{"id":8853,"date":"2022-02-11T14:20:35","date_gmt":"2022-02-11T19:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jdhitsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=8853"},"modified":"2022-02-11T14:20:38","modified_gmt":"2022-02-11T19:20:38","slug":"friday-fun-painting-a-pretty-picture-with-powershell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jdhitsolutions.com\/blog\/powershell\/8853\/friday-fun-painting-a-pretty-picture-with-powershell\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Fun – Painting a Pretty Picture with PowerShell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A few months ago, I wrote about my PSClock module. This is a set of PowerShell commands for creating a digital clock using a transparent WPF form. You can install the module from the PowerShell Gallery. The repository can be found at https:\/\/github.com\/jdhitsolutions\/PSClock<\/a>. Because my Windows wallpaper changes throughout the day, sometimes I need to change the clock color to make it easier to read. The challenge is that the color options come from [System.Drawing.Color]. I can use values like PapayaWhip, Cornsilk, and Moccasin. But what do those colors look like? Let's have some fun and figure it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step, which is more of a safety net than anything, is to make sure I can use [System.Drawing.Color] in my PowerShell session. I'll use Add-Type to load the assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try {\n    Add-Type -AssemblyName system.drawing -ErrorAction Stop\n}\nCatch {\n    Throw \"These functions require the [System.Drawing.Color] .NET Class\"\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
As far as I know, PowerShell has no way of directly rendering a color value from this class. However, PowerShell can, in fact, render color using ANSI escape sequences, but not in the PowerShell ISE. We'll head in that direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting Color Values<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I can get a color directly from the class using syntax like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"a<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The properties R, G, and B are the Red, Green, and Blue values. I'll need those in a moment\u2014first, a few quick words about this class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How did I know the color name? I asked PowerShell using PSReadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"using<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
After the :: operator, I press Ctrl+Space and answer y when prompted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"all<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The \"gotcha\" for those familiar with working with .NET classes is that this is NOT an enumeration. You cannot use code like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[enum]::GetNames([System.ConsoleColor])<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
But,  I can use the GetProperties() method, select the Name property and filter out properties that don't match color names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[system.drawing.color].GetProperties().name | Where-Object { $_ -notmatch \"^\\bIs|Name|[RGBA]\\b\" }<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Once I know the name, I can get the value I did above or use the FromName() method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Converting to ANSI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As I mentioned earlier, if I have RBG values, I can construct a 256-color ANSI escape sequence. The easiest way is to use the FromRGB() method on $PSStyle.Foreground in PowerShell 7.2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$psstyle.Foreground.fromrgb(127,255,0)<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Or you can use the actual ANSI sequence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"$([char]27)[38;2;{0};{1};{2}m\" -f 127,255,0<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
If you try this using the Chartreuse RBG values, you won't see anything other than maybe part of your prompt changing color. That's because this is only the opening part of a sequence. To use it, build a string like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
#PS 7.2\n$ansi = $PSStyle.Foreground.FromRgb(127,255,0)\n\"$($ansi)Chartreuse$($psstyle.Reset)\"\n\n#Other\n$ansi = \"$([char]27)[38;2;{0};{1};{2}m\" -f 127,255,0\n\"$($ansi)Chartreuse$([char]27)[0m\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\"ANSI<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Toolmaking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
At this point, I should have all the pieces I need. I can get the RGB values of the [System.Drawing.Color. I can use those values to create the ANSI sequence. Finally, I can build a sample string.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$name = \"Turquoise\"\n$color = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromName($Name)\n$ansi = $PSStyle.Foreground.FromRgb($color.R,$color.G,$color.B)\n\"$($ansi)$Name$($psstyle.Reset)\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\"conversion<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
You can almost see PowerShell functions writing themselves. I could have built a monolithic function to do everything, but I decided to break this down to a more granular level. Having separate functions makes them easy to re-use. It also makes them easier to Pester test. Especially because I'm invoking several .NET methods that you can't properly mock. But, I can mock a function like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
function Get-RGB {\n    [cmdletbinding()]\n    [OutputType(\"RGB\")]\n    Param(\n        [Parameter(Mandatory, HelpMessage = \"Enter the name of a system color like Tomato\")]\n        [ValidateNotNullOrEmpty()]\n        [string]$Name\n    )\n    Try {\n        $Color = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromName($Name)\n        [PSCustomObject]@{\n            PSTypeName = \"RGB\"\n            Name       = $Name\n            Red        = $color.R\n            Green      = $color.G\n            Blue       = $color.B\n        }\n    }\n    Catch {\n        Throw $_\n    }\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The function writes a simple object to the pipeline. I can use that output to create the ANSI sequence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
function Convert-RGBtoAnsi {\n    #This will write an opening ANSI escape sequence to the pipeline\n    [cmdletbinding()]\n    [OutputType(\"String\")]\n    Param(\n        [parameter(Position = 0, ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName)]\n        [int]$Red,\n        [parameter(Position = 1, ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName)]\n        [int]$Green,\n        [parameter(Position = 2, ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName)]\n        [int]$Blue\n    )\n    Process {\n        <#\n        For legacy powershell session you could create a string like this:\n        \"$([char]27)[38;2;{0};{1};{2}m\" -f $red,$green,$blue\n        #>\n        $psstyle.Foreground.FromRgb($Red, $Green, $Blue)\n    }\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
You'll notice that the parameters are defined with the same names as the RGB object and take pipeline input. That's because I knew I would want to run a command like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$name =\"DeepSkyBlue\"\n$ansi = Get-RGB $name | Convert-RGBtoAnsi\n\"$($ansi)$Name$($psstyle.Reset)\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The last command makes it even easier to run these commands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Function Get-DrawingColor {\n    [cmdletbinding()]\n    [alias(\"gdc\")]\n    [OutputType(\"PSColorSample\")]\n    Param(\n        [Parameter(Position = 0, HelpMessage = \"Specify a color by name. Wildcards are allowed.\")]\n        [ValidateNotNullOrEmpty()]\n        [string[]]$Name\n    )\n\n    Write-Verbose \"Starting $($MyInvocation.MyCommand)\"\n\n    if ($PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey(\"Name\")) {\n        if ($Name[0] -match \"\\*\") {\n            Write-Verbose \"Finding drawing color names that match $name\"\n            $colors = [system.drawing.color].GetProperties().name | Where-Object { $_ -like $name[0] }\n        }\n        else {\n            $colors = @()\n            foreach ($n in $name) {\n                if ($n -as [system.drawing.color]) {\n                    $colors += $n\n                }\n                else {\n                    Write-Warning \"The name $n does not appear to be a valid System.Drawing.Color value. Skipping this name.\"\n                }\n                Write-Verbose \"Using parameter values: $($colors -join ',')\"\n\n            } #foreach name\n        } #else\n    } #if PSBoundParameters contains Name\n    else {\n        Write-Verbose \"Geting all drawing color names\"\n        $colors = [system.drawing.color].GetProperties().name | Where-Object { $_ -notmatch \"^\\bIs|Name|[RGBA]\\b\" }\n    }\n    Write-Verbose \"Processing $($colors.count) colors\"\n    if ($colors.count -gt 0) {\n        foreach ($c in $colors) {\n            Write-Verbose \"...$c\"\n            $ansi = Get-RGB $c -OutVariable rgb | Convert-RGBtoAnsi\n            #display an ANSI formatted sample string\n            $sample = \"$ansi$c$($psstyle.reset)\"\n\n            #write a custom object to the pipeline\n            [PSCustomObject]@{\n                PSTypeName = \"PSColorSample\"\n                Name       = $c\n                RGB        = $rgb\n                ANSIString = $ansi.replace(\"`e\", \"``e\")\n                ANSI       = $ansi\n                Sample     = $sample\n            }\n        }\n    } #if colors.count > 0\n    else {\n        Write-Warning \"No valid colors found.\"\n    }\n    Write-Verbose \"Ending $($MyInvocation.MyCommand)\"\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
I can specify a color by name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
I don't know all the ways I might use this output yet, so I'm creating a rich object. There is a value for the ANSI property, but it doesn't display because it is the actual ANSI sequence. That's why I include an ANSIString property that shows the value as a string I could use in a script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The default behavior is to display everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"all<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Not every color displays using ANSI, and your background color may also affect the display, but this is close enough for my work. By the way, the function accepts wildcards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"light<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
This screenshot is from VS Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Custom Formatting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You probably noticed that I often used Format-Table to get better-looking output. In fact, I might like an output that only shows me the sample.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
But let's make this easy. I created a format ps1xml file for the custom object from Get-DrawingColor. If you go back to the code, you'll see that I am assigning a type name. This allows me to create the file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<!--\nFormat type data generated 02\/08\/2022 17:32:56 by PROSPERO\\Jeff\n\nThis file was created using the New-PSFormatXML command that is part\nof the PSScriptTools module.\n\nhttps:\/\/github.com\/jdhitsolutions\/PSScriptTools\n-->\n<Configuration>\n  <ViewDefinitions>\n    <View>\n      <!--Created 02\/08\/2022 17:32:56 by PROSPERO\\Jeff-->\n      <Name>default<\/Name>\n      <ViewSelectedBy>\n        <TypeName>PSColorSample<\/TypeName>\n      <\/ViewSelectedBy>\n      <WideControl>\n        <!--Delete the AutoSize node if you want to use PowerShell defaults.\n        <AutoSize \/>-->\n        <WideEntries>\n          <WideEntry>\n            <WideItem>\n              <PropertyName>Sample<\/PropertyName>\n            <\/WideItem>\n          <\/WideEntry>\n        <\/WideEntries>\n      <\/WideControl>\n    <\/View>\n    <View>\n      <!--Created 02\/08\/2022 17:35:40 by PROSPERO\\Jeff-->\n      <Name>default<\/Name>\n      <ViewSelectedBy>\n        <TypeName>PSColorSample<\/TypeName>\n      <\/ViewSelectedBy>\n      <TableControl>\n        <!--Delete the AutoSize node if you want to use the defined widths.-->\n        <AutoSize \/>\n        <TableHeaders>\n          <TableColumnHeader>\n            <Label>Name<\/Label>\n            <Width>14<\/Width>\n            <Alignment>left<\/Alignment>\n          <\/TableColumnHeader>\n          <TableColumnHeader>\n            <Label>RGB<\/Label>\n            <Width>31<\/Width>\n            <Alignment>left<\/Alignment>\n          <\/TableColumnHeader>\n          <TableColumnHeader>\n            <Label>ANSIString<\/Label>\n            <Width>22<\/Width>\n            <Alignment>left<\/Alignment>\n          <\/TableColumnHeader>\n          <TableColumnHeader>\n            <Label>Sample<\/Label>\n            <Width>37<\/Width>\n            <Alignment>left<\/Alignment>\n          <\/TableColumnHeader>\n        <\/TableHeaders>\n        <TableRowEntries>\n          <TableRowEntry>\n            <TableColumnItems>\n              <!--\n            By default the entries use property names, but you can replace them with scriptblocks.\n            <ScriptBlock>$_.foo \/1mb -as [int]<\/ScriptBlock>\n-->\n              <TableColumnItem>\n                <PropertyName>Name<\/PropertyName>\n              <\/TableColumnItem>\n              <TableColumnItem>\n                <PropertyName>RGB<\/PropertyName>\n              <\/TableColumnItem>\n              <TableColumnItem>\n                <PropertyName>ANSIString<\/PropertyName>\n              <\/TableColumnItem>\n              <TableColumnItem>\n                <PropertyName>Sample<\/PropertyName>\n              <\/TableColumnItem>\n            <\/TableColumnItems>\n          <\/TableRowEntry>\n        <\/TableRowEntries>\n      <\/TableControl>\n    <\/View>\n  <\/ViewDefinitions>\n<\/Configuration><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
In the script file that contains all of the functions, I add this line to load the formatting file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Update-FormatData $PSScriptRoot\\pscolorsample.format.ps1xml<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
I made the wide layout the default.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"colors<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
I also created a custom table view that omits the ANSI property since there's nothing to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"colors<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I'll admit you may not have a compelling need for these functions. But I hope you followed my development process. Think about how your functions might work together. Write rich objects to the pipeline and use formatting files to provide default output. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have a great weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A few months ago, I wrote about my PSClock module. This is a set of PowerShell commands for creating a digital clock using a transparent WPF form. You can install the module from the PowerShell Gallery. The repository can be found at https:\/\/github.com\/jdhitsolutions\/PSClock. Because my Windows wallpaper changes throughout the day, sometimes I need to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"New Friday Fun: Converting System.Drawing.Color to ANSI. #PowerShell #PS7Now","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[271,4,8],"tags":[628,568,534,664,540],"class_list":["post-8853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-friday-fun","category-powershell","category-scripting","tag-ansi","tag-friday-fun","tag-powershell","tag-psstyle","tag-scripting"],"yoast_head":"\nFriday Fun - 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