Get-FormatData
Gets the formatting data in the current session.
Syntax
Get-FormatData
[[-TypeName] <String[]>]
[-PowerShellVersion <Version>]
[<CommonParameters>]
Description
The Get-FormatData
cmdlet gets the formatting data in the current session.
The formatting data in the session includes formatting data from Format.ps1xml
formatting files,
such as those in the $PSHOME
directory, formatting data for modules that you import into the
session, and formatting data for commands that you import into your session by using the
Import-PSSession
cmdlet.
You can use this cmdlet to examine the formatting data. Then, you can use the Export-FormatData
cmdlet to serialize the objects, convert them to XML, and save them in Format.ps1xml
files.
For more information about formatting files in PowerShell, see about_Format.ps1xml.
Examples
Example 1: Get all formatting data
This example gets all the formatting data in the session.
Get-FormatData
Example 2: Get formatting data by type name
This example gets the formatting data items whose names begin with
System.Management.Automation.Cmd
.
Get-FormatData -TypeName 'System.Management.Automation.Cmd*'
Example 3: Examine a formatting data object
This example shows how to get a formatting data object and examine its properties.
$F = Get-FormatData -TypeName 'System.Management.Automation.Cmd*'
$F
TypeName FormatViewDefinition
-------- --------------------
HelpInfoShort {help , TableControl}
$F.FormatViewDefinition[0].control
Headers : {System.Management.Automation.TableControlColumnHeader,
System.Management.Automation.TableControlColumnHeader,
System.Management.Automation.TableControlColumnHeader,
System.Management.Automation.TableControlColumnHeader}
Rows : {System.Management.Automation.TableControlRow}
AutoSize : False
HideTableHeaders : False
GroupBy :
OutOfBand : False
$F.FormatViewDefinition[0].control.Headers
Label Alignment Width
----- --------- -----
CommandType Undefined 15
Name Undefined 50
Version Undefined 10
Source Undefined 0
Example 4: Get formatting data and export it
This example shows how to use Get-FormatData
and Export-FormatData
to export the formatting
data that is added by a module.
$A = Get-FormatData
Import-Module bitstransfer
$B = Get-FormatData
Compare-Object $A $B
InputObject SideIndicator
----------- -------------
Microsoft.BackgroundIntelligentTransfer.Management.BitsJob =>
Get-FormatData *bits* | Export-FormatData -FilePath c:\test\bits.format.ps1xml
Get-Content c:\test\bits.format.ps1xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><Configuration><ViewDefinitions>
<View><Name>Microsoft.BackgroundIntelligentTransfer.Management.BitsJob</Name>
...
The first four commands use the Get-FormatData
, Import-Module
, and Compare-Object
cmdlets to
identify the format type that the BitsTransfer module adds to the session.
The fifth command uses the Get-FormatData
cmdlet to get the format type that the BitsTransfer
module adds. It uses a pipeline operator (|
) to send the format type object to the
Export-FormatData
cmdlet, which converts it back to XML and saves it in the specified
format.ps1xml
file.
The final command shows an excerpt of the format.ps1xml
file content.
Example 5: Get formatting data based on the specified version of PowerShell
This example shows how to use Get-FormatData
to get format data for a specified TypeName and
PowerShell version.
Get-FormatData -TypeName 'Microsoft.Powershell.Utility.FileHash' -PowerShellVersion $PSVersionTable.PSVersion
TypeNames FormatViewDefinition
--------- --------------------
{Microsoft.Powershell.Utility.FileHash} {Microsoft.Powershell.Utility.FileHash}
Parameters
-PowerShellVersion
Specify the version of PowerShell this cmdlet gets for the formatting data. Enter a two digit number separated by a period.
This parameter was added in PowerShell 5.1 to improve compatibility when remoting computers running older versions of PowerShell.
Type: | Version |
Position: | Named |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | False |
-TypeName
Specifies the type names that this cmdlet gets for the formatting data. Enter the type names. Wildcards are permitted.
Type: | String[] |
Position: | 0 |
Default value: | None |
Required: | False |
Accept pipeline input: | False |
Accept wildcard characters: | True |
Inputs
None
You can't pipe objects to this cmdlet.
Outputs
Related Links
PowerShell