Scripting with Windows PowerShell

Microsoft Usability is conducting a study focusing on the remoting feature of PowerShell version 2 from July 22 to July 29, 2008. This is a great opportunity for IT administrators who have experience working with PowerShell to provide feedback and help improve the user experience of PowerShell version 2.

 The study will be conducted in a lab setting on Microsoft’s main campus in Redmond, Washington. It is important for you to know that you do not need to prepare anything for this. We want to learn from you, the experts, to determine what needs to be improved in our software. We highly value your feedback and will be offering you a gratuity option in appreciation of your time and participation.

If you are interested or know someone who could be interested in participating, please email us at uccoord@microsoft.com with PowerShell in subject line. For information on other studies and to learn more about Microsoft's User Research program email us.

There’s so much new stuff in the Community Technology Preview (CTP) of Windows PowerShell 2.0 that we gave it its own page. Now included: all new articles for the second release of the CTP.

Frank Koch has released a second (and absolutely free!) book on Windows PowerShell: Administrative Tasks Using Windows PowerShell. Frank’s new download also includes his first book Windows PowerShell) as well as all the materials from his popular PowerShell training course.

Find the perfect gift for that all-important scripter in your life in the Windows PowerShell Holiday Gift Guide. From script editors to books, from Active Directory to Group Policy, find out about the cool stuff available for Windows PowerShell this season.

A valuable list of resources for every Windows PowerShell scripter.

Here’s the guide for learning Windows PowerShell from the ground up.

Are you a VBScript script writer looking to try your hand at Windows PowerShell? Then you might want to take a look at our conversion guide which shows you how to replicate VBScript functions and methods in Windows PowerShell.

What can you do with Windows PowerShell? Not much … well, except read and write to text files; save data in XML or HTML format; sort, filter, and/or group data …. You get the idea. We have scores of short articles that show you how to carry out common tasks either within scripts or from the command prompt.

Check out these quick tips, published every Friday.

Tip of the Week Archive

Browse a repository of sample Windows PowerShell scripts.

Search Active Directory using Windows PowerShell.

Learn how one little key on your keyboard - the Tab key - can make working with Windows PowerShell much easier.

Is there any reason to use Windows PowerShell to access WMI data? Well, actually there are plenty of reasons. Find out all about it in this article.

It’s every WMI scripter’s nemesis: properties that store their values as arrays. Is Windows PowerShell up to the challenge? Do you even have to ask?

See, because there’s this science fiction story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and we thought we’d – well, never mind. If you’d like to know how to use Windows PowerShell to display script output in living color, then this is the article for you.

PowerShell Week is a series of five Webcasts that were held November 6 - 10, 2006 on TechNet. These Webcasts will provide you with a thorough introduction to Windows PowerShell.

What is the next generation Microsoft command-line shell automation and scripting technology and how does it fit into the realm of tools and languages? To find out, join Jeffrey Snover in this webcast, one of the top rated sessions from Tech·Ed 2005 in Orlando, Florida.

Join us as we drill down into more details of the functionality of the next generation Microsoft command-line shell automation and scripting technology."

Learn some of the fundamentals of Windows PowerShell by walking through this self-paced virtual lab.

As a follow-up to Windows PowerShell Week, the Scripting Guys held a combination Virtual Lab/Webcast, known as a Labcast. This was a bit of an experiment, and while everything didn’t go flawlessly during the live presentation, the Labcast is now available on-demand. You’ll be able to walk through the Virtual Lab environment while the recorded version of the Webcast plays and guides you through the lessons. When you’re done, feel free to let us know what you thought of the Labcast experience.

A three-part series based on Chapter 10 of Windows PowerShell in Action from Manning Publications, which examines how Windows PowerShell handles text and file processing tasks.
Part 1: Processing Unstructured Text
Part 2: File Processing in PowerShell
Part 3: XML Processing in PowerShell

This book, by Ed Wilson, offers self-paced learning designed to teach you how to administer your systems with Windows PowerShell. We don’t have any sample chapters, but this book does include the VBScript to Windows PowerShell Conversion Guide, both in the book and on the accompanying eBook.

Windows PowerShell developer and author of the Windows PowerShell Cookbook Lee Holmes chats with the Scripting Guys.

Meet Jeffrey Snover, the software architect responsible for Windows PowerShell.

Community Technology Preview 2 release.

Community Technology Preview release.

Software installation includes product documentation.

Fully-searchable and easily-readable version of Windows PowerShell Help, plus instructions on how to access this help from a cmdlet.

Quick Reference guide to using Windows PowerShell.