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Pop-Location

  • Reference
Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Management

Changes the current location to the location most recently pushed onto the stack.

Syntax

Pop-Location
   [-PassThru]
   [-StackName <String>]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Pop-Location cmdlet changes the current location to the location most recently pushed onto the stack by using the Push-Location cmdlet. You can pop a location from the default stack or from a stack that you create by using a Push-Location command.

Examples

Example 1: Change to most recent location

PS C:\> Pop-Location

This command changes your location to the location most recently added to the current stack.

Example 2: Change to most recent location in a named stack

PS C:\> Pop-Location -StackName "Stack2"

This command changes your location to the location most recently added to the Stack2 location stack.

For more information about location stacks, see the Notes.

Example 3: Move between locations for different providers

PS C:\> pushd HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\PowerShell
PS HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\PowerShell> pushd Cert:\LocalMachine\TrustedPublisher
PS cert:\LocalMachine\TrustedPublisher> popd
PS HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\PowerShell> popd
PS C:\>

These commands use the Push-Location and Pop-Location cmdlets to move between locations supported by different PowerShell providers. The commands use the pushd alias for Push-Location and the popd alias for Pop-Location.

The first command pushes the current file system location onto the stack and moves to the HKLM drive supported by the PowerShell Registry provider.

The second command pushes the registry location onto the stack and moves to a location supported by the PowerShell certificate provider.

The last two commands pop those locations off the stack. The first popd command returns to the Registry drive, and the second command returns to the file system drive.

Parameters

-PassThru

Passes an object that represents the location to the pipeline. By default, this cmdlet does not generate any output.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-StackName

Specifies the location stack from which the location is popped. Enter a location stack name.

Without this parameter, Pop-Location pops a location from the current location stack. By default, the current location stack is the unnamed default location stack that PowerShell creates. To make a location stack the current location stack, use the StackName parameter of the Set-Location cmdlet. For more information about location stacks, see the Notes.

Pop-Location cannot pop a location from the unnamed default stack unless it is the current location stack.

Type:String
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

Inputs

None

You cannot pipe input to this cmdlet.

Outputs

None, System.Management.Automation.PathInfo

This cmdlet generates a System.Management.Automation.PathInfo object that represents the location, if you specify the PassThru parameter. Otherwise, this cmdlet does not generate any output.

Notes

PowerShell supports multiple runspaces per process. Each runspace has its own current directory. This is not the same as [System.Environment]::CurrentDirectory. This behavior can be an issue when calling .NET APIs or running native applications without providing explicit directory paths.

Even if the location cmdlets did set the process-wide current directory, you can't depend on it because another runspace might change it at any time. You should use the location cmdlets to perform path-based operations using the current working directory specific to the current runspace.

A stack is a last-in, first-out list in which only the most recently added item can be accessed. You add items to a stack in the order that you use them, and then retrieve them for use in the reverse order. PowerShell lets you store provider locations in location stacks.

PowerShell creates an unnamed default location stack and you can create multiple named location stacks. If you do not specify a stack name, PowerShell uses the current location stack. By default, the unnamed default location is the current location stack, but you can use the Set-Location cmdlet to change the current location stack.

To manage location stacks, use the PowerShell *-Location cmdlets, as follows:

  • To add a location to a location stack, use the Push-Location cmdlet.

  • To get a location from a location stack, use the Pop-Location cmdlet.

  • To display the locations in the current location stack, use the Stack parameter of the Get-Location cmdlet.

  • To display the locations in a named location stack, use the StackName parameter of the Get-Location cmdlet.

  • To create a new location stack, use the StackName parameter of the Push-Location cmdlet. If you specify a stack that does not exist, Push-Location creates the stack.

  • To make a location stack the current location stack, use the StackName parameter of the Set-Location cmdlet.

The unnamed default location stack is fully accessible only when it is the current location stack. If you make a named location stack the current location stack, you can no longer use the Push-Location or Pop-Location cmdlets to add or get items from the default stack or use the Get-Location cmdlet to display the locations in the unnamed stack. To make the unnamed stack the current stack, use the StackName parameter of the Set-Location cmdlet with a value of $Null or an empty string ("").

You can also refer to Pop-Location by its built-in alias, popd. For more information, see about_Aliases.

Pop-Location is designed to work with the data exposed by any provider. To list the providers available in your session, type Get-PSProvider. For more information, see about_Providers.