About topics
Description
About topics cover a range of concepts about PowerShell.
About Topics
about_Alias_Provider
Provides access to the PowerShell aliases and the values that they represent.
about_Aliases
Describes how to use alternate names for cmdlets and commands in PowerShell.
about_ANSI_Terminals
Describes the support available for ANSI escape sequences in Windows PowerShell.
about_Arithmetic_Operators
Describes the operators that perform arithmetic in PowerShell.
about_Arrays
Describes arrays, which are data structures designed to store collections of items.
about_Assignment_Operators
Describes how to use operators to assign values to variables.
about_Automatic_Variables
Describes variables that store state information for PowerShell. These variables are created and maintained by PowerShell.
about_Booleans
Describes how boolean expressions are evaluated.
about_Break
Describes the break
statement, which provides a way to exit the current control block.
about_Built-in_Functions
Describes the built-in functions in PowerShell.
about_Calculated_Properties
PowerShell provides the ability to dynamically add new properties and alter the formatting of objects output to the pipeline.
about_Case-Sensitivity
PowerShell is as case-insensitive as possible while preserving case.
about_Character_Encoding
Describes how PowerShell uses character encoding for input and output of string data.
about_CimSession
Describes a CimSession object and the difference between CIM sessions and PowerShell sessions.
about_Classes
Describes how you can use classes to create your own custom types.
about_Classes_Constructors
Describes how to define constructors for PowerShell classes.
about_Classes_Inheritance
Describes how you can define classes that extend other types.
about_Classes_Methods
Describes how to define methods for PowerShell classes.
about_Classes_Properties
Describes how to define properties for PowerShell classes.
about_Command_Precedence
Describes how PowerShell determines which command to run.
about_Command_Syntax
Describes the syntax diagrams that are used in PowerShell.
about_Comment_Based_Help
Describes how to write comment-based help topics for functions and scripts.
about_CommonParameters
Describes the parameters that can be used with any cmdlet.
about_Comparison_Operators
The comparison operators in PowerShell can either compare two values or filter elements of a collection against an input value.
about_Continue
Describes how the continue
statement immediately returns the program flow to the top of a program loop, a switch
statement, or a trap
statement.
about_Core_Commands
Lists the cmdlets that are designed for use with PowerShell providers.
about_Data_Files
PowerShell data files are used to store arbitrary data using PowerShell syntax.
about_Data_Sections
Explains Data sections, which isolate text strings and other read-only data from script logic.
about_Debuggers
Describes the PowerShell debugger.
about_Do
Runs a statement list one or more times, subject to a While
or Until
condition.
about_Enum
The enum
statement is used to declare an enumeration. An enumeration is a distinct type that consists of a set of named labels called the enumerator list.
about_Environment_Provider
Provides access to the Windows environment variables.
about_Environment_Variables
Describes how to access and manage environment variables in PowerShell.
about_Execution_Policies
Describes the PowerShell execution policies and explains how to manage them.
about_Experimental_Features
Use the Experimental
attribute to declare some code as experimental. Use the following syntax to declare the Experimental
attribute providing the name of the experimental feature and the action to take if the experimental feature is enabled: csharp [Experimental(NameOfExperimentalFeature, ExperimentAction)]
For modules, the NameOfExperimentalFeature
must follow the form of <modulename>.<experimentname>
. The ExperimentAction
parameter must be specified and the only valid values are: - Show
means to show this experimental feature if the feature is enabled - Hide
means to hide this experimental feature if the feature is enabled
about_FileSystem_Provider
Provides access to files and directories.
about_For
Describes a language command you can use to run statements based on a conditional test.
about_Foreach
Describes a language command you can use to traverse all the items in a collection of items.
about_Format.ps1xml
The Format.ps1xml
files in PowerShell define the default display of objects in the PowerShell console.
about_Function_Provider
Provides access to the functions defined in PowerShell.
about_Functions_Advanced_Methods
Describes how functions that specify the CmdletBinding
attribute can use the methods and properties that are available to compiled cmdlets.
about_Functions_Advanced_Parameters
Explains how to add parameters to advanced functions.
about_Functions_Advanced
Introduces advanced functions that are a way to create cmdlets using scripts.
about_Functions_Argument_Completion
Argument completion is a feature of PowerShell that provide hints, enables discovery, and speeds up input entry of argument values.
about_Functions_CmdletBindingAttribute
Describes the attribute that makes a function work like a compiled cmdlet.
about_Functions_OutputTypeAttribute
Describes an attribute that reports the type of object that the function returns.
about_Functions
Describes how to create and use functions in PowerShell.
about_Group_Policy_Settings
Describes the Group Policy settings for PowerShell
about_Hash_Tables
Describes how to create, use, and sort hashtables in PowerShell.
about_Hidden
Describes the hidden
keyword, which hides class members from default Get-Member
results.
about_History
Describes how to get and run commands in the command history.
about_If
Describes a language command you can use to run statement lists based on the results of one or more conditional tests.
about_Intrinsic_Members
Provides information about PowerShell's intrinsic members that are available to all PowerShell objects.
about_Job_Details
Provides details about background jobs on local and remote computers.
about_Jobs
Provides information about how PowerShell background jobs run a command or expression in the background without interacting with the current session.
about_Join
Describes how the join operator (-join) combines multiple strings into a single string.
about_Language_Keywords
Describes the keywords in the PowerShell scripting language.
about_Language_Modes
Explains language modes and their effect on PowerShell sessions.
about_Line_Editing
Describes how to edit commands at the PowerShell command prompt.
about_Locations
Describes how to access items from the working location in PowerShell.
about_Logging_Non-Windows
PowerShell logs internal operations from the engine, providers, and cmdlets.
about_Logging_Windows
PowerShell logs internal operations from the engine, providers, and cmdlets to the Windows event log.
about_Logical_Operators
Describes the operators that connect statements in PowerShell.
about_Member-Access_Enumeration
Describes the automatic enumeration of list collection items when using the member-access operator.
about_Methods
Describes how to use methods to perform actions on objects in PowerShell.
about_Module_Manifests
Describes the settings and practices for writing module manifest files.
about_Modules
Explains how to install, import, and use PowerShell modules.
about_Numeric_Literals
This article describes the syntax and usage of numeric values in PowerShell.
about_Object_Creation
Explains how to create objects in PowerShell.
about_Objects
Provides essential information about objects in PowerShell.
about_Operator_Precedence
Lists the PowerShell operators in precedence order.
about_Operators
Describes the operators that are supported by PowerShell.
about_Output_Streams
Explains the availability and purpose of output streams in PowerShell.
about_PackageManagement
PackageManagement is an aggregator for software package managers.
about_Parameter_Sets
Describes how to define and use parameter sets in advanced functions.
about_Parameters_Default_Values
Describes how to set custom default values for cmdlet parameters and advanced functions.
about_Parameters
Describes how to work with command parameters in PowerShell.
about_Parsing
Describes how PowerShell parses commands.
about_Path_Syntax
Describes the full and relative path formats in PowerShell.
about_Pipeline_Chain_Operators
Describes chaining pipelines with the &&
and ||
operators in PowerShell.
about_Pipelines
Combining commands into pipelines in the PowerShell
about_PowerShell_Config
Configuration files for PowerShell, replacing Registry configuration.
about_PowerShell_Editions
Different editions of PowerShell run on different underlying runtimes.
about_Preference_Variables
Variables that customize the behavior of PowerShell.
about_Profiles
Describes how to create and use a PowerShell profile.
about_Prompts
Describes the Prompt
function and demonstrates how to create a custom Prompt
function.
about_Properties
Describes how to use object properties in PowerShell.
about_Providers
Describes how PowerShell providers provide access to data and components that wouldn't otherwise be easily accessible at the command line. The data is presented in a consistent format that resembles a file system drive.
about_PSConsoleHostReadLine
Explains how to create a customize how PowerShell reads input at the console prompt.
about_PSCustomObject
Explains the differences between the [psobject]
and [pscustomobject]
type accelerators.
about_PSItem
The automatic variable that contains the current object in the pipeline object.
about_PSModulePath
This article the purpose and usage of the $env:PSModulePath
environment variable.
about_PSSession_Details
Provides detailed information about PowerShell sessions and the role they play in remote commands.
about_PSSessions
Describes PowerShell sessions (PSSessions) and explains how to establish a persistent connection to a remote computer.
about_Pwsh
Explains how to use the pwsh
command-line interface. Displays the command-line parameters and describes the syntax.
about_Quoting_Rules
Describes rules for using single and double quotation marks in PowerShell.
about_Redirection
Explains how to redirect output from PowerShell to text files.
about_Ref
Describes how to create and use a reference type variable. You can use reference type variables to permit a function to change the value of a variable that is passed to it.
about_Registry_Provider
Registry
about_Regular_Expressions
Describes regular expressions in PowerShell.
about_Remote_Disconnected_Sessions
Explains how to disconnect and reconnect to a PowerShell Session (PSSession).
about_Remote_Jobs
Describes how to run jobs on remote computers.
about_Remote_Output
Describes how to interpret and format the output of remote commands.
about_Remote_Requirements
Describes the system requirements and configuration requirements for running remote commands in PowerShell.
about_Remote_Troubleshooting
Describes how to troubleshoot remote operations in PowerShell.
about_Remote_Variables
Explains how to use local and remote variables in remote commands.
about_Remote
Describes how to run remote commands in PowerShell.
about_Requires
Prevents a script from running without the required elements.
about_Reserved_Words
Lists the reserved words that cannot be used as identifiers because they have a special meaning in PowerShell.
about_Return
Exits the current scope, which can be a function, script, or script block.
about_Run_With_PowerShell
Explains how to use the "Run with PowerShell" feature to run a script from a file system drive.
about_Scopes
Explains the concept of scope in PowerShell and shows how to set and change the scope of elements.
about_Script_Blocks
Defines what a script block is and explains how to use script blocks in the PowerShell programming language.
about_Script_Internationalization
Describes the script internationalization features that make it easy for scripts to display messages and instructions to users in their user interface (UI) language.
about_Scripts
Describes how to run and write scripts in PowerShell.
about_Session_Configuration_Files
Describes session configuration files, which are used in a session configuration (also known as an "endpoint") to define the environment of sessions that use the session configuration.
about_Session_Configurations
Describes session configurations, which determine the users who can connect to the computer remotely and the commands they can run.
about_Signing
Explains how to sign scripts so that they comply with the PowerShell execution policies.
about_Simplified_Syntax
Describes easier, more natural-language ways of scripting filters for collections of objects.
about_Special_Characters
Describes the special character sequences that control how PowerShell interprets the next characters in the sequence.
about_Splatting
Describes how to use splatting to pass parameters to commands in PowerShell.
about_Split
Explains how to use the Split operator to split one or more strings into substrings.
about_Switch
Explains how to use a switch to handle multiple if
statements.
about_Tab_Expansion
PowerShell provides completions on input to provide hints, enable discovery, and speed up input entry. Command names, parameter names, argument values and file paths can all be completed by pressing the Tab key.
about_Telemetry
Describes the telemetry collected in PowerShell and how to opt-out.
about_Thread_Jobs
Provides information about PowerShell thread-based jobs. A thread job is a type of background job that runs a command or expression in a separate thread within the current session process.
about_Throw
Describes the throw
keyword that generates a terminating error.
about_Trap
Describes a keyword that handles a terminating error.
about_Try_Catch_Finally
Describes how to use the try
, catch
, and finally
blocks to handle terminating errors.
about_Type_Accelerators
Describes the Type accelerators available for .NET framework classes
about_Type_Operators
Describes the operators that work with Microsoft .NET types.
about_Types.ps1xml
Explains how to use Types.ps1xml
files to extend the types of objects that are used in PowerShell.
about_Updatable_Help
Describes the updatable help system in PowerShell.
about_Update_Notifications
Notifies users on startup of PowerShell that a new version of PowerShell has been released.
about_Using
Allows you to indicate which namespaces are used in the session.
about_Variable_Provider
Variable
about_Variables
Describes how variables store values that can be used in PowerShell.
about_While
Describes a language statement that you can use to run a command block based on the results of a conditional test.
about_Wildcards
Describes how to use wildcard characters in PowerShell.
about_Windows_PowerShell_Compatibility
Describes the Windows PowerShell Compatibility functionality for PowerShell 7.