Get-Content

Specifies a user account that has permission to perform this action. The default is the current user.

Type a user name, such as "User01" or "Domain01\User01", or enter a PSCredential object, such as one generated by the Get-Credential cmdlet. If you type a user name, you will be prompted for a password.

This parameter is not supported by any providers that are installed with Windows PowerShell.

Omits the specified items. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as "*.txt". Wildcards are permitted.

Specifies a filter in the provider's format or language. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. The syntax of the filter, including the use of wildcards, depends on the provider. Filters are more efficient than other parameters, because the provider applies them when getting the objects, rather than having Windows PowerShell filter the objects after they are retrieved.

Overrides restrictions that prevent the command from succeeding, just so the changes do not compromise security. For example, Force will override the read-only attribute or create directories to complete a file path, but it will not attempt to change file permissions.

Gets only the specified items. The value of this parameter qualifies the Path parameter. Enter a path element or pattern, such as "*.txt". Wildcards are permitted.

Specifies the path to an item. Unlike Path, the value of LiteralPath is used exactly as it is typed. No characters are interpreted as wildcards. If the path includes escape characters, enclose it in single quotation marks. Single quotation marks tell Windows PowerShell not to interpret any characters as escape sequences.

Specifies the path to an item. Get-Content gets the content of the item. Wildcards are permitted. The parameter name ("Path" or "FilePath") is optional.

Specifies how many lines of content are sent through the pipeline at a time. The default value is 1. A value of 0 (zero) sends all of the content at one time.

This parameter does not change the content displayed, but it does affect the time it takes to display the content. As the value of ReadCount increases, the time it takes to return the first line increases, but the total time for the operation decreases. This can make a perceptible difference in very large items.

Gets the specified number of lines from the beginning of a file or other item. The default is -1 (all lines).

You can use the "TotalCount" parameter name or its aliases, "First" or "Head".

Gets the specified number of lines from the end of a file or other item.

This parameter is introduced in Windows PowerShell 3.0.

You can use the "Tail" parameter name or its alias, "Last".

Includes the command in the active transaction. This parameter is valid only when a transaction is in progress. For more information, see about_Transactions

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Verbose, -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -OutBuffer, and -OutVariable. For more information, see  about_CommonParameters (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=113216).

This command gets the content of the Chapter1.txt file. It uses the Path parameter to specify the name of the item. Get-Content actually passes the content down the pipeline, but because there are no other pipeline elements, the content is formatted by default and displayed at the command line.

PS C:\> Get-Content -Path C:\Chapters\Chapter1.txt

This command gets the first 50 lines of the Log060912.txt file and stores them in the Sample.txt file. The command uses the Get-Content cmdlet to get the text in the file. (The name of Path parameter, which is optional, is omitted.) The TotalCount parameter limits the content retrieved to the first 50 lines. The pipeline operator (|) sends the result to the Set-Content cmdlet, which places it in the Sample.txt file.

PS C:\> Get-Content c:\Logs\Log060912.txt -TotalCount 50 | Set-Content Sample.txt

This command gets the fifth line of the Cmdlets.txt text file. It uses the TotalCount parameter to get the first five lines and then uses array notation to get the last line (indicated by "-1") of the resulting set.

PS C:\> (Get-Content Cmdlets.txt -TotalCount 5)[-1]

This command gets the first and last lines of each text file in the current directory. The command uses the Tail parameter and the Head alias of the TotalCount parameter

PS C:\> dir .\*.txt | ForEach {Get-Content $_ -Head 1; Get-Content $_ -Tail 1}