Get-ItemProperty

Gets the properties of a specified item.

Syntax

Get-ItemProperty
   [-Path] <String[]>
   [[-Name] <String[]>]
   [-Filter <String>]
   [-Include <String[]>]
   [-Exclude <String[]>]
   [-Credential <PSCredential>]
   [-UseTransaction]
   [<CommonParameters>]
Get-ItemProperty
   -LiteralPath <String[]>
   [[-Name] <String[]>]
   [-Filter <String>]
   [-Include <String[]>]
   [-Exclude <String[]>]
   [-Credential <PSCredential>]
   [-UseTransaction]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Get-ItemProperty cmdlet gets the properties of the specified items. For example, you can use this cmdlet to get the value of the LastAccessTime property of a file object. You can also use this cmdlet to view registry entries and their values.

Examples

Example 1: Get information about a specific directory

This command gets information about the "C:\Windows" directory.

Get-ItemProperty C:\Windows

Example 2: Get the properties of a specific file

This command gets the properties of the "C:\Test\Weather.xls" file. The result is piped to the Format-List cmdlet to display the output as a list.

Get-ItemProperty C:\Test\Weather.xls | Format-List

Example 3: Display the value name and data of registry entries in a registry subkey

This command displays the value name and data of each of the registry entries contained in the "CurrentVersion" registry subkey. Note that the command requires that there is a PowerShell drive named HKLM: that is mapped to the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" hive of the registry. A drive with that name and mapping is available in PowerShell by default. Alternatively, the path to this registry subkey can be specified by using the following alternative path that begins with the provider name followed by two colons:

"Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion".

Get-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

Example 4: Get the value name and data of a registry entry in a registry subkey

This command gets the value name and data of the "ProgramFilesDir" registry entry in the "CurrentVersion" registry subkey. The command uses the Path parameter to specify the subkey and the Name parameter to specify the value name of the entry.

The command uses a back tick or grave accent (`), the PowerShell continuation character, to continue the command on the second line.

Get-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion -Name "ProgramFilesDir"

Example 5: Get the value names and data of registry entries in a registry key

This command gets the value names and data of the registry entries in the "PowerShellEngine" registry key. The results are shown in the following sample output.

Get-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\PowerShellEngine

ApplicationBase         : C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\
ConsoleHostAssemblyName : Microsoft.PowerShell.ConsoleHost, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35, ProcessorArchitecture=msil
PowerShellVersion       : 2.0
RuntimeVersion          : v2.0.50727
CTPVersion              : 5
PSCompatibleVersion     : 1.0,2.0

Example 6: Get, format, and display the results of registry values and data

This example shows how to format the output of a Get-ItemProperty command in a list to make it easy to see the registry values and data and to make it easy to interpret the results.

The first command uses the Get-ItemProperty cmdlet to get the registry entries in the Microsoft.PowerShell subkey. This subkey stores options for the default shell for PowerShell. The results are shown in the following sample output.

The output shows that there are two registry entries, "Path" and "ExecutionPolicy". When a registry key contains fewer than five entries, by default it is displayed in a table, but it is often easier to view in a list.

The second command uses the same Get-ItemProperty command. However, this time, the command uses a pipeline operator (|) to send the results of the command to the Format-List cmdlet. The Format-List command uses the Property parameter with a value of '*' (all) to display all of the properties of the objects in a list. The results are shown in the following sample output.

The resulting display shows the "Path" and "ExecutionPolicy" registry entries, along with several less familiar properties of the registry key object. The other properties, prefixed with PS, are properties of PowerShell custom objects, such as the objects that represent the registry keys.

Get-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\ShellIds\Microsoft.PowerShell

Path                                                        ExecutionPolicy
----                                                        ---------------
C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe   RemoteSigned

Get-ItemProperty -Path HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\ShellIds\Microsoft.PowerShell | Format-List -Property *

PSPath          : Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\ShellIds\Micro
soft.PowerShell
PSParentPath    : Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\ShellIds
PSChildName     : Microsoft.PowerShell
PSDrive         : HKLM
PSProvider      : Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Registry
Path            : C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
ExecutionPolicy : RemoteSigned

Parameters

-Credential

Specifies a user account that has permission to perform this action. The default is the current user.

Type a user name, such as "User01" or "Domain01\User01", or enter a PSCredential object, such as one generated by the Get-Credential cmdlet. If you type a user name, you are prompted for a password.

Warning

This parameter is not supported by any providers installed with Windows PowerShell.

Type:PSCredential
Position:Named
Default value:Current user
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Exclude

Specifies, as a string array, an item or items that this cmdlet excludes from the operation. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as "*.txt". Wildcard characters are permitted.

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

-Filter

Specifies a filter in the format or language of the provider. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter.

The syntax of the filter, including the use of wildcard characters, depends on the provider. Filters are more efficient than other parameters, because the provider applies them when the cmdlet gets the objects rather than having PowerShell filter the objects after they are retrieved.

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

-Include

Specifies, as a string array, an item or items that this cmdlet includes in the operation. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as "*.txt". Wildcard characters are permitted.

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

-LiteralPath

Specifies the path to the current location of the property. Unlike the Path parameter, the value of LiteralPath is used exactly as it is typed. No characters are interpreted as wildcards. If the path includes escape characters, enclose it in single quotation marks. Single quotation marks tell PowerShell not to interpret any characters as escape sequences.

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

-Name

Specifies the name of the property or properties to retrieve.

Type:String[]
Aliases:PSProperty
Position:2
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-Path

Specifies the path to the item or items.

Type:String[]
Position:1
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False

-UseTransaction

Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see about_Transactions.

Type:SwitchParameter
Aliases:usetx
Position:Named
Default value:False
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

Inputs

String

You can pipe a string that contains a path to Get-ItemProperty.

Outputs

System.Boolean, System.String, System.DateTime

Get-ItemProperty returns an object for each item property that it gets. The object type depends on the object that is retrieved. For example, in a file system drive, it might return a file or folder.

Notes

The Get-ItemProperty cmdlet 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.