Write-Information
Write-Information [-MessageData*] <Object> [[-Tags] <String[]>] [<CommonParameters>]The Write-Information cmdlet specifies how Windows PowerShell handles information stream data for a command.
Windows PowerShell 5.0 introduces a new, structured information stream (number 6 in Windows PowerShell streams) that you can use to transmit structured data between a script and its callers (or hosting environment). Write-Information lets you add an informational message to the stream, and specify how Windows PowerShell handles information stream data for a command.
The $InformationPreference preference variable value determines whether the message you provide to Write-Information is displayed at the expected point in a script's operation. Because the default value of this variable is SilentlyContinue, by default, informational messages are not shown. If you don't want to change the value of $InformationPreference, you can override its value by adding the InformationAction common parameter to your command. For more information, see about_Preference_Variables and about_CommonParameters.
Starting in Windows PowerShell 5.0, Write-Host is a wrapper for Write-Information . You can now use Write-Host to emit output to the information stream, but the $InformationPreference preference variable and InformationAction common parameter do not affect Write-Host messages. Information streams also work for PowerShell.Streams , jobs, scheduled jobs, and workflows. Write-Information is also a supported workflow activity.
Parameters
-MessageData <Object>
- This value is required
- Default value is None
- Accepts pipeline input False
Specifies an informational message that you want to display to users as they run a script or command. For best results, enclose the informational message in quotation marks. An example is "Test complete."
-Tags <String[]>
- Default value is None
- Accepts pipeline input False
Specifies a simple string that you can use to sort and filter messages that you have added to the information stream with Write-Information . This parameter works similarly to the Tags parameter in New-ModuleManifest.
<CommonParameters>
This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug,ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable,OutBuffer, PipelineVariable, and OutVariable.
Inputs
Write-Information does not accept piped input.Outputs
System.Management.Automation.InformationRecordExamples
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Write information for Get- results:
PS C:\> Get-WindowsFeature -Name p*; Write-Information -MessageData "Got your features!" -InformationAction Continue Display Name Name Install State ------------ ---- ------------- [ ] Print and Document Services Print-Services Available [ ] Print Server Print-Server Available [ ] Distributed Scan Server Print-Scan-Server Available [ ] Internet Printing Print-Internet Available [ ] LPD Service Print-LPD-Service Available [ ] Peer Name Resolution Protocol PNRP Available [X] Windows PowerShell PowerShellRoot Installed [X] Windows PowerShell 5.0 PowerShell Installed [ ] Windows PowerShell 2.0 Engine PowerShell-V2 Removed [X] Windows PowerShell ISE PowerShell-ISE Installed Got your features! In this example, you show an informational message, "Got your features!", after running the Get-WindowsFeature command to find all features that have a Name value that starts with p. Because the $InformationPreference variable is still set to its default, SilentlyContinue, you add the InformationAction parameter to override the $InformationPreference value, and show the message. The InformationAction value is Continue, which means that your message is shown, but the script or command continues, if it is not yet finished. -
Write information and tag it:
PS C:\> Get-WindowsFeature -Name p*; Write-Information -MessageData "To filter your results for PowerShell, pipe your results to the Where-Object cmdlet." -Tags "Instructions" -InformationAction Continue Display Name Name Install State ------------ ---- ------------- [ ] Print and Document Services Print-Services Available [ ] Print Server Print-Server Available [ ] Distributed Scan Server Print-Scan-Server Available [ ] Internet Printing Print-Internet Available [ ] LPD Service Print-LPD-Service Available [ ] Peer Name Resolution Protocol PNRP Available [X] Windows PowerShell PowerShellRoot Installed [X] Windows PowerShell 5.0 PowerShell Installed [ ] Windows PowerShell 2.0 Engine PowerShell-V2 Removed [X] Windows PowerShell ISE PowerShell-ISE Installed To filter your results for PowerShell, pipe your results to the Where-Object cmdlet. In this example, you use Write-Information to let users know they'll need to run another command after they're done running the current command. The example adds the tag Instructions to the informational message. After running this command, if you search the information stream for messages tagged Instructions, the message specified here would be among the results. -
Write information to a file:
PS C:\> function Test-Info { Get-Process P* Write-Information "Here you go" } Test-Info 6> Info.txt In this example, you redirect the information stream in the function to a file, Info.txt, by using the code 6>. When you open the Info.txt file, you see the text, "Here you go."
Additional Notes
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. It is attributed to Microsoft Corporation and can be found here.
PowerShell Commands