{"id":6411,"date":"2015-04-27T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.technet.microsoft.com\/heyscriptingguy\/2015\/04\/27\/favorite-powershell-tips-and-tricks\/"},"modified":"2019-02-18T10:29:45","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T17:29:45","slug":"favorite-powershell-tips-and-tricks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/favorite-powershell-tips-and-tricks\/","title":{"rendered":"Favorite PowerShell Tips and Tricks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/b>: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about Windows PowerShell tips and tricks from the Charlotte User Group meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n

Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. Last week was a special meeting at the Charlotte Windows PowerShell User Group. It followed immediately after the Windows PowerShell Summit, and as a result, the user group included five members of the Windows PowerShell team, nearly a dozen MVPs, and at least that many Microsoft employees. All in all, there were nearly a hundred people in the room, and that, I believe, makes it the largest Windows PowerShell User Group meeting so far in Charlotte.<\/p>\n

Lee Holmes led the meeting, and the subject was Windows PowerShell tips and tricks. But instead of Lee standing in front of us, doing a show-and-tell, he showed a trick, and then asked for one from the audience. The trick had to be something that people used on a regular basis, which means they are useful, not simply esoteric. The meeting was amazing, and this week I am going to share the best with you in Tips and Tricks Week.<\/p>\n

Add resource usage to your Windows PowerShell prompt<\/h2>\n

This tip actually incorporates several tips at once. One tip involves making sure that you read the automatic variables list and descriptions from time-to-time (see about_Automatic_Variables<\/a>). As Lee Holmes said, “If the Windows PowerShell team takes the time to create an automatic variable and to include it in everything, then it is obviously important.”<\/p>\n

There are a lot of automatic variables, and some of them only appear at certain times and at certain places. So, one cannot simply use Get-Variable<\/b> and see all of the automatic variables.<\/p>\n

Two more tips involve creating and using a Windows PowerShell profile and modifying the Windows PowerShell prompt. For more information, read these Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog posts:<\/p>\n