7 min read
Hidden configuration variables in PowerShell
Tobias & Aleksandar's tip #13:
The two very well-known PowerShell experts have teamed up to share their best and most...
Tobias & Aleksandar's tip #10:
The two very well-known PowerShell experts have teamed up to share their best and most helpful PowerShell tips.
We will be publishing their scripts over the course of Scriptember in 13 blog posts. Don't miss their insights! Be sure to follow all Scriptember events, listed in our calendar here.
Overview of all 13 articles published during Scriptember:
- #1 using enums (Part 1)
- #2 using enums (Part 2)
- #3 utilizing external config data (Part 1)
- #4 utilizing external config data (Part 2)
- #5 utilizing external config data (Part 3)
- #6 utilizing external config data (Part 4)
- #7 always use advanced functions
- #8 adding help links to functions
- #9 harvest command history
- #10 filter empty properties
- #11 URL encoding
- #12 hiding confirmations
- #13 hidden configuration variables
Filter empty properties
Occasionally, you receive objects with a lot of empty properties that you are not really interested in. You could use Select‑Object to manually select properties, but if the empty properties change, an automated solution would be helpful.
Fortunately, PowerShell adds a secret PSObject extension to each object that reveals the entire object structure, including properties and their values. This way, a simple filter function would look like this:
filter Filter-EmptyProperty
{
$hashtable = [Ordered]@{}
foreach ($property in $_.PSObject.Properties)
{
if ($property.Value)
{
$hashtable[$property.Name]=$property.Value
}
}
[PSCustomObject]$hashtable
}
In essence, for each object, all of its properties are checked for a value, and only if a value is found, then the property is added to an ordered hash table. Once all desired properties have been collected, the ordered hash table is turned to an object and emitted.
Try these commands (or any other source command that returns empty properties):
# includes empty properties
Get-ComputerInfo -Property *
# shows only populated properties
Get-ComputerInfo -Property * | Filter-EmptyProperty
Scriptember! Stay tuned:
During Scriptember, our calendar provides the best possible overview.
- Follow us on social media, look for and use the hashtags #Scriptember and #PowerShell.
- Join our live sessions, overview soon here.
- Participate in challenges and contests.
- Share your knowledge.