Export Registry Printer Information
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I came across this post http://www.oncallpros.com/2011/11/02/powershell-export-your-print-configuration-from-registry/ on exporting printer information from the registry in PowerShell. I wanted to offer some constructive suggestions but could find no way to comment so I'll do so here.
First, the article introduces some good PowerShell concepts. I like that he is using Test-Path. Although I'd suggest using Join-Path instead of concatenation. I also like the use of Write-Host to display progress. An even better approach for a future version might be to use Write-Progress. I'm going to see about using that more myself as I think it is a cmdlet that doesn't get the attention it deserves.
But my main concern with the script is that it feels too much like VBScript and parsing text. He's not really taking advantage of the PowerShell pipeline. The core command can be this one line command.
get-childitem HKLM:SYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlPrint -Recurse |
get-itemproperty |
select @{Name="RegKey";Expression={Convert-Path$_.pspath}},* -exclude PSParentPath,PSChildname,PSProvider,PSPath
I wasn't looking for a one line command, it just turned out that way.
Personally, this is the code that I would put in the script because it writes objects to the pipeline. Now I have options. If I want a formatted text list I can do it:
PS C:> c:sciriptsget-printerregistry.ps1 | format-list | out-file printers.txt
Or perhaps today I need it as an xml file I wan reimport later.
PS C:> c:sciriptsget-printerregistry.ps1 | export-clixml printers.xml
The point is to offer flexibility and think objects in the pipeline.
On a more personal (pet peeve) note, if you are going to post code samples more than a few lines long, please, please offer a text file download. Copying and pasting code from websites is ugly and time consuming.
So, look at the original post and look at my suggestions. What do you think?
Powershell – Export your print configuration from registry | On-Call Pros, LLC
I was asked to produce this script for follow up checking of driver versions later on or possible settings which can cause problems. The idea would be that a master file is updated on a website and ...
