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Format-Wide

  • Reference
Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility

Formats objects as a wide table that displays only one property of each object.

Syntax

Format-Wide
      [[-Property] <Object>]
      [-AutoSize]
      [-Column <int>]
      [-GroupBy <Object>]
      [-View <string>]
       [-ShowError]
      [-DisplayError]
      [-Force]
      [-Expand <string>]
      [-InputObject <psobject>] 
      [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Format-Wide cmdlet formats objects as a wide table that displays only one property of each object. You can use the Property parameter to determine which property is displayed.

Examples

Example 1: Format names of files in the current directory

This command displays the names of files in the current directory in three columns across the screen.

Get-ChildItem | Format-Wide -Column 3

The Get-ChildItem cmdlet gets objects representing each file in the directory. The pipeline operator (|) passes the file objects through the pipeline to Format-Wide, which formats them for output. The Column parameter specifies the number of columns.

Example 2: Format names of registry keys

This command displays the names of registry keys in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft key.

Get-ChildItem HKCU:\software\microsoft | Format-Wide -Property pschildname -AutoSize

The Get-ChildItem cmdlet gets objects representing the keys. The path is specified as HKCU:, one of the drives exposed by the PowerShell Registry provider, followed by the key path. The pipeline operator (|) passes the registry key objects through the pipeline to Format-Wide, which formats them for output. The Property parameter specifies the name of the property, and the AutoSize parameter adjusts the columns for readability.

Example 3: Troubleshooting format errors

The following examples show of the results of adding the DisplayError or ShowError parameters with an expression.

PS /> Get-Date | Format-Wide { $_ / $null } -DisplayError


#ERR

PS /> Get-Date | Format-Wide { $_ / $null } -ShowError


Failed to evaluate expression " $_ / $null ".
+ CategoryInfo          : InvalidArgument: (12/21/2018 8:18:01 AM:PSObject) [], RuntimeException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : PSPropertyExpressionError

Parameters

-AutoSize

Adjusts the column size and number of columns based on the width of the data. By default, the column size and number are determined by the view. You cannot use the AutoSize and Column parameters in the same command.

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

-Column

Specifies the number of columns in the display. You cannot use the AutoSize and Column parameters in the same command.

Type:Int32
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-DisplayError

Displays errors at the command line. This parameter is rarely used, but can be used as a debugging aid when you are formatting expressions in a Format-Wide command, and the expressions do not appear to be working.

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

-Expand

Formats the collection object, as well as the objects in the collection. This parameter is designed to format objects that support the System.Collections.ICollection interface. The default value is EnumOnly.

Valid values are:

  • EnumOnly: Displays the properties of the objects in the collection.
  • CoreOnly: Displays the properties of the collection object.
  • Both: Displays the properties of the collection object and the properties of objects in the collection.
Type:String
Accepted values:CoreOnly, EnumOnly, Both
Position:Named
Default value:EnumOnly
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Force

Indicates that this cmdlet overrides restrictions that prevent the command from succeeding, just so the changes do not compromise security. For example, Force will override the read-only attribute or create directories to complete a file path, but it will not attempt to change file permissions.

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

-GroupBy

Formats the output in groups based on a shared property or value. Enter an expression or a property of the output.

The value of the GroupBy parameter can be a new calculated property. The calculated property can be a script block or a hash table. Valid key-value pairs are:

  • Name (or Label) - <string>
  • Expression - <string> or <script block>
  • FormatString - <string>

For more information, see about_Calculated_Properties.

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

-InputObject

Specifies the objects to format. Enter a variable that contains the objects, or type a command or expression that gets the objects.

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

-Property

Specifies the object property that appears in the display. Wildcards are permitted.

If you omit this parameter, the properties that appear in the display depend on the object being displayed. The parameter name Property is optional. You cannot use the Property and View parameters in the same command.

The value of the Property parameter can be a new calculated property. The calculated property can be a script block or a hash table. Valid key-value pairs are:

  • Expression - <string> or <script block>
  • FormatString - <string>

For more information, see about_Calculated_Properties.

Type:Object
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:True

-ShowError

Sends errors through the pipeline. This parameter is rarely used, but can be used as a debugging aid when you are formatting expressions in a Format-Wide command, and the expressions do not appear to be working.

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

-View

Specifies the name of an alternate table format or view. You cannot use the Property and View parameters in the same command.

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

Inputs

PSObject

You can pipe any object to Format-Wide.

Outputs

Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.Internal.Format

Format-Wide returns format objects that represent the table.

Notes

You can also refer to Format-Wide by its built-in alias, fw. For more information, see about_Aliases.

The GroupBy parameter assumes that the objects are sorted. Use Sort-Object before using Format-Custom to group the objects.

The View parameter lets you specify an alternate format for the table. You can use the views defined in the *.format.PS1XML files in the PowerShell directory or you can create your own views in new PS1XML files and use the Update-FormatData cmdlet to include them in PowerShell.

The alternate view for the View parameter must use table format; if it does not, the command fails. If the alternate view is a list, use Format-List. If the alternate view is neither a list nor a table, use Format-Custom.