Powershell path not taking string variable - powershell

Question

I am using the following code to select a folder through the Windows Forms "Browse" function and then pass that path to the gci cmdlet
cls
Function Get-Directory($initialDirectory)
{
[System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.windows.forms") |
Out-Null
$OpenfolderDialog = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.FolderBrowserDialog
$OpenfolderDialog.RootFolder = $initialDirectory
$OpenfolderDialog.ShowDialog()| Out-Null
$StartDir = $OpenfolderDialog.SelectedPath
Return $StartDir | Out-String
}
$myDir = Get-Directory -initialDirectory "Desktop"
$Child = gci -path $mydir -r -Filter *.jpg
Foreach ($item in $Child) {Move-Item -path $item.pspath -Destination $myDir -Force}
but I get these errors:
***At C:\Test\Combine Pics2.ps1:17 char:13
+ $Child = gci <<<< -path $mydir -r -Filter *.jpg
+ CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (C:\Test
:String) [Get-ChildItem], ItemNotFoundException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : PathNotFound,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.GetChildItemCommand
Move-Item : Cannot bind argument to parameter 'Path' because it is null.
At C:\Test\Combine Pics2.ps1:19 char:43
+ Foreach ($item in $Child) {Move-Item -path <<<< $item.pspath -Destination $myDir -Force}
+ CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Move-Item], ParameterBindingValidationException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationErrorNullNotAllowed,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.MoveItemCommand***
The $myDir variable is of type String, why does it not pass to the -path parameter.

Answer 1

What if the user canceled the dialog? Give this a try:
Function Get-Directory($initialDirectory)
{
[System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.windows.forms") | Out-Null
$OpenfolderDialog = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.FolderBrowserDialog
$OpenfolderDialog.RootFolder = $initialDirectory
$result = $OpenfolderDialog.ShowDialog()
if($result -eq 'ok')
{
$OpenfolderDialog.SelectedPath
}
else
{
"canceled"
}
}
$mydir = Get-Directory -initialDirectory Desktop
if($mydir -ne 'canceled')
{
gci -path $mydir
}

Answer 2

Try this:
Function Get-Directory($initialDirectory)
{
[System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.Windows.Forms") | Out-Null
$OpenfolderDialog = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.FolderBrowserDialog
$OpenfolderDialog.RootFolder = $initialDirectory
if ($OpenfolderDialog.ShowDialog() -eq "OK") {
#Continue only if a folder was selected
$OpenfolderDialog.SelectedPath
}
}
$myDir = Get-Directory -initialDirectory "Desktop"
#Continue only if a folder was selected
if($myDir) {
$Child = Get-ChildItem -path $mydir -Recurse -Filter *.jpg
Foreach ($item in $Child) {
Move-Item -path $item.pspath -Destination $myDir -Force
}
}
I cleaned it up with a few if-tests so it doesn't return errors when people cancel the dialog. There was no need to Out-String as SelectedPath returns a single string by itself.

Answer 3

I got a newline and carriage return at the end of the $mydir value, so try trimming with something like this to see if that is your issue:
$Child = gci -path $mydir.Trim("`r`n") -r -Filter *.jpg
Update: Better yet, just lose the Out-String in your function:
Return $StartDir