Additional Topics

Some Additional Topics

If you will be editing or creating Scripts you should find a better editor than Notepad, something with Syntax Highlighting will make it much easier to code and spot errors. Some suggestions:

• Windows includes the PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) - usually installed and ready to go.
  Try running: powershell_ise.exe or just isefrom within PowerShell, or look in the Start Menu for "Windows PowerShell ISE"
• Visual Studio Code has solid PowerShell support with the PowerShell extension
• Notepad++ is also very popular and works with .PS1, .BAT and .CMD files too.
• Or the smaller, portable and very similar Notepad2, also works with .PS1/.BAT/.CMD files.
• Unless you already know them, don't try to use Vim or Emacs. If you already know them, feel free to use them

If you run across a VBScript (.VBS file) you can run it with either WSCRIPT.EXE or CSCRIPT.EXE. Wscript is the Windows Scripting Host, and won't open a console, but any output is done via pop-up message boxes. Cscript is the Console Scripting Host - so while a Console opens the output is all at console. Example:
cscript.exe //nologo c:\path\and\NameOfScript.VBS

When pasting single or multiple commands from the Web or an MS Word Doc to a Console/Shell (or into a script file) keep in mind that may blogs will mangle the commands. PowerShell.exe and CMD.exe aren't very forgiving at times. So extra spaces need to be removed, or added. Funny characters may need to be trimmed, and those curly "smart quotes" may need to changed to regular "double" or 'single' quotes. Sometimes dashes need to be changed from longer Em- and En-dashes to regular hyphens/dashes, a > redirection sign will display as the HTML ">" entity, or the \ may be missing or swapped for a /. If something still doesn't work: check to see if spaces were added/removed (like Get -Content -Path someFile.txt) or removed (like Get-Content-Path someFile.txt).

As you begin to explore the CLI and discover useful commands or techniques it's often helpful to start a text file to keep CLI notes and example commands in. If you use one of the above Editors you can save your "notes" file with a .PS1 extension so the syntax highlighting kicks in. Use lines beginning with # for your comments. And make the very first line exit so nothing will happen if you try to run it by mistake.

Other Useful Links - there's no point listing every PowerShell related site (this isn't Yahoo circa 1999!) but if you want some decent generic PowerShell info:

• Microsoft Learn has a PowerShell Learning Path with several modules and interactive lessons.
• A bunch of PowerShell commands for Admins
• A bunch of PowerShell Gotchas
• SS64 has some great references:
  For most PowerShell commands: https://ss64.com/ps/
  And PowerShell operators, variables, etc: https://ss64.com/ps/syntax.html
  But also CMD commands: https://ss64.com/nt/
• Rob van der Woude has lots of useful scripting info, including PowerShell.
• There are also Cheat Sheets, such as this basic PowerShell one [PDF] if you want a quick reference.
• If you want to learn general programming using PowerShell checkout Wikiversity.
• And if you'd like 100 short videos that teach PowerShell in a Month of Lunches it's free on YouTube.
• Or follow along as someone delves into writing a PowerShell Script, also a good Introduction to PowerShell
• Similarly making the leap from PowerShell commands to Scripts.
• If you have experience already with Bash, Python, Javascript, C# or other programming languages you may find Learn PowerShell in Y Minutes helpful
  Knowing Regular Expressions can be helpful to process plain-text command output from regular Windows Console .EXE commands. Try RegEx101 or RegExr
• If you're already experienced with PowerShell and came here to understand the finer points of the language, try Kevin Marquette's PowerShell Explained