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UseUTF8EncodingForHelpFile

Severity Level: Warning

Description

This rule detects when an about_ help file doesn't use UTF-8 encoding. The rule verifies that help files starting with about_ and ending with .help.txt are saved in UTF-8 encoding. It uses the CurrentEncoding property of the StreamReader class to check the file's encoding.

To ensure your help files use the correct encoding, follow these guidelines:

  • When using PowerShell commands to write to files, set the encoding parameter to utf8, utf8BOM, or utf8NoBOM.
  • When creating or editing help files in a text editor, configure it to save files in UTF-8 format. Consult your editor's documentation for instructions on setting the file encoding.

Example

Noncompliant

$helpText = @'
TOPIC
  about_Contoso

SHORT DESCRIPTION
  Describes Contoso commands.
'@

$helpText | Set-Content -Path "about_Contoso.help.txt" -Encoding Unicode

Compliant

$helpText = @'
TOPIC
  about_Contoso

SHORT DESCRIPTION
  Describes Contoso commands.
'@

$helpText | Set-Content -Path "about_Contoso.help.txt" -Encoding utf8NoBOM

See also

For more information, see the following articles:

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