What is the -view parameter of Format-List? - powershell

Question

Format-List apparently has a string parameter named "view", as can be seen here. What does it do, and how does it work? I cannot find any documentation beyond "The name of an alternate format or 'view.'"

Answer 1

The '-View' parameter on the various Format-* cmdlets allows you to get various different "views" or formattings of the data e.g.:
PS> Get-Process
Handles NPM(K) PM(K) WS(K) VM(M) CPU(s) Id ProcessName
------- ------ ----- ----- ----- ------ -- -----------
672 56 272684 220692 975 141.45 8480 powershell
692 34 47184 60156 234 23.73 17048 powershell
751 82 217624 162780 1047 157.73 13336 powershell_ise
versus
PS> Get-Process | Format-Table -View StartTime
StartTime.ToShortDateString(): 1/14/2013
ProcessName Id HandleCount WorkingSet
----------- -- ----------- ----------
powershell 8480 672 225988608
StartTime.ToShortDateString(): 2/6/2013
ProcessName Id HandleCount WorkingSet
----------- -- ----------- ----------
powershell 17048 624 92418048
StartTime.ToShortDateString(): 1/17/2013
ProcessName Id HandleCount WorkingSet
----------- -- ----------- ----------
powershell_ise 13336 771 166686720
As for determining which commands support alternate views, you can usually find such info in the docs. Here's an excerpt from the Get-Process help:
You can also use the built-in alternate views of the processes
available with Format-Table, such as "StartTime" and "Priority", and
you can design your own views. For more information, see
T:Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Format-Table.
The PowerShell Community Extensions also includes a command called Get-ViewDefinition that can get this info when the docs aren't available (or of much help in this regards.