1. Powershell If String Contains Text
2. Powershell Where String Contains
3. Powershell Check If File Name Contains String

I guess I should explain the environment this code sits in. 2 scripts: one to generate random passwords and write them to a text file. Another to read the text file and remove the passwords from the file after they are used. Once it runs out(i.e. The text file is empty) it should remove it and another file with more passwords is already available. Wrote this small part of code to check if file exist and contains string pattern. How can I replace every occurrence of a String in a file with PowerShell? How to unzip a file in Powershell? Powershell - Does file exist on users machine output specific file. Hot Network Questions. I am looking to find a string in word and excel document E.g Like 'Security' if it contains in any of the document, the same should be moved to other location.can anyone suggest with simple scripts pls.!! This simple script worked in finding and relocating the file, but it is not working for docx format, pls help out.

Windows PowerShell -Contains

When it comes filtering, or finding data we are spoilt for choice with -Match, -Like and -Contains. While there is overlap, each conditional operator has a distinctive role in PowerShell scripting.

-Contains is best for seeking an exact value. If I want a command to return either True or False, I start with -Contains, whereas, if I want a list of results then I try -Match or -Like.

Topics for PowerShell’s -Contains Conditional Operator

Example 1a: PowerShell -Contains

PowerShell uses singular nouns; thus “contains” is a verb, and not a plural noun. A feature of -Contains is that usually returns “True” or “False. If you are looking for a command to return a list of values, then employ -Match or -Like.

Example 1b: PowerShell’s -Contains is Very Strict

-Contains can be frustrating because it’s so picky. After a while you realize that this just a design feature, if you don’t like it, try -Match.

Note 1: -Contains interprets “Flats” and “Flat” as different, thus returns False; it does not matter that Flat is a subset of Flats.

Challenge:Microsoft network adapter vista. Substitute -Match for -Contains.

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Example 2: Seeking a Value in a Collection

-Contains would be my choice of conditional operators for situations where I wanted to test for one particular item in a collection, array or a hashtable.

Note 2: If you coded: $Collection -Contains “Paula Harris”
The result would be: True. You need an exact match of the full item.

Note 3: $Collection -Contains “Paula*” does not help. Wildcards are next to useless with -Contains. Better: try -Match Paula, or -Like Paula*

Example 3: PowerShell -Contains Spreadsheet

Let us assume we wish to search in a file called links.csv. Furthermore, we can use Import-Csv to read the data so that we can test values with -Contains.

Preparation
My spreadsheet is called links.csv
I stored the file in D:PowerShell
The column name is “Custom channel”
See screenshot to the right.

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Example 4: PowerShell -CContains

As with PowerShell’s other conditional operators, you can force them to be case sensitivity by preceding the command with a ‘C’; CContains is not a typo!

Note 4: The point is that in the spreadsheet the value is clearly ‘LinkTop’, when we force case-sensitivity with CContains, this is not the same as ‘linktop’, hence a False result.

Example 5: PowerShell -NotContains

The negative -NotContains is not as useful as -NotMatch. However, from what we have already learned the syntax is predictable.

Note 5: Remember that with -Contains, and by extension -NotContains, the match has to be exact. There is no ‘Custom channel’ with the name of precisely ‘link’.

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About_Operators

Here is the List of the Types of PowerShell’s Operators

• Arithmetic (+ * – /)
• Assignment (= also -= +=)
• Comparison ( -Match and -Like; also: -eq -gt)
• Logical ( -And -Not)
• Redirectional ( > )
• Split and Join ( -split)
• Type (-Is -Isnot)
• Unary ($i++)

Summary of PowerShell’s -Contains Conditional Operator

Powershell If String Contains Text

When you seek an exact value, then -Contains would be my first choice of conditional operator. -Match or -Like are better suited to scenarios where you only need a partial match, or you need a list of items.

See more Windows PowerShell flow control examples

Powershell Where String Contains

• PowerShell Home • PowerShell If Statement • PowerShell ElseIf • Free Permissions Analyzer

• Conditional Operators • PowerShell -Match • PowerShell -Like • PowerShell -Contains

• PowerShell Comparison Operators • PowerShell Syntax • Where Filter • PowerShell Else

Powershell Check If File Name Contains String

Please email me if you have a better example script. Also please report any factual mistakes, grammatical errors or broken links, I will be happy to correct the fault.