{"id":17361,"date":"2010-08-21T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2010-08-21T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.technet.microsoft.com\/heyscriptingguy\/2010\/08\/21\/exploring-the-windows-powershell-ise-color-objects\/"},"modified":"2010-08-21T00:01:00","modified_gmt":"2010-08-21T00:01:00","slug":"exploring-the-windows-powershell-ise-color-objects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/exploring-the-windows-powershell-ise-color-objects\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the Windows PowerShell ISE Color Objects"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>\nSummary<\/b>: Join Microsoft Scripting Guy Ed Wilson as he takes you on a guided tour of the Windows PowerShell ISE color objects.\n \nMicrosoft Scripting Guy Ed Wilson here. It is a beautiful sunny afternoon. I have decided to embrace the sunshine and accept the humidity<\/a> that seems to be irrevocably joined with it. I have Deep Purple cranked up on my Zune HD<\/a>, a great soundtrack for playing around with Windows PowerShell. I have a glass of Pelegrino (a habit I picked up during my many trips to Italy) and a fresh Lamington I picked up at an Australian Bakery I found on the Internet. I got addicted to Lamingtons from the first bite. I was working in Brisbane<\/a>, Australia<\/a>, teaching a VBScript workshop I had developed from the Microsoft Press VBScript Self-Paced Learning Edition<\/i> book I wrote. My bride was joining me for the second week, so I was waiting at the Brisbane International Airport when I happened to look at the status board for the flight from Los Angeles. Because it was delayed for a couple of hours, I headed over to the little café they have and innocently bought a Lamington and a cup of English Breakfast tea<\/a>. That was all it took. From then on, my life has been one continual search for the perfect Lamington and a quiet place in which to write scripts. Deep Purple seems to be just the right type of quiet and it pairs perfectly with a fresh Lamington.\nAnyway, I have finally found time to address a project I have wanted to examine for some time (having been restricted from my woodworking shop due to a foot injury and consequently growing tired of reading Shakespeare). The project I want to undertake today is to look at modifying the Windows PowerShell ISE.\nInside the Windows PowerShell ISE, an automatic variable $psISE<\/b> is created to represent the ISE. You can use Windows PowerShell cmdlets such as Format-List<\/b> and Get-Member<\/b> to explore the objects that are returned by the $psISE<\/b> variable. This is shown here:<\/p>\n

PS<\/span> <\/span>C:Usersedwils><\/span> <\/span>$psISE<\/span> <\/span>|<\/span> <\/span>Format-List<\/span> <\/span>*<\/span>
<\/span>CurrentPowerShellTab<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.PowerShellTab<\/span>
<\/span>CurrentFile<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.ISEFile<\/span>
<\/span>Options<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.ISEOptions<\/span>
<\/span>PowerShellTabs<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>{PowerShell<\/span> <\/span>1<\/span>}<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Each of the properties exposed by $psISE<\/b> returns an object, and that means they are all ripe for exploration. In fact, the $psISE<\/b> itself is an object, as revealed by the Get-Member<\/b> cmdlet output shown here:<\/p>\n

\n<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n

PS C:Usersedwils> $psISE | Get-Member<\/p>\n

   <\/span>TypeName: Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.ObjectModelRoot<\/p>\n

Name                 <\/span>MemberType    <\/span>Definition
—-                 <\/span>———-   <\/span>———-
Equals               <\/span>Method        <\/span>bool Equals(System.Object obj)
GetHashCode          <\/span>Method        <\/span>int GetHashCode()
GetType              <\/span>Method        <\/span>type GetType()
ToString             <\/span>Method        <\/span>string ToString()
CurrentFile          <\/span>Property      <\/span>Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.ISEFile CurrentFile {get;}
CurrentPowerShellTab <\/span>Property      <\/span>Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.PowerShellTab CurrentPowerShellTab {get;}    <\/span>
Options              <\/span>Property      <\/span>Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.ISEOptions Options {get;}
PowerShellTabs       <\/span>Property      <\/span>Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.PowerShellTabCollection PowerShellTabs {get;}<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To look at the options available for the Windows PowerShell ISE, choose the Options<\/b> property. The result is shown here: <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS<\/span> <\/span>C:Usersedwils><\/span> <\/span>$psISE<\/span>.Options<\/span>
<\/span>SelectedScriptPaneState<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>Top<\/span>
<\/span>ShowToolBar<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>True<\/span>
<\/span>TokenColors<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>{[Attribute,<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FFADD8E6],<\/span> <\/span>[Command,<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FF0000FF],<\/span> <\/span>[CommandArgument,<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FF8A2BE2]<\/span>
<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>[CommandParameter,<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FF000080]…}<\/span>
<\/span>DefaultOptions<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.ISEOptions<\/span>
<\/span>FontSize<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>20<\/span>
<\/span>FontName<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>Lucida<\/span> <\/span>Console<\/span>
<\/span>ErrorForegroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FFFF0000<\/span>
<\/span>ErrorBackgroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>00FFFFFF<\/span>
<\/span>WarningForegroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FFFF8C00<\/span>
<\/span>WarningBackgroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>00FFFFFF<\/span>
<\/span>VerboseForegroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FF0000FF<\/span>
<\/span>VerboseBackgroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>00FFFFFF<\/span>
<\/span>DebugForegroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FF0000FF<\/span>
<\/span>DebugBackgroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>00FFFFFF<\/span>
<\/span>OutputPaneBackgroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FFF0F8FF<\/span>
<\/span>OutputPaneTextBackgroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FFF0F8FF<\/span>
<\/span>OutputPaneForegroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FF000000<\/span>
<\/span>CommandPaneBackgroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FFFFFFFF<\/span>
<\/span>ScriptPaneBackgroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FFFFFFFF<\/span>
<\/span>ScriptPaneForegroundColor<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>#<\/span>FF000000<\/span>
<\/span>ShowWarningForDuplicateFiles<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>True<\/span>
<\/span>ShowWarningBeforeSavingOnRun<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>False<\/span>
<\/span>UseLocalHelp<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>True<\/span>
<\/span>CommandPaneUp<\/span> <\/span>:<\/span> <\/span>False<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

To get an idea of what is returned via the Options<\/b> property, pipe<\/a> the returned object to the Get-Member<\/b> cmdlet. This reveals that a Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.ISEOptions<\/a> object is returned. The members of the ISEOptions<\/b> object are shown here:\n <\/p>\n

PS C:Usersedwils> $psISE.Options | gm<\/p>\n

   <\/span>TypeName: Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.ISEOptions<\/p>\n

Name                       <\/span>MemberType    <\/span>Definition
—-                       <\/span>———-    ———-
PropertyChanged            <\/span>Event         System.ComponentModel.PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChang
Equals                     <\/span>Method        <\/span>bool Equals(System.Object obj)
GetHashCode                <\/span>Method        <\/span>int GetHashCode()
GetType                    <\/span>Method        <\/span>type GetType()
RestoreDefaults            <\/span>Method        <\/span>System.Void RestoreDefaults()
RestoreDefaultTokenColors  <\/span>Method        <\/span>System.Void RestoreDefaultTokenColors()
ToString                   <\/span>Method        <\/span>string ToString()
CommandPaneBackgroundColor <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color CommandPaneBackgroundColor {get;set;}  <\/span>
CommandPaneUp              <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Boolean CommandPaneUp {get;set;}
DebugBackgroundColor       <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color DebugBackgroundColor {get;set;}        <\/span>
DebugForegroundColor       <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color DebugForegroundColor {get;set;}        <\/span>
DefaultOptions             <\/span>Property      <\/span>Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.ISEOptions DefaultOptions {get;}    <\/span>
ErrorBackgroundColor       <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color ErrorBackgroundColor {get;set;}        <\/span>
ErrorForegroundColor       <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color ErrorForegroundColor {get;set;}       <\/span> <\/span>
FontName                   <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.String FontName {get;set;}
FontSize                   <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Int32 FontSize {get;set;}
OutputPaneBackgroundColor  <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color OutputPaneBackgroundColor {get;set;}   <\/span>
OutputPaneForegroundColor  <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color OutputPaneForegroundColor {get;set;}   <\/span>
OutputPaneTextBackgroundColor <\/span>Property   <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color OutputPaneTextBackgroundColor {get;s…
ScriptPaneBackgroundColor  <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color ScriptPaneBackgroundColor {get;set;}   <\/span>
ScriptPaneForegroundColor  <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color ScriptPaneForegroundColor {get;set;}   <\/span>
SelectedScriptPaneState    <\/span>Property      Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.SelectedScriptPaneState SelectedS…
ShowToolBar                <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Boolean ShowToolBar {get;set;}
ShowWarningBeforeSavingOnRun <\/span>Property    <\/span>System.Boolean ShowWarningBeforeSavingOnRun {get;set;}            <\/span>
ShowWarningForDuplicateFiles <\/span>Property    <\/span>System.Boolean ShowWarningForDuplicateFiles {get;set;}            <\/span>
TokenColors                <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2[[System.Management.Aut…
UseLocalHelp               <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Boolean UseLocalHelp {get;set;}
VerboseBackgroundColor     <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color VerboseBackgroundColor {get;set;}      <\/span>
VerboseForegroundColor     <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color VerboseForegroundColor {get;set;}      <\/span>
WarningBackgroundColor     <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color WarningBackgroundColor {get;set;}      <\/span>
WarningForegroundColor     <\/span>Property      <\/span>System.Windows.Media.Color WarningForegroundColor {get;set;}<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The TokenColors<\/b> property returns a dictionary object that contains the color mappings for the Windows PowerShell ISE tokenizer. This is used to provide the coloration for the scrip pane. Here are the color mappings:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

PS C:Usersedwils> $psISE.Options.TokenColors<\/p>\n

                        <\/span>Key Value
                        <\/span>— —–
                  <\/span>Attribute #FFADD8E6
                    <\/span>Command #FF0000FF
            <\/span>CommandArgument #FF8A2BE2
           <\/span>CommandParameter #FF000080
      <\/span>              <\/span>Comment #FF006400
                   <\/span>GroupEnd #FF000000
  <\/span>               <\/span>GroupStart #FF000000
  <\/span>          <\/span>        <\/span>Keyword #FF00008B
           <\/span>LineContinuation #FF000000
                  <\/span>LoopLabel #FF00008B
                     <\/span>Member #FF000000
                    <\/span>NewLine #FF000000
                     <\/span>Number #FF800080
                   <\/span>Operator #FFA9A9A9
                   <\/span>Position #FF000000
         <\/span>StatementSeparator #FF000000
    <\/span>                 <\/span>String #FF8B0000
                       <\/span>Type #FF008080
                    <\/span>Unknown #FF000000
                   <\/span>Variable #FFFF4500<\/span>              <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The colors are all instances of the System.Windows.Media.Color<\/a> .NET Framework class. The reason for using these colors is that it presents a richer palette than the 16 colors that are expressed in the standard command prompt. Upon discovering this information, I thought “cool”; unfortunately, the colors are only moderately cool because they are not settable. I discovered this information by examining only the TokenColors<\/b> member as seen here. You will notice that it says that TokenColors<\/b> is get—and therefore not set (this is the last thing displayed.) <\/p>\n

PS C:Usersedwils> $psISE.Options | gm tokencolors | ft -Wrap <\/p>\n

   <\/span>TypeName: Microsoft.PowerShell.Host.ISE.ISEOptions <\/p>\n

Name       <\/span>MemberType Definition                                                       <\/span>                   <\/span>
—-       <\/span>———- ———-                                                                          <\/span>
TokenColors Property  <\/span>System.Collections.Generic.IDictionary`2[[System.Mana<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: Join Microsoft Scripting Guy Ed Wilson as he takes you on a guided tour of the Windows PowerShell ISE color objects.   Microsoft Scripting Guy Ed Wilson here. It is a beautiful sunny afternoon. I have decided to embrace the sunshine and accept the humidity that seems to be irrevocably joined with it. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":595,"featured_media":87096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[51,3,61,45,100],"class_list":["post-17361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scripting","tag-getting-started","tag-scripting-guy","tag-weekend-scripter","tag-windows-powershell","tag-windows-powershell-ise"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"

Summary: Join Microsoft Scripting Guy Ed Wilson as he takes you on a guided tour of the Windows PowerShell ISE color objects.   Microsoft Scripting Guy Ed Wilson here. It is a beautiful sunny afternoon. I have decided to embrace the sunshine and accept the humidity that seems to be irrevocably joined with it. I […]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/595"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}