Powershell - Export-CliXml Structure without Nodes

Question

Hello,

iam working with PS and WSUS quite some time. I've made a script which automaticaly approves updates.

Within this script i export the approved updates (Title, ID and arrivaltime) via "Export-CliXml" into a XML-File.

Every now and then, when a new list has to be established, the exported results have no nodes, no structure ..

What am i doing wrong?
How can i export with Nodes?

When i later import the list without structure, i can not handle the information properly.

$List = Import-CliXml PreTest.xml
$List[X][X] <- is not working, i can not iterate through the values anymore

Anyone knows what issue iam facing?

Best regards!

Answer 1

And here my solution:

$List = @()            
$Updates_Pretest =  $WSUS.GetUpdates() | select -First 10
if ($Updates_Pretest.count -gt 0)            
    {            
    $List = $Updates_Pretest | ForEach {
    [pscustomobject]@{
        ID = $_.Id.UpdateId.Guid
        Ankunftsdatum = (Get-Date -Format "MM.dd.yyyy")
        UpdateTitle = $_.title
        }}
    }
$List | Export-Clixml -Path ("c:\" + "Test.xml")

Answer 2

Have you examined the object you're exporting to verify that it has the structure and properties you expect? Nobody knows how you create those objects without you displaying the underlying code in your script.

Answer 3

If you ever encounter a similiar Problem: if you examine the Data you want to export, you may notice that the data is only a bunch of strings anymore.

To achieve a structured XML-Export, you have to export objects.

In my case i piped the Data first into a pscustomobject and can afterwards export them into a CLIXML.

Answer 4

Old Code example:

$List = @()            
$Updates_Pretest =  $WSUS.GetUpdates() | select -First 10
if ($Updates_Pretest.count -gt 0)            
    {            
        foreach ($Update in $Updates_Pretest)            
            {            
                $List += @($Update.Id.UpdateId.Guid;(Get-Date -Format "MM.dd.yyyy");$Update.title)
            } 
    }
$List | Export-Clixml -Path ("c:\" + "Test.xml")

Answer 5

Hi,BastiFantasti-2000
If your problem has been solved, please don't forget to mark it as an answer, so that if a user has a similar problem, you can easily find the best solution to it. ：-）
（And god, I really appreciate Rich a lot, a well-deserved expert）