Administrative Console FAQ
From PowerGUI Wiki
PowerGUI Extended FAQ
1. How do I manage PowerGUI nodes?
Quest PowerGUI nodes are generally scripts that are executed once you click them in the tree view. You can create basic nodes and script nodes. When you create a basic node (New | Node in she shortcut menu), you must select the required command and then select parameters you want to be prompted for. The list of commands available to you is defined by the set of libraries installed on your computer (File | PowerShell Libraries). Also note that only get- commands are available for basic nodes and links. When you create a script node, you must type or paste your script. Before you create script nodes, consider the fact that no default filters are applied to the script output, so you may want to revise your script before pasting it to a new script node. To avoid displaying unnecessary objects, you can use the $null parameter. Alternatively, you can right-click the output table header and clear the checkbox next to the objects you do not need. PowerGUI will save your settings and next time you execute the script, only selected columns will be displayed.
2. What is the difference between actions and common actions?
Action scripts are procedures applied to the selected objects in the grid. PowerGUI provides two types of actions. Common actions are available for all object types, while the set of basic actions available by default depends on the object type currently displayed in the grid.
3. What defines the set of displayed columns/actions?
The set of columns displayed by PowerGUI is determined by the script you run. If you change the set of columns, PowerGUI will save your settings. The set of available actions depends on the type of object selected. All PowerGUI links are shared by object type, so if you create a new link, it will be available for all objects of the same type.
4. How do I select columns to be displayed?
There are two ways to select columns you want to be displayed. You can do it either using PowerGUI user interface or define it within the script with the Format-Table and Select-Object cmdlets. However, it is strongly recommended to avoid using the Format-Table and Select-Object cmdlets, because information about object types will be lost. If you need to add new columns, you can use the add-member cmdlet.
5. What are dynamic nodes? How do I implement them?
Dynamic nodes are nodes generated by PowerGUI as a result of a higher-level script execution. You cannot modify dynamic nodes directly, so any changes you want to make must be made in the script that generates the dynamic node.
6. How do I post a standalone PowerShell script (ps1 file) to a PowerGUI node or action?
Technically, the procedure is straightforward — you must simply create new node/action and paste the existing script. However, you may consider revising the script according to its task as a node, or action, so that you get exactly the result you need.
7. How can I share data/functions between various nodes and actions?
By default, all data and functions are local in PowerGUI, so if you want to share them, use the $global operator in your script.
8. Where does PowerGUI store its configuration? How can I update it for all users?
PowerGUI configuration files (Quest.PowerGUI.xml and Quest.PowerGUI.ScriptEditor.xml) are located in the %Application Data%\Quest Software\PowerGUI folder. If you need to apply certain PowerGUI configuration for all users, you should replace these two files on the local computers.
9. What is STA mode and do I enable it?
STA stands for Single-Threaded Apartments. To learn about STA, refer to the MSDN article available here. To run PowerGUI Console in STA mode, you should run it from the command line with the –STA parameter.
PowerGUI Script Editor uses STA mode by default. If for some reason you want to get it back into MTA mode, you must open the ScriptEditor.xml file located in the %APPDATA%\Quest Software\PowerGUI folder and change the STAMode item value to False.
