The other day on X, I was asked about what things I would setup or configure on a new PowerShell installation. This is something I actually have thought about and face all the time when I setup a new demo virtual machine. I had been meaning to build new tooling to meet this challenge, and…
Category: Scripting
Exposing the Mystery of PowerShell Objects
A few weeks ago, I was working on content for a new PowerShell course for Pluralsight. The subject was objects. We all know the importance of working with objects in PowerShell. Hopefully, you also know that the output you get on your screen from running a PowerShell command is not the whole story. Formatted presentation…
Automation Decisions
This post is an updated reprint from an article published to my premium PowerShell newsletter Behind the PowerShell Pipeline available on Substack. Subscribers receive 6-8 articles like this a month delivered to their inbox or available on the Substack app. I hope you’ll consider subscribing. Trial subscriptions are available. I’ve been scripting and automating things…
Friday Fun: PowerShell Scripting with ChatGPT
I have been trying out the latest AI, ChatGPT. I’ve asked it silly questions. As well as the really important questions. But what I find most fascinating is using ChatGPT to write PowerShell code. I gave the AI this instruction: “Write a PowerShell function that will display “Hello, World” in the center of the screen…
A WPF Countdown Timer
Last year I released a PowerShell module called PSClock. The module contains a command to create a transparent WPF form displaying a clock. Shortly after, someone posted a request for a countdown timer. Not an unreasonable request and one I finally got around to implementing. However, I already had a module with a number of…
Organizing Chaos with PSWorkItems and PowerShell
I spend my working days living in a PowerShell console. Over the years, I’ve developed many PowerShell modules to help me manage the chaos that is my work life. One area that always demands attention is managing my tasks and To-Dos. For several years I have been using the MyTasks module. This module stored tasks…
The Value of Objects
This is a reprint of an article published earlier this year in my premium PowerShell newsletter, Behind the PowerShell Pipeline. This is a sample of what my subscribers get 6-8 times a month. I expect I will write several articles about PowerShell and its relationship with objects. I know that this is the biggest hurdle…
Using PowerShell Your Way
I’ve often told people that I spend my day in a PowerShell prompt. I run almost my entire day with PowerShell. I’ve shared many of the tools I use daily on Github. Today, I want to share another way I have PowerShell work the way I need it, with minimal effort. This specific task centers…
Better PowerShell Properties
I was chatting with my friend Gladys Kravitz recently about some PowerShell scripting she was doing with Active Directory and the DirectorySearcher object. For a number of reasons, the Active Directory module from Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) is not an option. But that’s fine. Gladys is an experience AD admin and PowerShell scripter. Still,…
Open Up Wide
I recently read a terrific post from Mike F. Robbins about using Format-Wide to display strings. Format-Wide is one of those cmdlets that I don’t think gets much use. This is a shame because it certainly fulfills a need. But as Mike points out, if you have a list of strings, Format-Wide requires a little…
An Iron Scripter Warm-Up Solution
We just wrapped up the 2022 edition of the PowerShell+DevOps Global Summit. It was terrific to be with passionate PowerShell professionals again. The culmination of the event is the Iron Scripter Challenge. You can learn more about this year’s event and winner here. But there is more to the Iron Scripter than this event. Throughout…
PowerShell Predicting with Style
I’ve been using the PSReadline module for years in PowerShell. I especially loved it when the module added inline command prediction based on your history. You would start typing a command and the module would search your saved history and suggest an inline completion. In my PowerShell profile I enable and configure this feature. Recently,…
Introducing PSProjectStatus
I write a lot of PowerShell modules. And probably like you, I am working on more than one project at a time. I was finding it difficult to keep track of what I was working on and what I might be neglecting. So I turned to PowerShell and created a tool that I use to…
Metric Meta PowerShell Scripting
I was fiddling around with PowerShell the other day. I spend my day in front of a PowerShell prompt and am always looking for ways to solve problems or answer questions without taking my hands off the keyboard. For some reason, I started thinking about metric conversions. How many feet are 50 meters? How many…
Managing Raw DirectorySearcher Data
Recently, I was chatting with my friend Gladys. As part of her work, she often creates Active Directory PowerShell-related tools for her colleagues. It is always good to be the toolmaker! Anyway, she doesn’t want to rely on the Active Directory module from Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT). There’s no guarantee that the feature can…