(powershell) Select-String vs Findstr
findstr
is an operating system executable (findstr.exe
actually), which you can see from within PowerShell:
Get-Command findstr
Output:
CommandType Name Version Source ----------- ---- ------- ------ Application findstr.exe 10.0.10... C:\WINDOWS\system32\findstr.exe
Select-String
is similar but more powerful and is a native PowerShell cmdlet
CommandType Name Version Source ----------- ---- ------- ------ Cmdlet Select-String 3.1.0.0 Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility
They don't work exactly the same though or take the same input. Select-String
is generally better for use in PowerShell, but check the help to see how it works.
As Mathias pointed out, for what you're doing, you probably want Select-Object
:
Get-AppXProvisionPackage -online | Select-Object DisplayName
This would return a new object with a single property DisplayName
. To get the value of the property only you can use:
Get-AppXProvisionPackage -online | Select-Object -ExpandProperty DisplayName
(see also CapitanShinChan's answer)
PowerShell cmdlets often return objects with various properties, and the stylized format you see is for display, but you can access properties programmatically without using string parsing. Select-Object
is one way, another is to use dot .
notation:
$pkg = Get-AppXProvisionPackage -online$pkg.DisplayName
Both are native ways.
Like briantist said, the regular return of a powershell cmdlet is an object, which is "beautifully" displayed. So findstr will take that output from the console and filter it.
if you use Select-String, you're trying to match the string "DisplayName", but the input to the Cmdlet are objects, not strings.
The proper way to do it, (full powershell) would be:
Get-AppXProvisionedPackage -online | select "DisplayName"
From that command, the output would be a property of the object returned by the first Cmdlet. If you want the plain string, you should use the "-ExpandProperty" parameter to the select (Select-Object) Cmdlet.
Get-AppXProvisionedPackage -online | select -ExpandProperty "DisplayName"