code I've gathered along the way.
# This script is useful if you have attributes or properties that span across several commandlets
# and you wish to export a certain data set but all of the properties you wish to export are not
# included in only one commandlet so you must use more than one to export the data set you want
#
# Created: Joshua Biddle 08/24/2017
# Edited: Joshua Biddle 08/24/2017
#
$A = Get-ADGroupMember "YourGroupName"
# Construct an out-array to use for data export
$Results = #()
foreach ($B in $A)
{
# Construct an object
$myobj = Get-ADuser $B.samAccountName -Properties ScriptPath,Office
# Fill the object
$Properties = #{
samAccountName = $myobj.samAccountName
Name = $myobj.Name
Office = $myobj.Office
ScriptPath = $myobj.ScriptPath
}
# Add the object to the out-array
$Results += New-Object psobject -Property $Properties
# Wipe the object just to be sure
$myobj = $null
}
# After the loop, export the array to CSV
$Results | Select "samAccountName", "Name", "Office", "ScriptPath" | Export-CSV "C:\Temp\YourData.csv"
Cheers