Working with the SharePoint 2010 Management Shell (part 6)

2. Getting Help

Windows PowerShell contains an extensive built-in help system, and you can access it quickly by typing help at the command-line interface. This is an alias for the cmdlet Get-Help. You can even get help about Get-Help by typing Get-Help Get-Help. The output from such a command lists a description of the cmdlet, the syntax used by the cmdlet, parameter descriptions, examples, and other related notes. You also can use the Get-Help cmdlet to get help with the basic Windows PowerShell language. For example, you can use the following commands to get help about specific topics: Get-Help foreach, or Get-Help substring, or Get-Help variables.

Note:

The best way to learn Windows PowerShell is to use its built-in help system. If you or your developers create new Windows PowerShell cmdlets, make sure you create your own help files. In addition to the built-in help, there are many resources on the Internet. For example, you can download a free Windows PowerShell Help 2.0 for either 32-bit or 64-bit from http://www.primaltools.com/downloads/communitytools/.

2.1. Help Files

Get-Help finds the information to display by using Extensible Markup Language (XML) files that are installed on the server. When you installed SharePoint, help files were installed along with the Windows PowerShell snap-in. These files can be found in %CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\CONFIG\PowerShell\Help or %CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\CONFIG\PowerShell\Help\<locale>, where locale defines the language of the computer, such as en-us. These files use the naming convention <dll filename>-help.xml, such as Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell.dll-help.xml, Microsoft.SharePont.Search.dll-help.xml, and Microsoft.Office.Access.Server.dll-help.xml. You can find which cmdlets use which XML help file by typing

PS C:\Users\Peter>Get-Command -PSSnapin "Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell" |
>>sort helpfile, name |
>>Format-Wide name -column 2 -groupby helpfile | more
>><ENTER>

  :
Get-SPExcelBlockedFileType        Get-SPExcelDataProvider
Remove-SPExcelDataProvider        Remove-SPExcelUserDefinedFunction
Set-SPExcelFileLocation
   HelpFile: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions
\14\CONFIG\PowerShell\Help\microsoft.office.access.server.dll-help.xml
Get-SPAccessServiceApplication    New-SPAccessServiceApplication
Set-SPAccessServiceApplication
   HelpFile: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions
\14\CONFIG\PowerShell\Help\Microsoft.Office.Excel.Server.MossHost.dll-help.xml
Get-SPExcelDataConnectionLibrary   Get-SPExcelFileLocation
Get-SPExcelServiceApplication      Get-SPExcelUserDefinedFunction
New-SPExcelBlockedFileType         New-SPExcelDataConnectionLibrary
New-SPExcelDataProvider            New-SPExcelFileLocation
New-SPExcelServiceApplication      New-SPExcelUserDefinedFunction
Remove-SPExcelBlockedFileType      Remove-SPExcelDataConnectionL...
Remove-SPExcelFileLocation         Set-SPExcelDataConnectionLibrary
Set-SPExcelDataProvider            Set-SPExcelServiceApplication
-- More -

					  

Note:

MORE INFO You can find more information about the format of the cmdlet XML help files and how to make your own help files to complement new cmdlets you create at http://blogs.msdn.com/powershell/archive/2006/09/14/Draft-Creating-Cmdlet-Help.aspx and http://blogs.msdn.com/powershell/archive/2008/12/24/powershell-v2-external-maml-help.aspx.

2.2. ISE Help

In addition to the command-line help function, there is a graphical help file (WindowsPowerShellHelp.chm) located at %SystemRoot%\Help\mui\<LCID> where LCID is the locale identifier or language of your installation, such as 0409. You can access the graphical help file when using the ISE by selecting the command you want help for and then pressing F1. The chm file opens, and help is displayed for the command, as shown in Figure 3.

However, the chm file contains help only for the core Windows PowerShell cmdlets. If you need SharePoint-specific help, you should use the SharePoint 2010 Management Shell and the Get-Help cmdlet.

Note:

MORE INFO For more information on the Help feature in Windows PowerShell and how you can configure it to show help for aliases or how to disable local help and force ISE to get help directly from TechNet, see http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/blogs/scriptfanatic/archive/2009/01/31/using-help-in-powershell-ise.aspx. Microsoft recommends that you always check the online help to find the latest information and examples. The link to the online version can be found in the Related Links section when you use the Get-Help command.