PowerShell

Get-Help Test-Path

Get-Alias %

Get-Alias -Definition Get-ChildItem

find all aliases for Get-ChildItem

aliases

some aliases

$_ : $PSItem = current value in the pipe line (or current argument)

dir : Get-ChildItem

echo : Write-Output

exp : ExpandProperty

fl : Format-List

ft : Format-Table

select : Select-Object

% : foreach : ForEach-Object

? : where : Where-Object

commands

list a command and which module (and version) it belongs to

Get-Command Get-Alias

list a command’s parameters

(Get-Command Get-Alias).Parameters.Keys

Get-Command Get-Alias | select Definition | fl

command history is stored in:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine\ConsoleHost_history.txt

formatting

format command output

Get-Command -Verb Format | ft

-Verb lists all the commands beginning Format-

ft (Format-Table) truncates text if it goes off the screen

Get-Command Get-Alias | fl

fl (Format-List) displays more information and wraps long lines

select * does a | fl by default

Get-Command Get-Alias | select Name,DLL | ft -AutoSize -Wrap

output formats include Format-Custom, Format-Hex, Format-List, Format-Table and Format-Wide

-Wrap only works with -AutoSize

misc

get raw user interface (console window) info

(Get-Host).UI.RawUI

set the size of the console window

$h=Get-Host; $win=$h.UI.RawUI.WindowSize; $win.Height=69; $win.Width=120; $h.UI.RawUI.set_WindowSize($win)

variables

parentheses (), braces {}, square brackets [] and dots “.”

() execute the contents of all parentheses immediately

(Get-Date -Day 31 -Month 12 -Year 2024).DayOfYear

(Get-Date) - (Get-Date -Day 1 -Month 1 -Year 2000)

( 2 + 3 ) * 5

25

() = execute this
$() = execute this first and then treat the result like a variable
@() = execute this first and then treat the result like an array

dot . returns the property - these are the same:

Get-PSProvider | select -exp Drives

(Get-PSProvider).Drives

and these are the same:

Get-PSProvider | select -exp Drives | select -exp Name

(Get-PSProvider).Drives.Name

because the Drives property contains another list containing the Name property

{} are executed when it’s their turn e.g:

IF(Test-Path C:\) {echo "yes"} else {echo "no"}

also

1,2,3 | %{Write-Host $_}

1 2 3

[] ex1 - are for array elements e.g:

$abc=[array]('a','b','c')

$abc[2]

c

the first array element is [0]

[] ex2 - search for string beginning with h or k:

Get-Service -Name [hk]* | select Name, Status

use *[hk] for ending with h or k

[] ex3 - retrieve values from a “hashtable”:

$abc=@{X='7';Y='8';Z='9'}

$abc['Z']

9

 

variables “$”

set a variable

Set-Variable -Name abc -Value 123

is the same as

$abc=123

retrieve a variable

Get-Variable -Name abc | select -exp Value

is the same as

$abc

store the result of a command in a variable

$xyz=Get-Host

retrieve the properties of a variable (that has properties)

$xyz.UI.RawUI

list all variables in the current session

Get-Variable

displayed without the leading $

includes all the automatic variables

 

Active Directory Sync

install Microsoft Entra Connect (formerly Azure AD Connect) by downloading the installer from the Microsoft Download Center

import the AzureAD Sync module

Import-Module ADSync

review the current intervals AzureAD Connect uses to sync

Get-ADSyncScheduler

time is UTC (= GMT) not BST

force AzureAD Connect to sync current changes

Start-ADSyncSyncCycle -PolicyType Delta

force a complete sync

Start-ADSyncSyncCycle -PolicyType Initial

 

Microsoft Graph Users Groups Calendars Resources Room Lists

ExchangeOnline

Import-Module ExchangeOnlineManagement

only required if Get-Module doesn’t list ExchangeOnlineManagement

connect to Exchange Server

$UserCredential = Get-Credential

Connect-ExchangeOnline -Credential $UserCredential -ShowProgress $true

check the connection

Get-AcceptedDomain

disconnect from Exchange Server

Disconnect-ExchangeOnline

 

Microsoft Graph

connect to Microsoft Graph

Connect-MgGraph

Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "Directory.AccessAsUser.All", "User.ReadWrite.All", "Group.ReadWrite.All"

Microsoft Graph is the replacement for the Azure AD PowerShell and MSOnline modules

tick "Consent on behalf of your organisation" so the prompt doesn’t appear for every user

check the connection

Get-MgContext

list all current scopes

(Get-MgContext).Scopes

 

Users

change name of user (e.g. new minibus)

Set-User minibus-SF69FYU -Name minibus-RJ74OBL

use Entra admin center to update Display name, Mail nickname (=Alias)

use Exchange admin center to delete old email addresses (lowercase smtp)

 

Groups

list groups

Get-MgGroup

Get-MgGroup -Filter "DisplayName eq 'calendars_'"

list the members of a group

Get-MgGroupMemberAsUser (Get-MgGroup -Filter "DisplayName eq 'calendars_'").id | ft DisplayName, UserPrincipalName

 

Calendars

view calendar permissions

Get-MailboxFolderPermission hall:\calendar

FolderName User AccessRights ---------- ---- ------------ Calendar Default {Reviewer} Calendar Anonymous {None} Calendar calendar-group_ {Editor}

edit calendar permissions

Set-MailboxFolderPermission -Identity hall:\calendar -User Default -AccessRights Reviewer

Add-MailboxFolderPermission -Identity hall:\calendar -User JBloggs -AccessRights Editor

Remove-MailboxFolderPermission -Identity hall:\calendar -User JBloggs

list the Default calendar AccessRights for all users

Get-Mailbox | %{Get-MailboxFolderPermission $_":\calendar"} | ?{$_.User -like "Default"} | select Identity, User, AccessRights

Identity User AccessRights -------- ---- ------------ admin:\calendar Default {Reviewer} minibus:\calendar Default {Reviewer} User:\calendar Default {AvailabilityOnly} ...

 

Resources (rooms & equipment)

list all resource mailboxes

Get-Mailbox | ?{$_.IsResource –eq 'true'} | select Name, ResourceType

resource mailboxes do not need a licence

New-Mailbox -Name hall -DisplayName hall -Room

New-Mailbox -Name minibus -DisplayName minibus -Equipment

convert user mailbox to a resource

Set-Mailbox -Identity hall -Type Room

Set-Mailbox -Identity minibus -Type Equipment

convert a resource mailbox to user

Set-Mailbox -Identity hall -Type Regular

resources must be configured with the correct timezone

Set-MailboxRegionalConfiguration -Identity hall -Language en-GB -DateFormat "dd/MM/yyyy" -TimeFormat HH:mm -TimeZone "GMT Standard Time" -LocalizeDefaultFolderName

Get-MailboxRegionalConfiguration -Identity hall

...and the correct WorkingHoursTimeZone

Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration -Identity hall -WorkingHoursTimeZone "GMT Standard Time"

Get-MailboxCalendarConfiguration -Identity hall

populate room resource values so it appears in “Room Finder”

Set-Place -Identity hall -CountryOrRegion GB -State "West Midlands" -City Coventry -Floor 1 -FloorLabel upper -Label hall -Capacity 10 -Building school

Room Finder uses “Room Lists” as the values for the Building filter not the Building property (for backward compatibility). Populating the Building property is recommended to ensure forward compatibility.

Get-Place hall | fl

 

Room Lists

create a Room List

New-DistributionGroup -Name school -RoomList

Get-DistributionGroup -Identity school

view list of all rooms

Get-Mailbox -RecipientTypeDetails RoomMailbox -ResultSize Unlimited

add room to the Room List

Add-DistributionGroupMember -Identity school -Member hall

verify each Room List contains only the intended room mailboxes

Get-DistributionGroupMember -Identity school

restrict who can book room resource

Set-CalendarProcessing main-hall -BookInPolicy calendars_ -AllBookInPolicy $false

Get-CalendarProcessing main-hall | fl

to reverse the restriction

Set-CalendarProcessing main-hall -BookInPolicy @() -AllBookInPolicy $true

check who is in the BookInPolicy

((Get-CalendarProcessing main-hall).BookInPolicy | Get-Recipient ).PrimarySMTPAddress

 

PowerShell

Modules

list modules that have been imported into the current session

Get-Module

list modules that are installed and available to be imported

Get-Module -ListAvailable

$env:PsModulePath

lists modules from all locations mentioned in $env:PsModulePath

list just those modules installed using Install-Module (i.e. not native)

Get-InstalledModule

list module with installation path

Get-Module -Name PowerShellGet -ListAvailable | select Version,ModuleBase

install a new module

Install-Module -Name ExchangeOnlineManagement

Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph

Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph.Beta

update a module

Update-Module -Name ExchangeOnlineManagement

Update-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph

Update-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph.Beta

uninstall a module

Uninstall-Module -Name ExchangeOnlineManagement

Uninstall-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph -AllVersions

Get-InstalledModule -Name Microsoft.Graph.* | ? Name -ne "Microsoft.Graph.Authentication" | Uninstall-Module -AllVersions

Uninstall-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph.Authentication -AllVersions

uninstall Microsoft Graph main module and then all the dependency modules

 

PowerShell

PowerShell “engine version”

$PSVersionTable

$PSVersionTable.PSVersion

info about the host program (e.g. PowerShell console)

Get-Host

Get-Host shows the version of the PowerShell host application. This may be different from the engine version in $PSVersionTable as each represents a separate part of how PowerShell is set up

Search for the latest version

winget search --id Microsoft.PowerShell --exact

install the latest version

winget install --id Microsoft.PowerShell --source winget

see if PowerShell can be upgraded with WinGet

winget list --id Microsoft.PowerShell --upgrade-available

upgrade to the latest version

winget upgrade --id Microsoft.PowerShell

uninstall PowerShell

winget uninstall --id Microsoft.PowerShell