This is the built-in help made by Microsoft for the document 'about_Hidden', in PowerShell version 5 - as retrieved from
Windows version 'Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 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_Hidden
TOPIC
about_Hidden
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Describes the Hidden keyword, which hides class members from default Get-Member results.
LONG DESCRIPTION
When you use the Hidden keyword in a script, you hide the members of a
class by default. The Hidden keyword can hide properties, methods (including
constructors, events, alias properties, and other member types, including
static members, from the default results of the Get-Member cmdlet, and
from IntelliSense and tab completion results. To display members that you
have hidden with the Hidden keyword, add the -Force parameter to a Get-Member
command.
Hidden members are not displayed by using tab completion or IntelliSense,
unless the completion occurs in the class that defines the hidden member.
A new attribute, System.Management.Automation.HiddenAttribute, has been
added, so that C# code can have the same semantics within Windows PowerShell.
The Hidden keyword is useful for creating properties and methods within
a class that you do not necessarily want other users of the class to see,
or readily be able to edit.
The Hidden keyword has no effect on how you can view or make changes to
members of a class. Like all language keywords in Windows PowerShell,
Hidden is not case-sensitive, and hidden members are still public.
Hidden, along with custom classes, was introduced in Windows PowerShell 5.0.
EXAMPLE
The following example shows how to use the Hidden keyword in a class
definition. The Car class method, Drive, has a property, rides, that
does not need to be viewed or changed (it merely tallies the number of
times that Drive is called on the Car class, a metric that is
not important to users of the class; consider, for example, that when
you are buying a car, you do not ask the seller on how many drives the
car has been taken).
Because there is little need for users of the class to change this
property, we can hide the property from Get-Member and automatic completion
results by using the Hidden keyword.
Add the Hidden keyword by entering it on the same statement line as the
property and its data type. Although the keyword can be in any order on this
line, starting the statement with the Hidden keyword makes it easier for you
later to identify all members that you have hidden.
class Car
{
# Properties
[String] $Color
[String] $ModelYear
[int] $Distance
# Method
[int] Drive ([int]$miles)
{
$this.Distance += $miles
$this.rides++
return $this.Distance
}
# Hidden property of the Drive method
hidden [int] $rides = 0
}
Now, create a new instance of the Car class, and save it in a variable,
$TestCar.
$TestCar = [Car]::new()
After you create the new instance, pipe the contents of the $TestCar
variable to Get-Member. Observe that the rides property is not among the
members listed in the Get-Member command results.
PS C:\Windows\system32> $TestCar | Get-Member
TypeName: Car
Name MemberType Definition
---- ---------- ----------
Drive Method int Drive(int miles)
Equals Method bool Equals(System.Object obj)
GetHashCode Method int GetHashCode()
GetType Method type GetType()
ToString Method string ToString()
Color Property string Color {get;set;}
Distance Property int Distance {get;set;}
ModelYear Property string ModelYear {get;set;}
Now, try running Get-Member again, but this time, add the -Force
parameter. Note that the results contain the hidden rides property,
among other members that are hidden by default.
PS C:\Windows\system32> $TestCar | Get-Member -Force
TypeName: Car
Name MemberType Definition
---- ---------- ----------
pstypenames CodeProperty System.Collections.ObjectModel.Collection`1…
psadapted MemberSet psadapted {Color, ModelYear, Distance,
psbase MemberSet psbase {Color, ModelYear, Distance,...
psextended MemberSet psextended {}
psobject MemberSet psobject {BaseObject, Members,...
Drive Method int Drive(int miles)
Equals Method bool Equals(System.Object obj)
GetHashCode Method int GetHashCode()
GetType Method type GetType()
get_Color Method string get_Color()
get_Distance Method int get_Distance()
get_ModelYear Method string get_ModelYear()
get_rides Method int get_rides()
set_Color Method void set_Color(string )
set_Distance Method void set_Distance(int )
set_ModelYear Method void set_ModelYear(string )
set_rides Method void set_rides(int )
ToString Method string ToString()
Color Property string Color {get;set;}
Distance Property int Distance {get;set;}
ModelYear Property string ModelYear {get;set;}
rides Property int rides {get;set;}
SEE ALSO
about_Classes
about_Language_Keywords
about_Wildcards
Get-Member