Not Recognizing Script Name as cmdlet, function, etc; nor can positional perameter be found on simple script

Question

I am trying to do my first script. To simply get PowerShell to pull up a script typed up in notepad and saved as a .ps1 file titled "test" (have also tried Script, but know names have nothing to do with it):

Write-Host "Hello, World!"

In PowerShell I am typing

& "C:\Scripts\test.ps1"

As well as

./test.ps1

And am only met with this:

./test.ps1.txt : The term './test.ps1.txt' is not recognized as the name of a
cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the
name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:1
+ ./test.ps1.txt
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo: ObjectNotFound: (./test.ps1.txt:String) [], CommandNotFoundException

Have tried renaming the file within PowerShell with

PS C:\Scripts> Rename-Item test.ps1.txt test.ps1

I have switched between RemoteSigned and Unrestricted, I have tried a code including executionpolicy bypass (I do apologize, I closed my window without writing that one down). As far as I know everything is up to date and I am running Windows 10, Windows PowerShell, and regular Windows Notepad.

Answer 1

First, I'd HIGHLY recommend using the Windows PowerShell ISE for writing scripts. It's free, and provides a pretty decent console/editor experience, given that it's free (there are allegedly better ones out there, but this has always done just fine for me). I use Visual Studio for other stuff, and while it is an EXPONENTIALLY better product (and should be), the PowerShell ISE is pretty feature-rich.

Next, if you're just getting started, you should check out Don Jone's "Learn PowerShell 3.0 in a Month of Lunches" book. It's two versions behind the most current, however, all of the information is still relevant, and once you've finished the book, you'll be able to seek help for anything else pretty easily on your own. It covers all the basics, and is a very good first step to learning the language.

Now, to answer your question: PowerShell scripts commonly have the .ps1 file extension. Other extensions are generally used for modules (.psm1) or other helper content that Windows PowerShell leverages. For most things, you'll stick to .ps1, and when you've reached a point where you start needing the other extensions, I suspect you will have no problems identifying which ones you need.

There are two ways generally call a PowerShell script. The first is from a normal command prompt, and telling PowerShell to execute your script. This is shown below:

powershell.exe -File MyScript.ps1

There are some additional parameters that I'd recommend you use, but usage is dependent on your requirements. Here's what I usually tag on mine:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -File MyScript.ps1

This will tell the PowerShell process to ignore any PowerShell profiles you have set up, which is ideal if you have a bunch of stuff in your profile script that does things like read console input (for your current situation, I'm going to assume you don't, but you may in the future). The other is that ExecutionPolicy one: RemoteSigned will tell PowerShell to basically ignore anything that's been downloaded from the interwebs, but allow anything originating inside your network to run free. Probably not the best practice, but this isn't a TERRIBLE policy if you can trust that your script repository is secured. If not, then go for something tighter than this (you can read up on execution policies by typing "Get-Help about_Execution_Policies" in the PowerShell prompt, or by visiting the TechNet page about them -- the content should be similar if not identical).

The second way is from inside of a Windows PowerShell script. It's actually much easier to do. Note that you must set your execution policy to something that will allow scripts to run, but thereafter, you're smooth sailing.

. .\MyScript.ps1

This is called "dot-sourcing" your script. The advantage of doing this from within Windows PowerShell is that if you've got something like a script full of functions, they get added to the current scope (Get-Help about_Scopes), which means they're now available in your current session. A good example would be defining a function called "Test-DomainConnection" in a script you distribute with your main script: You'd dot-source the script that is distributed with the main one (this is done usually when you separate your "standard" PowerShell functions from your main script), and then use the functions in the main script. There are pros and cons to this approach, but it seems to be generally recommended (there may be some community extensions out there that remove the need to manage this manually).

For additional information, you can call Get-Help about_Scripts from inside Windows PowerShell. Because you're using Windows 10, you may need to run Update-Help from an administrative PowerShell window before the help content is available on your local system.

If you have any more questions, feel free to message me :) I've been doing PowerShell for a while and may be able to help out.