Unlocking the Power of PowerShell: Tips for Success
Tweak your PowerShell scripts with essential preference variables! Use $ConfirmPreference = 'None' instead of ‑Confirm:$false. Disable confirmation dialogs for smooth, unattended execution. Customise your PowerShell environment to suit your needs and increase efficiency!
Occasionally, in scripts you see parameters like ‑Confirm:$false. This is explicitly setting a switch parameter to $false, typically in an effort to hide confirmation dialogs and enable a script to run unattended.
Any confirmation dialog that would be suppressible by this parameter can also be turned off on a script-global scope, simply by adding this to the start of the script:
Likewise, if cmdlets show progress bars that you don’t want to see (i.e. to speed up execution time), simply turn them off:
The "preference" set of variables generally enables you to tailor the PowerShell environment to your need:
Unleash the full potential of PowerShell with our handy poster. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, this cheat sheet is designed to be your go-to resource for the most important and commonly used cmdlets.
The poster is available for download and in paper form.
Tobias Weltner and Aleksandar Nikolić joinly wrote the blog post series 'Tobias&Aleksandar's PowerShell tips'. So we introduce both of them here:
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Aleksandar Nikolić is a Microsoft Azure MVP and co-founder of PowerShellMagazine.com, the ultimate online source for PowerShell enthusiasts. With over 18 years of experience in system administration, he is a respected trainer and speaker who travels the globe to share his knowledge and skills on Azure, Entra, and PowerShell. He has spoken at IT events such as Microsoft Ignite, ESPC, NIC, CloudBrew, NTK, and PowerShell Conference Europe.
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Tobias is a long-time Microsoft MVP and has been involved with the development of PowerShell since its early days. He invented the PowerShell IDE "ISESteroids", has written numerous books on PowerShell for Microsoft Press and O'Reilly, founded the PowerShell Conference EU (psconf.eu), and is currently contributing to the advancement of PowerShell as member in the "Microsoft Cmdlet Working Group". Tobias shares his expertise as a consultant in projects and as a trainer in in-house trainings for numerous companies and agencies across Europe.