Prof. Powershell

Tip of the ISE-berg

Here's some of Prof. PowerShell's top Integrated Script Editor tricks.

• By Jeffery Hicks
• 03/04/2014

The PowerShell ISE, or Integrated Script Editor, is intended as the bare-minimum scripting tool for IT Pros. Need to create a script? Don't open Notepad -- use the ISE. And even then, it is not intended as a full feature integrated scripting environment. Some of you will need more horse power from products such as PowerShell Studio from SAPIEN Technologies. That said, I thought I'd share some tips and tricks with on using the ISE. These are tips that work for me in PowerShell 4. I expect they should work with PowerShell 3.0 and hopefully PowerShell 2.0.

First off, you need to master some keyboard shortcuts. I tend to run the script editor maximized which means the console pane is also maximized. Switching between the two is as simple as Ctrl+R. Use Ctrl+3 to maximize the script editor. In fact this is so ingrained in me I mistakenly try to use the shortcut key to switch between applications. Likewise, if you have multiple scripts open, you can cycle between them with Ctrl+Tab. Using Ctrl+Shift+Tab will take you in reverse.

To load files in the ISE you have a few options. In the ISE, in the command pane you can use the psedit command.

PS C:\> psedit c:\scripts\qaudit.ps1

This will load the file into the ISE. Have multiple files to open? Try this:

PS C:\> psedit (dir c:\scripts\demo-word*.ps1).fullname

This will also work:

PS C:\> psedit (dir c:\scripts\demo-word*.ps1).fullname

From the PowerShell console, if the ISE is already open you can open a file in it.

PS C:\> ise c:\scripts\qaudit.ps1

Actually, you can use this command to launch the ISE and load a file. Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be a way to open the ISE with multiple files. However, once the ISE is open, you can send multiple files to it.

PS C:\> (dir c:\scripts\demo-word*.ps1).fullname | foreach {ise $_}

To close a file, use Ctrl+F4.

Another great tip: put your cursor anywhere in a cmdlet name and press F1. You should get help in the popup window, like you do when you use the newer –ShowWindow parameter. I love that.

Or if you prefer, configure the ISE to always get help online. In the ISE script pane run this command:

PS C:\> $psise.Options.UseLocalHelp=$false

Now when you press F1 for help, you will get the online help in your browser. This is a persistent change that will remain in effect until you set the value back to $True.

Finally, don't forget that the ISE ships with snippets. Press Ctrl+J to bring up the list of default snippets. This is a great way of rapidly building a PowerShell script or function. What are some of your favorite ISE tips and tricks?