Vista - Powershell as a better cmd.exe

12-11-2007

I was looking at powershell as a replacement for cmd.exe but I ran into
problems right away. I'm wondering if powershell will not do these things or
it will do them as long as I use a different syntax.

First, I tried to run a batch file of DOS commands. I have several batch
files on the windows path that allow me to type a few letters and be
transported to a specific directory. So typically these batch files look
something like this:

d:
cd \mydir

These commands of course work exactly as expected when typed at the PS
prompt. As part of a batch file it also looks like they operate normally,
but are part of some separate process that terminates at the end of the batch
file leaving the current directory in PS unchanged.

If there a way to alter the batch file to make the commands stick to the
launching instance?

If not, is there a way to invoke the batch file so it applies to the
launching instance?

The second thing I tried was to launch a program that takes its input from a
file. I know about Invoke-Item so I tried

Invoke-Item myprog <myfile.txt

But I'm told that the redirection operator is not supported yet. Is it true
that this functionality is just not possible, or is it that I'm using the
wrong syntax for PS?

Thanks

12-11-2007

Hi dl__

PowerShell is certainly better than cmd.exe (I swear).

Your batch files run under a seperate process (cmd.exe) and wont affect PowerShell's
current directory.
I suggest to convert the files to ps1 scripts, soon enough you'll feel the
power of a PowerShell script.

Quote:

> Invoke-Item myprog <myfile.txt

As you already know, the redirection operator is not supported, so he above
syntax is not valid.

-----
Shay Levi
$cript Fanatic
http://scriptolog.blogspot.com
Hebrew weblog: http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/blogs/scriptfanatic

Quote:

> I was looking at powershell as a replacement for cmd.exe but I ran
> into problems right away. I'm wondering if powershell will not do
> these things or it will do them as long as I use a different syntax.
>
> First, I tried to run a batch file of DOS commands. I have several
> batch files on the windows path that allow me to type a few letters
> and be transported to a specific directory. So typically these batch
> files look something like this:
>
> d:
> cd \mydir
> These commands of course work exactly as expected when typed at the PS
> prompt. As part of a batch file it also looks like they operate
> normally, but are part of some separate process that terminates at the
> end of the batch file leaving the current directory in PS unchanged.
>
> If there a way to alter the batch file to make the commands stick to
> the launching instance?
>
> If not, is there a way to invoke the batch file so it applies to the
> launching instance?
>
> The second thing I tried was to launch a program that takes its input
> from a file. I know about Invoke-Item so I tried
>
> Invoke-Item myprog <myfile.txt
>
> But I'm told that the redirection operator is not supported yet. Is
> it true that this functionality is just not possible, or is it that
> I'm using the wrong syntax for PS?
>
> Thanks
>

12-11-2007

Go to jpsoft.com and check out their software: 4NT and Take Command

"dl__" <dl__@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:7A8E78FB-73D2-4CF6-BA61-4F8EE8DD3049@xxxxxx

Quote:

>I was looking at powershell as a replacement for cmd.exe but I ran into
> problems right away. I'm wondering if powershell will not do these things
> or
> it will do them as long as I use a different syntax.
>
> First, I tried to run a batch file of DOS commands. I have several batch
> files on the windows path that allow me to type a few letters and be
> transported to a specific directory. So typically these batch files look
> something like this:
>
> d:
> cd \mydir
>
> These commands of course work exactly as expected when typed at the PS
> prompt. As part of a batch file it also looks like they operate normally,
> but are part of some separate process that terminates at the end of the
> batch
> file leaving the current directory in PS unchanged.
>
> If there a way to alter the batch file to make the commands stick to the
> launching instance?
>
> If not, is there a way to invoke the batch file so it applies to the
> launching instance?
>
> The second thing I tried was to launch a program that takes its input from
> a
> file. I know about Invoke-Item so I tried
>
> Invoke-Item myprog <myfile.txt
>
> But I'm told that the redirection operator is not supported yet. Is it
> true
> that this functionality is just not possible, or is it that I'm using the
> wrong syntax for PS?
>
> Thanks

12-12-2007

Hey Jerry,

not to get religious (and then again...), but PoSH is both free and far more
versatile and powerful than
both Take Command and 4NT.

Best Regards,
Jacob Saaby Nielsen
mailto:jacob.saaby@xxxxxx

Quote:

> Go to jpsoft.com and check out their software: 4NT and Take Command

12-11-2007	#1
dl__ n/a posts	Powershell as a better cmd.exe I was looking at powershell as a replacement for cmd.exe but I ran into problems right away. I'm wondering if powershell will not do these things or it will do them as long as I use a different syntax. First, I tried to run a batch file of DOS commands. I have several batch files on the windows path that allow me to type a few letters and be transported to a specific directory. So typically these batch files look something like this: d: cd \mydir These commands of course work exactly as expected when typed at the PS prompt. As part of a batch file it also looks like they operate normally, but are part of some separate process that terminates at the end of the batch file leaving the current directory in PS unchanged. If there a way to alter the batch file to make the commands stick to the launching instance? If not, is there a way to invoke the batch file so it applies to the launching instance? The second thing I tried was to launch a program that takes its input from a file. I know about Invoke-Item so I tried Invoke-Item myprog <myfile.txt But I'm told that the redirection operator is not supported yet. Is it true that this functionality is just not possible, or is it that I'm using the wrong syntax for PS? Thanks
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