about_Function_Provider
Provider name
Function
Drives
Function:
Capabilities
ShouldProcess
Short description
Provides access to the functions defined in PowerShell.
Detailed description
The PowerShell Function provider lets you get, add, change, clear, and delete the functions and filters in PowerShell.
A function is a named block of code that performs an action. When you type the
function name, the code in the function runs. A filter is a named block of code
that establishes conditions for an action. You can type the name of the filter
in place of the condition, such as in a Where-Object
command.
The Function drive is a flat namespace that contains only the function and filter objects. Neither functions nor filters have child items.
The Function provider supports the following cmdlets, which are covered in this article.
Types exposed by this provider
Each function is an instance of the System.Management.Automation.FunctionInfo class. Each filter is an instance of the System.Management.Automation.FilterInfo class.
Navigating the Function drive
The Function provider exposes its data store in the Function:
drive. To
work with functions, you can change your location to the Function:
drive
(Set-Location Function:
). Or, you can work from another PowerShell drive. To
reference a function from another location, use the drive name (Function:
) in
the path.
Set-Location Function:
To return to a file system drive, type the drive name. For example, type:
Set-Location C:
You can also work with the Function provider from any other PowerShell
drive. To reference a function from another location, use the drive name
Function:
in the path.
Note
PowerShell uses aliases to allow you a familiar way to work with provider
paths. Commands such as dir
and ls
are now aliases for
Get-ChildItem,
cd
is an alias for Set-Location. and pwd
is
an alias for Get-Location.
Getting functions
This command gets the list of all the functions in the current session. You can use this command from any PowerShell drive.
Get-ChildItem -Path Function:
The Function provider has no containers, so the above command has the
same effect when used with Get-ChildItem
.
Get-ChildItem -Path Function:
You can retrieve a function's definition by accessing the Definition property, as shown below.
(Get-Item -Path function:more).Definition
You can also retrieve a function's definition using its provider path prefixed
by the dollar sign ($
).
$function:more
To retrieve the definition for a function that has a dash (-
) in the name,
wrap the value after the dollar sign in curly braces.
${function:Clear-Host}
Getting selected functions
This command gets the man
function from the Function:
drive. It uses the
Get-Item
cmdlet to get the function. The pipeline operator (|
) sends the
result to Format-Table
. The -Wrap
parameter directs text that does not fit
on the line onto the next line. The -Autosize
parameter resizes the table
columns to accommodate the text.
Get-Item -Path man | Format-Table -Wrap -Autosize
Working with Function provider paths
These commands both get the function named c:
. The first command can be used
in any drive. The second command is used in the Function:
drive. Because the
name ends in a colon, which is the syntax for a drive, you must qualify the
path with the drive name. Within the Function:
drive, you can use either
format. In the second command, the dot (.
) represents the current location.
PS C:\> Get-Item -Path Function:c:
PS Function:\> Get-Item -Path .\c:
Creating a function
This command uses the New-Item
cmdlet to create a function called Win32:
.
The expression in braces is the script block that is represented by the
function name.
New-Item -Path Function:Win32: -Value {Set-Location C:\Windows\System32}
You can also create a function by typing it at the PowerShell command line. For
example, tpe Function:Win32: {Set-Location C:\Windows\System32}
. If you are
in the Function:
drive, you can omit the drive name.
Deleting a function
This command deletes the more
function from the current session.
Remove-Item Function:more
Changing a function
This command uses the Set-Item
cmdlet to change the prompt
function so that
it displays the time before the path.
Set-Item -Path Function:prompt -Value {
'PS '+ (Get-Date -Format t) + " " + (Get-Location) + '> '
}
Rename a function
This command uses the Rename-Item
cmdlet to change the name of the help
function to gh
.
Rename-Item -Path Function:help -NewName gh
Copying a function
This command copies the prompt
function to oldPrompt
, effectively creating
a new name for the script block that is associated with the prompt function.
You can use this to save the original prompt function if you plan to change it.
The Options property of the new function has a value of None
. To change
the value of the Options property, use Set-Item
.
Copy-Item -Path Function:prompt -Destination Function:oldPrompt
Dynamic parameters
Dynamic parameters are cmdlet parameters that are added by a PowerShell provider and are available only when the cmdlet is being used in the provider-enabled drive.
Options <[System.Management.Automation.ScopedItemOptions]>
Determines the value of the Options property of a function.
None
: No options.None
is the default.Constant
: The function cannot be deleted, and its properties cannot be changed.Constant
is available only when you are creating a function. You cannot change the option of an existing function toConstant
.Private
: The function is visible only in the current scope- (not in child scopes).
ReadOnly
: The properties of the function cannot be changed except by using the-Force
parameter. You can useRemove-Item
to delete the function.AllScope
: The function is copied to any new scopes that are created.
Cmdlets supported
Using the pipeline
Provider cmdlets accept pipeline input. You can use the pipeline to simplify task by sending provider data from one cmdlet to another provider cmdlet. To read more about how to use the pipeline with provider cmdlets, see the cmdlet references provided throughout this article.
Getting help
Beginning in Windows PowerShell 3.0, you can get customized help topics for provider cmdlets that explain how those cmdlets behave in a file system drive.
To get the help topics that are customized for the file system drive, run a
Get-Help command in a file system drive or use the -Path
parameter of Get-Help to specify a file system drive.
Get-Help Get-ChildItem
Get-Help Get-ChildItem -Path function:
See also
PowerShell