We offer two things:
1. Hundreds of automation script samples based on IT Pros' frequently asked IT tasks
2. Script Browser & Script Analyzer tools to ease and improve the script writing
Update: Version 1.2 of the Script Browser is out. Check out the announcement here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/onescript/archive/2014/05/11/what-s-new-in-script-browser-amp-script-analyzer-1-2.aspx
The Script Browser for Windows PowerShell ISEhas received thousands of downloads since it was released a week ago. Based on your feedbacks, today we release the 1.1 update to respond to the highly needed features. The team is committed to making the Script Browser and Script Analyzer useful. Your feedback is very important to us.
Download Script Browser & Script Analyzer 1.1 (If you have already installed the 1.0 version, you will get an update notification when you launch Windows PowerShell ISE.)
You can either select to turn on or turn off the rules in the Settings window of Script Analyzer.
You can also suggest a new Script Analyzer rule or vote for others’ suggestions. Our team monitors the forum closely. Based on your suggestions and votes, we will provide the corresponding Script Analyzer rules in future updates. We are also looking into the capability for you to write your own Script Analyzer rules and plug into the Script Analyzer.
Thanks to your feedback, we refined the Script Analyzer rules that were released in the version 1.0. We also fixed all rule issues that you reported. Each rule comes with a detailed description, good/bad examples, and supporting documents. Here are the 5 refined rules released in this update. We look forward to learning your feedback.
Invoke-Expression use should be carefully considered
Invoke-Expression is a powerful command; it’s useful under specific circumstances but can open the door for malicious code being injected. This command should be used judiciously. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/powershell/archive/2006/11/23/protecting-against-malicious-code-injection.aspx
Invoke-Expression is a powerful command; it’s useful under specific circumstances but can open the door for malicious code being injected. This command should be used judiciously.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/powershell/archive/2006/11/23/protecting-against-malicious-code-injection.aspx
Cmdlet alias use should be avoided
Powershell is a wonderfully efficient scripting language, allowing an administrator to accomplish a lot of work with little input or effort. However, we recommend you to use full Cmdlet names instead of alias' when writing scripts that will potentially need to be maintained over time, either by the original author or another Powershell scripter. Using Alias' may cause problems related to the following aspects: Readability, understandability and availability. Take the following Powershell command for an example: Ls | ? {$_.psiscontainer} | % {"{0}`t{1}" -f $_.name, $_.lastaccesstime} The above syntax is not very clear to the novice Powershell scripter, making it hard to read and understand. The same command with the full Cmdlet names is easier to read and understand. Get-ChildItem | Where-Object {$_.psiscontainer} | ForEach-Object {"{0}`t{1}" -f $_.name, $_.lastaccesstime Lastly, we can guarantee that an alias will exist in all environments. For more information, please see the linked Scripting Guy blog on this topic. http://blogs.technet.com/b/heyscriptingguy/archive/2012/04/21/when-you-should-use-powershell-aliases.aspx
Powershell is a wonderfully efficient scripting language, allowing an administrator to accomplish a lot of work with little input or effort. However, we recommend you to use full Cmdlet names instead of alias' when writing scripts that will potentially need to be maintained over time, either by the original author or another Powershell scripter. Using Alias' may cause problems related to the following aspects:
Readability, understandability and availability. Take the following Powershell command for an example:
Ls | ? {$_.psiscontainer} | % {"{0}`t{1}" -f $_.name, $_.lastaccesstime}
The above syntax is not very clear to the novice Powershell scripter, making it hard to read and understand.
The same command with the full Cmdlet names is easier to read and understand.
Get-ChildItem | Where-Object {$_.psiscontainer} | ForEach-Object {"{0}`t{1}" -f $_.name, $_.lastaccesstime
Lastly, we can guarantee that an alias will exist in all environments.
For more information, please see the linked Scripting Guy blog on this topic.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/heyscriptingguy/archive/2012/04/21/when-you-should-use-powershell-aliases.aspx
Empty catch blocks should be avoided
Empty catch blocks are considered poor design decisions because if an error occurs in the try block, the error will be simply swallowed and not acted upon. Although this does not inherently lead to undesirable results, the chances are still out there. Therefore, empty catch blocks should be avoided if possible. Take the following code for an example: try{ $SomeStuff = Get-SomeNonExistentStuff}catch{} If we execute this code in Powershell, no visible error messages will be presented alerting us to the fact that the call to Get-SomeNonExistentStuff fails. A possible solution: try{ $SomeStuff = Get-SomeNonExistentStuff}catch{ "Something happened calling Get-SomeNonExistentStuff"} For further insights: http://blogs.technet.com/b/heyscriptingguy/archive/2010/03/11/hey-scripting-guy-march-11-2010.aspx
Empty catch blocks are considered poor design decisions because if an error occurs in the try block, the error will be simply swallowed and not acted upon. Although this does not inherently lead to undesirable results, the chances are still out there. Therefore, empty catch blocks should be avoided if possible.
Take the following code for an example:
try{ $SomeStuff = Get-SomeNonExistentStuff}catch{}
If we execute this code in Powershell, no visible error messages will be presented alerting us to the fact that the call to Get-SomeNonExistentStuff fails.
A possible solution:
try{ $SomeStuff = Get-SomeNonExistentStuff}catch{ "Something happened calling Get-SomeNonExistentStuff"}
For further insights:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/heyscriptingguy/archive/2010/03/11/hey-scripting-guy-march-11-2010.aspx
Positional arguments should be avoided
Readability and clarity should be the goal of any script we expect to maintain over time. When calling a command that takes parameters, where possible consider using Named parameters as opposed to Positional parameters. Take the following command, calling an Azure Powershell cmdlet with 3 Positional parameters, for an example: Set-AzureAclConfig "10.0.0.0/8" 100 "MySiteConfig" -AddRule -ACL $AclObject -Action Permit If the reader of this command is not familiar with the set-AzureAclConfig cmdlet, they may not know what the first 3 parameters are. The same command called using Named parameters is easier to understand: Set-AzureAclConfig -RemoteSubnet "10.0.0.0/8" -Order 100 -Description "MySiteConfig" -AddRule -ACL $AclObject -Action Permit Additional reading: http://blogs.technet.com/b/heyscriptingguy/archive/2012/04/22/the-problem-with-powershell-positional-parameters.aspx
Readability and clarity should be the goal of any script we expect to maintain over time. When calling a command that takes parameters, where possible consider using Named parameters as opposed to Positional parameters.
Take the following command, calling an Azure Powershell cmdlet with 3 Positional parameters, for an example:
Set-AzureAclConfig "10.0.0.0/8" 100 "MySiteConfig" -AddRule -ACL $AclObject -Action Permit
If the reader of this command is not familiar with the set-AzureAclConfig cmdlet, they may not know what the first 3 parameters are.
The same command called using Named parameters is easier to understand:
Set-AzureAclConfig -RemoteSubnet "10.0.0.0/8" -Order 100 -Description "MySiteConfig" -AddRule -ACL $AclObject -Action Permit
Additional reading:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/heyscriptingguy/archive/2012/04/22/the-problem-with-powershell-positional-parameters.aspx
Advanced Function names should follow standard verb-noun naming convention
As introduced in Powershell 2.0, the ability to create functions that mimic Cmdlet behaviors is now available to scripters. Now that we as scripters have the ability to write functions that behave like Cmdlets, we should follow the consistent nature of Powershell and name our advance functions using the verb-noun nomenclature. Execute the Cmdlet below to get the full list of Powershell approved verbs. Get-Verb http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/hh360993.aspx
As introduced in Powershell 2.0, the ability to create functions that mimic Cmdlet behaviors is now available to scripters. Now that we as scripters have the ability to write functions that behave like Cmdlets, we should follow the consistent nature of Powershell and name our advance functions using the verb-noun nomenclature.
Execute the Cmdlet below to get the full list of Powershell approved verbs.
Get-Verb
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/hh360993.aspx
We sincerely suggest you give Script Browser a try (click here to download). If you love what you see in Script Browser, please recommend it to your friends and colleagues. If you encounter any problems or have any suggestions for us, please contact us at onescript@microsoft.com. Your precious opinions and comments are more than welcome.
Here we'd like to share a piece of good news with everybody: today we have a new app released – Script Browser for Windows PowerShell ISE.
Script Browser for Windows PowerShell ISE was designed and developed in response to many IT Pros’ and MVPs’ feedback during the MVP Global Summit. It puts nearly 10K script examples at IT Pros fingertips when they write scripts to automate their IT tasks. Users can search, learn, download and manage scripts from within their scripting environment - PowerShell ISE - with just a few button clicks. It saves the time of switching back and forth between webpages and scripting environment, and also the trouble of countless download, copy, and paste operations. Bundled with Script Browser is another neat feature called ‘Script Analyzer’ that automatically analyzes user’s script against 7 PowerShell best practices, and suggests improvements. Click here to get it now and share the announcements from the Windows PowerShell product team with your IT friends to make their work easier.
Getting started with Script Browser 1.0
It is very essential that an app satisfies users’ requirements. Therefore, feedback is of prime importance. For Script Browser, MVPs are one of the key sources where we get constructive feedback. When the Script Browser was demoed at the 2013 MVP Global Summit in November, 2014 Japan MVP Open Day, and a Product Group Interaction event, the MVP community proposed insightful improvements. For instance, MVPs suggested showing a script preview before users can decide to download the complete script package. MVPs also wanted to be able to search for script samples offline. These were great suggestions, and the team immediately added the features to the release. We have collected a pool of great ideas (e.g. MVPs also suggested that the Best Practice rules checking feature in Script Analyzer should be extensible). We are committed to continuously improving the app based on your feedback.
We have an ambitious roadmap for Script Browser. For example, we plan to add more script repositories to the search scope. We are investigating integration with Bing Code Search. We are also trying to improve the extensibility of Script Analyzer rules. Some features, like script sample sharing and searching within an enterprise, are still in their infancy.
Acknowledgement
Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. The v1 release of Script Browser is a big collaborative effort from many teams at Microsoft. Mei Liang, Dan Ruder, Jialiang Ge, Bill Grauer, Allen Ding, Allen Li, Huajun Gu (MVP), Qi Fu from Microsoft CSS worked with the PowerShell Product Group represented by John Slack (PM), Frederic Francois, Samuel Li, Susan Mings, Vlad Carpenco, and Kriti Jindal, and the TechNet Script Center team represented by Bryant Hawthorne. Pei Wang and Satoru Kitabata localized the app to 14 languages. Microsoft GARAGE (Ben Gilbert is the PM) provides a perfect platform to demonstrate the app and internally crowd-source ideas and effort to make it better. Nearly 20 Microsoft Garage volunteers, and even their wifes, contributed test and localization to the release: Michael Janelle-Montcalm, Tiago Damasceno, Leland Holmquest's wife Geylan Holmquest, Petr Rybak, Igor Rybak, Piotr Walaszek, Cale Teeter's wife, Jose Cardenas Salazar, Aldo Mendoza Saucedo, Damian Leibaschoff (PSS), Markus Jansen, Tim Sullivan, Jorge Aleman Rodriguez, Ronald Aigner, Roberto Aldaba Mendez, Raffaele Limosani, Christian Kuhtz, Eric Chang (MSR), Erik Millan Jimenez, Tino Morenz.
Script of the Day
Script Download: 26702.ziphttp://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Create-a-shortcut-to-Email-bcf779da
Sometimes we often communicate with some people via Email, so we can create a shortcut on desktop for convenience.
You can find more All-In-One Script Framework script samples at http://aka.ms/onescriptingallery
Script Download:
The script is available for download in Microsoft Script Browser for Windows PowerShell ISE. You need to install the Script Browser application first, and search for the script sample title.
As many people asked how to combine multiple rows into one row by a same column value. The script will demo how to combine by creating a table.
Script Download: 29331.ziphttp://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/How-to-Export-the-list-of-f81ea5e1
This script is to help Exchange Administrators to generate a report about Exchange Active Sync Devices of mailboxes in organization, a group of mailboxes or a single mailbox.
This Windows PowerShell script will prepopulate a batch of user passwords to a specified Read-only Domain Controller. It will leverage the capability of the native command, repadmin. The script will also strictly check the parameters for avoiding any potential human error.
Currently, IT Professionals can only prepopulate user password for one account each time. If IT Professionals have to prepopulate 200 or more user passwords within a very short period of time, the job will turn out to be very stressful and tedious.
This scripts shows how to add an application installation condition (Query WMI) in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1.
Suppose you are a SCCM administrator of a large company, you need to deploy software to devices provided by different vendors. You can add conditions to a task sequence step to make sure applications are deployed to the right devices. But a task sequence may contain multiple steps requiring to add conditions; it’s not easy to find the steps in task sequence editor. So you want to use a script to ease your work.