WMF Version 5.0 PowerShell Preview for Windows 7 SP1

Yes!  Windows Management Framework Version 5.0 PowerShell Preview is also available for Windows 7 SP1 machines.  HURRAY!!

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Go ahead and check the “Windows PowerShell Blog” article about it: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/powershell/archive/2015/04/29/windows-management-framework-5-0-preview-april-2015-is-now-available.aspx

Take it for a test-drive and I guarantee you won’t look back.  Here’s the Microsoft Download page: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=46889

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Make sure to execute both of the following commands:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned;
Update-Help

By the way, this still is a Preview version.  So, expect some errors to show up.   Don’t be discourage by it!

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Playing with PowerShell Studio 2015 Windows Form 2/2

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Adding the code

Now that we have the framework of the Windows Form built with added component, we can proceed to add the PowerShell code to make it work.

First, keep in mind, to add the code in any of the component you added to the form by just double-clicking on the component. This will take you to the editor “Script” pane and the cursor will be at the event generated code.

When you first create a blank Windows form, it will automatically generate the $formxxxxx_Load={..} event code. Here’s where you add any additional code before the windows form load at runtime. So, the following added code will set some “CheckBox” components properties to either “$true” or “$false”.

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Here’s the code added to all out Windows Form components:

[sourcecode language=”powershell”]
$formDisplayPSObjects_Load={
#TODO: Initialize Form Controls here
## – Setting checkboxes “check” properties:
$checkboxToDisplayAllObjectPr.Checked = $true;
$checkboxCommandHasSelectProp.Checked = $false;
};

$checkboxToDisplayAllObjectPr_CheckedChanged = {
#TODO: Place custom script here
$checkboxCommandHasSelectProp.Checked = $false;

};

$checkboxCommandHasSelectProp_CheckedChanged = {
#TODO: Place custom script here
$checkboxToDisplayAllObjectPr.Checked = $false;
};

$buttonRun_Click={
#TODO: Place custom script here
#Create DataSet Object

if ($checkboxToDisplayAllObjectPr.Checked -eq $true)
{
$caption = “Checkbox1 Selected…”; $textMsg = “checkboxToDisplayAllObjectPr.Checked”; `
[System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox]::Show($textMsg, $caption, [System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons]::OK);
};

if ($checkboxCommandHasSelectProp.Checked -eq $true)
{
$caption = “Checkbox2 Selected…”; $textMsg = “checkboxCommandHasSelectProp.Checked”; `
[System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox]::Show($textMsg, $caption, [System.Windows.Forms.MessageBoxButtons]::OK);
};

## Function to populate the DataGrid component:
RefreshDataGrid1

};
[/sourcecode]

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As you can see, just adding a few line of PowerShell code will bring your windows form to life. Please notice that in this application, both CheckBox component doesn’t really do anything except to display a Popup message.

Adding the DataGrid function

The following function (“RefreshDataGrid1”) is the heart of the form which will display the data into the DataGrid. In order to build our data we need to type then execute a one-line PowerShell command in our form textbox. This is where we use the “$executioncontext.invokecommand.NewScriptBlock($textbox1.Text)” which will convert the text into a PowerShell ScriptBlock object for processing in the “Invoke-Command”.

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After we got the object create, the function will proceed to:
1. Create the DataSet object and the table placeholder for columns and rows of DataGrid.
2. Then, populate columns names and data rows.
3. Finally, it binds the DataSet table into the DataGrod component.

[sourcecode language=”powershell”]
Function RefreshDataGrid1
{
param ()

$scriptblock = $executioncontext.invokecommand.NewScriptBlock($textbox1.Text);
$MyGridObject = $null; $MyGridObject = Invoke-Command -Scriptblock $scriptblock;

#Create DataSet Object
$dsObj = New-Object System.Data.DataSet;

#Create DataTable
$dtObj = New-Object System.Data.DataTable(“PSObjTable”);
$dtCols = $dtObj.Columns; $dtRows = $dtObj.Rows;

## – Populate Columns
foreach ($c in ($MyGridObject | gm -MemberType ‘*Property’).Name)
{
$x = 1;
($dtObj.Columns.Add().ColumnName = $c);
};

## – Populate Rows:
foreach ($c in $MyGridObject)
{
## Initialize row:
$nwRow = $dtObj.NewRow();

## Data
foreach ($c2 in ($MyGridObject | gm -MemberType ‘*Property’).name)
{
$nwRow[$c2] = ($c).$c2;
}
## Add row to object:
$dtObj.Rows.Add($nwRow);
};

$dsObj.Tables.Add($dtObj);
$datagrid1.SetDataBinding($dsObj, “PSObjTable”);
};

[/sourcecode]

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Testing the Windows Form

Following the instruction from the previous blog, run the form and type the following one-liner:

[sourcecode language=”powershell”]
dir c:\temp -file
[/sourcecode]

Then, click on the “Run” button to execute the command and view the result in the Datagrid view.

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Now, type another one-liner, select one either of the CheckBox, and click on the “Run” button:

[sourcecode language=”powershell”]
dir c:\temp -file | Select name, extension, directory
[/sourcecode]

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As you can see, the checkbox will display the message and the datagrid will refresh its data.

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Additional tip

If you want to lock the Windows Form so it won’t resize, use the “FormBorderStyle” property. This form has the “FormBorderStyle” property set to “FixedSingle”.

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After the Windows form is fully tested and working, you can proceed to either keep executing it from PowerShell Studio or go ahead to build the executable file.

Keep in mind, This sample is not perfect but shows some essentials in building the Windows forms using PowerShell Studio 2015.  This tool is a GREAT tool that has a lot to offer.

If you want more information about Window Component properties, search the MSDN library online. Also, don’t forget to check SAPIEN’s Blog at:  http://www.sapien.com/blog/

 

Playing with PowerShell Studio 2015 Windows Form 1/2

Yes! SAPIEN TechnologiesPowerShell Studio 2015” product allow you to create Windows form and at the same time you can compile it creating an executable application.  So, just for playing around I’m going to create a Windows application that will allow me to execute a PowerShell command and display all of its properties values in a datagrid form.

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Creating a PowerShell Studio Windows form

This application will have the following Windows components:

1. A textbox to type the PowerShell command.
2. Two checkboxes to allow display all or selected properties.
3. A datagrid to display the results.
4. And the button to execute the PowerShell command typed in the textbox.

DataGrid_01_4-8-2015

Also, I created a PowerShell function use to build the data to be sent to the datagrid component.

To create a new Windows form click on the “File” menu and select “New” then from the dropdown list pick “New Form“. This option will create a “*.psf” file.  I’ve named it “TestDataGrid1.psf“.

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One important thing to keep in mind, when working building a Windows-based solution, this editor is Visual Studio-like. So, if you have work with any version of Visual Studio then your learning curved is minimal.  Just drag-and-drop the object into the form then later add the script code afterward.

This Windows form will contain the following controls:
1. TextBox
2. Label
3. Checkbox
4. Button
5. DataGrid

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As you add object components to the form their properties can change too. Mainly, look into changing the “Text” property of some of the objects, such as: Form, Label, and the Button.

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At this point there’s no code added to this Windows application but, from the “Home” menu, you can click on the “Run” option to see it running.  And, ‘No!’, you can’t execute the application outside of this editor.  Unless, you create an executable program out of this solution which you can do with this editor.

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Next upcoming blog will be adding the PowerShell code and some functions to our solution.