{"id":1159,"date":"2014-06-17T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-17T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.technet.microsoft.com\/heyscriptingguy\/2014\/06\/17\/a-better-powershell-command-line-edit\/"},"modified":"2014-06-17T00:01:00","modified_gmt":"2014-06-17T00:01:00","slug":"a-better-powershell-command-line-edit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/a-better-powershell-command-line-edit\/","title":{"rendered":"A Better PowerShell Command-Line Edit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/b>: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about using PSReadLine to improve command-line editing in Windows PowerShell.<\/p>\n

Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. Today I thought I would try something a bit different. It is hard to show command-line editing with screenshots and tables of shortcuts. So today’s post is basically two parts. The first part includes two tables that I built, which are basically reference material for the PSReadLine command-line enhancements.<\/p>\n

The second part is a short (less than two minutes) video. I recorded it to illustrate a simple command-line edit. My video is nothing like the way cool Scripting Cmdlet Style<\/a> video, but it should prove to be somewhat helpful.<\/p>\n

Cursor movement<\/h2>\n

One of the cool things about PSReadLine is that it adds a lot of ways to move around in the Windows PowerShell console. Learning a few keyboard shortcuts makes me a lot more productive, and it also saves my wrists and hands from a lot of extra typing and work. Here is a table that provides the cursor movement shortcuts. For the most part, they are straightforward, and they are inline with standard keyboard shortcuts used in other places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Cursor Movement<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Shortcut<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Meaning<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

EndOfLine  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<End>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Move the cursor to the end of the input.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

BeginningOfLine  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Home>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Move the cursor to the start of the input.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

ForwardChar  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Right Arrow>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Move the cursor one character to the right. This may move the cursor to the next line of multiline input.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

BackwardChar  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Left Arrow>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Move the cursor one character to the left. This may move the cursor to the previous line of multiline input.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

ForwardWord  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

unbound  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Move the cursor forward to the end of the current word, or if between words, to the end of the next word. Word delimiter characters can be set with:<\/p>\n

Set-PSReadlineOption -WordDelimiters <string of delimiter characters><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

NextWord  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Ctrl+Right Arrow>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Move the cursor forward to the start of the next word. Word delimiter characters can be set with:<\/p>\n

Set-PSReadlineOption -WordDelimiters <string of delimiter characters><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

BackwardWord  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Ctrl+Left Arrow>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Move the cursor back to the start of the current word, or if between words, to the start of the previous word. Word delimiter characters can be set with:<\/p>\n

Set-PSReadlineOption -WordDelimiters <string of delimiter characters><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

ShellForwardWord  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

unbound  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Like ForwardWord except word boundaries are defined by Windows PowerShell token boundaries.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

ShellNextWord  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

unbound  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Like NextWord except word boundaries are defined by Windows PowerShell token boundaries.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

ShellBackwardWord  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

unbound  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Like BackwardWord except word boundaries are defined by Windows PowerShell token boundaries.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

GotoBrace  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Ctrl+}>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Go to the matching parenthesis curly brace or square bracket.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

AddLine  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Shift-Enter>  <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

The continuation prompt is displayed on the next line, and PSReadLine waits for keys to edit the current input. This is useful to enter multiline input as a single command even when a single line is complete input by itself.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 Command-line editing<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the real strengths of PSReadLine is the enhanced command-line editing experience. Learning a few shortcuts will vastly improve the command-line editing experience. Most of the shortcuts make sense and are familiar to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Edit Function<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Shortcut<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Meaning<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

CancelLine<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

unbound<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Cancel all editing to the line and leave the line of input on the screen, but return from PSReadLine without executing the input.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

RevertLine<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<ESC><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Revert all of the input since the last input was accepted and executed. This is equivalent to doing Undo until there is nothing left to undo.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

BackwardDeleteChar<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Backspace><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Delete the character before the cursor.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

DeleteChar<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Delete><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Delete the character under the cursor.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

AcceptLine<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Enter><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Attempt to execute the current input. If the current input is incomplete (for example, there is a missing closing parenthesis bracket or quotation mark), the continuation prompt is displayed on the next line and PSReadLine waits for keys to edit the current input.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

AcceptAndGetNext<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

unbound<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Like AcceptLine but after the line completes, start editing the next line from history.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

BackwardDeleteLine<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Ctrl+Home><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Delete the text from the start of the input to the cursor.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

ForwardDeleteLine<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Ctrl+End><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Delete the text from the cursor to the end of the input.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

SelectBackwardChar<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Shift+Left Arrow><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Adjust the current selection to include the previous character.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

SelectForwardChar<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Shift+Right Arrow><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Adjust the current selection to include the next character.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

SelectBackwardWord<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Shift+Ctrl+Left Arrow><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Adjust the current selection to include the previous word.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

SelectForwardWord<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

unbound<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Adjust the current selection to include the next word using ForwardWord.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

SelectNextWord<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Shift+Ctrl+Right Arrow><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Adjust the current selection to include the next word using NextWord.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

SelectShellForwardWord<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

unbound<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Adjust the current selection to include the next word using ShellForwardWord.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

SelectShellNextWord<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

unbound<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Adjust the current selection to include the next word using ShellNextWord.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

SelectShellBackwardWord<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

unbound<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Adjust the current selection to include the previous word using ShellBackwardWord.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

SelectBackwardsLine<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Shift+Home><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Adjust the current selection to include from the cursor to the start of the line.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

SelectLine<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Shift+End><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Adjust the current selection to include from the cursor to the end of the line.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

SelectAll<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Ctrl+A><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Select the entire line. Moves the cursor to the end of the line.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

SelfInsert<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<a> <b> …<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Insert the key entered.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Redo<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Ctrl+Y><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Redo an insertion or deletion that was undone by Undo.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Undo<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

<Ctrl+Z><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Undo a previous insertion or deletion.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

I really love the command-line editing, and it makes things a whole lot faster. I just need to keep remembering the shortcuts, which is why I made the two tables above. I have them printed out on my desk so that I have easy reference. They are also in the About_PSReadLine Help topic that is part of the PSReadLine installation.<\/p>\n

Here is the video that illustrates using PSReadLine command-line editing to speed up Tab completion in Windows PowerShell:<\/p>\n

\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That is all there is to using PSReadLine on the Windows PowerShell console command line. PSReadLine week will continue tomorrow when I will talk about more cool stuff.<\/p>\n

I invite you to follow me on Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>. If you have any questions, send email to me at scripter@microsoft.com<\/a>, or post your questions on the Official Scripting Guys Forum<\/a>. See you tomorrow. Until then, peace.<\/p>\n

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy<\/b> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about using PSReadLine to improve command-line editing in Windows PowerShell. Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. Today I thought I would try something a bit different. It is hard to show command-line editing with screenshots and tables of shortcuts. So today’s post is basically two parts. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":87096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[516,3,4,45],"class_list":["post-1159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scripting","tag-psreadline","tag-scripting-guy","tag-scripting-techniques","tag-windows-powershell"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"

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