This is the built-in help made by Microsoft for the document 'about_Windows_PowerShell_ISE', in PowerShell version 3 - as retrieved from
Windows version 'Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Standard' PowerShell help files on 2016-06-24.
For PowerShell version 3 and up, where you have Update-Help, this command was run just before creating the web pages from the help files.
about_Windows_PowerShell_ISE
TOPIC
about_Windows_PowerShell_ISE
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Describes the features and system requirements of Windows PowerShell
Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE).
LONG DESCRIPTION
Windows PowerShell ISE is a graphical host application for Windows
PowerShell. In Windows PowerShell ISE, you can run commands and write,
test, and debug scripts in a single Windows-based graphical user
interface. Its features include Intellisense, multiline editing, tab
completion, auto-save, syntax coloring, selective execution,
context-sensitive help, Show Command (compose commands in a window)
and support for double-byte character sets and right-to-left languages.
Windows PowerShell ISE is an excellent tool for beginners. The Show
Command window and New Remote PowerShell Tab guide you through tasks
so that you can be successful on the first try. Snippets and error
indicators help you learn the Windows PowerShell language as you work.
Advanced users can take advantage of the sophisticated debugging
features, add-ons, and the Windows PowerShell ISE object model.
What's New in Windows PowerShell ISE in Windows PowerShell 3.0
Windows PowerShell ISE introduces many important new features in Windows
PowerShell 3.0. The following lists just a few of these features.
For more information about Windows PowerShell ISE, see Windows PowerShell
3.0 Integrated Scripting Environment at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=254681
-- Console pane. The Console pane combines the features of the Command
and Output panes in previous versions of Windows PowerShell ISE. The
Console pane looks and behaves much like the Windows PowerShell
console, making the transition from console to ISE seamless.
In addition, the Console pane includes many advanced Script pane
features, including Intellisense, color-coded text, brace-matching
and highlighting, error indicators, snippets, and rich copy.
-- Show Command window. Lets you compose Windows PowerShell commands in
a window and then run them or copy them to the clipboard. The Show
Command window displays all commands from all installed modules and,
with the click of button, imports the module so you can run the command.
This feature complements the Show-Command cmdlet in Windows PowerShell 3.0.
-- Intellisense. The Intellisense feature in Windows PowerShell ISE goes
beyond simple auto-completion to provide names of cmdlets, functions,
scripts, workflows, parameters, object properties and methods, paths,
files, variables, and enumeration values. It includes a smart-filtering
feature that highlights the most likely response in a list of matches.
To select the suggested name, use the cursor or arrow keys, and then
press Enter or Tab. You can enable, disable and configure Intellisense.
-- Snippets. The Snippets feature lets you insert saved text strings in
the Script and Console panes. The built-in snippets include syntax
for advanced functions and their parameters and for Do, While, If,
Switch, and ForEach keywords. You can define your own snippets and
import snippets from modules. To see snippets, press Ctrl+J.
The Snippets feature includes three cmdlets: New-IseSnippet,
Get-IseSnippet and Import-IseSnippet.
-- Editing and Debugging Enhancements. Writing, editing, and debugging
scripts is even easier in Windows PowerShell ISE with the addition of
features that help you prevent and catch errors in real time. The
features include brace-matching, expand-collapse, and error indicators.
All features can be enabled, disabled and configured.
-- Options Window. Lets you customize and configure Windows PowerShell
ISE without using the object model or add-ons. Options include colors
and fonts, auto-save, and Intellisense settings. To use the Options
window, from the Tools menu, select Options.
-- Update Windows PowerShell Help. The Update Windows PowerShell Help
item on the Help menu makes it easy to download and install updated
help files for modules in the current session. To use this feature,
start Windows PowerShell ISE with the "Run as administrator" option.
For more information about Updatable Help, see about_Updatable_Help
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=235801).
-- Help Window. The Help Window displays cmdlet, provider, and
conceptual (about) help in a pop-up window for easy reading. To get
help, place the cursor in the feature name, such as a cmdlet name,
and press F1, or press F1 and search for a help topic. The Help
Windows displays help from the help files on the computer,
complementing the Updatable Help feature.
-- And more, including auto-save, recent items list, rich copy, add-on
tools, convert to uppercase/lowercase, and block copy.
Starting Windows PowerShell ISE
Windows PowerShell ISE is installed, enabled, and ready to use in all
supported versions of Windows.
- In Windows 8 Server and Windows 8 Consumer, on the Start screen, type
PowerShell_ISE and then click PowerShell_ISE or Windows PowerShell ISE.
- In Windows 8 Server, right-click the Windows PowerShell shortcut on the
taskbar and then click Windows PowerShell ISE. Or, in Server Manager,
from the Tools menu, select Windows PowerShell ISE.
- In earlier versions of Windows, click Start, All Programs, Accessories,
Windows PowerShell, and then click Windows PowerShell ISE.
- In a Windows PowerShell console, Cmd.exe, or the Run or Search box
in Windows, type "PowerShell_ise.exe". You can also use the command-line
parameters, including the NoProfile switch. For more information, see
PowerShell_ISE.exe Console Help
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=243055).
Running Interactive Commands
You can run any Windows PowerShell expression or command in Windows
PowerShell ISE. You can use cmdlets, providers, snap-ins, and modules as
you would use them in the Windows PowerShell console.
You can type or paste interactive commands in the Console pane. To run the
commands, you can use buttons, menu items, and keyboard shortcuts.
You can use the multiline editing feature to type or paste several lines
of code into the Console pane at once. When you press the UP ARROW key to
recall the previous command, all the lines in the command are recalled.
When you type commands, press SHIFT+ENTER to make a new blank line appear
under the current line.
Viewing Output
The results of commands and scripts are displayed in the Console pane. You
can move or copy the results from the Console pane by using keyboard
shortcuts or the Copy button on the toolbar, and you can paste the results
in the Script pane or Console panes or other programs. To clear the Console
pane, click the "Clear Output Pane" button or type one of the following
commands:
Clear-Host
cls
Writing Scripts and Functions
In the Script pane, you can open, compose, edit, and run scripts. The
Script pane lets you edit scripts by using buttons and keyboard shortcuts.
You can also copy, cut, and paste text between the Script pane and the
Console pane.
You can use the selective run feature to run all or part of a script. To
run part of a script, select the text you want to run, and then click the
Run Selection button or press F8. By default, F8 runs the current line.
Advanced editing features include brace-matching, expand-collapse, line
numbers, error indicators, block editing and indenting, rich copy, and case
conversion.
Getting Help
Windows PowerShell ISE includes help topics that describe its use. In
addition, all installed help files are accessible from the Script and Command
panes.
Windows PowerShell ISE also supports context-sensitive help. To get help about
a particular cmdlet, provider, or keyword, place the cursor in the name of the
item and press F1. To search the help topics, press F1 and type the search term.
To update the help topics on the computer, use the Update Windows PowerShell
Help item in the Help menu. This item updates help for the modules in the current
session in the current UI culture. It is equivalent to running the Update-Help
cmdlet without parameters. To update help for the cmdlets that come with Windows
PowerShell, start Windows PowerShell ISE with the "Run as administrator" option.
You can also use the Get-Help, Save-Help, and Update-Help cmdlets in Windows
PowerShell ISE, just as you use it in the Windows PowerShell console. However,
in Windows PowerShell ISE, the Help function displays the entire help topic,
not one page at a time.
Debugging Scripts
You can use the Windows PowerShell ISE debugger to debug a Windows
PowerShell script or function. When you debug a script, you can use menu
items and shortcut keys to perform many of the same tasks that you would
perform in the Windows PowerShell console. For example, to set a line
breakpoint in a script, right-click the line of code, and then click
Toggle Breakpoint.
As you step through a script while debugging, the debugging highlighter
shows precisely which part of the command is running and automatically
opens files that include called functions and scripts.
By default, the Toggle Breakpoint menu item sets a breakpoint on an
entire line in a script, but you can set a breakpoint on a variable
or command name. You can also set a breakpoint on a command by line
and column number, making it easier to debug long pipeline commands.
Often, you can debug syntax errors in a script just by opening the
script file in Windows PowerShell ISE. The error indicators identify
syntax errors and the outlining features let you collapse parts of the
script to focus on trouble spots.
You can also use the Windows PowerShell debugger cmdlets in the Command
pane just as you would use them in the console.
Running Remote Commands
The New Remote PowerShell Tab feature makes it easy to establish a
persistent user-managed Windows PowerShell session ("PSSession") to
the local computer or a remote computer. The command opens a pop-up
window that prompts you for a computer name and for the user account
that has permission to run commands on the remote computer.
Customizing the View
You can use Windows PowerShell ISE features to move and to resize the
Console pane and the Script pane. You can show and hide either pane,
and you can change the text size in all the panes.
You can also use the Options window to customize the appearance and
operation of Windows PowerShell ISE. In addition, Windows PowerShell
ISE has a custom host variable, $psISE, that you can use to customize
Windows PowerShell ISE, including adding menus and menu items.
Windows PowerShell ISE Profile
Windows PowerShell ISE has its own Windows PowerShell profile,
Microsoft.PowerShellISE_profile.ps1. In this profile, you can store
functions, aliases, variables, and commands that you use in Windows
PowerShell ISE.
Items in the Windows PowerShell AllHosts profiles (CurrentUser\AllHosts
and AllUsers\AllHosts) are also available in Windows PowerShell ISE, just
as they are in any Windows PowerShell host program. However, the items
in your Windows PowerShell console profiles are not available in Windows
PowerShell ISE.
Instructions for moving and reconfiguring your profiles are available in
Windows PowerShell ISE Help and in about_Profiles.
NOTES
Windows PowerShell ISE is an optional Windows Feature that is turned on
by default on client and server versions of Windows. To enable and disable
Windows PowerShell ISE in client versions of Windows, use Turn Windows
Features On or Off in Control Panel. To enable and disable Windows
PowerShell ISE in server versions of Windows, use the Add Roles
and Features Wizard in Server Manager.
Because Windows PowerShell ISE requires a user interface, it does not work
on Server Core installations of Windows Server. However, if you add the
Windows PowerShell ISE feature, the installation automatically converts
to Server with a GUI.
Window PowerShell ISE is built on the Windows Presentation Foundation
(WPF). If the graphical elements of Windows PowerShell ISE do not render
correctly on your system, you might resolve the problem by adding or
adjusting the "Disable WPF Hardware acceleration" graphics rendering
settings on your system. For more information, see "Graphics Rendering
Registry Settings" in the MSDN library at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=144711.
SEE ALSO
about_Debuggers
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=113221)
about_Profiles
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=113729)
about_Updatable_Help
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=235801)
Get-Help
Get-IseSnippet
Import-IseSnippet
New-IseSnippet
Save-Help
Show-Command
Update-Help