Windows PowerShell Quick Reference

Writing Scripts, Reusing Functionality

When you want to start packaging and reusing your commands, the best place to put them is in scripts and functions. A script is a text file that contains a sequence of PowerShell commands. A function is also a sequence of PowerShell commands but is usually used within a script to break it into smaller, more easily understood segments.

Writing Scripts

To write a script, write your PowerShell commands in a text editor and save the file with a .PS1 extension.

Running Scripts

There are two ways to execute a script: by invoking it or by dot-sourcing it.

Invoking

Invoking a script runs the commands inside it. Unless explicitly defined with the GLOBAL scope keyword, variables and functions defined in the script do not persist once the script exits.

You invoke a script by using the invoke/call operator (&) with the script name as the parameter:

& "C:\Script Directory\Run-Commands.ps1" <Parameter List>

You can use either a fully qualified path or a path relative to the current location. If the script is in the current directory, you must explicitly say so:

.\Run-Commands.ps1 <Parameter List>

If the path contains no spaces, you may omit both the quotes and invoke operator.

Dot-sourcing

Dot-sourcing a script runs the commands inside it. Unlike invoking a script, variables and functions defined in the script do persist after the script exits.

You invoke a script by using the dot operator (.) with the script name as the parameter:

. "C:\Script Directory\Run-Commands.ps1" ...